Newly diagnosed
I'm a 59 yr old woman who works out 4x week (lifting, treadmill and racquetball) I'm 135'bs 5'4" and active. I'm on disability for my mental health and have medicare. Working out is the only thing keeping me sane.
I went through some insane trauma this past summer and again in January. Incredible, intolerable stress. I started not feeling great but I was still able to work out and live life. I've been looking for a doctor for about 7 years. I live in a rural area and they call this area a medical desert for medicare. I started ramping up my efforts to find a doctor because I felt funny and I could not find a single doctor in a 90 minute radius that was accepting medicare or new patients.
I got really sick and ended up in the ER. That's when I was told my 10.5% A1c and 482 blood sugar was diabetes and they put me on metformin.
I'm freaking out. I'm healthy as a horse. Never had a problem in my life. I still don't have a doctor. The next appointment at a clinic that will take me is April 24. I have started eating a very strict diabetic diet but my blood sugar will not go down. It's still in the 300's pp and 200's fasting. I'm starving a lot of the time and exhausted most of the time. I can't work out like I used to (I still try to treadmill and racquetball but i need my weight lifting back) I don't know what to do. I take 500mg metformin 2x day. I even upped it to 750 by splitting a pill. But I don't know what I'm doing. It makes me queasy and I'm constantly having bowel movements.
I'm going to run out of pills soon and my only option is to go back to ER but it's over $400 to go to ER. almost half my disability.
I can't get medicare supplement plans cuz I'm under 65 and none of the advantage plans have doctors in my area. I have no money as I make very little on disability.
I'm terrified and don't know where to turn. There's literally no one out there to help me. I've called every number I can find, numerous medicare brokers, no one can help me.
I don't know what to do. Why won't my glucose go down when I'm eating low carb/ no sugar foods and taking my medicine? What are people like me supposed to do?
Thanks for listening.
My heart goes out to you,
. No one should have to go without essential medical care because they can't afford it or can't find a doctor. That's just not right. I live in a rural area as well. We often have to drive an hour or two for doctors. Is that a possiblity for you or is there nothing even that close?
It can take a while for metformin to become effective. That might be why your blood sugar levels are not coming down yet. How long have you been on it? Here is a general article about metformin that might interest you: https://type2diabetes.com/treatment/medications/biguanides.
It could also be that the dose is not high enough, but I would not increase it without consultuing a doctor. Better to get the 500 mg in you twice each day than to take more and run out.
Though your blood sugars are high, they are lower than they were when you went to the ER. A new diabetes diagnosis can be overwhelming and too much change at once can result in confusion and depression. It's okay to slow down a bit and experiments with what works and what doesn't it. So many factors can impact blood sugar levels, from sleep to other medications to lifestyle. You mentioned you are being treated for mental health issues. Certain psychiatric drugs can impact blood sugar as well, sometimes dramatically. If you are taking any psychiatric meds, it would be wise to call you pharmacist and find out whether they might have caused your blood sugar to spike. I have a relative who was diagnosed diabetic on Abilify, but whose blood sugar dropped into the normal range when he came off it.
Here is an article about staying full while on a diabetic diet that might help you cope for now: https://type2diabetes.com/nutrition/eat-less-stay-full. I hope this helps and that you find a doctor soon. Please keep us posted. Gentle hugs. - Lori (Team Member)
