Diabetes Community

Hi confused welcome to our discussion board.

A couple of things here: No it is not normal to have your numbers rise while on insulin and oral meds. Did you change you diet in anyway?

I looked up Victoza because I remember seeing that med before - it is not insulin http://www.victoza.com/ it is to help aid in lowering your blood sugar levels.

You say your were on oral meds and you were getting numbers between 100's and mid 200's that is not normal either and that is why your Dr. added the insulin? You also say that you are ready to say to put you back on oral meds, I thought you were said you are on both now? I am confused.

What kind of oral meds are you on? How much carbs do you eat at your meals?

The best advice I can give is make sure you keep your appt. with your Dr on Tuesday. Have you been to a dietitian?

Deb is correct. Victoza is not insulin. Entirely two different meds for diabetes. There are several different meds for diabetes on the market that come in injectable form. It will say on the package and syringe if it is insulin. Lantus, Novalog, Humalog, etc. They come as rapid-acting, median and long lasting (basal.) Humalog starts to work in as little as 10 minutes to start bringing your blood sugar numbers down. This is a rapid-acting insulin.

With the right insulin and the right dosage, your numbers do come down. It takes tweaking to get the insulin and dosaging correct. There are many different insulins on the market and it takes a little experimentation to find what works for you.

Bring your meter with you to your appointment and show your doctor. Something is not working for you right now. Is your doctor an endocrinologist? PC?

Your doctor will probably try and find something else to help you get your numbers down. Obviously, the oral meds were not doing the trick either if your A1C crept up to 9.7. That is way too high. Hopefullly, you can bring this down with the right combination of a good diet, exercise and the right meds.

I know your frightened and it isn't helping you with sleeping. Hopefully your doctor will have some answers for you.

Let us know how you are faring after your doctor appointment.

I was on Victoza for a couple months, I was put on Novolog mix 70/30 and humalog clear quick acting about a month ago. At that time I was taken off Glyburide/metformim5/500 and Januvia and put on Metformim only.

My numbers went to mid 300's almost immediately. Doctor increased the Novalog from 10 units twice a day to 14, then 18.

I did not change my diet in any way...since posting this I have since found Josephs Flax, Oat Bran and Whole Wheat Pita bread that has only 8 grams of carbs per slice and am using that in place of sandwich bread. It seems to have helped somewhat.

Thank you for your replies. After reading them, I feel way calmer about my situation. I'll check in after I see my doctor tomorrow morning.

Okay, back from my endocronologist (sp?). He took me off the metformin and put me back on glucovance 5/500, he increased the novolog mix to 22 units and told me to call him every couple of days until my numbers go down. I'm to use the humalog based before each meal based on what my number is.

He seems to be more worried about my cholesterol which is actually very good for me, closer to normal than it used to be.

He wants me moving more, I agree that needs to happen....I'm just so tired all the time right now, that's hard to do.

Hi confused - glad you saw your Dr. I know nothing about insulin so I will not touch that but the glucovance 5/500 is a combination med with Metformin in it. See the following site:

http://www.rxlist.com/glucovance-drug.htm

You are still taking Metformin. I do hope your numbers come down for you.

Hello confused,

I am also new to this board and see your situation similar to mine. It has been 4 years since I started insulin(after 10 years on oral meds) and I am still not where I want to be. I find it has actually been harder to control my sugar being on insulin than when I was on just oral meds. A guy in my diabetes education class had told me to stay off of insulin as long as I could and I believe him now. I wasn't on insulin at the time yet.

You are tired because your sugar hasn't come down yet. It will come down and you will feel better. You can increase your Novolog dose 5 units every three days(sounds like your doctor is increasing by 4 units, which is okay). When I first started a 70/30, I balance out around 30 units twice a day and I was taking taking metformin 1000 mg 2x/day. Two years later I am on Humulin 70/30 50 units, twice a day and metformin extended release 750mg 2x/day and need to go back to diet and more exercise to bring sugars down. I wish I could go off of insulin - it does make you gain weight.

Other than diet and exercise to keep in check is the amount of caffeine you consume in a day. Caffeine raises cortisol levels which in turn raises blood sugar levels. Cut out all caffeine and you will see a difference. Your chloesterol will come down too once your sugar comes down.

Glad you got a change in meds. Your numbers do need to change.

I was put on two insulins at diagnosis. Lantus, the basal insulin, active for 24-hours and Humalog with meals. My Lantus started at 15U and was increased along the way to finally 40 units. My BS would not come down even though I would have 20 carbs for meals. My doctor also did the same thing; call every couple of days. My numbers would not come down under 200 until he increased the Lantus to 40U.

I do have to tell you that since I increased my activity, my doctor had to decrease the Lantus to 36U. The activity is due to work, so I don't do a regular exercise routine. I also don't need my lunchtime meal insulin, because I will drop low from all the moving around. Makes me a happy camper.

Once you get moving, you lose that feeling of fatigue. Seriously. You need to move more. You'll see your numbers come down. Moving more will not only improve your diabetes, but other aspects as well, including your mind. Just something about feeling better does wonderful things.

