Hi all. First of all, I'm brand new here...just found this board today. I've gone through 16 pages of posts so far and it looks like this is a great place. I've already learned a lot.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 a little over 3 years ago at the age of 25. I'm not really overweight (I have a little belly, but nothing that would be considered large) and have no history of diabetes in my family. My doctor has told me I'm too old to have Type 1, and don't really have any of the risks for Type 2. I guess I just got lucky. :confused:

Anyway, I've been on Glucovance and Actos for awhile now but my suger is still too high. 2 hours after eating it can be in the 220's and is typically around 180 - 200 when I wake up. I just had my first child and that has really made me worried about being around 20 years from now to see him all grown up. I've heard great things about the pump and the down sides don't seem too bad to me. However, it seems that everybody that's on the pump was previously on shots. Am I jumping the gun here by even thinking about a pump (haven't brought this up to my endo either)? Do I need to be on shots first before I can consider it? If I have to do insulin I wouldn't mind going straight to the pump.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Hi,

There are two members here who I think you need to speak with. Hopefully, they'll be around soon. First, there's a poster (Mindy) who was diagnosed with Type I at 21 years of age. I've also read about some people being diagnosed Type I in their forties so it's possible that you have Type I. The other member here (Ruth) has Type II and is on a pump so yes, you can be on a pump with Type II. There's a test (C-peptide test) that tells you how much, if any, insulin you are producing. If you aren't producing any, then you are Type I. Have you had that test? That might be something to look into. Good luck.

Sharon :)

First of all, Mystere, there's no such thing as being "too old" to develop Type 1. It can happen at any age. At some point, your doctor should do a C-peptide test to determine if you're T1 or T2.

It is possible, however, to develop T2 with no obvious risk factors. That happened to me...38 years old, weight at 125 (on a 5'3" frame), plenty of exercise, etc. In my case, however, there was a family history.

Your blood sugars are currently running too high. Ask your doctor if other oral medications should be added; should your current medications be increased; or should you start taking insulin? I think the C-peptide test should be done before these questions can be answered.

Yes, I think you're jumping the gun a bit as far as the pump goes, but not because you're a T2...more because you're not even on insulin yet. Before you go on the pump, you'd need to be on insulin, and you may yet be able to get your numbers under control with oral medications. You mentioned that you see an endo...isn't he/she concerned about your high numbers? 180-200 fasting is very high; the usual fasting target for diabetics is somewhere around 80-120 (lower is better, but sometimes you can't get too low without having a lot of hypoglycemic episodes).

I would say that a long talk with your doctor is in order...what targets does he/she think are appropriate for fasting, 2-hours post meal, and bedtime. How long should you give the current medication to work before adding other medications and/or increasing the dosages. If medications don't work, shouldn't you be trying insulin?

Also, have you had an A1C test done? This shows your average blood glucose over the previous 8-12 weeks and, for a diabetic, should be below 7.0 (below 6.5 is even better).

Keep us posted on what's going on, and if you ever get to the point of being on insulin and want to go for a pump, I'll be glad to give you whatever info I can on it.

Ruth
T2 for 20 years: oral meds 5 years, insulin shots 13 years, pumping for 2 years.

This is the first time I've ever heard of this, and I have a similar problem, similar figures, due to changing Dr.s and meds, not stabilized yet. Will ask about that test when I go to Dr. tomorrow.

Doesn't glucovance have some metformin or glucophage in it? I may be wrong about that, but one side effect can be a lactic acid buildup causing muscle pain. It's very rare, but I think can be fatal. Remember, I may have the wrong med in mind. I'm on Avandia now, makes you hungry, I think, haven't got my dose adjusted right yet.

I'm glad to learn about the above test.

I have gone to quite a few Endo's in my time!!LOL None of them have given the pump based on type. All of them required that you need insulin first. They also required that you only be controlled by insulin.

Insurance companies dont really care as most have finally realized that giving you a $4000 pump saves them 10X that in costs from complications. However, they all require a letter of medical necessity. Your medical condition has to necessitate tight control using insulin, which most people don't have taking shots.

I would go in and explain that the meds or the dosages arent controlling your diabetes. I would also insist on the tests mentioned above. After all of that, I would keep in mind the pump but start with slow dosages of insulin first.

Your ultimate goal is control. If this can be accomplished through shots, that is the way to go as they are considered less invasive. Good luck

One thing I found interesting on my quest for a pump is that with Medicare, they won't approve a pump for Type II. I had to get them a copy of my C-Peptide test to show that I'm no longer producing any insulin. The rep at the company told me that if you're producing any insulin at all, Medicare won't cover a pump.

Sharon :)