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September 17, 2001

Type 2

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Question from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA:

Last year, my fasting glucose was 156 mg/dl [8.7 mmol/L] which I foolishly chose to ignore, and two weeks ago, a glucose tolerance test showed my initial fasting glucose to be 237 mg/dl [13.2 mmol/L]. Based on that, the test was not continued and my doctor put me on a diabetes pill. Now, careful carbohydrate and calorie counting combined with walking nightly on a treadmill my pre-meal blood checks are 62 to 122 mg/dl [3.4 to 6.8 mmol/L], with most numbers hovering below 100 mg/dl [5.6 mmol/L]. Because I was often weak, dizzy and shaky, I was taken off the pill I was on, and put on a different pill.

My dietitian feels I should not be on medication at all given my diet and exercise, but my doctor feels otherwise. She also feels that if any medication, my doctor should have given me a different one. Now I’m wondering about both opinions. I see my doctor in one month. I obviously plan on following my doctor’s orders, but was I put on medication prematurely?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

I do not feel you were put on medication too early. I do agree that your first pill would be a good medication since it has minimal risk of hypoglycemia. It is not necessarily better to be on no medication, if the prescribed medication is doing well for you.

JTL