Metformin Helps Dawn Phenomenon

I stopped taking metformin several weeks ago as an experiment. Was it causing my lower GI problems? Yes!

However, I'm certain now that it has a significant positive impact and have titrated back up to 1,000 MG per day.

I clearly have Dawn Phenomenon. During the time time I was off the metformin here are the salient numbers:

• Bedtime average = 150
• 3:00 a.m. average = 173
• Waking a.m. average = 180

Here are the numbers now that I'm back up to a relevant dose of metformin:

• Bedtime average = 146
• 3:00 a.m. average = 166
• Waking a.m. average = 103

One interesting postscript to this experiment is that I also appear to have delayed Dawn Phenomenon, meaning that my BG goes up and up and up after waking until about 11:00 a.m., at which time I crash and go low, low, low. Starting today, I'm adjusting my carb ratio for breakfast and my morning basal dose in order to compensate.

Addicted to Tu Diabetes

It's official. I am addicted to a social networking site!

Don't get me wrong...I love reading everyone's d-blogs (I subscribe to over 150 in my Google Reader).



But this site is just great. I feel like I'm connected to others through the forums, and have a place to ask all the questions my CDE doesn't have time for (or that I feel too silly to ask otherwise).

I joined Facebook a couple of years ago...in my capacity as a geek at a university whose job it is to understand this phenomenon and explain it to others. But being 43 years old, I have never really used it for my own networking. I just lurked.

But Tu Diabetes is fabulous.

C-Peptide Results

I recently was a participant in a clinical drug trial.

At the end of my participation, they conducted one last round of labs (9 vials of blood - eek!). Today I received my check for participating ($300 - woo hoo! enough to keep me in glucose tabs for a while) and the final lab results.

My C-Peptide was .9 and the "reference range" was 1.1 - 5.0.

So I guess that means I'm still producing some insulin but I'm below the low end of the range. I'm really curious how these numbers translate. Do I have 50% production? More? Less?

Also, I've read elsewhere that the "reference range" can vary from one person to the next and must take into account age, gender and so on. I assume that the reference range in my results do so.

All in all, it's just one more number in the big picture, but I am curious about it.

Insulin-o-phobia

That is my really special personal term for being afraid of taking big doses of insulin.

I am not afraid of needles or injecting myself.

I am afraid of taking so much insulin that I have a hypoglycemic episode. So maybe I should really be calling it "Hypoglycemia-o-phobia" instead.

I am sensitive to insulin, and still produce some of my own. My TDD is about 50 units. My meal bolus is typically around 4-6 units. But there have been instances where I'm going to eat a really big meal, and/or I am really high (like, say 347!) and so I need more insulin. So when I do the math and the calculator on my Palm Treo suggest that I inject 12 units, it freaks me out! The thought of injecting that much insulin scares me to death! Going low! Overcorrecting! Overcorrecting again! Going low again! Argh!

Yet I know 12 units ain't nothin' to many people. And that is likely going to be the case for me eventually as well. I need to just suck it up.