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At diagnosis with T1D, did your healthcare provider start you on any new medications — in addition to insulin? Please share more in the comments.
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Just insulin–the old R/NPH regimen with the “exchange diet” nonsense, 1983. 20 years later I finally switched to Lantus/Novolog MDI with carb counting. Changed my life. Around the same time I started having increasing difficulty with dawn phenomenon, which I was trying to handle with small doses of Novolog before bed. Not so smart. My endo said “Cut that out,” and started me on Metformin at bed time. Which did nothing for DP–it took going on a pump to deal with that effectively–but I kept taking metformin because it generally helps and has other benefits. I don’t have any negative reactions to it, unlike some. Still more recently my endo started me on Jardiance (off label) and that has been really effective at attenuating my excursions over all. Only thing that sucks about it is the cost when I go into the “donut hole” period with my insurance.
I was taken off Metformin and glimeperide as I had been mis-dx’d as T2 by my PCP previous. Baqsimi (nasal glucagon) was added but intended for wife’s/friend’s use as I’d probably not be in a condition to use it myself. Shortly after, Lantus was added as long-acting insulin.
Pioglitazona
In 1957 when I was diagnosed there were not many options for diabetic medications!
I was dx’ed in 1956, there were no other medications. Now, today is quite another story, due to insulin resistance I use Metformin and Acarbose, in addition to a bunch of others for various accumulated conditions.
Was diagnosed as type 2 and started on an oral med. true diagnosis was LADA. Which that Endo had never heard of. Was very frustrating for two years until proper diagnosis. Been on insulin since.
Within a week or 2 after starting insulin, the doctor prescribed some kind of psycho-anti-anxiety pill for me. My mother had reported that I was getting light headed and shaky after I took my Regular insulin shot a half hour before dinner. It never occurred to the doctor that this might be from the action of the insulin taken so long before eating. He assumed I was in need of counseling or other psychiatric help.
I was ten years old at the time. My mother was the one who figured the problem out, and I began taking the bolus closer to meal time.
A bit later, the doctor wanted me to try whatever the oral medication for t2d was in those days (1962). He just couldn’t get his head around the fact that there actually was such a thing as juvenile onset diabetes and that it was different from the adult onset condition which was familiar to him.
I was diagnosed in 1945. I do not think additional meds were available back then.
Not 50 years ago just NPH
I was started on sliding-scale insulin and metformin, which didn’t work well at all, but worked with a CDE to go to basal-bolus without the metformin.
my internist wanted me to take glyburide at diagnosis I refused as I knew that I was a Type 1 (lost weight, ketones in my urine) with 3 brothers who were already diagnosed with type 1 and insisted I take insulin. okay he said take 10 units of NPH in the am. check your urine and increase it a couple units every so often if you still have sugar in your urine. (1978)
I knew because I has small ketones in my urine, went out to run, came back and had large ketones That’s when I called my doctor.
51 years ago when I was diagnosed, there weren’t any other medications. I’m thankful treatment has come a long way but I am still waiting for that cure!
I said yes because I was originally diagnosed with Type 2, so I was prescribed metformin. After having an antibody blood test, I was diagnosed with Type 1.5 LADA, treated as a Type 1 .
I was diagnosed with T2 and put on Glucophage and in the next 4 years I was put on at least two, possibly three additional medications. After four years I requested to be put on insulin because I had exercised myself down to 104 pounds (from 160 at diagnosis) while trying to keep control of my blood sugar.
About six months after T2 diagnosis I was diagnosed with Hashimoto disease and put on Synthroyd.
I was diagnosed in 1985 at 18 years old. I was put on oral medication right away. Nine months later it was no longer effective and I needed to start insulin injections. I spent a week in the hospital in Paris, France, to learn how to use insulin and take care of my diabetes.
I was also started on Creon. I had a total pancreas removal.
I was originally diagnosed by my GP as type II and treated as a type II with oral medications and long acting insulin pins. After a couple years not being able to get my glucose regulated and diabetes with those medications I decided to go to a diabetic specialist, endocrinologist. Dr. Bruce Latham that had been a diabetic specialist for many years properly diagnosed me by giving me a peptide test which I had never heard of to test my pancreas to see if was producing any insulin which would tell us if I was type 1 or type 2. Sure enough the test came back and my pancreas was producing little to almost none at all insulin therefore I was type 1 all along and is the reason the type 2 meds was not working. He immediately put me on insulin and subscribed me an insulin pump and CGM. I began with the new TSlim that had just came out and the Dexcom CGM which got my sugar under control after all. That was 16 years ago and now have went from the Omnipod 5 with Dexcom which now as of January 3rd, 2024 on the Beta Bionics, Bionic Pancreas which is working great!
i replied no. then I remembered that the put me on cortisol when diagnosed at age 8. 1981. The doctor would then yell at me for lack of control. I guess they didn’t know yet that cortisol often raises sugar!
