Starting Over. Again.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 8:07AM A constant theme around here is giving up and starting over. It seems all the time I am either in a state of throwing in the towel or all fired up about trying something new. Or giving something I stopped doing another chance.
When I think about all times I have written posts like this it makes me think there is something wrong with me.
Blame diabetes?
I could because living with the stuff we have to is pretty unacceptable. We are constantly trying new things to get our numbers under control wondering if that is even possible. We are eating new things that are supposed to be low carb but taste delicious or will help us lose weight. Take new drugs that sometimes turns out not to be good or it makes us ill. We stick more devices into our bodies in hopes for better understanding of what is going on only to get frustrated and give up.
Yes, I think I can blame diabetes.
But I will say that sometimes we do not give things a fair chance. This bring me to todays post about Symlin.
Symlin is a synthetic form of the hormone Amylin. Another one of those fabulous hormones that yours truly does not have. Amylin helps slow digestion of food which allows for glucose to be absorbed in your body at a slower pace. Also, Amylin helps tell our brains that we are full and done eating. And Amylin helps to lower the amount of sugar the liver releases into the body.
So you can see the benefits. Less chance of spikes, possibly some weight loss, and lower blood sugars.
It all sounds great until you talk about the nausea that comes along with it for some. The nausea has made it easy for me to skip dosages and give up on Symlin several times. I was thinking about this the other day and how I never really gave it a chance or my body a chance to get used to this hormone it has not had in it for almost 20 years. Then I read a post by Shannon on her blog LADA-dee-da and it helped me to try it out again but this time, take my time and give it a chance.
So yesterday I am proud to say that I took the smallest dose I could before each meal and plan on doing the same today. Sure, it’s one day and sure it’s another start to something I have been trying to get right for some time but it is a step in the right direction and honestly, I cannot remember the last time I made it through an entire day taking Symlin before each meal. I usually give up after breakfast.
I look at it this way, I smoked a pack a day for 15 years and tried quitting hundreds of times. But something made it stick and when it did, I never looked back.
Reader Comments (9)
great plan!!!! It takes all of us multiple times to get habits going or stopped. You certainly aren't alone there!
You can do it! And I am always thinking about going back on Symlin myself. I am right where you are. Maybe you can be my inspiration, and I can sing a cheesy Chicago song to you!
As long as we are alive, thankfully there is no limit on starting over! I'm 3 days into eating healthier (and less) in order to drop some weight.....again :). Your post and the idea of blaming diabetes reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend. She wanted to see if I would go to weight watchers with her. WW is great, but I told her that diabetes caused me to have to count, calculate and think about certain things 24 X 7, and I just wasn't willing at the time to commit to calculating and counting points and attending meetings on top of that. I'm using Sparkpeople instead because it helps me track carbs as part of the "program". Hope the Symlin works out for you, or you can stick with it long enough to see if it might. I'm not ready to commit to that yet either, but maybe someday.
I took it last night and again today before lunch (I skipped breakfast because of a little nausea). I had some moderate nausea after lunch, but it went away pretty quickly.
Unfortunately, it didn't prevent a 222 mg/dl high after lunch, but I think I might have been too conservative in my bolusing (I cut it in half - I might need to switch to 75%).
Overall, it's been tolerable. I'm seriously considering taking the jump to 30mcg starting tomorrow. I really, really want to get all of benefits of Symlin and a few days of nausea isn't going to kill me, right?
Hang in there, George. If *I* can do it, anyone can.
YOU GO G!!!!!!
Good for You. Its so very hard to make changes to our lives that are good for us in the long run.
The fact that you keep trying says a lot. What would have happened if you quit trying to stop smoking after the first time it didn't work?
I know exactly what you are going through. I don't have to tell you that I am the same way.
Symlin is a tough one. It's hard to convince yourself to do it when you feel yucky for a while. With that as subconscious motivation, it's EASY to come up with a million reasons to procrastinate it away.
But I swear, when the Symlin is working right for me, I feel totally different about food. Believe it or not, I don't even drink as much diet sodapop. True dat.
The only thing I can really add to this is that from what I can tell, the titration schedule (meaning the time it takes until you reach the recommended dosage) for Symlin is only a recommendation, but can be expedited or delayed based on your personal experience with it. If you increase the dosage and the nausea does not dissipate, consider holding off on increasing the dosage until the nausea is less noteworthy. (It need not happen overnight!) Of course, my endo still does not have any patients using Symlin, so he's reluctant to have me be the guinea pig for that, but I am making notes on others' experiences with it, hopefully so that if and when I ever try it, I can learn from those collective experiences!
I really admire you for starting over again and again! Who cares how many tries it takes until it sticks - all that matters is that you do keep trying and that shows what a strong person you are!!! Hugs to you, my amazing friend!