Re: Normal range

June 3, 2005

I may ask the hospital to send my results for my records.

Mike

> 120/70 is a good bp. You could always ask the doctor or the hospital to

> send you the test results, so you would have a hard copy of it. Then you

> would know for sure if they did a C-peptide test on you or not. With all

> those risk factors you mention, you would be an excellent candidate to

> consider a life long user of niacin, which can help with all of those

> factors. Especially, if some one has had heart trouble and is not taking

> niacin daily for the rest of their life, I would consider it bad advice not

> to do so.

> Re: Normal range

>>>>

>>>>> Hi Harry,

>>>>>

>>>>> Right now I take 21 units of Lantus at night, but as I said that will

>>>>> probably go down to 19 or 20 soon if my blood sugar keeps dropping

>>>>> overnight. I just started on Lantus about a month ago so am still

>>>>> fine-tuning the dose. When I started on Lantus my endocrinologist gave

>>>>> me

>>>>> 24

>>>>> units because he said that's what he'd give a newly-diagnosed diabetic

>>> and

>>>>> there was no formula he knew of for transitioning from NPH to Lantus,

>>>>> so

>>>>> he

>>>>> said to just keep decreasing it until we've found what I need.

>>>>>

>>>>> Overall my TDD (total daily dose, short- and long-acting together) of

>>>>> insulin has been decreasing dramatically as I get in control again.

>>>>> It's

>>>>> gone from being about 85+ units a day six months ago to being 40 units

>>>>> (and

>>>>> dropping) right now.

>>>>>

>>>>> I am curious, if you are type 2 and take insulin, does that mean your

>>> beta

>>>>> cells are no longer able to produce it? Does it make you

>>>>> insulin-dependent,

>>>>> like a type 1?

>>>>>

>>>>> Jen

>>>>>

June 3, 2005

I may ask the hospital to send my results for my records.

Mike

> 120/70 is a good bp. You could always ask the doctor or the hospital to

> send you the test results, so you would have a hard copy of it. Then you

> would know for sure if they did a C-peptide test on you or not. With all

> those risk factors you mention, you would be an excellent candidate to

> consider a life long user of niacin, which can help with all of those

> factors. Especially, if some one has had heart trouble and is not taking

> niacin daily for the rest of their life, I would consider it bad advice not

> to do so.

> Re: Normal range

>>>>

>>>>> Hi Harry,

>>>>>

>>>>> Right now I take 21 units of Lantus at night, but as I said that will

>>>>> probably go down to 19 or 20 soon if my blood sugar keeps dropping

>>>>> overnight. I just started on Lantus about a month ago so am still

>>>>> fine-tuning the dose. When I started on Lantus my endocrinologist gave

>>>>> me

>>>>> 24

>>>>> units because he said that's what he'd give a newly-diagnosed diabetic

>>> and

>>>>> there was no formula he knew of for transitioning from NPH to Lantus,

>>>>> so

>>>>> he

>>>>> said to just keep decreasing it until we've found what I need.

>>>>>

>>>>> Overall my TDD (total daily dose, short- and long-acting together) of

>>>>> insulin has been decreasing dramatically as I get in control again.

>>>>> It's

>>>>> gone from being about 85+ units a day six months ago to being 40 units

>>>>> (and

>>>>> dropping) right now.

>>>>>

>>>>> I am curious, if you are type 2 and take insulin, does that mean your

>>> beta

>>>>> cells are no longer able to produce it? Does it make you

>>>>> insulin-dependent,

>>>>> like a type 1?

>>>>>

>>>>> Jen

>>>>>

June 4, 2005

Yes, illness can really mess up the blood sugars. But, just think of the

money you saved by her not feeling well enough to shop!

Re: Normal range

If only it was easy as taking the correct amount of insulin, watching

what

you eat and doing exercise. There are so many other factors than

those

three I've listed above that can effect your blood sugar levels.

