Insulin Resistance and Scared!

[dani2776]

I was diagnosed today as having insulin resistance.  At the time I thought I understood everything the doctor was tellign me but now my head is spinning and I am scared.  I did not have an Hgb A1C done, she drew that this morning.  My diagnosis came from symptoms and my glucose readings.  My blood sugar ranges from 60-90's.  When I have my symptoms my levels are in the 60's and then jump to the 90's after I eat.  My doc diagnosed this after stabalizing my thyroid and still not feeling well.  Here is a list of my symptoms:
1. Fatigue (can be quite severe)
2. Brain Fog
3. High triglycerides
4. Low HDL
5. Inability to lose weight, actually still gaining (currently 172 and I am only 5 feet tall)
6. Depression
7. Anxiety
8. Periods where I get really shaky, hot, nervous, nausea and feel like I am going to pass out
9. Mood swings
10. Bloating

My doctor prescribed Glucophage 500mg.  I am to start slowly taking one a day and increase to 2 a day.  My questions are these:
1. What is going on with my body?  Do I have diabetes?
2. Is this curable or am I going to be on this medicine forever?
3. Is this medicine safe?  I am very scared of medication

[Zoelula]

Sorry, dani, I'll send it again!

[hava]

The Yoga Pranayam (breathing exercises) will  help to control thyroid, weight and other symptoms you have mentioned.I have posted a lot to do, and I will help you stay away from medicine.Do what I have suggested, and come back to report(on this thread), what symptoms are getting better.Keep posting your feedback(for months/years), until you are better, so others can learn from this thread.
Build up your timing gradually. If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after 1 minute.

Bhastrika - Take a long deep breath into the lungs(chest not tummy) via the nose and then completely breathe out through the nose. Duration upto 5 minutes.

Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 10 to 30 minutes twice a day. Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
Children under 15 years – do for 5 to 10 minutes.

Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do for 5 to 10 minutes.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

Bhramri Pranayam -Close eyes. Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three fingers on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in through nose. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee.
Duration : 5 to 12  times

Once you are better, continue the pranayam once a day.
Other exercises for thyroid -

Thyroid point – press (50 times) the fleshy bit on palm between  the base of thumb and wrist.
  
Ujjayi Pranayam : While breathing in, tighten throat(contract glotis) and there will be sound from back of throat, then drop chin(rest chin on chest), hold breath as long as possible.Then  chin up, close right nostril and slowly breath out through left nostril.
Duration: 5 – 20 times

Ujjayi pranayam detailed
First exhale fully through the nose.
During inhalation your glottis should remain partially closed. Glottis is the opening between the vocal chords.While inhaling, produce a sound as if you are sobbing, by partially closing the glottis.(This is reverse of clearing your throat, where your are exhaling).
The face muscles should not be contracted during inhalation. Abdominal muscles should be well controlled. Inhale smoothly and uniformly.
After deep inhalation, retain your breath as long as possible. While retaining breath do Jalandhara bandh (lock your chin, touch your chin with your chest).Initially, try to retain breath for 8 to 10 seconds. Gradually increase the time of retention of breath.
After retaining breath, first open the Jalandhar bandh(chin up) and then, close right nostril and exhale slowly through left nostril. The glottis should all along remain partially closed.This is one set of ujjayi.
Do this for 5 to 20 times everyday.

[dani2776]

Thank you for your repsonse, however I did not ever receive the PM you sent me with the webiste.  Can you please resend it?  Thanks!!

[Zoelula]

I'm sorry but I don't know anything anbout insulin levels and resistance. You might ask her what that means that she thinks you still have resistance but you are well within the optimal range on your labs. I would say it's a judgement call if you want to try for awhile to lose weight on your own and then take it if you can't or just go ahead and take it for awhile. Also, you might try posting your question on the website I sent you as there are a lot more people with different experiences on there and someone will know more about it.

[dani2776]

Well I still have not started the Glucophage as I was waiting to hear the results of my fasting inslulin levels.  My doctor's office just called and said my level was 3, they said normal was under 17 and optimal would be under 10.  They said she still thinks I have insulin resistance based on symptoms and to take the Glucophage.  Any opinions?

[caregiver222]

Glucophage is very safe, and you should not hesitate to take it.

You have an interesting presentation.

[Zoelula]

Sorry, Dani, I didn't intend to scare you more! Now that you explain the doctor's thinking it does make some sense. He feels that you are stuck where you are because the insulin resistance is keeping you from being able to lose weight and he feels you are going to have increasing blood sugars due to your weight. So he is doing a "preemptive strike" by treating the insulin resistance Before the blood sugars rise into the pre-diabetes zone. I'm just assuming you that your thyroid is managed and stable so that is not a factor in keeping you from losing weight. What I would do is start the medication as the doctor suggests but also do self-management by lowering your carbs as much as possible and getting regular exercise. Doctors rarely recommend low carb diets, even for diabetics as they use a very outdated ADA recommendation for diet. If you do those things in combination with the medication you might, at some point, be able to stop using the meds. Make sense? I'm also sending you a pm with a website where there are a lot more diabetics and pre-diabetics and you can also pose your situation to them and get a lot more perspectives than just mine, and perhaps someone who has been in a similar situation.

[dani2776]

I do see an endo for my thyroid condition.  He was actually the one who first start suggesting I monitor my blood sugars especially during my spells.  My fasting blood sugars ranges from 70-90's.  Here is how she explained it to me (my family doc).  I am NOT able to lose weight no matter how much I diet and exercise, it will not come off I have tried.  She said the wieght is an issue with my body not being able to use insulin correctly and the medicine will help stabalize my blood sugars and also will get the weight off so we could stop the process.  Does this really not make any sense because now I am more scared than ever.  

[Zoelula]

I just did some reading in a couple books and I understand that Insulin Resistance Syndrome CAN be diagnosed without pre-diabetic glucose numbers. It states that about 30% of all Americans have IRS (which make it easy to gain weight and hard to lose) of which 30-40% of them will develop Type 2 diabetes. It further states that "positive lifestyle canges can reduce the likelihood of IRS progressing to Type 2 diabetes when started early enough, and can often cause a marked reductin in health risk at any point." In other words, weight loss, carb reduction and exercise! I still think meds are premature. Since you also have thyroid condition, you might want to get another opinion from an endo rather than just your PCP who seems a bit overeager to prescribe meds imho.

[Zoelula]

I'm quite puzzled by your post, to be honest. Prediabetes (sometimes also referred to as insulin resistance) is diagnosed by either fasting blood sugar or A1C. In order to be diagnosed with pre-diabetes you need a fasting blood sugar from 100-125, or an A1C over 5.7. Your blood sugars if anything, are too low. You could be suffering from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which sometimes precedes diabetes. Or if your lows (under 70) are after how carb meals it could be something called reactive hypoglycemia. I am also very puzzled why your doctor would prescribe medication for someone whose blood sugar never rises above the 90s??? That is totally within the normal range! Even if your doctor anticipates you having insulin resistance and proceeding to develop diabetes you aren't there yet. It would be much more appropriate to recommend a combination of diet for weight loss, cutting carbs and exercise. I'm going to research Insulin Resistance to see if I'm missing something, but that is what I'm seeing now. You need to ask your doctor to explain his treatment and what he is seeing in your medical picture.

As for safety and Glucophage. It is the most commonly prescribed medication for diabetes. It does have some side effects which are considered minor but can be annoying. They are mostly gastrointestinal and some people find they improve with time. I definitely think you need some answers.