I was diagnosed in 1972. The new medications were not available.
Diagnosed in 72 also. Regular beef, insulin and NPH.
long story — spring break 2019, I’d just come back from a family vacation and started presenting with all the classic diabetes symptoms on the drive home. my then-PCP ran some tests and concluded I had what we now refer to as Latent Autoimmune Diabetes. she referred me to an endocrinologist who saw me about a week later… but not before I saw a midnight-hours trip to the emergency room. that endo “confirmed” my diagnosis by running zero additional tests, but said we’d just treat the type 1.5 diabetes (LAD) as type 2. he started me on regular insulin, as well as building up to the highest dose of metformin. my family and I didn’t appreciate his demeanor though, so I soon got scheduled with my mom’s PCP about a week after the endo visit. she ran more tests, starting me on building up victoza and a small dose of lantus. through my time with this provider, my blood sugars just wouldn’t go below 220 despite strict zero/low carb diet, swapping metformin for other medicines, etc. fast forward a year and a half, she’d reached the limits of her abilities and referred me to a proper pediatric endocrinologist… who ran a battery of tests to find out I was not type 1.5, but rather full-on type 1. he switched me to humalog (vs regular insulin) and bumped my lantus dose up, which finally got my blood sugars down to reasonable ranges.
Just the beef/pork Regular and NPH insulin!
I was diagnosed in 1960 and spent about a month in the hospital getting my insulin dosage “optimized”. I have a vague recollection of some sort of new oral treatment that they tried but it didn’t work.
In 1957, when I was diagnosed, there was only beef insulin, glass syringes that needed daily boiling.
levothyroxin and Lisinapril
54 years ago there was nothing but insulin.
In 1966, I believe insulin was the only treatment.
Losartan, supposedly to protect my kidneys. Gabapentin for neuropathy. Gabapentin hasn’t helped. Losartan has had no negative side effects.
I was right away started on lisinopril to protect my kidneys. I too have had no negative side effects.
Pancreatic enzymes and antiinflammatories
Back in 1977, my doctor tried a T2D pill for a few days, to a week. It did not work, so I was put on insulin (Regular and NPH).
No by mistake.
I’m laughing…. Diagnosis was in 1966. Insulin was the only med available as far as I know!
I was diagnosed when I was 8 years old and was in the hospital for a week cause of high blood sugar
I was also prescribed thyroid medication (was told it was preventative for Hashimoto’s). Eventually went off of it until needing it again in college (apprx. 10 years after being off).
1968 dx, age 11 months old…. Other meds were not available let alone considered
Diagnosed in 2000 and didn’t know type 1 from type 2 and GP didn’t bother explaining. Put on pills and they did nothing. I was 10 lbs underweight and trying to eat no carbs. I finally went to an Endo (after 4 calls because no one was taking new patients). He put me on insulin and said I was type 1. My GP said he could’ve done that. Well, why didn’t you?! I only went to Endo after that until my company started doing wellness visits for insurance. I now see my GP once per year. Luckily, I only have diabetes and nothing else wrong and rarely get sick. Never got COVID (yet) although everyone else in my family has.
I was initially put on Metformin since I was diagnosed as an adult and GP thought it was Type 2. When that didn’t work they added another medicine. Then after losing 80 lbs and feeling really sick and rarely having my blood sugar below 200 even though I was only eating about 30 grams of carbs a day they finally put me on a long acting insulin and got referred to an Endo. The Endo did blood work and determined that I had Type 1 and took me off the other medications and started taking insulin only.
When I was first thought to have diabetes,I only had a family doctor,and she decided to send me to a endocrinologist,to be certain..I was then diagnosed with type 1 and was put on insulin,right away
No my T1 was controlled by diet for the first 18 months before I started a minimum dose of insulin
Yes, a healthier diet. There were no other options to consider in 1960’s for children.
At DX 70 yrs ago at 7 years old, I was hospitalized and got a shot every day. That’s all I remember.
Victoza
I was started on lisinopril, fenofibrate, Novolog, and atorvastatin at diagnosis with type 1 diabetes.
My Endo didn’t believe my test results can see I was 68 and treated me like a T2D. The meds put me in the hospital where no one understand that I was in ketosis. Went to 3 hospitals and finally said that I wasn’t going home.
I was diagnosed 58 years ago & my doctor at that time did not put me on insulin–only pills. He had a great bedside manner, but I can’t believe even 58 years ago he didn’t prescribe insulin or any medical assistance with being a newly diagnosed diabetic. Glad the times have changed!
I became T1D after 5 years of immunotherapy so I was already taking Zenpep for chronic pancreatitis
I started on a self-administered and mix of Lente and Semi-Lente insulins in 1974, at time of diagnosis.