Hi,

This past Tuesday, a doctor confirmed what I had suspected for some time
- that I am diabetic. Although I had some of the symptoms for years,
particularly the excess thirst, the thing that really got another doctor
in the same practice to order the glucose tolerance test for me were
symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. A person to whom I am related by
marriage told me a couple of months ago that she suffers from this
condition and that most people who have it are diabetic, but she is not.
I went to a book and looked up peripheral neuropathy, and sounded a
whole lot like what I had been experiencing.

My symptoms - since mid-2001, I have been feeling something like a lump
or knot on the bottom of one foot. I had an MRI on - can't forget the
date - Sept. 11, 2001 (set up weeks in advance, and we weren't about to
cancel it). Nothing showed up. Then, on my other foot, I started to feel
pain in a couple of the small toes around this past May. I checked web
sites for possible causes but didn't find any with the possible
exception of tight shoes. Well, this is something I avoid anyway - my
shoes are anything but tight.

I was going to the doctor for a physical in mid-Sept. anyway, so I
mentioned this. He wrote me a prescription to go to a local lab to have
this test done. I was able to get there in early Oct. Due to busy times
at work and at home, I didn't nag the doctor's office for test results
until Monday, which I finally did because the previous two nights, I
couldn't sleep because both feet were burning so badly. I got an
appointment for Tuesday with a practice partner of the doctor who had
done the physical exam. By the way, there are about 7 MDs in this
practice, and I've seen each one at least once over the 13 years I've
been going there, and I am comfortable with all of them. However, the
one who did the physical is considered to be my primary doctor.

The doctor showed me my test results during the Tuesday visit. I have
been given the following information and prescriptions:

1. Metformin HCL 500 mg once a day with food for the diabetes. Because I
have traditional health insurance where I have to pay 20% of all
prescriptions, instead of a co-pay, I told him that a $150 prescription
would cost me $30, not some low co-pay amount. (And I have to put
everything out up front and wait for reimbursement, so that's a
hardship, too.) So I requested something that has a generic available.
It turns out that what he originally wrote on the prescription pad does
not have a generic available, so he ended up writing this one, to see
how it works. Otherwise, we'll go back to the one that's $150 a month.
This one was in the $12-$13 dollar range, and I guess I'll get 80% of it
back in a few weeks.

2. Amitriptyline HCL 25 mg once a day at bedtime for the foot problem. I
took this years ago for something else. I've been pretty drowsy since
Thursday, but I had to go to work Thurs. and Friday. Thursday, I needed
the car to go somewhere right from work, but I was able to get there on
public transportation on Friday and will probably take public
transportation the early part of the coming work week. I cancelled all
plans to go places this weekend, and I'm taking it easy. That extra hour
due to the clock change definitely helped! (Only about $4 and some change.)

3. A phone number for a diabetes education program at the hospital with
which these doctors are affiliated. I left a voice mail message there
around 9:00 Wednesday morning, and I have not heard back. I suspect it's
the wrong number, and I've found a different number on their web site
that I'll call tomorrow. I also went to the web site of a hospital
that's closer to where I live and found an online form I could use to
request information on their program. I hope these hospitals have
classes in the evening.

4. A recommendation that I make another appointment to see the doctor
who originally ordered the tests within the following two weeks. I did
this, and I'll be going on Wednesday of this week.

5. And the admonition - "no sweets!" Well, this is going to be tough.
What does this mean exactly? Does this mean that I can NEVER have a
Milky Way candy bar again? Does it mean that I can't sample a piece of
the cake if I go to a wedding? And if a brand of salsa that I was
thinking of buying lists "sugar" near the END of the list of
ingredients, does this make it a no-no?

Some information about me - I am female, age 51, about 40-50 pounds
overweight (a somewhat recent development). I caught a quick glimpse of
the test results, and my triglycerides (sp?) were 700-something or
800-something. My cholesterol was 285, but it has always been high -
runs in my family. Also, diabetes runs in my family - possibly on both
sides.

The doctor I saw last Tuesday told me that if I lost 25 pounds, I could
very well shake the diabetes out of my system. This is a goal I've had
anyway, since it would allow me to reclaim a lot of my nice clothes that
I can't wear now, plus I'd be able to go from Queen size panythose to a
size B. It would probably take me 6-8 months to drop this weight, but I
am determined to do it.

I have alternating thoughts. The first one is that this is indeed only a
6-8 month inconvenience, similar to one experienced by a woman I know
who had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant. And while I'd be in
a situation in which it could come back, I would take better care of my
body so it won't.

The second thought is that I am permanently damaged and doomed. After
all, I already have peripheral neuropathy, which apparently takes some
time to develop and may be a sign that my diabetes is pretty far along.
I have had tests in the past before, but none as extensive as the one I
had this month. Three years ago, I tested normal. So, now I'm thinking -
how long until foot amputations? how long until I go blind? how long
until my kidneys go out, and I need dialysys? how long until I need to
take insulin? how long until I die?

I hope you'll put up with me.