Hi all, just thought I would come back to this board, and tell you about whats been happening with me lately. You might remember that i posted something a while ago, questioning whether i was actually a diabetic.
Well...when i was first diagnosed i had a blood sugar of nearly 30, and had very dark ketones in my system. I was put onto 114 units of insulin per day, and that was that. A few months later, pcos came into the scene, and i went to see another endo. She was astounded at my hb1ac results, cos they weren't in the 'diabetic range', and i again had to have loads of tests done. she also put me on metformin in the hope that it would help decrease my blood sugars, and i was told to halve my insulin intake.
I saw her again a few weeks ago, and by that time i had decreased my insulin intake by approx 50 units. My insulin levels were still within the non diabetic range, and she told me to halve it again, and keep taking it down while still monitoring it. Still taking the metformin, and am currently on 45 units of insulin a day, and i plan on getting myself off the stuff within weeks.
She told me that if i can get my weight down, then the diabetes, and possibly the pcos will go away completely. I have to keep taking the metformin (which works wonders for the blood sugars!).
I'm so excited. I've been a diabetic for less than a year, and to hear that it could be gone forever, i am elated. 11 months ago i was completely devastated.
I just had to share this experience with people who have experienced similar things to myself.
I will keep you posted on my results when i see her next time...free of insulin and type 1 & 2 diabetes...i am determined!
I vaguely remember your story and am glad to hear that you've been able to cut back on your insulin dosage so much and may be able to come off it long-term.
I'm a little confused, though. I thought that once someone was a diabetic, they were always a diabetic...you obviously have some blood sugar problems, but have they figured out if you're Type I or Type II diabetic?
It's wonderful that you're cutting your dosages and staying in range, but Type I diabetics NEED insulin to survive - were you misdiagnosed to begin with?
Thanks for answering my curious questions, and good luck with managing your sugars!
Well according to the dr i am type 2 diabetic now. When my blood sugars first went 'out' it was just assumed that i was type 1 because i needed so much insulin. Unfortunately there seems to be no definite test for diabetes...not initially anyway. I've now decreased my insulin by 92 units, and thats within approx 2 months. So i can't be type 1. I never showed any 'classic symptoms' to begin with anyways.
But in my case, it seems that my body got to a certain point, and it was unable to cope with the stresses, hence why the blood sugars were high and the ketones were dark. This is just my point of view, because i also assumed that once a diabetic, always a diabetic, however my blood tests during this year, have always come back within the non diabetic range (blood test hb1ac) noone thought to tell me to decrease my insulin doses, until i changed endocrinologists, and she put me on metformin. Also the recent blood tests that i had, she tested me for my insulin levels. My results were so strange. People with type 1 diabetes usually sit around 80....i had insulin production of 560.
I suppose i will always have the tendancy to slip back into diabetes, but according to the doc, if i can lose the excess weight, and stay on metformin, i should be able to kick the insulin, and diabetes altogether.
Wow, so you were actually mistaken as Type I because of your ketone levels? That's amazing...from what I've read, it's pretty rare for Type II's to get consistently high enough to put off ketones, so your pancreas must have really pooped out!
It's also rare to be so young and Type II, and I understand what that's like. To be honest, when I've been testing my blood sugar at school before, there have been days that I've said I'm Type I when people ask - just because I always used to associate Type II with really unhealthy old people. I know that's not the case now, but I hate to think that people are thinking that of me, you know what I mean?
So I guess you're an example of the "feeding the insulin" phenomenon...with all that insulin going into your body, you must have had to eat ALL the time to keep from going low. And obviously, if your insulin production was that high, it must be because you're injecting so much extra insulin...
I really find your story fascinating. Best of luck as you keep cutting back on your dosage and don't worry if you have to still live with diabetes - I've found that diabetics who really care about their bodies tend to be some of the healthiest people I know, and there's nothing wrong with watching what you eat no MATTER what disease you have or don't have! You sound super-positive about it, though, and hopefully that will help!
Update!!! 
You sound super-positive about it, though, and hopefully that will help!
