2005-11-28

Options for Diabetics

    I am one of the myriad number of people in the USA who has Type II Diabetes.  This ailment has been rampant in the maternal and paternal sides of my family for generations.   I had the silly idea that limiting my sugar intake would prevent this visitor from invading my life!  Well...seems the information I was fed in Nursing School has long ago been proven inadequate, in fact, downright untrue.   My experience with diets perscribed by dietians  to help control the flux in blood sugar levels, leave much to be desired.  Why?  They perscribe high carbohydrate diets which most diabetics are unable to  tolerate...Of course  pharmaceutical company's are happy to provide drugs, which are supposed to help you control your problem. 
    You may have guessed, I am the kind of patient most doctors dread to see walk through the door, as I constantly question the prevailing wisdom, read about every alternative available and generally take responsibility for my own health, within the limits of my knowledge.
    Unfortunately, I have been having frequent asthma attacks over the past year.  They have become increasingly worse with time....My doctor had perscribed blood pressure meds of various kinds and  I  thought they were the culprit.  Thanksgiving Day I took my usual dosage of Glucophage XR (it is supposed to help regulate the rate at which  your liver releases glucose into your blood stream) before breakfast...twenty minutes later I COULD NOT BREATH....used an inhaler and in a while went my merry way.  A lunch time the same....but this time the asthma attack lasted much longer and required more medication than usual.  Well folks...guess what...GLUCOPHAGE is the culprit! I have been having an allergic reaction to the stuff, which has become increasingly  more severe over the past few months.  How do I know it was the GLUCOPHAGE?  I quit taking it, and my lungs are  clearing up.  Seems like a no brainer to me.
    The thing that frosts me is that last April my doctor switched  me to generic Glucophage (Metaformin) and I had a severe reaction to it...so he put me back on the XR variety. I suggested to him the possibility that it was causing asthma, but he insisted it was not so.  I feel like a real dunce for not taking responsiblity for my own health sooner.  Please do not assume that I will ignore treating my Diabetes, as it is an ever present threat to the well being of my body.  More on this tomorrow.

 

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