Watch your numbers closely and keep calling your doctor. He wants you to get your diabetes under control. So do you, so you will not get any of those nasty complications that diabetes can cause.

My first A1C was 13.2. It is now 5.7. I have never felt better in my life.

Even with the use of insulin, count your carbs diligently. The less carbs you eat, the less insulin you may need. That goes for moving as well. Higher numbers are known to cause fatigue. Keep that in mind as your numbers come down.

Wishing you well in your endeavor. Good to keep on top of it at all times. It will become second nature.

Thank you for the replies and encouragement. Since putting me back on the glyburide/metformin 5/500 Tues. I have actually seen 131 and 164 as numbers. The other numbers were in the low 200's so I know I have more work to do. As the numbers got out of the 300's I got energy back, which in turn gave me incentive to move...so, back onto the Wii at least 15 minutes a day...to start with.

Thanks for suggesting I go to decaf and that I be even more careful about the carbs. I will implement those changes immediately.

Good for you, confused. It's a good start. Get yourself a carb counter. My dietician recommended "The Calorie King." It's a small handbook that you actually can carry with you. Little larger than 3 x 5. You can also find it online. The book works well for me as I can access it easily. You can find just about anything in there.

I have to watch closely what I eat. Any carb I eat raises my blood sugar. I try and not to eat anything between meals. The doctor told me to space my meals 4-5 hours apart and I find it just right. That's me, though. Some people get hungry in between meals.

Your target ranges should be 110 in the a.m. after fasting and 140 or under 2 hours after meals.

Gotta love that Wii. Have it, too. Loads of fun. When exercise and/or activity is fun, the more you will do it. Aim for 7 days a week. You will see some great numbers along the way.

Thank you for those suggestions auriga1. I have noticed it's the carbs that I have to watch and am doing what I can to keep them down.

I have some nice carb counting books that I try to use religiously but I do slip up every once in a while.

It's nice to hear I don't NEED to snack because the nutritionist told us to. I'm rarely hungry, I guess from all that water I drink to try and lose wt., so I have to force myself to eat 3 meals a day.

Hear you on that "I have to force myself to eat" thing. Very hard to eat breakfast in the morning for me. Very, very hard. Then my job is serving lunch and cleaning up afterward. When do I get lunch? Usually around 2:30 or 3. By then the hunger pains have gone away. Found I was eating even later than that. Such a no-no. My sugar drops because of all the activity and not eating on time. Came home yesterday and I started shaking. Sure enough, I was at 60.

We all need to be very careful and concientious when using insulin. Yep, beating myself over the head with a wet noodle. LOL.

Keep on trucking and drinking that water. You can do it. So many have.

I'm happy to say that calling my doctor every couple of days with numbers has resulted in tweaking the insulin and seeing my numbers get lower than they have been in a about a month or so. Although I feel lightheaded with them this low I expect that will pass as my body adjusts to proper blood sugar numbers. I do have more energy and think we've almost got the numbers where they need to be.
I'm glad this community is here and wish I had found it way sooner.

LOL. Happy you found us, too, confused. Hearing how others deal with their diabetes is extremely helpful.

Glad you and your doc have come to some accord. I had to do the same thing and so glad I did. The doctors don't want us running around with high blood sugars and high A1C's.

Everyone knows that if you can't get your diabetes under control, the risks of complications and a shortened lifespan are inevitable.

Had to laugh at your symptoms of "lows." Had the exact same thing. One time I reached 89 and had the shakes, sweats and lightheadedness. It takes time for the body to adjust to what is considered normal. My numbers were regularly between 300 and 600. I don't remember how much time it took for my body to adjust.

Isn't it great to have that energy back? I can remember feeling so fatigued and taking four hour naps every single day. What a horrible waste of time. Sleeping your life away.

I am so glad I found a diabetic team to help me get my life back. It takes hard work on our part, but it's well worth it in the long run to keep your body healthy.

So, updating this post. Apparently I can no longer eat white rice at all. It really blows my sugars through the roof. Cereal seems to do the same thing, as do Eggo Waffles (if I eat 2).

I'm really having to totally change my diet lately and missing my rice with oriental foods.

I have found that tofu makes a great scrambled type breakfast in the morning with mushrooms and onions and that Josephs' Flax, Oat etc. Pita bread doesn't raise my sugars.

I'm hoping to find some sort of cold cereal that my body can handle.

We are now using mostly whole grain or whole wheat type pasta and usually preparing all meals fresh. I have to be careful when we do spaghetti since we use Prego down here in the South. [ We moved down here and suddenly that tasty home-made sauce I made tasted bitter and acidy>.

With my new-found energy levels, I was able to work out on the Wii for almost 30 minutes the other day. An impressive achievement for someone that could barely do 15 min. a couple weeks ago.

And life is pretty good again...I didn't realize how depressing it was to have high sugars until they came down...warbling happily as I roam around the house looking for little things to do to get it cleaned up again.

Auriga1, yes, it's awesome to have energy again! And I also am glad I finally found a good team of doctors to help me get my life back.