Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Insulin Resistance

So...for those of you who are following my blog, I wanted to post an update on a previous post where I let everyone know that I felt like things were getting a little out of hand and life just seemed way more stressful than usual.

I received a call from the Dr.'s office mid week last week telling me that at my follow up appointment, when I had them redo my blood work to test my blood glucose levels, the test has come back that I have a condition called insulin resistance. My body produces higher levels of insulin because it is not properly using the insulin that it produces. Many patients who have it, have a combination of the following: they have a family history of high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, (which I had a mild case of with the twins) family history of type 2 diabetes, and are over weight. I fit into all of these categories. Some of the symptoms are a discoloration in the "creases of skin" such as the arm pit and neck. I haven't noticed any discoloration around my neck, but have in the arm pit and skin tags. I noticed I started getting these several years ago. Just small "tags" of skin that develop and protrude from the surface of the skin.

When I spoke with the nurse, she explained to me that Insulin Resistance can affect many areas of my life, several that you wouldn't think of, and that don't really make a lot of sense. Mood, menstrual cycle, weight gain, stress levels, hormone levels, ...... the list goes on and on. So... the Dr. has prescribed glucophage, it is a medication developed to help the body properly process the insulin that is produced by the body, or converted to insulin from the foods that we eat.

When I picked up the prescription tonight, the pharmacist told me that I should expect "dramatic" weight loss. I'm trying to keep my hopes to a minimum on this little tidbit of information. Also, she asked me to take a "gentle" smell of the bottle. These pills stink to high heaven. I MEAN THEY REEK!!! Michael says they smell like the penguin exhibit at the zoo. Thank you sweetheart for that mental picture. The last time I had to take a pill that smelled this bad, it also tasted like a tin can. So, from previous experience, I have found that Sunny D is the only beverage that I can use to take these gag inducing prescriptions that tastes good and masks the taste so that I can get them down.

I know that this is a lot of personal information, but, I wanted to keep everyone posted and let you guys know that I am not crazy, which was my own self diagnosis a few weeks ago, I am just a little imbalanced right now and the Dr. is staying on top of my condition and is also following up with me on a regular basis to see if an anti-depressant is needed to help me feel more like myself and less like the crazed lunatic that yelled at my boss even when I knew that he was only teasing me and felt like I was constantly yelling at my entire family all of the time, even though I really wasn't.

I love you all, and I thank you all for being so supportive. Especially Michael who has put up with my crazy behaviour through thick and thin and still loves me anyway, and Billie who lets me call her every single day and vent about the crazy clients at work and the general everyday nonsense of life and never judges me and always makes me feel better just for hearing her voice.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah for you, Linn! I am so excited for you! I love when you find out you aren't crazy and there IS something to help you...oh, and big bonus - weight loss! I'm still waiting for MY diagnosis like that LOL! Just kidding, but really - keep us updated on how it goes, please!

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