GLP1

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
If my eye problems aren't enough, I saw my GP this week and she wanted me to start taking GLP1 shots. If you don't know what this is, here some info:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/expert-answers/byetta/faq-20057955

She based the need on the required blood tests that were done prior to my eye surgery. My glucose was 117 and my A1c was 5.8. It was a non-fasting test.

I sent an inquiry to my gastroenterologist through their patient portal, asking if he thought it was necessary, but of course being the weekend, I will not get a response right away.
 

I say NO.

Your gastro person I don't think will step on your GP's toes, say it's not his field, or tell you to go to an endocrinologist.

If necessary, don't start with shots. If you have a bad reaction you're stuck with it for a week.
 
It is quite common to push drugs on older people when glucose isn't absolutely perfect - like it would be in a teenager.
Expecting perfect glucose levels in an older person is like expecting the same cardiac stress test results from a 20 year old as a 70 year old.
A1c levels have been age adjusted & an A1c of 7 is quite acceptable for an older person. A non-fasting glucose of 117 is normal, even in a non diabetic. I have tested non diabetic friends at their request & non fasting levels were 125 - 151.
Trying to lower it is very risky & it increases the likelihood of falls & passing out due to hypoglycemia, which are far more serious in the elderly than a slightly-elevated glucose level.
 

It sounds odd to me based on an A1c of 5.8.

Be careful about low blood sugar with injectibles.

Ask your doctor about routine testing and how best to handle low blood sugar for your specific situation.

Also, ask about a diabetes management course, usually covered by insurance. The courses are fairly basic, but are helpful when getting started. The ones that I attended were in person, but they may have an online version now.

Good luck and please be careful until you get used to the new medication.
 
According to the blood test report I had to dance the Limbo to get them to give me a copy, the lab that did the analysis indicated on the results sheet that normal blood glucose is 60-90 g/dL and a normal A1c is 4.6 - 5.2.
 
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Why isn't your GP discussing diet with you instead of medication that could kill you if your sugar drops too low? Diet and exercise are more valuable options for a person with your numbers.
 
In my early life, I had Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. It was treated and cured with diet change, although it did take nearly a year. It was found during football season in my senior year at high school. My doctor at that time didn’t even suggest medication.
 
She is giving me until the end of October to lose some weight. She didn't indicate how much to lose or discuss any diet plans. I lost 25 pounds when I moved. When I stopped moving, I put it back on faster than I lost it.

weight graph - 2014-2021.jpgweight graph - 2022 - 2024.jpg
 
debodun said:
She is giving me until the end of October to lose some weight. She didn't indicate how much to lose or discuss any diet plans. I lost 25 pounds when I moved. When I stopped moving, I put it back on faster than I lost it.

View attachment 232185
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Weight loss helps but IMO exercising at least an hour each day pays bigger dividends.

It’s a tough reality that people with weight problems and eating disorders need to make exercise a part of every day life if they hope to maintain a normal weight.
 
debodun said:
My glucose was 117 and my A1c was 5.8. It was a non-fasting test.
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You got me wondering, so I logged on to my provider's website and looked at my last tests:

ComponentYour valueStandard range
HGBA1C%5.5 %4.6 to 5.6 %4.6 - 5.6 %
A repeatable HbA1c > or = 6.5% is diagnostic of diabetes. A single HbA1c > or
= 6.5% can also be confirmed by a fasting plasma glucose measurement > 125
mg/dL, a random plasma glucose > or = 200 mg/dL, or a 2 hour oral glucose
tolerance test result > or = 200 mg/dL. Patients with HbA1c of 5.7-6.4% are
at increased risk for future diabetes.

Hmmm, looks like another topic to add to the discussion, when I see my GP in September.
 
debodun said:
According to the blood test report I had to dance the Limbo to get them to give me a copy, the lab that did the analysis indicated on the resulkts sheet that normal blood glucose is 60-90 g/dL and a normal A1c is 4.6 - 5.2.
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They're doing what they often do - lower the standards of what is "normal." That allows them to put more people on medications.
When my glucose is under 150, I start to get serious low glucose symptoms. At 60 - 90, my balance is so unstable, I am unable to walk or stand safely & my heart pounds & I'm short of breath. I wouldn't dare try to walk on stairs or drive in that condition.
 
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win231 said:
They're doing what they often do - lower the standards of what is "normal." That allows them to put more people on medications.
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That is also my suspicion. I called this doctor last year when my non-fasting blood tests done by my cardiologist were a glucose of 123 g/dL and my A1c was 5.4. She said that was nothing to worry about. Now she's got her stethoscope in a knot because of the tests SHE had ordered. Go figure!
 
debodun said:
I had a fasting glucose done back in November at the cardiologist's and it was 98 g/dL. He wouldn't order an A1c despite my request for one.
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Because he's not in the field for doing A1C. Just because he has a medical degree..............
 
debodun said:
I had a fasting glucose done back in November at the cardiologist's and it was 98 g/dL. He wouldn't order an A1c despite my request for one.
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Any fasting glucose under 100 is non diabetic & it doesn't take any medical degree to know that. Even if a fasting glucose is over 100, a competent doctor would not consider a patient diabetic until doing several fasting glucose tests that are over 100.
I have friends--a married couple who are 83 & 87 yrs old. Both are not diabetic. The wife's doctor has occasionally tested her fasting glucose at 108, but it's usually 80-95. The husband has sometimes had a fasting glucose of 125. One doctor started him on Metformin. Two other doctors said, "At your age, there is NO reason to lower your glucose because the risk of lows is much more dangerous than trying to get your fasting glucose under 100 like a young person's."
My mom was what her doctor called "Mildly Diabetic." She would sometimes test at 175-220. Her doctor told me "Trying to get her glucose perfect would be very risky - much more than a slightly-elevated glucose level that is to be expected in someone her age."
Many things can elevate glucose levels - even minor issues like stress or a cold.
Older people already have balance issues & low blood sugar would greatly increase the risk of falls, which can be catastrophic.
I've had balance issues since age 10. When my glucose is under 150, I sit in a chair until I treat it by eating carbohydrate. Some doctors I've explained that to don't seem to acknowledge it or believe me, so I don't even bother to mention it any more.

Several years ago, when I was hospitalized for 8 days with Sepsis (caused by a dentist's incompetent root canal), I was sent home with 5 pages of text that said my blood pressure was "Significantly High" & I should "Talk to my doctor about starting on blood pressure medication."
That puzzled me because whenever my blood pressure is taken, the person who takes it always says, "Hmmmm, it's better than mine; 118/70; like a teenager's." During that hospital stay, my BP was taken every 2 hours & it was always normal.
What happened was, they took my BP while I was in the ER for Sepsis & they based my need for BP medication on that one reading - that was obviously high due to my temporary illness. That's something they should have known, but..........ya know......."Let's start him on drugs."
 
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I have diabetes on BOTH sides of my family. My mother was and all her brothers were, and I'm sure my maternal grandfather was - he died of kidney failure at age 54, probably brought on my years of untreated diabetes. I don't think my maternal grandmother was. She lived to be almost 90. I know my paternal grandmother was, but I can't answer for anyone else on that side.

My mom had great difficulty regulating her sugar. If I remember she was on several medications for it including glucophage. If she took the meds, it would knock her sugar so low she's go into hypoglycemia. More than on time I'd come home from work and find her passed out and have to rush her to the ER. If she didn't take it, her glucose would be in the 300 g/dL range. Once when I had taken her to see her GP, I asked him about it. He said "Some people are like that." Go figure.
 

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