[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

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.

Type one here and my Doctor started me on the lower dose of .75 for a month, which they should have started you on to let your body get used to the medication. I held off starting the medication as wanted to enjoy my summer holiday so started the .75 when I got home. Didn't have much side effects with it, didn't really stop me eating, only issue I had was constipation. It did improve my sugars and I found i didn't need to take as much fast acting insulin. But the only thing I found was after the 4th weekly injection it seems to have lost the effect on giving me better bloods. I start on the 1.5 this Sunday so will see how that goes. One thing that did happen and luckily caught it was the pharmacist gave me a box of 1.5 instead of .75 in error, luckily as I delayed starting it due to holiday they spotted it when I went to collect the 2nd month and were all apologies about their cock up. So I would say you should have had the .75 starting off and you wouldn't have had as bad the side effects.

I was in with my GP month ago getting my prescription renewed and he said he would give me a 12 month renewal. I didn't question him on it in case he changed his mind. About time they started issuing them.

What sugar level machine are people using?

Ive been give a Onetouch Verio Reflect and this morning it took 5 attempts to get a reading

The mother has the same issues with her one, would it be a bad batch of strips as from the same chemist

I was asking the brother who does it a lot for the ma as shes is in her 80s and he says you have to hold the test strip to the side of the bubble of blood and it goes across it

Yeah they are from the same batch code

Error 4-strip fill problem

My machine is about a week out of the box and the mothers batteries are not long changed and made sure to get the good duracell ones

I did go into Mccabes to see and told thats the only brand as thats the only rep that calls, did ring the company as instructed by Mccabes and option 1 was hang up on the person and then option 2 was very very busy try live chat or email. Ill try the nack my brother has said and see, ive to do it 2 or 3 times a week so not as bad as people doing that in a day

Folks y appreciate advice, I'm a type 2 diabetic for approximately 8 years I'm a male aged 55.

My driving licence is due to expire in January.

I just went online to start the licence renewal and I was shocked it asked me was I a diabeticd the several additional questions should be a yes such as: do you get dizzy spells, do you have hearing loss. It also stated at the start I need to submit a medical report.

I suffer with vertigo and I think it's getting worse and I've severe tinnitus and wea a hearing aid in one ear.

Has anyone else been in a similar position?

I made a mistake whei I reread it, it had asked am I a diabetic injecting inulin and I'm not so all the additional questions are not relevant

Great to hear that the Noctura is still working Ebbsy. My own Retinopathy is still "stable" no signs of progression over the last 2½ years. It's in both eyes and significant enough that I need 6 monthly monitoring but thankfully, so slow in progression that I've yet to need any actual treatment.

Your own continuing feedback regarding Noctura is always welcome.

Just a really random shout out: Has anyone else recently developed diabetes out of the blue without being remotely in a risk category? I have a BMI of around 22 and previous blood tests showed not the slightest hint of diabetes, then suddenly I've got type 2, 40% of Pancreas function has gone and a HbA1C of 94.

I wouldn't be bringing this up except I recently casually mentioned this to to someone who surprisingly responded that he'd recently been talking to a man who is lean, cycles a lot and suddenly developed it after the same something as myself, that can't be mentioned on Boards.

Thanks. Prescription medications would not be a factor as there were none. That paper seems to be talking about malnourishment. I think I can rule that out too.

There is one medication I have suspicions about:

https://bmcendocrdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12902-023-01424-0

While there might be a causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and T1DM development, this should not influence decisions regarding vaccination since the overall benefit outweighs the risk.

Tough cheese if you happen to be one of the lucky few. Never did like cheese.