First, an apology: I left you hanging a month ago with part two of my diagnosis story and haven't written the rest of it. So, I'm sorry, and here's what I hope to be part three of four.
I went through nearly two trimesters of my third pregnancy managing my blood sugar with Lantus, good food choices and exercise. Sometime in late September 2005, my blood sugars started not responding well enough to what I was doing, so my educator added Novolog to the mix. I loved it.
Blood sugar and diabetes-wise, the end of my pregnancy was fairly uneventful. Looking back, I realize what I had going for me was the strict behavior modification I had instituted and a prolonged honeymoon phase.
Like many women with diabetes, my insulin requirements dropped dramatically immediately (literally) after the baby was born, and I was instructed to stop taking Novolog. I was appalled at what the hospital considered a diabetes-friendly meal (white pasta, white-flour bread stick, etc.), but my blood sugar stayed within non-pregnant range. Since I was breastfeeding, I remained on Lantus instead of starting on orals.
It wasn't long, though, before I fell off the wagon. Tending to a newborn, two older children, a house and a job put diabetes on the back burner. I was in a somewhat limbo-ish place doctor-wise after No. 3 was born because I didn't need my OB or my peri, but needed something more than Harry. I had never seen an endo, and wanted more guidance. So in February 2006 I got on board with my endo, Dr. C.
No. 3 and I nursed until she was 17 months old, so there wasn't much Dr. C and I could do drug-wise until the baby was done with me. We added Metformin, took oodles of blood tests and talked until we were blue in the face. We both were anxious for me to start Byetta, which I did in summer 2007.
I was able to stay on Byetta for roughly three months before I got so angry with myself and my blood sugars. It seemed that no matter what I did I was always--always--high. And when I say high, I mean that I spent a few weeks hanging out in the 200s and 300s. I thought it was all my fault. Almost without consulting my endo, I stopped Byetta and started taking Novolog again. The difference was dramatic.
When I saw Dr. C again in fall 2007 I told him how happy I was on Novolog and that I wasn't willing to go back on Byetta any time soon. That's when he told me I was a candidate for the pump. That's when I thought he was crazy because type 2's don't go on pumps, I thought.
But then the wheels started turning and in winter 2007, I started the get-Michelle-on-a-pump campaign.
