Posted by twinleaf on September 30, 2007, at 13:38:14
In reply to Re: so glad you posted » twinleaf, posted by Dinah on September 29, 2007, at 8:56:06
Dinah, thanks for updating. It seems strange to me that the doctors-especially the diabetes expert-are satisfied with just quarterly blood sugar readings. All the people I know with diabetes actually test two or three times a day, and adjust what and when they eat accordingly, and if they take insulin, adjust that, too. As you know, when you have diabetes, any infection, even a minor one, sends blood sugars sky-high. I don't think any good doctor would ever think you were a hypochondriac (I certainly wouldn't). It seems that you may be more stoic, and tending to dismiss or minimize your symptoms. That's certainly not your fault- I think it's your medical team's responsibility to set high standards of care, and educate you in how to care for yourself and work with them. And everyone is going to slip now and then- food-wise. Diabetes is challenging to take care of well, but, if you do, your risk of complications goes way down. With good care and management, you can expect at least 25, 30 or 40 years of side-effect free good health- perhaps more. I wish you had a more pro-active diabetes specialist. My father-in-law had diabetes for 40 years; he went once or twice a month to the Joslin Cliniic in Boston, and never had a single complication in all those years. He died at 86 of a heart attack.The diabetes was a hassle to take care of, although it became very routine and easy for him over time. The best thing was that his quality of life was never impaired
I know yours is only mild; it's possible that it could get a lot milder, or possibly disappear, if you really focussed on the issues of Risperdal and weight. Your weight might just go down naturally if you were able to discontinue the Riisperdal- I lost 50 pounds without doing anything when I stopped taking Zyprexa. I was close to diabetic then, but my readings dropped back to 70 as the weight disappeared. But, Dinah- you need a good, active medical team- people can't do these things all alone.
poster:twinleaf
thread:785471
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070929/msgs/786060.html