Good news, sort of...

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Good news, sort of...
21
Sat, 03-20-2004 - 9:47am
Well, went to the endo on the 16th. He didn't prescribe insulin. Yipee!!!

However, will be mailing in prescriptions for my Amaryl (still on 8mg, but before bed now) and Glucophage XR (is that right?). My drug company is going to charge me bunches. They're not nice!!! :-O

Weight: dropped 9# between 3/3 and 3/16 - hoorey!!! (my PCP says I've lost 29# in about 5 months)

BP: 120/70 - not bad for a fat lady!!!

Just needed to share the some good info since I'm either scared or crabby most of the time I write here.

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Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 03-20-2004 - 10:14am

Hi Kathy,


I am glad you are getting appropriate care for your diabetes. On another good front the Glucophage XR doesn't seem to have the same stomach effects as the no extended release version of this med. I still don't understand taking the Amaryl at night but if it works who cares what I think!


Did you have additional lab studies done? Aren't insurance companies fun!!


Congratualtions on your weight loss and hopefully the glucophage will help you continue while you get your blood sugar under better control.


Have a great weekend. Grandson is visiting for the first time and he just saw the pheasant in the yard! Such wonderment in

Avatar for cl_d_minnick
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sun, 03-21-2004 - 12:20am

BalloonsYay Kathi, way to go girl! Nice weight loss

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-03-2003
Sun, 03-21-2004 - 4:43pm

Kathi - Congratulations! I know how much these successes can mean.

Smoochdog (aka Michelle)


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Mon, 03-22-2004 - 2:31pm

HI Kathi! It's nice to see you back, I was truly starting to wonder where you were, and if you were ok. Will the doctor allow you to take Metformin ER, the generic form of Glucophage XR? I have tried both to do my own experiments with and haven't noticed a difference in the generic over name brand form. I get charged $15 for Glucophage XR and $7 for Metformin ER...so I'll save the money and get the generic.


Congratulations on the continued weight loss.....we're all proud of you! I'm glad to see you still have your sense of humor too...I love the "not bad for a fat lady" comment! I feel the same way...being able to fit into a smaller size of pants that some people would be apawled to wear...but for a fat lady....woo hoo.......

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Mon, 03-22-2004 - 11:44pm
I'm crabby because I was dx with diabetes...not because of any comments here. I sure appreciate all the support and hints along the way.

;-)

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Mon, 03-22-2004 - 11:54pm
Thanks for the support!!! The only funny thing about losing the weight is my clothes don't quite fit. I decided I'm just going to be a frump for a while longer. Then, I'll dig out my "skinny" (not actually) clothes. Sure hope the silverfish haven't had a banquet over the last 3 years!

Took back some capris to Walmart end of last week. I bought thema size smaller, but they still were too big. ;-)

Wish I had the energy to take in my pants. I probably could do it, if I was so inclined.

Problem is that I need a mom to do it for me. (hee hee)

I get ill on the regular glucophage. So, he's said only the real stuff...not generic. Am I going to gain back the weight I lost?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Tue, 03-23-2004 - 12:06am
Mary Frances~

My morning numbers are starting to come down with taking the Amaryl at bedtime. Tonight I'm concerned because my 2hr post-dinner was 95. Think I'll eat some yoghurt with pills. Don't want any surprises in the middle of the night since I'm alone. The cats don't know what to do for me. They don't have a handle on dialing 911 yet.

Cut my grass yesterday early morning, and my number was great. I felt kind of dizzy, but I'm so prone to dehydration. Didn't rake; just came in the house and drank a big bottle of water. Hadn't slept well Saturday night; so, I took a nap after cutting the grass.

My endo is hoping the the XR will work, and then he'll decrease the Amaryl to 4mg. At least that's what he said. Heck, I don't know anymore. It's strange that foods that didn't bother me before are now giving me gas. I hate this!

Hope you're doing well. Have been concerned about you. Still on the trial?

Oh, bought a sort of "fanny pack" for my emergency kit at Walmart last week. Haven't gathered the stuff up yet. LifeScan said I shouldn't have my meter & strips in the car as the temperature could ruin either or both. It was 94 degrees today. That means it was well over 115 in the car. It's just too early for this hot weather. Usually we don't get it until mid-May.

Think I'll do the labs after I've been on both meds for a couple of weeks to see what happens. I don't see the endo for 3 months, I think.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Tue, 03-23-2004 - 10:19am

Hi Kathi! I'm being a frump too! I was at my parent's on Saturday and my mom told me to get rid of the jeans I was wearing because they were just hanging on me! What a great thing to hear! Duh, I didn't even think about taking in my jeans to fit better! I cut off my son's jeans into shorts and did a finished hem on them this weekend..and never even had a second thought of doing something similar for me!


You shouldn't gain any weight back on the Glucophage..it helps to lose weight, so you should be fine. :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Tue, 03-23-2004 - 10:38pm
I won't gain on the glucophage? Yipee!!!

Oh, went to a workshop today on the New American Plate. It was sponsored by a Cancer research organization. Anyway, the dietician talked about #'s of fruit and vegs. I'd love to be able to eat that many fruits!

Oh, that's not what I wanted to tell you. There was a gal there with a silver-beaded bracelet on that looked like it would work for making or remaking a bracelet for my med alert tag. Too bad...she said a friend had given her two that were bought at a Catholic gift shop. Suppose now I'll have to sneak around some Catholic shops! (hee hee)

Thanks for all the support. Don't forget to send me a picture of your new bracelet when it's made. I'm bugging you, I know. ;-)

Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 1:02am

Hi Kathi;


We had two weeks of 80+ weather here in northern CA. In fact Saturday I went to a birthday party and we sat out side in the evening eating our dinner. Because of the coastal influence we normally can't do that even in the summer. I bought a new pair of sandals on Saturday and I intended to wear them to church on Sunday. It turned cool Saturday night and if I had worn them my toes wouldn't have gone with my dress!


I think you will do better with the XR. Most people seem to not have as many stomach issues with that as they do with the other version of the metformin. I am hoping that you can decrease your Amaryl to 4 mg also. The amount of drug is supposed to be the same in generic and non-generic formulations. What is different is the binding agent and so some people are bothered by the generic when they aren't bothered by the non-generic formulation. There have also been cases where the generic didn't work as well as the original formulation even though there was the same amount of medication. So you just never know.


It is really the metformin that is causing the gas and not your foods. It does get better over time.


I wanted to give you some wise words about the dehydration that diabetics get. It is pretty common for diabetics to have problems with dehydration, even ones that had no problem with this before they were diagnosed. By the time that you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated. So you need to prevent the dehydration by drinking fluids before you ever adventure out in the heat and you need to take bottled water with you when you go out. So consciously have extra fluids with your breakfast so that you start the day well hydrated.


I know this helps because I have screwed up my anti-diuretic hormone when I was diagnosed diabetic and sometimes I feel like I am going to faint if I don't get a drink of something cold and wet. Water seems to help more than diet beverages also. But that may just be my taste.


Take care and know that we miss you when you aren't around.


Hugs,

Mary Frances


cl-maryfrances40


Co-Cl Diabetes Board


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