That sounds good! Keep up the good work. Will you be increasing your Metformin? I take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. Doctors orders.

alainaswain3698 wrote: »

Sorry I couldn’t update sooner. I had a long week at work, and got busy with household chores I have been putting off all week, today. Tomorrow I will be increasing my dosage of Metformin to 3 pills daily. I also took my first injection of Mounjaro on Tuesday. No side effects thankfully. I am also trying to get a hold of my doctor to see if she an write me a script for a glucose meter and test strips, I am feeling pretty good today. I did feel a bit tired after cleaning and organizing my closet, but drinking a couple glasses of water, and eating a healthy lunch helped alleviate the fatigue.

You don’t have to wait.
You can get one at almost any pharmacy without a prescription.
If you have a Walmart nearby their ReliOn brand will get you started for under $30.
You will probably get a much nicer glucose monitor prescribed by your doctor, but this is a good one for the meantime.



Editorial note: I am very surprised that doctors don’t prescribe this right away.
Mine didn’t when I was first diagnosed a few years ago.

I think it was the nurse at the diabetes clinic that gave me a one touch metre, and the doctor gave me the prescription for the strips. I don't really use it that much anymore since I use Freestyle Libre 2 now. I'll double check with a finger test if the reading on my scan seems out of whack.

2t9nty wrote: »

Mine prescribed one for me, but the copay on the strips had me getting a Relion. I have liked it.

They really soak people with those strips.
My husband and I both have VA insurance so we get ours all for free. Extremely lucky that way.

2t9nty wrote: »

I claim that most doctors do not believe that you will monitor and adjust on your own. They just check the A1C and adjust meds. It may be that there experience teaches them that few people are really willing to make a lifestyle/dietary change and the meter is just a waste.

I agree. And I also agree it’s based on experience. Like the doctor has kind of given up on some aspects of care.

I know that prior to my diagnosis - which unofficially I did myself - I had been struggling for years with various health problems. Not all of which were from diabetes, but the diabetes definitely exacerbated it.
A variety of doctors mostly wrote me off as fat and poor and most made an assumption that I am poorly educated.

Was I fat? Yes. But I was also, at various points, struggling with low thyroid, and an increasing level of balance issues. So I was trying, but not being listened to.

I’m not saying all doctors are like this. But doctors are human, and there is decades of evidence that biases can negatively impact the care they provide to marginalized people. And I happen to occupy at least 3 axes of marginality. It’s not the entirety of my self, but it does impact my life.

At my 3 month followup visit after my diabetes diagnosis my GP’s attitude towards me - which had always been relatively positive - was very much more positive in ways I personally have never been treated by any medical professional.

All this to say that yes, I am sure that many doctors get jaded, and after a few years they just fall back to the least effort because in their experience for many people it’s a struggle to even do the bare minimum.

Of course that can become a self fulfilling proposition.

But that’s where MFP and similar apps and their social groups can fill the gap. Educating and encouraging the people who are reaching out and trying.

I will never forget the way my GP absolutely beamed at me at that 3 month follow up. I know she felt less demoralized in that moment. Seeing that there are at least a few newly diagnosed diabetics who hit the brakes hard, slam it into reverse, and change their entire way of thinking, diet, and exercise habits.

I do think the medical community falls into the one-size-fits-all trap sometimes. BMI is an example of something that is abused right now. I played college sports and in the 80's was doing 100 mile events on my bicycle. In the 90's I got into running and was running 20 - 30 miles a week. I ran a 50km race. I was watching my diet. I was still getting the BMI lecture because my numbers were out of the healthy range. That doctor was just a few years older than I was and died of a heart attack, but his BMI was better than mine...