I'm on medicare and doctor Rx'd 5 times a day testing, and it didn't seem to be a problem. Although figuring out how Rx, Medicare, my really nice supplemental work requires several higher order differential equations to solve - beyond me!

Rob -

May I ask where in the Northwest you are? Seattle area? I'm looking for an endo if this one isn't proactive.

~Danielle

I live in Lewis County, but ended up going to a guy in Bremerton who my sister told me supported normal BG goals. In the Olympia area I could not get my internist to refer me to an endo who would support normal BGs. So I did it on my own in the beginning, Regular OTC insulin and syringes from Walmart.

Ralph,

A lot of the time I find myself in the same situation and mostly I hold my tongue. I've learned that you can only help people who want to be helped.

That's why I put my energy into writing stuff online where people who do want information can find it on Google searches. I wish it was possible to get across to the people who DON'T know what they are doing to themselves how much is at stake, but even with people I know very well I have found it is often like talking to a wall.

Their doctors tell them their 7.2% A1c is "great control" and they don't have any complications that they are aware of. So they will discount anything I say because, hey, it's a downer.

But one of life's lessons is that we can only do so much and we can't fix everything. I'm glad I've had a chance to make a positive impact on the health of thousands of people who did want more than what they saw their relatives get from their doctors.

Jenny,

You are so right.

Thanks.

Ralph

I had no idea that insulin was OTC... what a trip!

The best insulins are not OTC in the US, but most are in Canada. The old Regular and NPH insulins are OTC.

My last doctor did Rx Lantus, and it seems to do well for me. I asked my new doctor for Lispro. I think he would have had I insisted, but he pointed out that I was doing really well with Lantus/Regular. He likes the time profile of Regular, and that with some care it is pretty easy to avoid getting lows, that you don't have to be too precise about timing your insulin with time of eating etc. He also isn't a real fan of getting A1Cs below 5, BIG fan of below 6.

Good for you Rob!

I really hope this endo gives me the full gamut of tests I need. I'm writing a list to make sure everything is touched upon.

I have to give you credit for initially taking your health into your own hands. As proactive as I try to be, I'm not sure if I have enough guts to go to Wal-Mart and get insulin. I think because I am not educated enough, yet, to feel secure in doing so.

My numbers range from 95-125mg/dl and I hope the doctor doesn't feel that these are"fine". My morning numbers are on the high side and my preprandial tend not to snap back to normal levels but, rather linger or slowly decline a bit. I eat every 4 hours so they shouldn't be overlapping.

~Danielle

He may not know you well enough to trust you with Humalog/Novolog. All doctors are freaked out about lows and consider even a 70 low. I can go just as low on Regular as on Humalog. At one point, Regular was the only fast-acting insulin we had, and we had plenty of lows on it. Regular is fine for protein, but bad for carbs and worse for corrections. It is another case of doctors controlling the tools we need to take care of ourselves. And not trusting type 2s not to pig out with Humalog to cover it.

If you had been type 1, of course, he would have prescribed Log and given you the education to count carbs and use it wisely.

I do good on a VLC diet. I had a summary of all my outlier numbers which he looked at. I get a 160 every few months, and a 125 once or twice a week. And the odd lows of 65 once or twice a month. But you are right that Regular is really slow to reduce those highs. I don't think I can get my average BG below 90 without Lispro. I just have been so relieved to have a doctor who doesn't ignore repeated sessions of retinopathy, or thinks all of his patients should have an A1C above 6.5!

I know. Sometimes it just chaps my butt that doctors don't trust their type 2 patients and treat them so differently than type 1s. Did you read Jenny's latest blog post about type 2 being thought of as an eating disorder?

Say it isn't so!

~Danielle

Of course, it isn't so, silly. Read the blog:

http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/

But the point is that Type 2 is tied into food in ways that Type 1 isn't. No one believes that people with Type 1 ate their way into it, but that is a common belief for type 2.

Back to square one! It's because when the doc delivers the DX, he tells you that if you JUST LOSE WEIGHT, you can either get off the medication he just prescribed or POSTPONE the complications of diabetes - IF YOU JUST LOSE THE WEIGHT!!!!!! There's no way you can walk out of that office not believing you did this to yourself. I thought it and continued to think it until I read otherwise on this forum as well as the info on Jenny's blog.