New Drug For Diabetics

Word has it that a new drug is awaiting the FDA approval for type 2 diabetics. Upon approval, this new drug will be called Victoza. In clinical trials it was proven to outdo Byetta. One draw back for Byetta is that it tends to make many patients nauseous. Victoza did cause some nausea, but that side effect went away a lot quicker then what was experienced with Byetta.

Another reason for type 2 diabetics to smile is that with only one injection per day there was a greater reduction in the average blood sugar levels as compared to Byetta users. A few of the other benefits of this new drug is that it does not promote weight gain....(Woo Hoo!). Patients on Byetta suffered more than twice as many low blood sugar episodes compared to those on Victoza. High blood pressure tends to be another problem for diabetics, but Victoza also has shown to benefit that too.

I Am So Excited!! Great strides are being made in the treatment of Diabetes. I would love to live to see a cure for this terrible disease that touches so many lives. I see and feel the toll that Diabetes has taken on me since I was diagnosed 15 years ago. I look at my 16 year old grand daughter (Britt), and feel so much pride in how she has refused to allow type 1 diabetes to beat her down. I then say a little prayer that God will soon give someone the knowledge to find the cure.



I want to thank all of you that were concerned about my absence from blogging and the e-mails and notes that I received during that time. I just needed to walk away from posting for a little while. It had become more of an obligation for me than something that I enjoyed and looked forward to doing.

Meanwhile, we have our little veggie garden going, we have a bumper crop of birds hatching in every nook and cranny around here, and the grass keeps growing, Buddy endears himself to us more and more every day and the grand youguns keep right on a growing.

Basically........ Life is Good!!

(and it's great to be back)

Just One Of Those Interruptions

" I refuse to let this rule my life!" Those were the words that went through my mind over and over again as I drove home from a doctor's appointment in 1994. It was at this appointment when I learned for the first time that I am a diabetic. I was so determined that if I have to have this disease, so be it, but it would not rule my life. It wasn't as if I hadn't been warned in advance that there was a chance that this would happen. It was 24 years prior to being diagnosed as a diabetic that I was pregnant with Tersie and the doctor had then told me then that I had Gestational Diabetes. This bit of information explained why my babies were 9 pounds plus when they were born and why I didn't gain any weight while I carried them. He told me that I should have this checked from time to time because usually women that have high blood sugar readings during pregnancy will become type 2 diabetics years down the road. Even with knowing the possibility was there. Even knowing my odds of becoming a diabetic was greater because my grandmother had this disease. Even with knowing all of these things, it still felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me when I was told that it had finally caught up with me.

I had made the appointment with the doctor in 1994 because I was having my yearly Spring bout with pollen allergies and Bronchitis. I complained to him about how just before getting sick I had felt so tired all of a sudden. I told him about how it seemed to take all of the effort I could manage to just put one foot in front of the other and move and so forth. It was a easy call for my doctor, being a diabetic himself, to order some blood work because he suspected Diabetes.

I haven't allowed Diabetes to rule my life. I have had to learn to live with it though. If you are blind you learn how to read braille and walk with a seeing eye dog. When you are hearing impaired, you learn to read lips and use sign language. When you are diabetic, you learn what you need to do to live with diabetes.

It has been 14 years since I was diagnosed. I am still learning things that I didn't know. At first I was only taking the pills to control my sugar levels. Mistakenly, I cut out almost everything that contained sugar. I learned that lesson while standing in the check out line at K-Mart. All of a sudden I broke out in a cold sweat, with a trembling shaky feeling, and dizziness. Fortunately, I had read enough to know that what was happening to me was my blood sugars were bottoming out on me. A candy bar off the impulse rack took care of that one. That was when I learned that it is alright to eat a moderate amount of sweets as long as I am taking the pills for my diabetes to prevent my blood sugars from dropping too much.

The first 6 years of this journey was the toughest for me. I felt so alone in this battle. I had my doctor that I could talk to and the books in the library, but that was about it. That was quite a while before I knew anything about the Internet and the world of support and information that it would contain. I think I was taking at one time or another just about every pill they have available for diabetes. For those 6 years I found that some of the pills that might help with the blood sugar levels, also caused weight gain. I took pills that caused me to have stomach issues of all sorts. I took pills that caused me to retain fluid until I was puffed out like a toad. My blood sugar readings were all over the charts. Seldom were they where they were supposed to be, they were either way too high or dangerously low. I would find myself having bouts of depression. I was tired of taking so many pills and never feeling good.

