Introduce yourself

[Gina]

Tell me a little bit about yourself!

[firefighter1810]

Hello all my name is Todd I am 38 father of an 8 year old girl and a 9month old son (if it wern't for those beautiful children my wife surley would have shot me by now) I am a Flavor Technician (ask if you want an explanation) I am a volunteer Firefighter here in my community as well am my Wife We have 3 horses 3 dogs and my wife has cats not me my wife ha ha my hobbies are hunting archery and Germany yes Deuthland my beautiful second home I was diagnosed november of 2005 my current A1c is 6.7 well once again hello to all

[ken wong]

My name is Ken Wong, I just turned 40 earlier this year WOOOHOOO!!!! I was diagnosed with type 2 almost exactly one year ago. It's been a rough ride cuz I love food. I work as an analyst for Coca Coal (imagine being surrounded by free vending machines all over). This is my journey so far. I'm hoping to meet new friends and support here.

[Gina]

hey everyone thanks for joining i hope that you all join our chats which you can find on the event page.

meet and greet chats are usually on wednesday at 9pm eastern time. but tonite we have a scheduled diabetes and celiac chat

[Sugar Plum]

I hope you're drinking diet coca cola. I also buy the one that's caffeine free because I like to drink it before bed. Plain water is a little too plain. I also hope you have a diet and exercise plan that you can stick to. That's what I learned to do in a hurry to normalize my blood sugar. Forty is an age that a lot of people get diagnosed. Keep us posted.

[Stephen Przepiora]

Hello All, I wanted to say hi to everyone and introduce myself. I've been married for 13 years this month, have four boys and four girls, but my fifth girl will be along sometime in July. I am a computer programmer located in upstate NY where I have lived almost all my life. I was diagnosed on April 24, 2008, originally a T2, but was changed 2 weeks later when my endo got the GAB test back. At the time my A1c was 14.7, I haven't had another A1c yet, but I have been able to keep my numbers under pretty good control. I will probably end up on a pump as I hate taking shots, I'm not needle shy or anything, I just think it would be so much easier to be able to press a few buttons and get on with it :)

[Gina]

Stephen, thats actually a good attitude and i think its so much easier for a type 2 to take insulin anyway. i dont know why they dont put them on it from the begining. You would only need asmall amount and would be able to eat more during the day then feeling like you are limited.

[tmana]

Stephen stated that the tests came back and he is not Type 2.

Regarding T2 and insulin: I think a lot of the initial choice of T2 therapies depends on the age at diagnosis, place of diagnosis, and the severity (fasting blood glucose and A1C). I was diagnosed in a walk-in clinic at age 42 with a fasting blood glucose of 170 and an A1C of 7.8. I was given medical nutrition therapy and oral medications. Mom was diagnosed in a doctor's office. A former co-worker of mine was diagnosed in a doctor's office. All of us were originally prescribed oral medications. I've had friends diagnosed at younger ages, with much higher incidental blood glucose levels (in the 400's). They were usually diagnosed in a hospital and were given insulin straightaway. Those that were given oral medications eventually migrated over to insulin, as the orals did not work correctly for them (it is also likely they were noncompliant with the medical nutrition therapy). So I think it's a combination of age at diagnosis, the severity of hyperglycemia at the time of diagnosis, and where the diagnosis took place. And in part fear of shots. And the fear of insulin resistance developing once one is on an insulin regimen.

What I hope we will see going forward is better diagnostic tests that tell at diagnosis whether a "T2" has insufficient insulin production for body mass, reduced insulin production, and/or insulin resistance -- and whether that insulin resistance is due to malformed insulin or problems with the receptor sites. Each of these could affect the best ongoing therapy for the patient, ranging anywhere from diet-and-exercise, injected insulin, oral medications, or a combination of therapies.

And then, I guess, we'll have to change the labels from T2/NIDDM (except that T2 isn't always NIDDM) to something else...

[Stephen Przepiora]

Exactly right, They initially diagnosed me as a T2 because of age and weight, but the GAB test came back and there was no doubt I was a T1.

I had my second visit with my CDE today and she told me I am doing very good keeping under control. She was quite happy with my numbers over the past three weeks since my last visit with her.

I had thought there were times I wasn't doing so good, but she basically said sometimes you have bad days and then she showed me what bad really was :)

[Sugar Plum]

Wow! Nine kids! Keeping you on your toes, aren't they? Good to hear your blood sugar is under control. Also hoping you'll get an insulin pump soon. Makes life easier. Not that I have diabetes. Almost, though. Keep us posted, including #9.

Sugar Plum

[Sugar Plum]

Hello,

I was prediabetic a little over a year ago. Now I'm normal but I have to be careful for the rest of my life.

[Jon Schlaman]

Hey Sugar Plum. How did they diagnose you with Pre-diabetes? I have always wondered how they test for that.

[tmana]

It's usually that intermediate range, Jon: fasting blood glucose between 110 and 126 mg/dl. It will show up on a standard metabolic panel (glucose, liver function, electrolyte composition), which should be run at the annual (or for us, semi-annual or quarterly) checkup. I've seen medical literature that suggests that this range *should* be treated aggressively with intensive lifestyle management (medical nutrition therapy and exercise) and metformin. Traditionally, this range would be given trial by ILM unless/until it hits clinical definition of diabetes (fasting BG > 126, A1C > 6.0 -- over 5.0 traditionally and in the new definition).