Doug Arrington/Apidra® Story
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Meet Apidra® patient - Doug Arrington
Diabetes runs in his family. But with the proper treatment plan it does not have to run his life. |
I was preparing for minor surgery in March 2000 when I had some lab work done. The tests showed that my fasting blood sugar and A1C were extremely high.
Even so, I had no other physical symptoms of diabetes. Still, I was not particularly surprised when my doctor told me that I had Type 2 diabetes. My father's brothers and sisters had all developed diabetes as adults. I was most concerned about the long-term effects of the disease. I'd seen the complications my relatives had experienced. As a nurse practitioner, I'd also seen what uncontrolled diabetes could do to my patients.
I made a decision then and there to do everything I could to control my disease. I started walking two miles every evening, sometimes more. To help me, my doctor put me on a short-acting insulin, as well as two oral diabetes pills. After six months, my blood sugar had stabilized, and my doctor took me off the short acting insulin. I did well on the pills alone for almost two years, until my blood sugar was no longer under control.
For the past four years, I've been on Lantus® (insulin glargine [rDNA origin] injection), a once-a-day basal insulin, along with the 2 oral pills. At mealtime, I also began taking the short-acting insulin again. All along, I've checked my blood sugars six to eight times per day. My biggest concern was the spikes I'd often experience after a meal, when my blood sugars would jump higher. I spoke to my doctor about a rapid-acting insulin that could help minimize those spikes, and he prescribed Apidra®.
Because Apidra® is a "mealtime" insulin with a rapid onset and short duration, it's done a great job of keeping my blood sugars within normal levels after meals. I inject it within 20 minutes after I eat. Within five minutes, I begin to see a decrease in my blood sugar. With Apidra® as part of my diabetes treatment plan, I'm back to blood sugar levels that are under control.
Because I take it after I begin to eat, it's easier to identify the amount of carbs I've actually taken in, and can adjust my dosage accordingly. I love the dosing flexibility with Apidra®!
Apidra® has helped me manage my mealtime blood sugar levels. I have a very demanding job as the manager of anesthesiology and pain management at a large university hospital. Between my job and my two miniature schnauzers, I continue to have a very active and busy life.
Apidra®, along with frequent blood sugar checks, has turned out to be an important tool to help me keep my blood sugar in control.