As fate would have it, my doctor was leaving the area and I started seeing another doctor in the same practice. We discussed how my blood sugar readings were so all over the place and he suggested that I start injections of insulin. He put me on Lantus, which is a time delayed insulin that works over a 24 hour period. With lessons from his nurse on how to give myself injections, I was starting down a new path with this disease. You know the one, the same disease that I swore would not rule my life. I was hesitant about giving myself these shots, but gritted my teeth and stuck that needle in my leg. After a while giving myself the injections has become second nature for me. In no time at all, I started feeling pretty close to the person I used to be. It was wonderful! When I told my doctor how much better I was feeling, I asked him why I wasn't put on insulin six years ago when I was first diagnosed. I was told that many doctors try to put off introducing insulin as a treatment as long as they can because they feel it interferes with the patient being able to lead a normal life. My opinion of this is that insulin does not change my life style in the least............ Blood sugar levels that are out of control does interfere with my life. At that time I was taking my insulin at bed time and 1 pill in the morning.

As time passes, changes have to be made because eventually the body needs more help then what it is getting. Last year I started going to an Endocrinologist. I refer to my visits with her as Diabetes Boot camp and I call her my Drill Instructor. She believes in treating this disease aggressively and that is fine with me. She added Byetta injections do my treatment and sent me to the dietitian for instructions on injecting with the pen which contains the Byetta. I think Byetta is a giant step forward in treatment of diabetes. Not only does it help tremendously, but it doesn't cause weight gain like so many other medications do.

I mentioned before that I am still learning things 14 years after first being diagnosed. I learned two magic numbers while I was with the dietitian that had never been mentioned to me before. Those numbers are 15 and 45. These 2 numbers have the ability to help keep my blood sugar readings within an acceptable range. My nurse (Molly) told me that I will have better control if I try to limit my total carbs for breakfast, lunch and dinner to 45. Snacks between meals and in the evening after dinner should be limited to 15 total carbs. That in itself has been a tremendous help for me in trying to control my blood sugar levels. I will be the first to admit though that I do get lazy from time to time and don't check those carbs.......

When I first started living with diabetes, I mistakenly thought that all I had to do was stay away from the sweets and take my pills. It is so much more than that. One of my favorite vegetables is corn. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that there are enough carbs in a serving of corn to equal a cup good old white granulated sugar. (Place pouting face here). Some Doctors thought I should not eat three meals a day, but instead a bunch of smaller meals (5 to 6). I think most doctors have gotten away from that suggestion. Talk about interfering with a person's life style.

Just to sum things up, the Lantus and Byetta, the two magic numbers and testing on a regular basis has made it possible for me to live with my Diabetes instead of letting it rule my life. I hope that this information has been helpful.

Have a blessed day.......... ~Jo

Diabetes Boot Camp

I spent the better part of the yesterday afternoon at my Endocrinologist's (aka Diabetes Boot Camp Drill Instructor) office. She went over my latest blood work results, which she wasn't impressed with. Those numbers are still way higher than she wants them to be.

I am on an oral medication for diabetes as well as insulin (Lantus) and Lizard Spit (Byetta). She decided that we need to increase the units of insulin that I take and make some adjustments to the oral meds and see what sort of results we get from that. Now don't get all grossed out over the Lizard Spit remark. The original protein that brought about Byetta was found in the saliva of the Gila Monster (one of only two poisonous lizards in North America). When I first found that bit of information out I thought it to be pretty interesting. It is always nice to know where things originate from that you are putting into your body.


I tend to off track from time to time ........... The Byetta is wonderful stuff, but is tricky to use I am finding out. I visited a web site (Diabetes Monitor)that spells this information out for you. For instance there is a window of one hour after you inject Byetta that you must eat. At what point you eat within that window, determines how well the Byetta is going to work and the effects it can have on you in the process. I found many such tid bits of information that I was not aware of before. My Drill Instructor, as good as she is, just didn't pass all of these extras on to me or was not aware of them. No problem though, now I know the rest of the story.


I told you about my Santa (Vicky) from AmMed Direct in December. Well I am still receiving wonderful little care packages from them with sample snack bars and lotion, diabetic recipes, coupons for diabetic supplies and sundry needs. If you are not hooked up with them, you really need to check out their web site and get in touch. I was paying big bucks for my testing supplies through my Prescription Insurance. Vicky took matters into her hands and found out that my Medical Insurance will cover my test supplies at a fraction of what it was costing me before.


Another really wonderful resource that I happened to stumble across a while back is dLife . I have found that I could spend hours at this web site just feasting on all of the information that is available there. dLife also features a TV program that airs on Sundays. I am not sure of the time or channel, but it is posted at the site. I have caught the program a few times and have found it very informative.


Living with diabetes can certainly be a challenge at times, but it doesn't have to consume your life. Any help that we, as diabetics can find helps makes the challenge a little less taxing. I hope that you find the links I have provided here helpful. If you are not diabetic, but know someone that is, why not pass this information on to them. Please do this especially if that person is newly diagnosed. I remember feeling so overwhelmed when I was first diagnosed. That was quite a while before computers became a big part of every home. I had no idea that so many other people were fighting the same battles I was with the disease and that they were probably feeling pretty much alone, as well. My resources at the time pretty much consisted of my family doctor and what pamphlets he had available.