Comments on: Endo Tales

By: courtney

courtney — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:56:33 +0000

I wish i could get into an endo! you all should just be thankful you are fortunate enough to see a Dr. Im 22 and have been diabetic since I was 6. I have a very low income and cant afford to see a dr and often find myself lowering my dose just so i have enough lantus to get me through the month. I am trying to support my 6yr old and figure out away to go back to school without missing important events in his life because i honestly dont know how long i will be around. Im also in debt with medical due to DKA, so much so that the local hospital told me next time i would have to drive an hour into dallas to go to parkland hospital next time im addmitted, unless i start making payments. Guess they dont realize when you are passed out from DKA you are seriously out! I mean i dont see myself directing the driver to the appropriate hospital. Anyway my point is to just appriciate your Dr., nurse, CDE, A1C, and the fact that you have all that available to you. The last A1C I had was an 11 and 14 before that.

By: Tom smish

Tom smish — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:43:43 +0000

By: claire

claire — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:22:30 +0000

Lauren K: not to try to mess with any T1′s control freakiness, but I’ve never had an A1C BELOW 7 in 30 years, and have had no horrible, horrible complications so far. I still show no signs of neuropathy, kidney problems, retinopathy, etc.

We’re all different. These things work differently on us. Some of us don’t have the personality, the life, or the simple human capacity to maintain as tight control as you do. And some of us, frankly, don’t have the body chemistry. Some of us go high just looking at a carb. Our metabolisms are different, the way we respond to exercise is different. We all do what we have to do to get through life.

I’m also sorry to note from your comment above that you don’t seem to have ever had a decent endo. I’ve only had one, one out of nine and counting, but that made all the difference in the world. A good endo — even a halfway decent one — is a clearinghouse of information about your disease in all its permutations. You only have the time and inclination to explore one permutation: your own.

I would strongly encourage you to keep looking for that decent doc and when you find her/him, let go of your control freakiness and be prepared to wait for a long time. Good docs always take on more patients than they can handle, trying to help as many as they can. Good docs take sudden panicked phone calls, wanting to deal with their patients personally. Good docs will talk a patient through all the details of sudden, unexpected symptoms, extending what was expected to be a routine visit. Good docs give you as much time as you need. That’s why you’re waiting longer, and that’s what you’re waiting for.

By: Lauren K

Lauren K — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:59:51 +0000

Sorry, that emoticon above is supposed to be the number 8.

By: Lauren K

Lauren K — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:58:54 +0000

Jan, there was no typo. I won’t let myself have an A1c over 6. I have seen diabetics in “good control” with years of reasonable A1c’s (between 6 and 7, only the occasional who have horrible, horrible complications. This is a personal opinion based on my personal experiences and observations only, but I don’t buy the current standards of “good control.” I think they are based on fear, maybe a reasonable fear for some people, of tightly controlled diabetics having hypoglycemic episodes.

I can tell you that my body does not like a glucose above 180. I don’t feel well. It does not seem like a good idea to have a high glucose for any length of time, even hours, when my body is responding to it as if I am sick. That indicates to me that it’s not healthy to spend any amount of time at a high number.

My little brother was diagnosed with type 1 as a child and I was diagnosed as an adult. I can’t claim to have had my brother’s experience, but after watching the consequences of his management (again, mostly “good management” by current standards, until recently), I am not going to fool around with my own disease.

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:04:23 +0000

“Having an A1c of 6 is asking for blindness, dialysis, you name every horrific complication in the book and I have vowed never to reach such a high number.” Great, IF you can achieve it. This goal is well out of reach for most children. What you are saying is: every child with diabetes is doomed; for those with A1cs in the low 6s are VERY few, particularly during puberty and the teen years. We did have A1cs in the 5s the first year after diagnosis, but she still had functioning beta cells then. A1cs in the low 6s are as good as we can accomplish at the moment. There is not that MUCH difference between an A1c in the high 5s (our next goal) and the low 6s. Also, I wonder if adults who get Type 1 or LADA are at the same risk initially, since I believe LADA is a slower onset of Type 1, as opposed to what I chose to call “Juvenile Diabetes.” I feel I can use that label since she was diagnosed at 8. You are right in mentioning you are only 2 years past dx. You may not have such an easy time of it, although I pray you do. Or was that “6″ a typo and you meant to insert a “7″ in its place? An A1c in the low 6s puts her at very little risk, according to her endo, who is a leading researcher in the field.

By: Lauren K

Lauren K — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:14:15 +0000

Jan, I am a vegetarian who eats mainly carbs. I eat veggies and tofu but no meat or eggs, and very little dairy. The carbs I eat, however, are “healthy” — whole grains, fruit. And my A1c has never been above 6 (granted I’m only 2 years past dx).

In my opinion having an A1c of 6 is asking for blindness, dialysis, you name every horrific complication in the book, and I have vowed never to reach such a high number. With exercise and careful self-control, it’s definitely possible to achieve tight control on a carb-rich diet.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:05:59 +0000

Way to go with the 5.9 A1c! I’m impressed that you accomplished that goal without a cgms. We can get in the low 6s, but below that, only once after the honeymoon. Do you have to drastically reduce carbs to do this? (Noted the above poster’s recommendation of Dr. Bernstein’s book, but 6, 6 and 12 is not going to cut it with DN (and she is a growing child)). I’m wondering if great A1cs are possible for the adults without more extreme carb restriction.

By: Scott K. Johnson

Scott K. Johnson — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:04:09 +0000

Great A1C Amy!

Sounds like your doc is a winner.

By: whimsy2

whimsy2 — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:30:41 +0000

Liz, along with Amy’s excellent blog info, an EXCELLENT book to help you get your A1C down is called “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solutions,” by Richard K. Bernstein, M.D. I know they have it on Amazon. It saved my life. I’m type 1 for 12 years now and thanks to Dr. Bernstein, my A1C has never been over 6.2 and I have no diabetic-related complications. And I’ve educated my doc.