I'm so frustrated

[minah009]

3 months after 1st being diagnosed my A1C was 6.2, I was thrilled. My testing numbers were always really good except for my fasting one which was always higher (on avg 132). Now 2 months later my fasting numbers are creeping up and my post meal numbers are all over the place. I have been eating even healthier than the 1st 3 months and I watch my carb intake which is almost always under 30% (usually around 25%) of my actual caloric intake. I am taking my meds as prescribed (1000 Metformin 2 x a day) and continue to lose weight slowly but steadily and I exercise regularly. Nothing drastic has changed and I just don't know what to do.

When I was 1st diagnosed diabetic I was also diagnosed with hypothyroid and my doc told me that both the diabetes and hypothyroid are auto immune diseases (I thought only Type 1 was auto immune). My doctor never actually told me what type I was but I just assumed since I was put on just oral meds it was Type 2. Now I'm wondering if that could be wrong since I have the hypothyroid and also a family history on my dad's side of pancreatic problems (although no T1 diabetes to my knowledge). I know you aren't doctors or such but I am just so confused, frustrated and angry as to why my numbers are all messed up.

Thank you for letting me vent. BTW before my numbers were averaging about 120-128 after meals and now they are usually no lower than 143 and just this morning I got a 191 :(

~Mariah~

[MJB]

When you say your carb intake is 25% of your caloric intake what exactly does that mean?

If you're at 2000 calories daily are you eating 500g of carb? If so that's probably way too much.

Please explain and maybe we can help you figure this out.

[minah009]

No, I eat no where NEAR that much carbs. Maybe I was confusing by what I meant, it happens :D

I input all my foods eaten into FitDy and this is what it had for me for the average for the past 7 days:

Calories: 1390
Carbs= 112 grams --406 cals---29% of calories
Fiber= 21 grams

I know that some people consider my carb amount to be high but I get my carbs from fresh veggies/fruits and whole grains . I don't eat any white breads, pastas, rice, sweets etc. I do occasionally have a 1/2 of a small baked potato or 1/4 c of mashed but that is infrequent. I eat lean protein (mostly chicken) and fish and usually have eggs for breakfast. I exercise 3-4 x a week by walking briskly (45-60 mins ). I don't know why when my eating and exercising habits have goteen better my BG's are getting worse. I drive my husband nuts with my monitoring of foods and such.

~M~

[shockme]

hi mariah!unfortuneately,diabetes is a progressive disease.it may be time for additional oral meds or even insulin....i'm a type 2 and i wish i would've been put on insulin right away-my control is great now!take care,trish

[MJB]

It sounds like you are doing all the right things.

I would ask your doc what he meant by "auto immune" as that seems inconsistent with T2 diagnosis.

Maybe you are a honeymooning T1.5? Perhaps it's time to see an endocrinologist and have more tests done.

Best of luck to you.

[jenet]

Autoimmune (and hypothyroid) sounds more like Type 1. I was misdiagnosed for over 2 years as a Type 2 (and orginally put on pills for a year before changing to insulin for 15 mos.) before being told "guess what, you're really a Type 1" after ending up in the hospital DKA and having more tests.

You might want to ask about a C-peptide test to check how much insulin your pancreas is making. (If it's not high, you're probably not a Type 2.) Also, most but not all Type 1's are positive for GAD antibodies and Type 2s are not, so you might want to ask for that test as well (indication of auto-immune reaction that affects pancreas).

An endocrinologist could help you figure it out. Knowing which type you are makes a difference in understanding risks specific to each type (DKA vs. Metabolic Syndrome X), which treatments will help, and which will do nothing (or nothing good).

Good luck!
j

[Jill-O]

I ended up going on insulin pretty quickly into knowing I have diabetes. Just want to reassure you if it's something your doctor wants you to do, the shots are no big deal and it's a great way to get your numbers closer to where they should be. I have no doubt that this is a great over-simplification of what happens, but I look at insulin compared to oral meds as a way to give my body what it needs, vs. hoping to stimulate it into making something it struggles to provide.

I don't regret my choice to go on insulin at all, and the shots are so NOT a big deal. Testing your blood is tremendously more painful than any insulin shot... there's just nothing to it :)

[minah009]

Thank you all for the replies. I have a doctor's appointment on the 5th of July and I am definitely going to question her more on my diagnosis and ask for those tests. I'm also going to request a referal to an Endo. We have none in my local area so I'll have to drive about an hour but I believe in the long run it will be worth it. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and try not to worry about it until my appointment. Thanks for all the advice.

~Mariah~

[Dan Gato]

Minah, also you can get C-peptide test. This will indicate your insulin production.

Don't exercise early in the morning, My bg's go up when I exercise in the mornings, wait until you have been up & about more than 3 hrs.