(This introduction may be a little long - please bare with me.)

Hi there - my name is Kari - I am 22 years old from Michigan. I am here because my father (age 58) has type II diabetes. He has been diagnosed for over 15 years (I believe).

In March 2004 my father had to quit his job because physically, he could not handle the hard factory work anymore. Because he quit, and had no income, or insurance, so he thought that he would move 600 miles away to live with my sister and her family, hoping that he could get a job there that wasn't quite so physically demanding.

This did not happen for him, so in June 2004 my father moved back to lower Michigan near my brother and I. He moved in with my brother, and has been there ever since.

Because my mother & father are divorced, I have been the one helping my father with everything. My father is not very educated, and has always had my mother there to do things for him, checking his sugar, managing the money, etc. So in August 2004 I helped my father apply for Social Security Disability due to his Type II diabetes, neuropathy, arthritis, hardening of the arteries, asthma, and other problems. He was immediatly approved (October 2004) and began to get an income, though he is not eligible for Medicare until August 2006.

I have been searching for assistant programs that will help my father with his medications, but he keeps getting denied. His monthly checks are not small, but they are not huge either, and it would be impossible for him to afford all of his medications. They just keep denying him though.

I took him to the doctor two months ago, and the doctor checked his sugar. It was 375. The doctor told him that the pills (Glucophage) is no longer going to help him, and that he needs to be on insulin.

My father flat out, refuses to use insulin because he does not want to give himself a shot. So the doctor put my father on Advadament (sp?) two pills, twice daily.

I have been checking my father's sugar several times per week, and his sugars are never low. They are always in the 300+ range. The highest so far has been 395.

My father is not a large man. He does not eat often, nor is he on a regular eating schedule, which doesn't help. And he keeps losing weight. Over the last year, he has gone from 175 lbs to 155 lbs. He does not look healthy at all.

Right now - I am trying to talk him into getting on Insulin - but he doesn't say much when I bring it up. He is currently thinking of moving to Kentucky (where he was raised) to be around his brothers, but I am terrified that on his own, he is not going to get the medical attention that he needs.

I guess I am just scared for him - and don't know what else to do in order to help him. That's why I'm here - for support I suppose, and to ask questions when I need to.

Most of you have been there, and understand what my father is going through.

So I just wanted to introduce myself, and give you a history of this situation. I hope I did not bore anyone - and if you read this all the way through - thank you very much. :)

I look forward to getting to know many of you, and finding helpful information along the way.

Thanks for taking the time to read!
Sincerely,
- Kari :)

Kari -

I'm surprised that his doctor hasn't considered a combination of 2 or more meds like Avandia, Metformin (Glucophage), and Glyburide to see if that could help bring down his blood sugar.

As for help with meds, you should go to the American Diabetes Association to see if they can help guide you and him to some kind of free or discount medication costs. They have a website.

I would suggest you see if you could get your father in to see an endocrinologist to work on his problems. And if you could get him to change what he eats, that might lower his blood sugar some, and lowering it some is better than nothing at all. Good luck.

wb

whackedback - thanks for the reply, and advice. I will check into the American Diabetes Association and see what I can find there. :)

I don't really care for the doctor that my father goes to. I see a doctor that I really like, and is very good at what she does.

My father goes to this 'clinic' because they are open 365 days a year, have late hours, and you don't need an appointment. Plus the doctor gives him lots of samples to help get him through a few months.

The doctor does not really try anything new. He simply said that my father needed to go on insulin.

I will look into seeing an Endocrinologist. I will have to talk my father into going, as he does not like spening money to go to the doctor all the time.

Thanks again for the reply. Your advice has been very helpful. :)

- Kari :)

Kari,
It sounds as though your Dad is losing weight because his blood sugar is high, which means he is spilling ketones. This could be very dangerous for him, as he could go into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a life-threatening condition.

The fact that he has had type 2 for over 15 years indicates that his pancreas is probably quite worn out by now. The medications that were in use 15 years ago worked by causing the pancreas to produce more insulin, and actually speeded the progression of T2. I am also one of those people who was diagnosed with T2 20 years ago, and I had to go on insulin within 5 years of diagnosis, and I am now on an insulin pump. At this stage of the game, it's not highly likely that a combo of oral medications will work that well for him, as you can't get insulin from dead cells. However, if he has at least some insulin production, a combination of one shot a day of Lantus (which is a basal insulin), along with an oral medication that decreases his insulin resistance might work.

First, try talking to your Dad about how much better he could feel were he to start using insulin. Honestly, with blood sugars running that high, he must be feeling like crap most of the time. Getting them down into the 100-180 range would make him feel greatly better. And even if he remains on disability, wouldn't he like to be able to enjoy life a bit more?

Then, if you can talk him into doing something about this (seeing an endo, taking insulin), contact the drug companies and ask if they can give him assistance. There's also a new program out for people who don't have insurance, I think it's called RxAssistance, or something like that, where several drug companies have banded together to offer their drugs at a lower cost to people who have no insurance. Not sure any of the insulin companies are doing it, but I know at least one of the companies making oral anti-diabetics is involved.

I'll see if I can find out the correct name and post it later on.

Good luck with this.

Ruth