RE: This is one confusing ailment isn't it.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/4/2005 8:27:59 AM Eastern Standard Time,

kpaulmt@... writes:

> I would like to stop all the oral drugs and just use insulin, but I can't

> take enough of it because it keeps me awake.

Quite some time ago, I decided not to use the various diabetes medicines

because most have a potential for unpleasant side effects. Thus, when I had to

take prednisone for another ailment I added a basal insulin (Ultralente) to

combat the increased IR (insulin resistance) that prednisone causes. It worked.

I

was able to keep my A1c below 6%.

I've never found that insulin keeps me awake, and I have no idea why it

would, but I'm generally more awake if my BG stays in the normal range. What

does

keep me awake is intense brain activity. For that reason, I don't do any

engineering type mathematics after 9:00 PM.

I find that when supplements or medicines are changed there may be temporary

effects lasting for one or two weeks before the situation stabilizes. It's

possible that the " insulin keeps me awake " phenomenon is temporary.

[Guest guest]

>I had the same problem on oral meds. Never knew where I was going to be

with the bgs, and the fasting numbers were all over the map. I was just

going back through my journal this afternoon, taking a look at my

before-and-after numbers (after insulin). There are supplements that

are supposed to help with lowering bgs, and I tried several of them

before I gave up and insisted on insulin. Someone(s) will probably post

something about the supplements. I wish you luck if you decide to stick

with the oral meds. I've stopped all metformin now and have finally

acieved A1c at 6.0. Before insulin A1c did nothing but go up. Now my

fasting bgs are 88-100 and the dawn rise is usually no more than 7-10

points. I'm not urging you to go to insulin, just sharing experience.

I agree with you on this one. My A1c really never changed much with the oral

meds. I noticed my first real change when I started insulin. I have decreased

my Glucophage without much change in my numbers and want to stop it completely

because I don't think the diarrhea is ever going to end until I do. I took

Glucohpage for 3 years and it didn't bother me and now for the past 4 months the

diarrhea is non ending. It goes to show how side effects can start at any

time. The only oral drug that I believe has helped me is my newest one which is

Amaryl. I believe that is why I achieved my 6.3 A1c this time. <no thanks to

my bad eating habits> I would like to stop all the oral drugs and just use

insulin, but I can't take enough of it because it keeps me awake. I have yet to

hear of anyone having this side effect from insulin........

Kat

[Guest guest]

I've never heard of insulin keeping someone awake, either. It could be

that the side effect of insomnia with what you attribute to too much

insulin could be due to something else. What other drugs are you

taking? Don't forget to consider herbs too.

For instance, I was told that valerian was a good herb to help with

sleep; instead it kept me wide awake. And I wasn't taking anything else

at that time, either.

Vicki

Re: This is one confusing ailment isn't it.

>

>

>

> >I had the same problem on oral meds. Never knew where I was going

> to be

> with the bgs, and the fasting numbers were all over the map. I was

> just

> going back through my journal this afternoon, taking a look at my

> before-and-after numbers (after insulin). There are supplements that

> are supposed to help with lowering bgs, and I tried several of them

> before I gave up and insisted on insulin. Someone(s) will probably

> post

> something about the supplements. I wish you luck if you decide to

> stick

> with the oral meds. I've stopped all metformin now and have finally

> acieved A1c at 6.0. Before insulin A1c did nothing but go up. Now

> my

> fasting bgs are 88-100 and the dawn rise is usually no more than 7-10

> points. I'm not urging you to go to insulin, just sharing

> experience.

> I agree with you on this one. My A1c really never changed much with

> the oral meds. I noticed my first real change when I started insulin.

> I have decreased my Glucophage without much change in my numbers and

> want to stop it completely because I don't think the diarrhea is ever

> going to end until I do. I took Glucohpage for 3 years and it didn't

> bother me and now for the past 4 months the diarrhea is non ending.

> It goes to show how side effects can start at any time. The only

> oral drug that I believe has helped me is my newest one which is

> Amaryl. I believe that is why I achieved my 6.3 A1c this time. <no

> thanks to my bad eating habits> I would like to stop all the oral

> drugs and just use insulin, but I can't take enough of it because it

> keeps me awake. I have yet to hear of anyone having this side effect

> from insulin........

> Kat

>

>

[Guest guest]

> What does

> keep me awake is intense brain activity.

That's interesting. Intense brain activity puts me to sleep. I often save

problems to try to solve when I go to bed. Not that I ever solve them, as

I'm asleep in a few minutes.

Gretchen

[Guest guest]

Kat, what insulin are you using? I'm sure you've posted this before,

but my memory is going the way of something I can't remember. CarolR

[Guest guest]

>Kat, what insulin are you using? I'm sure you've posted this before,

but my memory is going the way of something I can't remember. CarolR

I am using Lantus 23 units. My doc wants me to increase slowly up to 25

units. Whenever I increase it just 1 unit I will only sleep about 4 hours a

night for about a week, but then after that my sleeping goes back to normal. I

dread every time I have to increase it. It makes me feel very alert even

throughout the day.

