Hi Mrs. D.

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I INITIALLY TRIED TO GET INTO THE STUDY, my a1c was 7 and I was turned down. It was explained to me that I needed an a1c of 7.5 to be admitted to the study.

Because I was self-medicating with food at the time, and not really doing a good job of managing my blood sugar, it was almost a year later when I went back and my a1c was 9.0. So they took me in the study.

When I went into the study, my sugar was 400 (because I shoveled snow). But it usually was 265 or so. I was on lots of metformin (which killed my stomach). Thank the lord I was able to stop the metformin. I stopped going to the bathroom 6 times in the morning. It didn't make me lose weight either. I had been on it for years before I got to the ACCORD program and I never lost any weight on Metformin.

So I joined the study, they put me in the standard group. I was also put on Vytorin but my muscles did NOT LIKE THIS MED, so I stopped after a few months.

I'm in the intensive blood pressure group (I think they only have an intensive blood pressure group). They tweaked my blood pressure meds because they believe a person who has diabetes is greater risk for stroke and heart attack so while a regular person might have 120/70, they REALLY LIKE WHEN MY PRESSURE IS 106/65.

They walk in and say "wow, look at those numbers"!!! I once said "isn't that low??" and they said: "are you kidding, your pressure is perfect".

I've never had a problem with my pressure since I've been going there.

They take it 3 times and then they average it out.

And I can refuse any thing I don't want to take.

But so far, I'm doing okay, so I thank god.

I have noticed that when I'm there, I see other diabetics getting their checkups. These are always woman and they are over 250 lbs. They are ALL on humolog, or novalog or some kind of insulin. Now I don't know if they are in the Accord Program like me, but they are always there.

I once read where you can be a type 2 and be on insulin (not like the Lantus that I'm on). But on the ones where you take a shot before you eat.

Lantus is not like that.

I still have goals. I'd like to be off all insulin. Hey, I'm 60 and I'm entitled to my goals. If I can do it, I'll do it. They seem to feel it's not such an impossible goal to achieve.

Time will Tell!!!

I know many Type 2's and they are on a lot more meds than I am on, plus they are on Cholesterol meds, and oral meds, and high blood pressure meds (I know some people who take 2 or 3 blood pressure meds a day.

I have a 63 year old neighbor who is on 11 pills a day (3 of which are high blood pressure meds), She's on 3 different oral diabetes meds, and her sugar reading is always over 200. ALWAYS!! The other day it was 265.
Then it got down to 175 and she called me and said 'My sugar is really good now, it's 175". and I just said "why on earth do you consider 175 good"??

And she said: "well, you know me, I'm usually 265, so 175 is good for me". She is over 300 lbs and she could have gone to the Accord study with me but she didn't want to go into NYC.

You know what confuses me. The people on the Biggest Loser.

They go in there saying "I was borderline diabetic, or they say "I'm diabetic", then they lose all their weight and then they say "I"m no longer diabetic".

Hey, I lost TONS OF WEIGHT. How come I'm still diabetic??.

Guess I'm too old at 60, huh???