To be honest, my Metformin intake has dwindled in the last month or so, so it was no surprise to me to find out that my A1C had not gone down since my last endocrinologist appointment in March. In fact, it went up by .2%. My “compliance” toward taking Metformin was excellent in the first three months or so of my usage, and the success was marked by a decrease in my basal and a heightened sensitivity to the drug. But this month, and for most of July, I have slacked off in popping the pills every single day. They are large pills, and I have never been very good at swallowing pills to begin with. My mother used to chop up my penicillin when I was a child and cover it with strawberry jam so I could swallow it better. It’s probably why I don’t have very good feelings toward strawberry jam. Metformin also doesn’t taste very good. But boy, does it every work. On the days that I do take it, everything works really well and I can tell that my basal rates and bolus ratios and all that are definitely serving me well.

When I was explaining to my doctor about my distaste for Metformin, she suggested trying one of the brands of Metformin, rather than just using the generic pills. She wrote me a prescription for Fortamet. Each pill comes in 1000 mg, rather than 500 mg, but that they are not any bigger than the generic pills. I can usually swallow my first pill just fine, but then my throat starts to close up on me and I usually end up choking down the second pill. My endo also said that I could take one pill in the morning, and one pill at night, so that I would get the full dose all day long, but that I wouldn’t need to take two pills. She said that my insurance may fight it a bit, but she said that if it helped me take it regularly that it was worth a shot.

But my endo appointment was not all doom and gloom: I’ve lost 12 pounds! I can’t remember if I have ever managed to lose that much weight before gaining it back and then some. So I’m really excited about that. My weight was 211.4 in March and this month I was 198.8, finally under the 200 mark! I haven’t been as faithful to the gym during my unemployment as I had imagined I would be, but I have definitely been making a point to walk more and of course, with a less regimented schedule I am less inclined to eat when I’m not hungry. My goal is to be down another 10 pounds or so by my next appointment, which will be right around the time that I purchase my wedding dress! My mother told me that it’s best to be as close to your “goal weight” as you can when you purchase the dress, because if you make the seamstress alter your dress too much, it can ruin the lines and look of the dress. Sometimes it just isn’t possible to go down too many sizes! Good to know…

I think once I get back on a more regular Metformin schedule, everything will be good. Although the last month of blood sugars were terrible, my endo told me that she thinks that the Metformin must have brought it down quite a bit, because otherwise the impact of this last month would have been a lot worse and my A1C would have been much higher. I am disappointed that I couldn’t fully show the success of a type 1 on Metformin is, but I do believe that the Metformin and the decrease in insulin I had helped me achieve my weight loss.

‘Til next time!