I have type 2 diabetes treated with pills. My hemoglobin A1c varies between 7 to 9%, and glucose testing is always high (200-250 mg/dl [11.1-13.9 mmol/L]). The glucose elevation started when I began taking larger doses of diabetes medications. It seems the less medication I take, the better I feel physically. I gained nine pounds in the last four months (mostly in the stomach area), and my stomach is extremely bloated and distended! It is so uncomfortable! My legs feel heavy and appear to be somewhat larger but not always! (This has been happening only recently.) I have no bowel problems, and I am in general good health considering my advanced age. I had thyroid problems in the past which were hard to diagnose; my T3 and T4 are normal at present, but It seems to me this is happening again! My weight for 25 years had been stable until this year. My doctor listens carefully and is very attentive to my symptoms, and routine lab tests every year are within normal limits. I wonder if the weight gain and some fluid retention is related to my prior thyroid and pituitary problems. Can an increase in diabetes medications cause weight gain suddenly?

Justin Delgado is husband to Kacie Doyle-Delgado, diagnosed at age 11. After more than a decade together, he considers himself to be an expert carb counter and Dexcom inserter. He graduated with his Master of Science in Finance from the University of Utah in 2013 and has been working in commercial banking since then. He attended his first Friends for Life conference in 2015 and is looking forward to volunteering with the teens.

Kacie Doyle-Delgado, MSN, APRN, NP-C, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 11 and attended her first Friends for Life conference in 2002. Since then, she has attended several FFL and regional conferences. She earned her BSN and her MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, UT and she is currently enrolled in a DNP program. She works for Utah Physicians Care Center in a diabetes specialty clinic. Kacie lives in Salt Lake with her husband, Justin Delgado, and their dogs. She is looking forward to volunteering with the teens again.

Marissa Town, BSN, RN, CDE, graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and later earned her Certified Diabetes Educator credential. She has had type 1 diabetes since the age of two and has grown up with a passion for helping families living with diabetes. Marissa is currently working as a research nurse at Stanford University. She has always enjoyed working with families with diabetes at Children with Diabetes conferences, camps, and support groups. She and her husband Adam have two young children, Connor and Everly.