I finally bit the bullet and gave in to the idea of prescription drugs to help with my blood sugar problem…..oh how I hate saying the word….diabetes. Although I was doing a decent job keeping the scores down by watching what I eat and exercising, one evening over the Christmas holidays I had a bit too many dark’n stormies and starting eating snacks being offered and I elevated my blood sugar to scary levels. The sugar alone in the ginger beer probably did me in, add in the rum, potato chips and chocolate, sigh…my bad.
When I got home and tested myself I was over the limit of the machine capability so it didn’t even register a number….it said “HIGH”. I was still tipsy but it sobered me up instantly and I started dancing and jumping around the kitchen until I knocked it down to 20. Although still scary, at 2:00 in the morning that would have to do and I went to bed exhausted. I must have damaged my pancreas beyond what was my normal because after that I could no longer keep the scores below 10. It was very disappointing and made me review where I was headed if I couldn’t keep things under control. Diabetes is nothing to fool with. The eyesight is effected, the heart, the kidneys and there could be toes and even limbs amputated.
So I made an appointment with my doctor to get a prescription and walked out with Metformin. I was on it for three weeks before I noticed any difference in my scores, but it was a nominal change. Somehow I was under the impression it lowered them to a normal range, that being of a non-diabetic person, but found out with a subsequent trip to the doctor that they really only reduce the number by one. The misconception I was under was very disappointing and I questioned how other people I know on this drug eat pasta, rice and potatoes, desserts with abandon and drink alcohol like it’s a cure for the disease. I still had to work very hard to stay in check so I wondered why I even bothered with the drug, especially once the side effects hit like a Mack truck.
Not that I hoped to lay back and let the drug do the work and eat what I wanted, that was never my intention, but only having a slight bit of help didn’t seem worth what was to come when the debilitating side effects started to rear their ugly head three weeks into taking the pills. At first it was subtle; an ache started in my thighs and then gradually spanned my entire legs, creeping into my hips like a slithering snake. I might be 60, but I can honestly say that I’ve never had any aches in the morning, I’ve been able to bounce out of bed like a thirty year old. Now I could barely get my legs over the side. I tend to cross my ankles and feet in bed, something I learned to do after an injury to a knee that helped to stabilized it, but I tried to do that and couldn’t get my left leg to position over my right. This is weird I thought. I’d read all the information that came with the drug, a three page print out from the pharmacy and there was a list of potential side effects including muscle and joint pain. These new developments couldn’t be a coincidence and seemed the only explanation for what was happening to me.
Then the diarrhea hit. Another listed side effect. I’ve been down that path a few times in my life, we all have the occasional illness or eat something nasty that causes the fiery trots, but this was a whole new caliber of the runs. This was like a road side bombing, no warning and no time to get to a bathroom before the blast. Three times this crippled me, oh the mess….and brought on fear to leave my home.
But although I was struggling, I continued with the drug until one night when I woke up at 3:00 am and bolted upright in bed with the most powerful urge to vomit I have ever experienced in my life and by golly I’ve had flues and morning sickness from hell to compare it too. I swallowed like mad to keep it down as I struggled to get out of bed with my stiff and painful joints, hoping against hope that my hand would hold it all back, protecting the pups and the room from an explosion of stomach contents. I remembered reading that nausea and vomiting were side effects and that if these symptoms start after being on the drug for a while it could be the result of developing lactic acidosis, rare and life threatening, to stop the drug immediately as this would, not could, result in death.
That was enough for me, I’d taken my last pill.
So another trip to the doctor and she gave me Januvia. This came with a long list of side effects as well. I waited three weeks until all the physical problems the first drug caused had all but disappeared and my legs once again were pain free. I was only on the Metformin shy of two months and in that time I ruined my perfect bowels and could barely walk. It seemed wrong on many levels. It was like trading a witch for the devil.
So this new one caused constipation, oh joy, and once again I pretty much ruined my perfect system that had been as regular as a clock on the wall. The pain began in the third week, once again I could barely walk, with hips that refused to move, thighs that were painful to touch, the mere brushing of the fabric of my jeans sent me into spasms, the muscle screaming when I touched flesh against the bone. I could barely lift my knees and I had pain in my back where my kidneys are. One of the lovely side effects of this drug is kidney failure. When I mentioned it to the doctor she said that diabetes will destroy my kidneys all on its own so it’s a lose situation, but I feel this drug was probably speeding it up. I feel doomed!
My stomach area was so sore that I couldn’t lean up against the kitchen sink to wash dishes. I had gas so badly that it felt like a knife was rammed between my ribs slicking my lungs. If I turn too quickly the pain ripped across my torso so that I almost passed out.
I’ve never taken drugs, mostly because I’m in good health, but I knew that every drug has side effects and my concerns were confirmed. I am very aware when it comes to my body, I notice every subtle change. Maybe some don’t equate aches and pains to drugs but my body went from day to night for me, there was no disputing the drugs were the blame. I know there are many different medications for blood sugar problems on the market but quite frankly I don’t want to try anymore, I’ll have to find something else to help with this disease.
There are herbal remedies I am going to try and also it’s been suggested I make an appointment with a Dr. Wu to see if there is anything that can help to stimulate my pancreas into working properly. I’m willing to try anything. I’m open minded about acupuncture, it gave me my life back when I was stricken with environmental problems in the past. In the meantime I’m eating very carefully and waving my arms up and down, one of the most effective ways of lowering my numbers, and as soon as my legs stop hurting I’ll be jumping up and down on the trampoline and walking up and down the driveway, perhaps even while I eat my meals. Whatever I have to do I will do and keep things in check for as long as I can. Maybe once I get older and joint and muscle pain is prevalent I won’t notice the extra struggles and go back on the pills. We will see how this evolves. If any of you have had success with alternatives for diabetes I would appreciate your sharing!
