I have been diabetic (Type 2) for about 10 years now, as a result of becoming disabled. My father was Type 2 and I vowed to do whatever I could do to not have it happen to me. At age 42, an injury and subsequent neurological disorder RSD/CRPS changed all of that. I now have full body RSD, Fibromyalgia, and a Fe other lesser evils that control my life. I was still ale to control my diabetes pretty well until about 3 years ago. I have never had bad eating habits, my if faculty has been being physically ale to put in he work to eat as healthy as I would like and I should. My solution is eating a bit more boring and repetitive foods to make preparation easier. I need zero help with nutrition though.

My problem is that I have not been able to get my A1C under 8.0 and right ow it's even a little above 8. My doctor has changed and added meds and I am fighting to not be put on insulin, which I know is a must right now. 4 weeks ago I was taken off Actos (happy about that) and put on Juniva, along with the Metformin and Glimperide I already take. I have not noticed any difference in my morning BS readings, they are still running about 130 with a higher 140-160 on some mornings. I eat as little as I can and still run sugar readings above 200 through a lot of the day. Totally frustrated I started writing down everything I ate, as I have one many time before, trying to trouble shoot problems and taking my BS reading many times through the day. I take it first thing, after coffee, after I eat, before and after I walk or get on the Elliptical Trainer, several hours after eating anything and at bed time. What I have just found out is that my blood sugar goes up when I exercise... Walk my dogs or get on the trainer or do any yard work. Yesterday I consumed a total of 37.7 grams of carbs in total and about 800 calories, today it was 29 grams so carbs and 775 calories. I had no idea I was eating so few grams of carbs and so few calories. I have gotten here by whittling down what I eat and not eating much when my sugar is too high.

I am not going to wait another 4 weeks to see my doctor, I know I need to call him and make an appointment tomorrow. I assume my pain disorders are at least contributing to these issues, but I had no idea that my walking and time on the trainer were raising my sugar through the day. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong and is this really just diabetes or is something else going on. I was tested 4 weeks ago and I am not dropping sugar in my urine, I have always struggled with my weight and until the RSD I was very active, swam laps for an hour a day, bicycled, etc. I know what proper exercise and a healthy diet is. I obviously don't understand diabetes, because this makes no sense and I don't even know what questions to ask.

Is it possible to not make insulin at all? Any help is greatly appreciated!

When the pancreas "burns out"....that is the cells that make insulin die (for whatever reason)....then you will need insulin.

That happens for some type II diabetics.

The oral drugs may be lowering you too much, and then the liver kicks in and stimulates glucose production, and this is not very accurate (it is an emergency response mostly)...and overshoots.

Some people on oral drugs for diabetes develop pancreatitis. If this is happening to you, it can be destroying your pancreas slowly and its ability to make insulin.

It is also possible to be come type I in adulthood. I've known some people who have who were over 40. They were misdiagnosed and their A1C's continued to climb inspite of oral meds and conservative living. Type I is an autoimmune disease, and can follow a viral infection or other trigger.

The tests for diabetes are only range markers.
Here is an A1C calculator:
http://professional.diabetes.org/glucosecalculator.aspx

You can see that an A1C of 8 correlates to an average daily blood sugar of 183. Morning glucoses can be tricky and once they elevate, do not necessarily correspond to A1C. In my case I have an elevated morning of about 130-140...but during the day my glucoses are 120 or less (2 hrs after eating). My A1C is 6.2.

Other causes of elevated glucose besides exercise, is infection.
If you have an infection (say in your kidneys), it will elevate glucose. A viral infection will also. You should be using a glucometer during the day to see if your exercise is too brisk, and should be done more moderately, or if you have some other stress trigger. Do a morning fasting, and 1 hr and 2 hr after each meal to see what is going on with your food choices. This can be very helpful.

But in the end, it is not really a failure of your lifestyle efforts, because the pancreas can fail on its own, due to other factors.
In fact some oral drugs may actually cause pancreatitis! Diabetics tend to have more pancreatitis than nondiabetics (after adjusting for alcohol consumption).

There is a saying that "one needs to eat to lower blood sugars", and diabetics should not fast without a doctors approval.

Using a long acting basal type insulin at bedtime, like Lantus, may be all you need. I wouldn't fight that, as it is not so complicated to do and may result in much improvement for you.

I was able to relax a bit once i read your response. My PCP has already got me scheduled to come back in and we talked about a once a day insulin and the possibility of joining a new research study. But he believes my pancrease has or is ceaseing to produce insulin.
Thank you again, because i was so stressed about this last night i couldnt sleep.
Sylvia

While searching for some information on how to understand the Aic as opposed to the results I get from my meter, I found this site, which is similar to what Mrs.D's link.

http://www.diabeteschart.org/bloodsugarchart.html

Here is my two cents which may be totally off the wall and may not be correct but I will state it anyway. When you exercise, your muscles need energy. You do not seem to be taking in enough calories to provide the energy necessary for the exercise and your body is trying to compensate. Maybe you should increase your caloric intake while keeping your total carbs down. Your body may think it is in starvation mode.

Seeing your doctor is your best move and if necessary, going on insulin may prove helpful. Taking insulin is less painful than "testing". Any particular reasons you are resistant to starting insulin? Fear? Financial? Inconvenience? You do not need to respond and I am not trying to invade your privacy. I was just wondering if you have thought about your reasons for not wanting to cross over from oral meds to injectable. Just something to think about before you see your doctor.

Lantus and Levemir both come in a convenient pen now.... it is so easy! Covered by most insurances etc.

So discuss with your doctor, and keep an open mind about it all.

I know I will eventually need this myself. But not quite yet.

I want to thank everyone for there comments also.

I have to watch my diabetes too.

And I honestly am scared also of insulin.

Donna