[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

Mr. B

Have you ever investigated any possible treatments outside Ireland ?

As I found out with the Noctura, we live in a small country.

I'm pretty sure it was but I did wash it again before the second test.

Actually Mr.B I meant your pain issue ?

Good luck to you in July bud.

If you are on 0.5 then you are probably only on month 2. Nothing you describe is out of the ordinary. Expect the weight to start falling off you. I'm down from 110kg to less than 75kg.

yeah it kinda f*cks with your head a bit. surprised you managed to gain weight. Has the nausea kicked in yet?

You should be on 1mg after 4 weeks of .5mg.

a question for those on ozempic (or any weekly injection) and other medications. What is your schedule for getting refills? before the ozempic it was straighforward. i would refill it every month. with the ozempic they dispense 4 weekly doses at a time. so i need to get that refilled every 4 weeks. so i have been getting everything refilled on a 4 week basis to save me a trip to the pharmacy. the pharmacist pulled me aside yesterday and said i should only be getting refills every month. for the ozempic it will be the same schedule except one month in the year i will get 2 4-week doses. is this how everybody else does it?

thee pharmacy insist they can only claim for one script a month. it is all a bit annoying

So today I was in the Eye and Ear for an eye scan. I have not been there for a few years but the Opticians in Newcastle where I get the Noctura 400 mask asked me to go back as they wanted to know that their opinion matched Dublin's.

Anyway the scans today turned out to be stable. They still do a great job in that hospital.

Only problem is that they have no plans yet to dispense the mask here. Apparently it is in all UK hospitals and saving the NHS £3,000 per patient.

Oh Well.

I was prescribed ozempic in November 2023, I got my first dose last week. I think the only reason I got it was because the pharmacist got sick and tired of me asking. That's the only advice I can give you, keep pestering them (I know it's not their fault, but whatever chance you have, you need to be on their minds when they do get that spare supply)

I have another question guys sorry. So I’ve got my dexcom g7 sensors yesterday and I’ve synced with my iPhone and the dexcom app. It would be way better with a smart watch, does dexcom provide watches does anyone know or will I need to buy an apple smart watch myself?

You most likely do not need a specific dose pen, so no need to wait months if the higher dose pens are the only ones available. You can dial a 0.25 dose from a 1.0 or 0.5 dose pen by counting the clicks that represent a quarter of the number of clicks needed to dial in the 1.0 dose, if the lower dose in not actually marked specifically on the scale.

If you look at Ozempics own video on the dosing page of their website, you can clearly see the person demoing a pen wind it past 0.25 to get to 0.5 dose being demoed.

https://www.ozempic.com/how-to-take/ozempic-dosing.html

There is at least one Youtube videos on this topic:

Obviously check with a pharmacist first and ask their advice.

Has anyone in here been on or are on trulicity 1.5?

I started two weeksago and its been nothing but misery, I cant remember a time mystomach wasn’t at me or Diarrhea (doubled down on fibre diet sotheres more in there to stop it or I thought)

Been pushed into itby St.Marys in Phoenix park, said I would try Metaformin again (hadsimilar stomach issues a week after been diagnosed with type 2) andthey refused

When the script went in my doc questioned was was it not 0.75 to start off and againSt.Marys refused, they knew best

Booked my first sunholiday for next week and the best the nurse could tell me was tobring Imodium and do the needle when you come back (and the Diarrheawill likely start again and sure we will ring in a month)

HbA1c is in the 50s,I do walk/hike/cycle and eat right (dietician signed me off), but getup on the scales your overweight end of

I know people onOzempic and its not as bad as this (and its meant to be stronger), Idid say I would find it hard to do a needle so trulicity would help,but if i was going to end up on Ozempic to start now, again they knewbest

I've posted before about neuropathic and other pain issues impacting my BG control and my mobility. Unfortunately there's been no improvement for me on the pain front. I had surgery in May and after an initial improvement, the surgery was a failure.

Despite that, a bit of stubbornness and support from the Mrs has gotten me out with the dog on a daily basis and it's paying a dividend for me in a few different ways. My BG is improving, my insulin requirement has dropped by 25%, my stamina is improving and getting out around our neighbourhood with the dog and meeting people out and about and even kids deciding they have to play with the dog 🐕 it's done my overall mood the world of good.

I've been diabetic for 20yrs or so and suffering from chronic acute pain for the past 5yrs. Dealing with the pain, has and I don't say this lightly, been amongst the hardest things in my life.

It permeates everything you do and becomes a real struggle. I'm lucky that my wife has been a rock, despite having a cancer diagnosis herself in 2022, meaning she has had plenty on her plate apart from me. My son too, and my friends have really been great support for me aswell.

The 5yrs so far and the effect that pain has had on my BG control has been stark. The affect of pain as a stressor on your insulin response, on your cardiovascular system and on your mental health are massive.

A side effect of my pain, was/is fairly constant tachycardia. It was initially though to be incipient cardiac disease but, after multiple ECGs, echo and a couple of stress tests. It turned out I was a bit fitter than I thought and that my CV system was fine! Which was great news given my diabetes.

I'm still suffering from severe pain, managed by neuropathic and opioids but, I'm coping better. My GP has been great. What I really think is missing though? Is that holistic approach from healthcare professionals. Apart from my GP, every medical professional is focusing on their specialty. Be it Endo, Urologists, Pain specialists or cardiology. They all work away in their silo, with no actual interaction with each other or single care plan.

My GP does try to be that, but fragmented record systems don't help either.