Hi everybody.

And I actually did this to lose the last 15 or so pounds I could not lose while on insulin.
So, here's my story. Been diabetic for 23 years due to obesity. I had taken oral meds in the beginning but was still overweight. Lost 90% of the weight over the last ten years. Doctors took me off of all orals and put me on Lantus. Been doing that for 5 years up until September 21, when I was only taking 8 of the Lantus, went down to 5 of the Lantus (and nothing else). I couldn't lose the last 25 lbs I had to lose because insulin stores in fat cells and well, I just couldn't lose the last of the weight.

And my diet is absolutely spot on. I know how to eat and I grow most of my own foods. No white stuff, I eat very well and very healthfully.

So (with the knowledge and cooperation of my doctors and the people at Cornell, I went off of the Lantus. Because in the a.m. my fasting was 118 and my post prandials were 124 or so.

No big deal right?

So when I went off I noticed my fasting blood glucose began to go up a bit more each day. If I ate during the day, it went down. That means my liver was dumping sugar in my system if I didn't eat, so I ate. I lost weight. My metabolism kicked in and the weight came off. I must have lost over 8 lbs since Sept 21. So far so good.

But losing weight has had NO effect on my blood sugar going down.

None whatsoever. I kind of thought "Well, if I became diabetic because I'm obese, well I'm not obese anymore, I eat what I'm suppoesed to eat, I walk every day, why the heck is my blood sugar not cooperating?

I tried eating every 4 hours, I tried having a bit before bedtime, I tried whatever I needed to try. During the night I have dawn phenomenon going on and l have read that it's the liver dumping sugar in my body because in the middle of the night our sugar drops and the liver says 'hey, hold on, this body needs sugar"

I have no idea why this is happening but I don't want my sugar to be going high any more. I obviously can't control it by diet anymore.

I gave it a shot. I lost the shot. I did ask the people at Cornell, "if I have to go back on meds, should I go on an oral pill or should I go back on Lantus".

The consensus was "Go back on Lantus" but take a shot before bedtime."

I have never done that. I usually took my shot in the a.m.

This morning (and I didn't eat anything after 8 p.m when I had 4 little round melba toasts with some tuna), and nothing till 8 a.m. the next morning. and my fasting blood glucose was 200 this morning.

So here is my big question. How come, on 8 units of Lantus, my fasting was 118 and everybody said to me "melody, 8 units is NOTHING, so you can go off"

Obviously 8 units of Lantus was SOMETHING because even though I have lost weight in the 5 weeks after going off of insulin, it did not lower my blood sugar!!!!

I was going to give it till my 63rd birthday this coming Thursday to make a decision to go back on Lantus, taking the shot before bedtime.

I have been reading about the pancreas and islet cells and maybe, because of my age, my islets cells are dying and the rest of my body isn't as sensitive to insulin as it could be

Honestly this is very frustrating when You have done all that I have done to control my diabetes and lose weight.

Well, I lost the weight. I still didn't lose the last 15 or so and probably never will. I'm not complaining. I look fine. I don' weigh fine, but I look fine. People tell me "you are thin".

Believe me, I'm not thin, I just lost it in my face and we have no control where we lose weight.

So if Mrs. D or some other learned person can explain what is going on in my body, I'd appreciate it.

Oh, just to update, I had my annual eye exam two weeks ago, and my eyes SHOW NO SIGNS OF DIABETES WHATSOEVER. The doctor said "you have had diabetes for HOW LONG??"

So my eyes are good, my feet are good. I have no signs of neuropathy unless the weather changes 20 degrees. Other than that, I feel fine.

So any help would be welcome.

I do take chromium picolinate, and of course my Methyl B-12.

I'm just wondering if it's my age that is going against me? Oh, just to give you more info, my post prandials have been going up too. Sometimes I take my sugar readings two hours after a meal and it's 170. Since I went off the Lantus, no more 124. So my sugar is spiking. And I have to eat. If I don't eat (sometimes I forget to eat), I'll notice a 190. Two hours later, after I had a meal, it could read 160 or so. I ran that by Cornell and they said "That's your liver dumping again, you have to eat every 4 hours). Lantus made that much of a difference?????? 8 lousy units??

Any and all advice is welcome.

The people at Cornell will be starting the new Accordion program sometime in 2011 but I don't think I should wait until then to be doing something more agressive about controlling my blood sugar readings.

I still have two vials of Lantus in my fridge and I'm thinking of doing the 8 units of Lantus before bedtime tonight.

Agree? or not?

Thanks much

Melody

No one knows every answer when type II diabetes is involved.

If your cortisol levels rise for any reason, your sugars will too.
(emotions or illness or stress). Viral and/or bacterial infections raise sugars in some people.

However, there is a general consensus that with time the pancreas burns out and cannot make insulin properly during the whole day. If this is the case for you, no matter what you eat, your sugars will go up, because the liver continues to metabolize protein to sugar when it gets "the call" that the cells are suffering elsewhere in the body.

Understood. So my stupidity in becoming obese in the first place, guided me to the place I am today. Fighting this with all that is in me. (oh, if we only could go back in time and talk to ourselves and say "Finding another coping medicine, other than ding dongs")

I am going to take an a1c test. That will tell me LOTS. I'll post the results here.

Oh, I was reading a very interesting article in a newspaper today about Diabetes. It explained about the liver, etc. etc. Then it explained the various meds.

This is a paragraph from the article (taken from Hamaspik Gazette)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Medications
With most Type 2 Diabetes patients, oral or injected medications are prescribed as well. Some diabetes medications stimulate your pancreas to produce and release more insulin. Others inhibit the production and release of glucose from your liver which means you need less insulin to transport sugar into your cells. Still others block the action of stomach enzymes that break down carbohydrates or make your tissues more sensitive to insulin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
So if my liver is doing liver dumping, might I consider the pill that inhibits the production and release of glucose from my liver??

I have no idea which oral med does this?

Hey, it's a shot. Do you have any idea which oral med does this? I know there is metformin, glyburide, glipizide, januvia, and others. Metformin kept me in the bathroom all morning when I was on it, and that was over 15 years ago and I took it for 10 years. But the thing that worked the best for me was the Lantus.

It prevents spikes.

I neglected to indicate why I don't want to go back on Lantus. It's not because I'm afraid of injections, or anything like that. I could do this in my sleep.

It's the cost. My co-pay is $84.00 for three vials of Lantus. That will probably go up starting in January. That's 3 months supply. Each vial is 100 units of the Lantus. I was taking 8 and then 5. It doesn't matter if I took 8 or 80, the co-pay is the same. So I'm trying to find a replacement (in pill form, if possible), that just might work. Big difference in co-pay.

Hey, I'm 63, I'm no spring chicken, but I've taken care of the rest of my body, I'd like to fight this diabetes thing with everything I have.

I'm not going down without a fight.

lol

Thanks, Mrs. D
Melody