Kat

[Guest guest]

Hi, Kathy...It's too bad you're so limited on strips because

if you tested after eating you'd find that oatmeal probably makes your

BGs go WAY up - it certainly does mine. And instant oatmeal is even

" worse " that way. Raisins and dates -- in fact, any dried fruits - will

raise BGs too.

Is there any chance you can get your doc to prescribe additional strips?

You can tell him it's because you want to learn how different foods

affect your BG. Which is the absolute truth.

IMHO, HMOs limiting strips is one reason so many diabetics end up with

diabetic complications.

High GI carb foods are a prime offender for raising BGs. This includes

almost any products made with grains - pasta, cereals, cookies, even

sugar free.

For good information about the GI index, check out Rick Mendosa's

website. The URL is

www.mendosa.com

He also has an excellent online newsletter which is worth subscribing

to.

Vicki

Re: Re: This is one confusing ailment isn't it.

> Hi Alan,

> Thanks for your response to my post I'll try to answer your questions

> I don't test post meal. My HMO will only cover test strips enough

> to

> do 4X a day and my Dr felt the best use of those four would be

> fasting,

> pre-meals and bedtime. I have on ocassion , usually if I feel strange

> done a few post meal tests at 2-2 1/2 hour and they seem to be fairly

> close to the pre meal tests except for once or twice when I've been

> rather low. Buy low for me i mean 90-95

> For breakfast i usually have about the same thing. Either oatmeal

> with

> raisins dates and walnuts, the instant kind, 1/2 cup no beverage

> unless

> it is water or an ocassional cup of decaf coffee. If I don't have

> oatmeal I'll have eggs (1 or 2 depending on how i feel) with either

> bacon or sausage. Ocassionally with a slice of dry low carb toast.

> Other

> than water I drink diet decaf coke and cassionally a cup of coffee,

> decaf with splenda to sweeten. For dinner its usually chicken 2-3 oz

> and

> broccoli or another vegetable 1/2 -3/4 cup. on ocassion I will indulge

> in one or two sugar-free cookies for desert. Rarely have snacks but if

> i

> do it is fresh fruit like strawberries or watermelon

> Some days i don't feel like eating at all and have trouble getting

> down a few bites of anything or just enough to keep the metformin from

> upsetting my stomach. Those are the times i notice my bg go the

> highest.

> Any advice would be most welcomed.

> Kathy

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Alan wrote:

>

>>

>> <snip>

>> > my numbers are all over the place. Fasting bg is usually

>> > between 103 and 135, pre lunch is usually anywhere between

>> > 104 and 161 with pre dinner being somewhere between 140 and

>> > 171 and bedtime can be about 124-170. It doesn't seem to

>> > matter a hoot what I eat or don't eat just can't get those

>> > numbers down to the non-diabetic I heard was needed

>> > to avoid complications.

>> <snip>

>>

>> Hi Kathy

>>

>> I started to draft a long reply, but decided to get some more info

>> first. So here are some nosy questions (answer only if you want to:-)

>>

>> You didn't mention any post-meal numbers. If you have any post-meal

>> results, what were they and how long after the meal?

>>

>> What did your eat for Lunch, and Dinner yesterday, and for Breakfast

>> this morning, including portion sizes and drinks?

>>

>> While you think about that, read this:

>> http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

>>

>> Cheers, Alan, T2 d & e, Australia

[Guest guest]

ailment isn't it.

I've never heard of insulin keeping someone awake, either. It could be

that the side effect of insomnia with what you attribute to too much

insulin could be due to something else. What other drugs are you

taking? Don't forget to consider herbs too.

It could also be Sleep Apnea! I won't go into all of the ups and downs I

have been through with my BG's but after going through the sleep clinic that

was my problem. It took me about a month to get used to the CPAP though.

Now I sleep all night and only wake up when my puppy (Patches) wants to go

outside to " potty " . I keep her in a little kennel (with the gate closed)

facing my bed so that she can see me and both of us sleep like logs.

ZZzzzz.

Tootie

[Guest guest]

At 11:15 AM 6/4/05, whimsy2 wrote:

>Hi, Kathy...It's too bad you're so limited on strips because

>if you tested after eating you'd find that oatmeal probably makes your

>BGs go WAY up

I'd also say to Kathy:

And this test should be maybe 1 hour after eating, not 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

When I eat a new food I test at 1/2 hour and then 1/2 hour intervals up to

2 hours. If it's still too high I might test further (but get tired of

havign to stop what I'm doing every 30 minutes for several hours).

My prescription is for testing 3x daily, too. I don't use them that way and

will buy my own if I have to. This is because I think it's important to

understand what I eat is doing to my BG's. At this point I don't need to

test for some things, of course, as I've already done that and know about

where certain types of food/meals will take me.

I don't understand what planet doctors come from if they think anyone can

gain control of their BG's by testing only morning, evening and before one

meal a day.

-=sky=-

Type 2 dx'd 9/04/04. Last A1C: 6

Low Carb, Metaformin XR (2000mg).

Other Meds: HTZ, Lipitor, Cozaar,

Topcol, Synthroid.

Supplements: B12, CoQ10, Omega 3,

L-Arginine, ALA, EPO, biotin, folic acid.