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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Racer on November 6, 1999, at 17:25:03
OK, since going back on the Effexor XR and Prozac, my blood sugar is appalling. While I was off the drugs, it was all over the place, up and down, with no pattern. Now that I'm back on them, it's been really low consistently. Really low, like 40 - 65. Could this be related to the drugs?
Please, if you have anything to offer, I'd love to hear it. I'm miserably symptomatic, my fingers are almost too sore to type, and I can't seem to get over 90 to save my life. I have no energy at all, I'm freezing cold, and sleeping a lot. Can anyone offer any words of wisdom?
Oh, and eating carbohydrates may knock it up for a short time, but then it drops it down lower in the end. Last night, I ate pizza with a friend (pizza is all the proof I need that this is a pretty great world, by the way) The pizza left me at 60 after three hours. And anything with sugar is right out of the question. I can't take that risk...
Thanks.
Signed
A very tired Racer,
losing this particular race, I guess...
Posted by JohnL on November 7, 1999, at 3:32:33
In reply to Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by Racer on November 6, 1999, at 17:25:03
Hi there Racer. Sorry, I know when you clicked on this you thought maybe I had some input. I don't know anything about blood sugar.But I did want to offer support. I've been following your posts for months. Always interesting reading. I'm aware of all the struggles you've had, especially before the Prozac was added to the Effexor. Just wanted to say I've been next to you during the whole roller coaster ride, and still am, but have no knowledge of blood sugar issues. I know it doesn't help your blood sugar much, but I am responding to share support. Hope you get some answers.
Posted by S. Suggs on November 7, 1999, at 6:49:08
In reply to Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by Racer on November 6, 1999, at 17:25:03
Hello Racer: It sounds like you have a real proplem on your hands. For what it is worth, I used to work for LifeScan, but resigned due to an issue which caused us to part ways. There are several questions: Are you Type 1 or Type 2 (insulin dependent / non-insulin dependent)? If you are T2, what type of insulin do you take and how much and when? The fact that you are hypoglycemic is obviously the problem, and (if you could give a little more information on your diet, it could possibly help), when, what, how much? When do you check your blood sugar? Which meter do you use? Are your test strips fresh? Have you checked your meter with a lab reference (a dr's office should be able to handle this for you-they should use a lab reference)? DO NOT check your meter with another meter, because you do not know which one is correct. Also, not all meters are calibrated the same way, and therefore, could give different results. Blessings,
S. Suggs
Posted by Racer on November 7, 1999, at 13:16:28
In reply to Re: Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by S. Suggs on November 7, 1999, at 6:49:08
First to JohnL: Thanks. Support helps, and it's kinda nice to know that someone's watching.
Now to answer some of S. Suggs' questions:
Type II, controlled for years with diet and exercise. What it took to control it when first diagnosed was gaining about 30 pounds. Go figure... (I was underweight, and gaining up to the recommended weight helped a lot in stabilizing me.) For the last six or seven years, I've been off medication and stable. I'd even gotten kinda lax about diet, but stayed totally stable.
About a year ago, I got mononucleosis, and lost a bunch of weight. Lost more trying to get ADs to work, and now I'm about 15 pounds off my 'normal' weight, but having trouble gaining it back. And the blood sugar thing started going wild.
I try to eat reasonably, don't eat much that's sweet or high carb, because of the diabetes, and eat about the same things at the same times each day.
I use an Exactech meter, and am currently testing about every two hours to show the patterns to my doctor at our next appt. We'll test the meter then, too.
One of the things that interests me most is that the 'dawn phenomenon' is not happening at all. That used to be my downfall, waking up way high, then dropping if I didn't do something about it right away. These days, I'm waking up really low. That seems to be only since starting back on the Effexor XR and Prozac. Or it's coincidence?
Anyone heard anything about anything like this?
Posted by S. Suggs on November 7, 1999, at 18:37:09
In reply to Re: Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by Racer on November 7, 1999, at 13:16:28
Racer, It's good that you fall into the type 2 vs. t1. I am curious if you getting off the effexor a couple of months ago was the problem. Since you have not had to go on the meds for 6 or 7 years, and quitting the effexor happened at the same time that your blood sugar became such a challenge, it could be that starting back on the meds could be the solution.
