Question:
— Pamela H. (posted on October 22, 2003)
October 22, 2003
I would sit down with your doctor and have her explain your condition to
you. In the mean time it would be wise to treat yourself as a diabetic. no
sugars low carbs lots of protien and check your blood glucose levels a
couple of times a day. I have type II diabetes and am on glucophage,
glucotrol, and avandia and I check my sugars 4 times a day.
— harleigh2002
October 22, 2003
Jen my wife was insulin resistant before surgery and had PCOS, which
insulin resistance is one symptom. Do check with your doc. Jen was told
this is a pre diabetic condition that should help you get approved. She was
on glucophage for awhile, but not diabetic. If your PCP tries to discourge
you from WLS get a new PCP.
— bob-haller
October 22, 2003
Im also on 1000mg of glucaphage(sp?) a day because of my Insulin resistive
and considered a diabetic 2 because my numbers jump every where my pcp sent
me to a dietian/diabetes class and I was told too check my numbers at home
2x a day, ny insurance covered my monitor and all supplies and am on a low
cal low carb diet, I also have been diagnosed with PCOD 3 years ago..but
had it for years now..I would consult with your pcp agian or research for
another pcp. when i was pg 2 years ago,I was on insulin because of my
gestational diabetes and was told that I had a very high risk of getting
diabetes 2 in the future..which is true now. make the most of your
concerns with your pcp its your right. Good luck and email me if you have
any ?'s
— por2geegurl
October 22, 2003
Im also on 1000 mg of Glucophage daily and Im not diabetic. I got into an
argument the other night with the Dr at the ER because he SWORE I was
diabetic because I take Glucophage. I am NOT diabetic. I was diagnosed
with PCOS about 6 months ago as well . Ive had it for about 12 years and
didnt know . Thank goodness I have a wonderful PCP now that took the time
to find out what was wrong with me. From what I understand , the PCOS
causes the female body to produce more testosterone than normal, causing
ones insulin to be high... the glucophage really does help with this
condition. Ya might wanna have it checked out.
— DixiePop
October 22, 2003
In a nutshell:
Being Insulin Resistant means that your body produces more insulin than it
needs to in order to get the job done. For example (I'm making these
numbers up). Let's say it usually takes an insulin level of 7 to maintain
your blood sugar of 75, if you're insulin resistant, then your insulin
level is 25, and your blood sugar is 75. Your body is resisting the
insulin that is there. That is why you're not diabetic, your blood sugars
are normal.... it’s the insulin level that is out of whack.
Glucophage acts not by lowering the blood sugar, but by making the cells
more receptive to the insulin that is available. That is why it won't
affect your blood sugar but should reduce your circulating insulin.
Now, if you're diabetic, you have a high blood sugar. It's possible that
you could still be making insulin, but either not enough, you've become
totally resistant to it, or your pancreas quit making it at all. (Which is
why insulin, or blood sugar lowering medications are given).
And they do think that insulin resistance is a "pre-diabetic"
condition, kind of like a yellow stoplight. However, as with everything
there is controversy over whether all insulin resistant people become
diabetic.
Good luck, sorry if I didn't help. If you need anything e-mail me.
— Sungurl B.
October 23, 2003
I agree with most of the postings below. I also have PCOS (polycystic
ovarian syndrome) and I take 1500 mg of Glucophage XR per day. I am NOT
diabetic. If medical personnel are looking at you "funny" when
you tell them about your condition, it's because they are ignorant of the
disease. Go to an Endocrinologist who specializes in these types of
disorders, it will be the best thing for you, especially when your PCP
doesn't even explain it to you! Go to an endo, quickly! Good luck and
best wishes! Sherry Weber
— SherryWeber
October 25, 2003
The actual Diagnosis is called HYPERINSULINEMIA look that up
— Monica T.
October 25, 2003
Diabetics have damage to their insulin producing cells of the pancrease.
They have high blood sugars that need regulation because they don't have
insulin doing its work to regulate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream,
either by taking an oral med which causes the working pancrease insulin
making cells to make more insulin, or by taking injections of insulin.
Obese people have their normal cells in their body become resistant to
insulin. Normally, the cells of the body utilize the circulating insulin
to do their work. Your body can even naturally make higher amounts of
insulin trying to get the cells to take it, but the receptors on the cells
won't take the insulin. (Think of a cell with lots of puzzle piece edges,
the insulin comes to the cell and hooks into the receptor edges for
insulin, but sometimes the shape of the edges are changed and the insulin
doesn't fit in all the spaces it needs anymore.) So for insulin resistant
syndrome, the focus may be not on pancreatic issues, but on the receptors
of the cells. So the issue is the internal reason why you are taking the
med, not focusing on the name of the med you are using. Those ER md's are
focusing on the med, not the internal reason why the med is given. Which
is stupid as many people take a med for it's side effect, not for the main
reason it can be given for. An example is the glucophage; another is that
Lupus or arthritis patients take Plaquenil, a malaria drug!! People with
fibromyalgia often take an antidepresent for the sleep inducing help it
gives, not the antidepressant part. The reasons why it works aren't
always known, but the fact that it helps a condition are what counts.
Sometimes md's don't keep up with all the new research and should listen
when a patient tells them about what their md is doing for them. They
shouldn't assume that all patients are stupid & not know what they are
talking about. Anyway, most people who lose their excess weight have the
receptors on the cells go back to functioning properly and can stop taking
the meds. That is the same thing as what happens with some obese people
not being able to get pregnant, their cells aren't receptive to the
estrogen, and when they lose weight, they become more receptive and viola!
they get pregnant. A good way to handle this problem is to carry
literature about this syndrome with you and when something happens that you
end up in the ER or with another md, then you give them a copy of the
literature and they stop treating you like you're stupid! This has always
worked for me. When fibromyalgia was first made a diagnosis and many md's
didn't know about it, it was such a help. Most md's are willing to learn
stuff and appreciate the info. There IS a chance that you might need your
blood sugar checked occasionally to be sure you keep your blood sugars
regulated, (the insulin non receptiveness can cause high blood sugars just
like a diabetic and you could have blood sugars be out of whack. out of
whack blood sugars can still cause diabetic like damage to your body, so
you need to be sure the medicine is working. In the case of taking this
drug for polycystic ovarian disease, it wouldn't be needed at all as they
aren't taking it for sugar controll at all.) So, maybe you would want to
see an endocrinologist for this also, (they specialize in hormones in your
body working correctly, such as thyroid, insulin, etc). It does seem
strange you are not checking your blood sugars on some type of schedule, as
you can still have the same type of damage as a diabetic and keeping your
blood sugars in the normal range will control that. So sorry that this
is so long, but there is alot more to this and you need info. Go onto
webmd.com to find stuff, also talk with your md about your questions. If
they are resistive, then find yourself a new md. Don't settle for not
getting the best care you can get. You deserve it!! Best of Luck, karen,
RN (open rny, 9/6/01, 297/146)
— Karen M.
Click Here to Return