A tough 6 weeks

[Bruno of NH]

Been sick for 6 weeks 
First had been feeling the best in a long time moving around better than in years.
Go to the Dr and they change my diabetes meds to all different new stuff.
Then it starts the worst upset stomach and @#$&* for 3 weeks 
Can't eat anything or hardly drink anything 
Lose 35 lbs and get super dehydrated 
Wore a path from my sawmill booth to the shop bathroom 
Next I get this cough , the worse I have ever had after 3 weeks go to the Dr get 5 meds been on them a week and barely getting any better
Crack a tooth can't go get it fixed because of the coughing 
Man I'm ready to get back to my old self

[Jeff]

Prayers for you Bruno. It really sucks when you get in those health ruts. I've been through a few myself due to the weight I carried. I have had health issues all winter and spring, and have not had any professional medicall achievements at all past how to pay over 4 grand in deductibles so far. Last month I told Tammy I was done. I was going to go to the Cabin to work and I would either get better or I wouldn't. A month in, and although not a whole lot better, I am a whole lot happier.

[Magicman]

Yes Jim, this is a sad read and I have nothing to offer except my shoulder.  My prayer is for your health and strength as you continue to push forward. 

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Amen

[doctorb]

Bruno. What has your doc done to reverse this awful trend?  From your description, this coincided with a medication change.  Since you were feeling better at that time, what prompted the change? Have you been worked up for other reasons for this downturn?  Feel for you and hope this takes a u-turn.

[Bruno of NH]

I'm still working .
We are still really busy .
The sickness stuff has wore me down .
I'm still happy but I have to watch myself when I get frustrated. 
I just try and remember some folks are much worse off than i.

[Bruno of NH]

Bruno. What has your doc done to reverse this awful trend?  From your description, this coincided with a medication change.  Since you were feeling better at that time, what prompted the change? Have you been worked up for other reasons for this downturn?  Feel for you and hope this takes a u-turn.

My Dr is trying to get me off insulin so it will help me with weight loss.
She doubled my metforman , I think that started it along with Osempic 

[RetiredTech]

  Hang in there Bruno. Hopefully your body will soon learn to tolerate the new meds. If not be sure  to follow up with the doctor. They may have to try a different approach. We'll be praying for your health and better days ahead.

[petefrom bearswamp]

hang in there Jim, Linda and I are pulling for you.

[Don P]

Do keep a close eye on yourself when they mess with the meds and have no mercy on wearing out the phone line to the docs. We lost years of Grandad time, if you feel like poop go back.

The same day the PT's said I was good to walk again a few weeks ago... I broke my hand.
The order is 1x12 RO  :'(
If the washin don't get you, the rinsin sure will.
When I turn this in it'll be on the rims  :D

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Hang in there Bruno.   That metforman made my life miserable.  I got no advise but that above all else keep moving, rest when you need to but stay in the saddle. 

[ron barnes]

I spent a week of misery not eating and feeling terrible.  Blood pressure got down to 85/53 and doc said to stop taking both blood pressure pills.  Next day I felt worse and went to ER.  Did an EKG but didn't have anyone to read results.  7 tubes of blood but only thing that showed up was my kidneys were really acting up.  ER gave me the option of staying or going so I went home.  Went to see cardiologist on Monday and he asked about the metformin.  My doc had changed my metformin prescription to two metformin per day plus a 1 mg Ozempic shot each week.  Cardiologist had me stop taking metformin for a week now and am feeling so much better.  Cardiologist said not to take BP pills until my BP was back up to 130 and then only take one.  I have appointments again in 2 weeks but I feel almost human again.  Hope you are feeling better as well.

[thecfarm]

I have heard that too much metformin can cause kidney trouble. 
I was on it, but a low dosage. I requested to get off it and I am on Glipizide now.
But some can take metformin and have no trouble, same as glipizide. Just depends on your body.
Good luck to you.

[Ianab]

Tolerance to (and effectiveness of) Metformin certainly varies from person to person, and it can have side effects. Dr has me on 6 monthly blood and kidney testing to monitor for those sorts of problems. If your kidneys aren't working great anyway, Metformin could make things worse. 

Last year my blood sugars were drifting a bit higher, but rather than upping the Metformin the Doc changed me to Jardiamet, which is a combined Metformin and empagliflozin tablet. Same dose of Metformin as before, but with the 2nd drug added.  

But it's important that if you do get bad side effects that you tell your Doc, as there are generally other options. (with different possible side effects). When the Doc started me on the Jardiamet he specifically told me, if you have problems, stop taking it, go back to the Metformin alone, and then come back and see me. Sensible advice, and suggests that some people don't tolerate it either. 

[SwampDonkey]

Dad's cousin who changed diabetic meds onto something new was dead within 24 hrs after discussing it with father. It was a new synthetic insulin. Makes you wonder how well new stuff is tested.

[mike_belben]

Bruno, ive been busy repairing diabetes for free in my absence from the forum.  You tell me when youre ready to commit to a total change in lifestyle that gets you off all those meds entirely, and resolves most of your "co-morbities" at the same time.   If you wont change what you eat, it is incurable.  If you will, its easy and actually can be pretty quick.  Ive gotten 99% insulin resistance score down below 30 in 5 months.

[Nebraska]

Mike good too see you back. 

[Hogdaddy]

Sorry for your sickness. I've gone keto/carnivore, dropped 40lbs and 5 medications. No sugar, and very few carbs. I have heard from several people that this can reverse type2 diabetes.... the food were eating and the food pharma wants us to eat is keeping us sick and killing us.

[Ianab]

No sugar, and very few carbs. I have heard from several people that this can reverse type2 diabetes.

Sometimes Type 2 can be controlled by diet alone. It's basically that the body has lost the ability to properly regulate the amount of sugar in the blood. The actual amount of sugar the blood carries is quite small, and needs to be regulated closely. Too much and you get all sorts of nasty symptoms, not enough and you could pass out or even die. That's generally Type 1.

But it makes perfect sense that simply ingesting less sugar (and carbs, which are broken down into sugar as we digest them) should make it easier for your body to regulate your levels. How much it helps is going to vary, it might be enough to make medication unnecessary, or just reduce the amount of medication needed (and that's still a good thing)

Just be aware there can be serious side effects of a Keto diet ( Ketoacidosis). Especially if you suddenly switch to it without getting your blood sugars under control first.

[mike_belben]

Type 2 Diabetes is pretty much downregulated insulin receptors (insulin resistance) plus inflammation, plus time.

Insulin is the room key to open the door for glucose to enter into the cell to be consumed by oxidative phosphorylation to produce atp.  but the mitochondria, swimming in excessive oxygen radical species due to poor diet/sleep/sedentary lives, downregulate the cells receptors from the inside to limit the oxidative damage.  The pancreas not knowing any better just says hey theres too much glucose, turn up the insulin. You get a runaway train called insulin resistance that is easier to reverse than to "treat" or "manage" since there is no canned cure.  Insulin is a signaling molecule for every single cell in the human body.  Its basically the molecule of aging, disease and death. 


proteins and saturated fats particularly dont spike insulin because they dont need insulin to be escorted into the cell.   cell walls are made of a phospholipid bylayer that gets damaged and requires maintenace via consuming dietary fats.  They dont make a cell repair prescription.  You have to eat it.