When I got home and tested myself I was over the limit of the machine capability so it didn’t even register a number….it said “HIGH”. I was still tipsy but it sobered me up instantly and I started dancing and jumping around the kitchen until I knocked it down to 20. Although still scary, at 2:00 in the morning that would have to do and I went to bed exhausted. I must have damaged my pancreas beyond what was my normal because after that I could no longer keep the scores below 10. It was very disappointing and made me review where I was headed if I couldn’t keep things under control. Diabetes is nothing to fool with. The eyesight is effected, the heart, the kidneys and there could be toes and even limbs amputated.
So I made an appointment with my doctor to get a prescription and walked out with Metformin. I was on it for three weeks before I noticed any difference in my scores, but it was a nominal change. Somehow I was under the impression it lowered them to a normal range, that being of a non-diabetic person, but found out with a subsequent trip to the doctor that they really only reduce the number by one. The misconception I was under was very disappointing and I questioned how other people I know on this drug eat pasta, rice and potatoes, desserts with abandon and drink alcohol like it’s a cure for the disease. I still had to work very hard to stay in check so I wondered why I even bothered with the drug, especially once the side effects hit like a Mack truck.
Not that I hoped to lay back and let the drug do the work and eat what I wanted, that was never my intention, but only having a slight bit of help didn’t seem worth what was to come when the debilitating side effects started to rear their ugly head three weeks into taking the pills. At first it was subtle; an ache started in my thighs and then gradually spanned my entire legs, creeping into my hips like a slithering snake. I might be 60, but I can honestly say that I’ve never had any aches in the morning, I’ve been able to bounce out of bed like a thirty year old. Now I could barely get my legs over the side. I tend to cross my ankles and feet in bed, something I learned to do after an injury to a knee that helped to stabilized it, but I tried to do that and couldn’t get my left leg to position over my right. This is weird I thought. I’d read all the information that came with the drug, a three page print out from the pharmacy and there was a list of potential side effects including muscle and joint pain. These new developments couldn’t be a coincidence and seemed the only explanation for what was happening to me.
Then the diarrhea hit. Another listed side effect. I’ve been down that path a few times in my life, we all have the occasional illness or eat something nasty that causes the fiery trots, but this was a whole new caliber of the runs. This was like a road side bombing, no warning and no time to get to a bathroom before the blast. Three times this crippled me, oh the mess….and brought on fear to leave my home.
But although I was struggling, I continued with the drug until one night when I woke up at 3:00 am and bolted upright in bed with the most powerful urge to vomit I have ever experienced in my life and by golly I’ve had flues and morning sickness from hell to compare it too. I swallowed like mad to keep it down as I struggled to get out of bed with my stiff and painful joints, hoping against hope that my hand would hold it all back, protecting the pups and the room from an explosion of stomach contents. I remembered reading that nausea and vomiting were side effects and that if these symptoms start after being on the drug for a while it could be the result of developing lactic acidosis, rare and life threatening, to stop the drug immediately as this would, not could, result in death.
That was enough for me, I’d taken my last pill.
So another trip to the doctor and she gave me Januvia. This came with a long list of side effects as well. I waited three weeks until all the physical problems the first drug caused had all but disappeared and my legs once again were pain free. I was only on the Metformin shy of two months and in that time I ruined my perfect bowels and could barely walk. It seemed wrong on many levels. It was like trading a witch for the devil.
So this new one caused constipation, oh joy, and once again I pretty much ruined my perfect system that had been as regular as a clock on the wall. The pain began in the third week, once again I could barely walk, with hips that refused to move, thighs that were painful to touch, the mere brushing of the fabric of my jeans sent me into spasms, the muscle screaming when I touched flesh against the bone. I could barely lift my knees and I had pain in my back where my kidneys are. One of the lovely side effects of this drug is kidney failure. When I mentioned it to the doctor she said that diabetes will destroy my kidneys all on its own so it’s a lose situation, but I feel this drug was probably speeding it up. I feel doomed!
My stomach area was so sore that I couldn’t lean up against the kitchen sink to wash dishes. I had gas so badly that it felt like a knife was rammed between my ribs slicking my lungs. If I turn too quickly the pain ripped across my torso so that I almost passed out.
I’ve never taken drugs, mostly because I’m in good health, but I knew that every drug has side effects and my concerns were confirmed. I am very aware when it comes to my body, I notice every subtle change. Maybe some don’t equate aches and pains to drugs but my body went from day to night for me, there was no disputing the drugs were the blame. I know there are many different medications for blood sugar problems on the market but quite frankly I don’t want to try anymore, I’ll have to find something else to help with this disease.
There are herbal remedies I am going to try and also it’s been suggested I make an appointment with a Dr. Wu to see if there is anything that can help to stimulate my pancreas into working properly. I’m willing to try anything. I’m open minded about acupuncture, it gave me my life back when I was stricken with environmental problems in the past. In the meantime I’m eating very carefully and waving my arms up and down, one of the most effective ways of lowering my numbers, and as soon as my legs stop hurting I’ll be jumping up and down on the trampoline and walking up and down the driveway, perhaps even while I eat my meals. Whatever I have to do I will do and keep things in check for as long as I can. Maybe once I get older and joint and muscle pain is prevalent I won’t notice the extra struggles and go back on the pills. We will see how this evolves. If any of you have had success with alternatives for diabetes I would appreciate your sharing!
RSS Feed