I would also examine the possiblity of a defective meter. You mention that you check your blood sugar every 2 hours. Wow! Most dr's would give their right arm to have their pts check every 6. My point I am leading up to is this: If you are having such eratic readings every 2 hours, are not insulin dependent, it might be due to a bad meter. I do not know when you are going to visit your dr, but, I would consider getting another meter asap. Exactect was a Medisense product several years ago, until it was purchased by Abbott. I would call Abbott and explain your problem and tell them you wanted to see if they could help you out before you go down to your local CVS / Wal-Mart / Eckerds etc... to swap it out for a competitive meter (each sunday check to see which meter is "free", usually with a purchase of 50 - 100 strips. If this does not work, call LifeScan @ 1800.722.6036 and get on the healthcare professional hotline (not the consumer hotline) the best hours are 9-6 east coast time. Tell them that you have an exactech meter, your problems and you were wondering if they might be able to give you a complementary meter. I do not know if you meter is the problem, but it really stands out to me.
Last, but not least, I would check a PDR to see what the incidence of hypoglycemic episodes were in the clinicals (specifically, prozac) this may help out. The problem is that you have so many factors at play in this situation that it makes it very difficult to filter out the culprit. I hope this helps, Blessings,
S. Suggs
Posted by S. Suggs on November 7, 1999, at 18:43:01
In reply to Re: Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by Racer on November 7, 1999, at 13:16:28
Racer, sorry about the mixup, the number for the healthcare professional hotline @ LifeScan is 800.524.7226, NOT 800.722.6036. Please let me know if you have any questions. Blessings,
S. Suggs
Posted by Victoria on November 7, 1999, at 19:46:07
In reply to Re: Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by S. Suggs on November 7, 1999, at 18:39:50
For what it's worth, I've noticed some kind of connection between hypoglcemic symptoms and estrogen level. I'm not diabetic so wasn't checking my glucose levels, but I tend toward hypoglycemia and was having increasingly severe and frequent symptoms--to the point that I didn't dare go out of the house without food in my purse. As soon as I started taking hormone replacement, all these symptoms disappeared! I don't begin to understand the connection, but it happened.
> > First to JohnL: Thanks. Support helps, and it's kinda nice to know that someone's watching.
> >
> > Now to answer some of S. Suggs' questions:
> >
> > Type II, controlled for years with diet and exercise. What it took to control it when first diagnosed was gaining about 30 pounds. Go figure... (I was underweight, and gaining up to the recommended weight helped a lot in stabilizing me.) For the last six or seven years, I've been off medication and stable. I'd even gotten kinda lax about diet, but stayed totally stable.
> >
> > About a year ago, I got mononucleosis, and lost a bunch of weight. Lost more trying to get ADs to work, and now I'm about 15 pounds off my 'normal' weight, but having trouble gaining it back. And the blood sugar thing started going wild.
> >
> > I try to eat reasonably, don't eat much that's sweet or high carb, because of the diabetes, and eat about the same things at the same times each day.
> >
> > I use an Exactech meter, and am currently testing about every two hours to show the patterns to my doctor at our next appt. We'll test the meter then, too.
> >
> > One of the things that interests me most is that the 'dawn phenomenon' is not happening at all. That used to be my downfall, waking up way high, then dropping if I didn't do something about it right away. These days, I'm waking up really low. That seems to be only since starting back on the Effexor XR and Prozac. Or it's coincidence?
> >
> > Anyone heard anything about anything like this?
Posted by Racer on November 7, 1999, at 22:14:52
In reply to Re: Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by S. Suggs on November 7, 1999, at 18:37:09
My doctor's first question was whether I felt symptomatic when the low readings came on, and I do, though I did suspect my meter for a while and will check it on Wednesday at the doctor's office.
The two hour checks are because of the current problems. I've been checking before and after everything I eat, so that we can compare patterns of response. This is not a usual thing for me! Thank goodness, since my poor fingers are about to run away from home, and have requested that I start checking my toes instead!
What's really driving me nuts about the meter, though, is that it was just replaced a few months ago. The old one finally died, and the company replaced it with a new one. Nice of them, considering I personally probably paid to decorate their new offices! (Strips are damn expensive!) The meter has shown me about what I would expect to see, although the patterns emerging are different from what I used to get. Which is weird.
Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll check them all out.
Posted by Racer on November 8, 1999, at 1:54:47
In reply to Could the ADs be contributing to my blood sugar?, posted by Racer on November 6, 1999, at 17:25:03
hypoglycemia is listed as an infrequent side effect of Effexor. Duh. I guess I could have found that if I'd looked, huh?
Thanks for suggesting it, it might have taken forever to think of it on my own. I am blonde now, you know...
This is the end of the thread.
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