Infection, stress, depression, ones attitude towards there diabetes,

other health problems, coeliac for example, hormones, home life and so

on.

from down under

Re: Normal range

>

> > Hi Harry,

> >

> > " If you have a two hour post prandial target of between 5.0 and 5.5

moles,

> > and you also maintain it, your bs will run at 5.5 or lower, and

> > diabetic complications are rare in diabetics with an A1C reading of

> > 5.5 and lower. "

> >

> > Wouldn't this low a target two hours after meals cause lots of

> > insulin reactions? If my blood sugar is, say, 8 two hours after a

> > meal, at the next meal it will usually be between 5 and 6. If it

> > were 5, it would be

between

> > 2

> > and 3 by the next meal, which is way too low. Is this drop not

> > supposed

to

> > happen? I thought that was the reasoning behind the 7 to 9 target

> > two hours after meals ... Humalog continues to work for three or

> > four hours after it's

> > injected, even though it peaks at about two hours, so I assumed the

drop

> > was

> > normal. If a drop like this isn't supposed to happen two hours after

a

> > meal,

> > would the culprit be Humalog or Lantus, or a combination of both?

> >

> > I may also be wrong here, but in the DCCT (Diabetes Control and

> > Complications Trial) that was published in 1992, they found that

> > below

an

> > HbA1c level of about 6.5% there was no significant reduction in the

risks

> > for diabetes complications. Granted Humalog and Lantus didn't exist

> > in 1992, so there are better tools today than there were then. When

> > I was first diagnosed in 1991 I took Regular and NPH for the first

> > five or six

years,

> > and the Humalog and Lantus combination has given me a lot more

> > control

and

> > a

> > lot more flexibility than I had back then. (Ironically, back then my

A1c's

> > ran consistently around 6.5% compared to the past few years when

> > it's

ran

> > consistently around 9%!)

> >

> > At this point my goal is to get an A1c below 6.5% and then if I can

> > improve it more I will go from there. I only know one person (type

> > 1) who had an A1c

> > of 5% and she said she had way too many insulin reactions, so now

hers

is

> > around 5.5% I believe. I suppose anything closer to normal can't be

> > a

bad

> > thing if it doesn't have negative effects (such as hypos).

> >

> > Anyway thanks for the encouragement. I've been working at it for

> > about

two

> > months now so anticipate things to get much better still over the

> > next

few

> > months. I'm finding this list very informative so far.

> >

> > Jen

> >

June 4, 2005

Yes, illness can really mess up the blood sugars. But, just think of the

money you saved by her not feeling well enough to shop!

Re: Normal range

If only it was easy as taking the correct amount of insulin, watching

what

you eat and doing exercise. There are so many other factors than

those

three I've listed above that can effect your blood sugar levels.

Infection, stress, depression, ones attitude towards there diabetes,

other health problems, coeliac for example, hormones, home life and so

on.

from down under

Re: Normal range

>

> > Hi Harry,

> >

> > " If you have a two hour post prandial target of between 5.0 and 5.5

moles,

> > and you also maintain it, your bs will run at 5.5 or lower, and

> > diabetic complications are rare in diabetics with an A1C reading of

> > 5.5 and lower. "

> >

> > Wouldn't this low a target two hours after meals cause lots of

> > insulin reactions? If my blood sugar is, say, 8 two hours after a

> > meal, at the next meal it will usually be between 5 and 6. If it

> > were 5, it would be

between

> > 2

> > and 3 by the next meal, which is way too low. Is this drop not

> > supposed

to

> > happen? I thought that was the reasoning behind the 7 to 9 target

> > two hours after meals ... Humalog continues to work for three or

> > four hours after it's

> > injected, even though it peaks at about two hours, so I assumed the

drop

> > was

> > normal. If a drop like this isn't supposed to happen two hours after

a

> > meal,

> > would the culprit be Humalog or Lantus, or a combination of both?

> >

> > I may also be wrong here, but in the DCCT (Diabetes Control and

> > Complications Trial) that was published in 1992, they found that

> > below

an

> > HbA1c level of about 6.5% there was no significant reduction in the

risks

> > for diabetes complications. Granted Humalog and Lantus didn't exist

> > in 1992, so there are better tools today than there were then. When

> > I was first diagnosed in 1991 I took Regular and NPH for the first

> > five or six

years,

> > and the Humalog and Lantus combination has given me a lot more

> > control

and

> > a

> > lot more flexibility than I had back then. (Ironically, back then my

A1c's

> > ran consistently around 6.5% compared to the past few years when

> > it's

ran

> > consistently around 9%!)

> >

> > At this point my goal is to get an A1c below 6.5% and then if I can

> > improve it more I will go from there. I only know one person (type

> > 1) who had an A1c

> > of 5% and she said she had way too many insulin reactions, so now

hers

is

> > around 5.5% I believe. I suppose anything closer to normal can't be

> > a

bad

> > thing if it doesn't have negative effects (such as hypos).

