[bjs54321]

Originally Posted by cinnyluvscats

I've been an RN for 20 years and have taken care of diabetics, especially gestational diabetics after working 9 years on OB. I'm now on the threshhold of being diagnosed myself. I'd been having the classic symptoms. 2 separate FBS were done at work (local health dept.) and were 131 and 147. Just had blood drawn today for venous FBS and A1C level. Had father and both of his parents who were diabetics - type 2. Was diagnosed with Syndrom X and hyperinsulinemia in mid-90's and was placed on Glucophage. Then got off of it when my endocrinologist left town and the internist I switched to didn't think I needed meds anymore.

Add to all this bilateral knee replacements back in Nov. '05 and being way overweight and you get the picture. (plus other health issues like corrective surgery for scoliosis, osteoarthritis in multiple joints, etc.)

What's a girl to do? Any advice, words of wisdom, etc. would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to face all this but I also want to be around to see my grandkids and to keep working.

Cindy

Hi Cindy,

Well this may not be words of wisdom....but hopefully some inspiration.
I wonder what your HgbA1c is?...and if diabetes is the diagnosis in your future...it is not a death sentence.....
Diabetes is very manageable.....Type 2 is the hardest to deal with in my opinion...but still...after the grief period...you will find strength that others are in the same situations you and we are here to help you get on with a fulfilling and a continued successful life...and if bad things happen...you can count on me...and others to support you
Type 1 for over 14 years and a mom of a type 1...looks grim but it's not!
Shelly

[bjs54321]

Originally Posted by Hairstylingnurse

I love you......I couldn't have wrote your post any better if I had tried. I'm a type 1 diabetic(diagnosed in the last 2-3-yrs) and get sooooo frustated from people that don't know my disease telling me how to live with it when they have no understanding of what all goes into figuring out what and how much of something I can eat (These are actually not health care providers). Your post has sooooooo much truth to it. I'm still learning sooooo much everyday. I have just started on an insulin pump in the last 2 months and it has been a life changing experience for me.

I would love a forum on diabetes.





[/banana]

Oh Hairstylingnurse....how nice of you....I might have fallen in love with you also....so nice to have a supporter.....thank you from the bottom of my heart...hang tough...we are all there for you and all those who have to deal with the many twists and turns of this chronic disease.....this is for real....I do care that any person with diabetes get the support they need to care for themselves....such a devastating dx... but remember...a very manageable disease.....and listen to grannynurse...such wisdom in learning the facts....

[bjs54321]

Thank You Siri for encorporating a diabetes forum........a much needed thing...

Love ya,
Shelly

[sirI]

The decision for the creation of a Diabetes/Endocrine Nursing forum was made by our administrator, brian. I am just fortunate to serve as co-moderator of the forum.

One thing that we all must keep in mind here, please do not ask for and/or give medical advice. This forum is for nurses to come together, become better educated regarding diabetes and other endocrine disorders, take this information back to our patients and their families, and better educate them on proper management.

[indigo girl]

Originally Posted by lsyorke

So one has to wonder why the change?? Has anyone seen any scientific studies on this? I'm VERY skeptical when we see a change in a "norm" which makes it almost impossible to achieve that norm without medication.(like the changes in the cholesterol guidelines coinciding with the approval of statins)

Oh yeah, the cholesterol guidelines, that was a clever one. Lots more people now on those statins with the new guidelines. And, they forgot to mention that statins deplete the body of CoQ10, but they obviously knew about it since Merck took out a patent on a statin that included CoQ10 in its formula, but never marketed the drug. Just waiting for those future law suits...

Enjoying and learning from this thread. Thank you all.

[fantasie]

To Psychaprn,
Yes, I am familiar with Byetta. I am a nurse with type 2 diabetes as well and have used Byetta. The 5mg dose (starting dose) worked great for me, but the 10 mg dose usually made me really nauseated. I am no longer using it due to a long-term hospitalization without it and due to the fact that my insurance would not cover it and now since I am unemployed--(my FMLA ran out but that is a whole other story) I can't afford it at $220.00 per Rx. Hang in there. Linda

[jCLNC]

Originally Posted by HeartsOpenWide

This is largely because type 2 diabetics refuse to eat right and exercise (which can cure type 2) and instead have damaged their bodies so much that they become insulin dependent....

I've been told there is no cure for any diabetes...once you are diagnosed, you are a diabetic for life, only controlled or uncontrolled. Am I right?

