Rob, will this be an issue next time you want your lantus Rx refilled? Didn't he give you trouble about it before?
I asked to go back on a little bedtime insulin a couple weeks ago when I saw my doctor, because I just can't seem to get my FBG under 130 without it, and he wouldn't give it to me.

When I didn't have health insurance, I bought my Lantus and Humalog on the net from Canada, and it was cheaper. I wasn't going to pay $250 to see a doctor so I could get my refill and then turn around and pay almost $90 for the Lantus.

I bought mine here:

http://www.getcanadiandrugs.com/

We don't have to be hostages of doctors who don't understand.

I sort of feel like I'm doing something illicit by posting this. :D

He probably would renew my Lantus Rx, and I get my Regular OTC. But I am checking on another doctor. I really would like to get a diabetes doctor who liked low carb and normal BGs. My sister may have a person back in my home town, 90 miles away, and that would get me up more often to see ancient mother.

ps - could I order Lantus pens from Canada without an Rx?

pps - I simply don't understand why local doctors do not know who, amongst their colleagues, are supporters of low carb/normal BGs. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Yes, you can buy Lantus OTC in Canada and Humalog too. I'm thinking about buying some Levimir because I think it might work better for me and I don't feel like making an appointment, waiting and hassling with my doctor.

Just wanted to thank you all again for your input, it really helped.

Started on Metformin ER this weekend and I'm happy to report that I have had absolutely NO problem with the Metformin. Yay!!
I'll try to remember to post my next A1c results. Also I'm gonna pour through the Berstein forum.

Thanks again,

PamLynn

P.S. My son is taking the Extended Release and says it just extends the time that it makes his stomach hurt. I have been taking my with my first meal, just in case and I might suggest this to him, since he probably is not (he doesn't eat breakfast).

Okay I said I had absolutely NO problem. But I did have a slight one. On the Avandia I never had to worry much about the timing of my meals, since it only worked when I ate. But yesterday I got really weak and shaky when I waited a little too long to eat. So is this something I'll have to watch for with the Metformin? I remember taking Glyburide and had this happen a lot - is it the same kind of med.?

I'm going to go and do some research on my own, but thought I ask you guys.

Avandia works by decreasing your insulin resistance therefore
low glucose episodes are very unlikely.
Glyburide works by making your pancreas produce extra insulin.
I had several low glucose episodes with Glyburide.I switched to
Glipizide ER and have had no low glucose episodes.
Good luck
Eddie

Wikipedia has good info on metformin. It doesn't cause hypos.

Take a tip from MizKitty.
Metformin might be a good substitute for Avandia or Actos.
It is certainly reputed to be the safest diabetes med if you
don't have kidney problems or ungodly high fasting glucose level.
www.rxlist.com or www.drugs.com are very good websites
for researching various prescription drugs.
Eddie

Just an update. Had to discontinue the Metformin. Had an allergic reaction to it. The reaction kind of snuck up on me. I started to getting "bumps" that I thought were mosquito bites or even spider bites, but eventually realized they were hives. Called my doc and she told me to stop taking it.

She suggested a higher dose Avandia (since there's nothing wrong with my heart or kidneys) Glyburide (which I hate) or Insulin (which I've been trying to avoid).

We decided to go for three more months and see what happens with the Avandia.

IMHO Insulin = easy...

/smile

I was afraid of insulin, too, but after I went on it, I liked it better than anything else.

You would be a candidate for 24 hour insulin like Lantus, injected once a day. Since it is timed release, the chances of hypos are very low. You would not need to learn to bolus for the amount of carb you plan to eat and inject before every meal.

Me personally, I'd rather do Lantus than Avandia. As long as you're eating low carb, you would not need very much, and it would not cause weight gain, as there just wouldn't be enough excess glucose floating around to get stored as fat.

Avandia probably causes more weight gain than the small amount of Lantus you'd be on. Levemir is a newer long-acting insulin that also shows no weight gain issues.

At first, it was believed that the mechanism by which these drugs (thiazolidinediones) caused weight gain was through fluid retention - edema. But researchers studying Actos discovered it was actually causing new fat cells to grow on the butt and hips.

New fat cells! That's scary.

Sorry you developed a problem with the metformin.

I LOVE THIS SITE. The information/insight you guys have is invaluable. You both addressed my biggest fears about going on insulin.

I haven't been keeping up with the latest information like I should. The research I did on Avandia is when I first started taking it, years ago. Didn't know about the new fat cells - WOW that's just what I need is more fat cells.

Thank you both so much.

SO-o-o-o. Went back to my Doc today because I wanted to discuss insulin again. I wanted to do this based on the info from you guys. Since making the decision to remain on the Avandia and seeing that my fasting BG's in the mid 160's EVERY morning, I called to make an appointment and we both agreed to not wait for 3 months to start me on insulin.

I have an appointment with their staff Pharmacist/Doctor so that he can teach me what I need to know about injecting and dosing. One thing though - my Doc mentioned Byetta to me and while it sounded good when she was telling me about it the office, I did some research and I'm not convinced at all. The claims it makes about restoring beta cells seem to fall a little short. Plus if the oral med I'm on isn't helping my pancreas produce more insulin, would taking this Byetta just be putting off the enevitable - insulin. PLUS my insurance would only cover 1/2 the cost of this relatively new drugs.
Think I'd rather go ahead with the insulin.

Does anyone know about this Byetta or anyone who is using it? Want your very valuable input.

Don't know anything about Byetta, but some doctors, like Bernstein, believe that insulin can help preserve existing beta cells. I don't have any beta cells to preserve. :D

Good luck on your new insulin experiment!