September 27, 2017

I am bragging. I have worked hard for this and deserve my own pat on the back. I’ve lost 45 pounds since December 30 and am on FARXIGA® and Trulicity® to control my blood sugar. I was on insulin and Trulicity® because metformin gave me lactic acidosis two years ago. I was taking 80 units of Lantus® at night and 120 units of HUMALOG® at a time, several times a week. My sugars were 170 [mg/dL] in the morning and well over 200 [mg/dL] after meals, which were mostly heavily carb-laden because I had a tiny food budget.

My A1C two A1Cs ago was 6.2-6.5% (can’t remember exactly) the highest it’s been is 7.2%. I went on FARXIGA® in January. My A1C this time was 5.9%. Last time in May it was 5.7%, but I was using insulin a lot and having hypoglycemic episodes. This time I barely used any insulin and still ate a lot of sugar.

I take no Lantus® at all, and only take HUMALOG® if my sugar is over 250 [mg/dL], which after giving up sugar it hasn’t been. The highest it gets now is 190 [mg/dL] after eating a very large plate of pasta, which I do maybe once a week, and once the pasta I have on hand is gone, I’m not buying more except for rare occasions.

Now I’ve given up sugar (in the form of candy, cakes, ice cream—foods that are predominantly sugar. I still eat starches, jelly occasionally, fruit (rarely), and foods like ketchup to which sugar is added) and am giving up large portions of pasta for meals (raising our food budget $100 dollars will help us eat more than pasta) for the most part. I’m not going low-carb, but I’m incorporating more whole foods and vegetables.

In addition to my diet improving, I’m continuing to lose weight and look forward to seeing to what my next A1C is in three months.

Marlene Sowder