hypercarmona
05-14-2008, 12:00 PM
I was diagnosed as a type 1 in September of 1996 at the age of 14, back when it was still "good control" to check BGs just twice a day and take two shots of regular and lente. I've survived two full term pregnancies with diabetes and have two healthy little boys, Patrick and William. Right now, I'm a stay at home mom and I'm trying to homeschool my oldest. It's a challenge trying to stay within the "range" while alone all day with my boys, especially since I've got limited hypoglycemic awareness. I check my blood sugar at least once an hour throughout the day because I can drop precipitously.
My diabetes is atypical. I still make some insulin (just enough to p--s me off, and make me ineligible for clinical trials), and to top that off, I'm very sensitive to injected insulin. I take 5 units of lantus and 7 units of apidra (3 units for breakfast, and 2 units each for lunch and supper) for a total of 12 units a day. This part only really matters when I have to be in the hospital, because the nurses "assume" that what works for everyone else will work for me, too. It's also very difficult to convince someone in the medical field that you know more about something than they do. I'm my own expert. (I've lived this crap 24/7 for the last twelve years, I should be an expert by now. Or at least an advanced novice.)
I was once rediagnosed as a type 2 because I still make insulin, even though I weigh 109 lbs. and I have only one immediate family member with type 2 (my aunt). I was off of insulin for nearly 3 months, approximately 7 years after my initial diagnosis, and was taking metformin. The side effects of metformin made me ill, and so I went back to insulin and have stayed with it. I no longer see the endo that prescribed the metformin, and the endos that I've seen since aren't willing to let me try again. I wouldn't mind trying again, but I'm afraid the metformin would probably wreak the same havoc on my stomach as it did the first time. (I'm not just sensitive to insulin, I'm sensitive to most medications, unfortunately.)
I've used regular, lente, novolog, humalog, apidra and lantus insulins at some point or another. I've used a Minimed Paradigm (first generation), Animas 1250 and Animas 2020 pumps. Right now, I'm content on MDI. Pumping is, for me, too much unnecessary stress. I've tried the Dexcom 7, and couldn't get it to work. One sensor out of seven worked for longer than two days, and actually gave me readings that I could trust. It would have been more accurate to just have my husband stand beside me and shout out random numbers. ;) Needless to say, I didn't like CGM.
I'm heading into my second decade, and no complications yet! That's my story so far! :D
My diabetes is atypical. I still make some insulin (just enough to p--s me off, and make me ineligible for clinical trials), and to top that off, I'm very sensitive to injected insulin. I take 5 units of lantus and 7 units of apidra (3 units for breakfast, and 2 units each for lunch and supper) for a total of 12 units a day. This part only really matters when I have to be in the hospital, because the nurses "assume" that what works for everyone else will work for me, too. It's also very difficult to convince someone in the medical field that you know more about something than they do. I'm my own expert. (I've lived this crap 24/7 for the last twelve years, I should be an expert by now. Or at least an advanced novice.)
I was once rediagnosed as a type 2 because I still make insulin, even though I weigh 109 lbs. and I have only one immediate family member with type 2 (my aunt). I was off of insulin for nearly 3 months, approximately 7 years after my initial diagnosis, and was taking metformin. The side effects of metformin made me ill, and so I went back to insulin and have stayed with it. I no longer see the endo that prescribed the metformin, and the endos that I've seen since aren't willing to let me try again. I wouldn't mind trying again, but I'm afraid the metformin would probably wreak the same havoc on my stomach as it did the first time. (I'm not just sensitive to insulin, I'm sensitive to most medications, unfortunately.)
I've used regular, lente, novolog, humalog, apidra and lantus insulins at some point or another. I've used a Minimed Paradigm (first generation), Animas 1250 and Animas 2020 pumps. Right now, I'm content on MDI. Pumping is, for me, too much unnecessary stress. I've tried the Dexcom 7, and couldn't get it to work. One sensor out of seven worked for longer than two days, and actually gave me readings that I could trust. It would have been more accurate to just have my husband stand beside me and shout out random numbers. ;) Needless to say, I didn't like CGM.
I'm heading into my second decade, and no complications yet! That's my story so far! :D