Back from the neurologist. Showed him my list of new or worsening symptoms. I made out a list ahead of time and basically told him "have a seat, we have things to discuss." One thing that has definitely gotten worse is my tremors. He said that Cymbalta can cause that. Since I have only been on it since 4/9, he is going to take me off of it. Cutting the dose in half for one week and the second week I am only to take it every other day, then stop. (Hope that cures the constipation problem....sheez, that was getting way outta hand!!) Then he increased the neurontin to 900mg at bedtime. Told me that since it had been 14 years, chances are, it ain't gonna get any better. Duh!! I have been telling him that. He said "you are going to have good days and bad days. Can I get another "duh" on that statement?? He is still convinced that this is diabetes related. We have done 4 HgbA1C's all which came back normal. Did another today. I asked him to do a fasting insulin......nope!! I also asked about a skin biopsy. His answer was doesn't matter whether it is small or large nerves involved, the treatment is the same.......symptomatically treated. He also said that there are only 3 places in the US qualified to interpret the biopsy and they aren't one of those 3. So I guess I keep plugging along, doing what I have been doing. Loving my family, going to work, church, and getting out to see friends when I feel like I have the energy.

One last thing compounding all of this, my youngest son enlisted in the military yesterday. Had one year left of college and he could have gone in as an officer. This is me yesterday

Have a happy holiday weekend. Hope everyone feels the best that they can feel, at least for one beautiful day!!

God Bless your Son!!

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, and I hope his journey in the military is not too stressful for you.

He's very brave, AND SO ARE YOU!!

Take care,
Melody

Oh, sheesh.

I suspect this doctor doesn't know how to interpret fasting INSULIN. That is why he wouldn't order it.

But at least you are off the dreaded Cymbalta. Must be no more Lilly reps pushing it at him! Cymbalta is damaging to the liver and you don't really need that.

I know how you feel, deflated when coming back from a doctor who is supposed to help you. I know this feeling well.

I don't recall, your B12 testing or Vit D? If that was not done, and you don't want to ask for it, I'd start with 2000mcg of methylcobalamin now, and also 2000IU of D3.

If he is convinced of diabetes...in the face of normal A1Cs then I'd also do benfotiamine 300mg a day for 3 months. See what happens. Lipoic acid (r- form is better) also helps with diabetic neuropathy. So does Acetyl Carnitine. More and more studies are showing up for carnitine for diabetes.

As far as the military goes, I would be worried too. I worried every second my husband was in Vietnam! But one thing I have learned about male children is that at a certain point they don't listen to their Mothers anymore. sigh. I will send positive thoughts that your son remains safe. That is all you can do too..nightly send those positive thoughts out!

You are so right about boys and their not listening to their mothers after a certain age. I try and share my life experiences / wisdom but then what do I know? Like it is my first rodeo!!I guess the saying "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" is appropriate here. You can bet I will continue saying a nightly prayer......for all of our troops. Thanks for your help, I will print this off and try the different supplements. Today I am really shaky, I hope after I wean off the Cymbalta that this gets better. It is a huge interference with my being able to work. I got away from the clinical side of nursing because of the PPN and went into management. Now it is making it hard for me to even do this job. I can't quit because I carry the health insurance for the family and I am the primary breadwinner. Just pray that I can continue to go on......... Sometimes I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. PS...you are right about the doctor not being able to interpret the fasting insulin. His response was "I am not a diabetologist." Is that even a word? I will ask my PCP to order it for me. He is my go-to guy when the neuro is not cooperating.
B12 level was 512. Vitamin D was not done. Will ask PCP for that as well.

Fasting insulin starts creeping up during insulin resistance. This test may be elevated when others show "normal". It is a good indicator to follow a metabolic type diet or The Zone.

Really high levels can indicate a islet tumor, but those are pretty rare. You'd be getting really low blood sugar attacks as a warning then.

As far as men go, I think testosterone blocks "hearing" LOL.

In teens it seems to block logic too! We have some teen boys, just moved into our neighborhood. We are hilly and have blind curves, blocking safe driving the narrow streets. For many years most of us have asked the city for "ONE way changes to the traffic flow" because of this. Well, these new kids, wear NO protective clothing or helmets, and skate board all over the dangerous street. They cannot see oncoming traffic and I almost hit one of them 2 wks ago, in fact (around a blind curve). They also go racing thru stop signs, which are there to slow the traffic, because of the poor visibility. Some of the other neighbors complained to the police and were rewarded by having their homes paintballed in retaliation, and 2 houses had their screens cut too! (we were spared, because we didn't complain). The other day 3 of these kids were leaping off the wall that holds the hill back, and smashing onto the pavement. No protective gear--- and we haven't seen them since! I am sure this is an example of testosterone poisoning! sigh. (oh, and they threw away their cans of Arizona Iced Tea in my new garden at the corner too!
At the rate they are going, they won't be in the gene pool much longer!

(apologies to our male posters.) Every once in a while we drive by the train tracks, or a big hill and hubby (who is so unmacho) regales me with the stuff he did on the train tracks in his day! So even he did this type of stuff! GADS.

Hi.

I suspect the diabetologist that he is referring to is an ENDOCRINOLOGIST. Try and find a good one, and he'll run every diabetic test known to man. That way YOU'LL DEFINITELY RULE OUT DIABETES.

Take care,
melody