Jenny

[jCLNC]

I too have joined the ranks. My dad discovered his Type 2 Diabetes at the same age in his life that I have. I'm mirroring his progress, though I don't know that I ever heard him say that he lost the feeling in his feet.

My story is one of denial and as a nurse makes me a little ashamed...but I am also human. I go to the beach every year and take my family...don't go on vacation without them, Ha. But you know how the surface around the pool makes you want to dance it's so hot? Well, from one year to the next, I lost the ability to feel the hot. Still didn't do anything. About 2 or 3 years before that, I noticed the Plastic Wrap feel to the bottoms of my feet as I would get up in the mornings. My fastings were not bad at this time and my Internal Medicine MD is excellent. She was keeping an eye on me. So all told, I've really been a diabetic for about 8 or 9 years, only 3 with treatment. I wonder if I will ever get some of this feeling back in my feet. I've done a little research online, but nothing speaks to that point...it's just that part of it really bothers me.

I'm currently taking oral diabetic agents including amaryl, glucophage, and just started Byetta a month ago. My A1C was 7.4 last month. I know it needs to come down lower, but that was not even trying to adjust my diet...not that I am a constant splurger, but I don't go by the strict "3 pieces of bread a day...etc" diet.

Bad nurse! Not taking care of herself. I need a spanking.
I really think it's already affected my autonomic nervous system because I have gastroparesis, and I sweat a lot. My B/P is mildly elevated and controlled by diovan, and I frequently feel the pulse elevating "on it's on".
Scary. It seems that even when you do it "right" with DM, you lose. It's such an insidious disease.

A bad example for my patients,
jen

[slinkeecat]

Well, I have read all the the posts and just have to respond....

I have been a diabetic... since I was 18 mths old. I am currently 38 yrs old.
I remember growing up w/ a glucometer that was the size of a breadbox... It was the devil in my eyes. I have vivid memories of being slashed on my little arms/fingers to get a blood sample and crying, promising that I would be good, begging my momma not to check me, waiting 5-15 minutes to get the result...hiding when I saw her going to the cabinet....because it meant the needle. I also remember constantly having to pee in a cup to dip my urine... I was like 5ys old... We lived in rural WV and the technology was and still is behind the times...(poor dear, bless her little heart, she's got the sugar...) I remember thinking momma and daddy were the devil because momma would sit up at night and sterilze needles and take a flint stone to shave of the burrs on the needles to sharpen them so it wouldn't rip my flesh.... I remember thinking my parents hated me because my sisters got peach ni-highs, and moon pies, and I didn't. I remember running away w/ a sack full of penny-candy and eating every bit of it @ the river. Waking up in the hospital w/ momma and daddy crying, thanking the good lord and the sherrif for finding me... I remember being afraid to eat / not eat in social situations like at school as a teenager, because I did not want anyone to know that I had diabetes. My life changed when I went to a camp for diabetes and found out there were others like me...Support can be life changing. Coping skills that I learned there made all the difference.
I remember growing up and being excited about all the countless hours my family have given to raise awareness and money for research...
I sat here reading all these posts and some really tick me off. You have no idea how traumatizing diabetes can be when you are a child...
I am so grateful for the AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION for all of the research and resources... I am so glad that technology has come so far and there are glucometers that measure serum blood in 5 seconds... Thank god for tiny little disposable needles.... thank god for lancets that don't rip the hide off of your finger...Insulin pumps, pens... gotta love them
I have had 1 complication...I lost my great toe after stepping on a nail that went clear thru a boot and after 3 months of ABT/TX's ... It just would not heal, and I chose to amputate my toe instead of letting it eventually take my leg... hair grows on my nub and that indicates great circulation.... I am compliant and God knows I despise that word...

My point is that there is more to a diabetics health than just the blood work and glucose levels...it irks me that people fixate on a number, rather than symptoms...

I read alot of posts that were interesting and thought provoking. I have enjoyed the discussion...

Some one asked about gylcemic index... I have a little book I carry w/ me called "The POCKET PANCREAS" You can goggle it.. it is the size of a checkbook and has a wealth of information about control and I highly recommend it...

Just wanted to share....

[redhotnurse]

My pet peeve is nurses not learning with the new trends in my area. Like insulin pump therapy. I am a diabetic nurse on a pump and people telling me what I can and can't eat. I need to watch my fats for my lipids but as long as I can count carbs my doctor says I can eat it. We all need to get with the new regimens and get out of the old thinking.