On Being Diabetic

I've probably been a diagnosed diabetic for about fourteen years now. I always figured I would end up one since Type 2 seems to travel in my genetics. My dad was type 2, all of his siblings ended up diabetic, and a number of my cousins are as well. It really seems to be a family affair. 

One of the things about diabetes is that it changes over time, so the medicines change. As medicine progresses, they also change, and so do I. The bad thing about these changes in medicine is that a) they can be expensive and b) they can make you feel worse than ever!

Right now, I am in the process of adding a new medicine to my regime. In the last couple of years, I've changed insulin, switched from one drug in a group to another, and added this new one. Changing insulins was fun because until we got the dosage right, I was loopy as all heck. High blood sugars are not fun. Changing from Farxiga to Jardiance wasn't a problem except in trying to get it approved because my insurance added a pre-authorization just as I ran out, but the actual change in medicine was fine. Adding this new medicine though, this has been a doozy!

I mean it works. It has brought my sugars down, but it might work a bit too well. My doctor had me move onto it slowly, but hitting the highest dose--well, it made me feel awful. Headaches, exhausted, a messed up GI tract, and no appetite. Yikes. These also lead me to a couple of hours where my sugars were a bit too low. My CGM (constant glucose monitor) was giving me readings of 60, 55, and my actual prick-your-finger-and-feed-the-blood-into-the-monitor was saying 70. This was a bit concerning to someone who has never had a hypoglycemic event. We eventually got it up--yum PBJ, but my stomach was a wreck. In the meantime, I emailed my sugar numbers to my doctor, and I made a decision to stick to the middle dose for now because I don't feel like the crud off the bottom of your shoe and my sugars seem more stable. I'll wait to hear from my doctor as well about the higher dose. As you can guess, all of this is not really much fun. 

Hopefully, I settle into this medicine without any more stomach-churning adventures, at least until the next time I have to change medicines. But such is the life of a diabetic.