> >

> > Anyway thanks for the encouragement. I've been working at it for

> > about

two

> > months now so anticipate things to get much better still over the

> > next

few

> > months. I'm finding this list very informative so far.

> >

> > Jen

> >

June 4, 2005

Well, it is just academic interest at this point, Mike. But, EEK, don't

stop the insulin! Does diabetes run in your family? Are you 40 or under?

Does anyone else in your family history have diabetes...If so, what type?

Just curious and on't feel bad about not telling me if you do't want me to

know!

Re: Normal range

>

> Harry:

>

> What you say makes sense. I have only one bone to pick with you -- that

> of your hoping people can stay " Type 2 " and not become

> insulin-dependent.

>

> As I've said on another list, what's the matter with being

> insulin-dependent? Almost every Type 2 I know who has switched from oral

> meds to insulin says he/she feels a thousand times better now that

> he/she is on insulin. I wouldn't know in that I am that rarity of Type

> 2's -- one who had a normal fasting glucose and A1C level last summer

> (not even pre-diabetic) (2004) and landed in the hospital with HHNS in

> March. NO oral meds for me; I was placed immediately on insulin and,

> like all the others I know, feel a thousand times better than I did in

> February.

>

> Mike Freeman

>

>> In August of 2003 I came back to this list serve after several years of

>> absence. I came back because I was desperate. My A1C was 9.2, and I

felt

>> like I was dieing. My doctor was ignorant about the treatment of

> diabetics,

>> since four months before August I had an A1C of 7.2, but he said I was

> doing

>> okay, and I just took his word for it. That was a big mistake. The

folks

>> here got me on the right path, and I have stayed on it pretty much since

>> August of 2003, and in a four month span of time I brought that 9.2 down

> to

>> less than 6.0. Most type 2 diabetics in the past usually become insulin

>> dependent in 10 to 15 years after being initially diagnosed as being a

> type

>> 2 diabetic. In my case my pancrease finally played out after 16 years

> after

>> I was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic. I was using the oral medication of

>> Diabeta or the generic name is glyburide. It is an oral medication that

>> stimulates the pancrease to produce insulin. Well, after 16 years of

> using

>> this oral med, the pancrease just finally played out. I do not know the

>> longevity of type 2 diabetics lasting with the newer oral medications

like

>> metformin, glucotrol, starlix and the like, since they have a different

>> action on the body, but I hope type 2 diabetics can remain a lot longer

>> period of time as a type 2 diabetic rather than becoming insulin

> dependent,

>> as I am today.

>>

>> If you are a type 1 diabetic starting off at 24 units of Lantus, I would

>> think this is a very dangerous dose for any type 1 to start out with.

One

>> unit of Lantus can account for any where to up to a 50 point drop in the

> bs

>> for a single unit of Lantus. For a type 1 diabetic it would be much

> safer,

>> I think, for the diabetic to start at the recommended dose of 5 units and

>> work upwards instead of working downwards, but the doctor is God, you

> know,

>> and we cannot doubt his word, can we? When it comes to dosing

> short-acting

>> insulin like Humalog and Novalog, it is recommended to start out for a

> type

>> 1 diabetic at a dose of 1 unit per 15 grams of carbs consumed and work

>> upward to the proper dose, but only the doctor knows for sure <grin>.

>> Re: Normal range

>>

>>> Hi Harry,

>>>

>>> Right now I take 21 units of Lantus at night, but as I said that will

>>> probably go down to 19 or 20 soon if my blood sugar keeps dropping

>>> overnight. I just started on Lantus about a month ago so am still

>>> fine-tuning the dose. When I started on Lantus my endocrinologist gave

me

>>> 24

>>> units because he said that's what he'd give a newly-diagnosed diabetic

> and

>>> there was no formula he knew of for transitioning from NPH to Lantus, so

>>> he

>>> said to just keep decreasing it until we've found what I need.

>>>

>>> Overall my TDD (total daily dose, short- and long-acting together) of

>>> insulin has been decreasing dramatically as I get in control again. It's

>>> gone from being about 85+ units a day six months ago to being 40 units

>>> (and

>>> dropping) right now.

>>>

>>> I am curious, if you are type 2 and take insulin, does that mean your

> beta

>>> cells are no longer able to produce it? Does it make you

>>> insulin-dependent,

>>> like a type 1?

>>>

>>> Jen

>>>

June 4, 2005