Susan1 2
Member
- Messages
- 5
- Type of diabetes
- Don't have diabetes
- Treatment type
- I do not have diabetes
So, someone I know has no spleen. They had it removed a few years ago, and the docs said it probably had not been functioning since soon after birth. They are doing fine.
A few years before the spleen was removed, this person was diagnosed with Type 2 due to having A1C levels just inside the lower boundary for the criteria of diagosis. They were put on metformin and had many problems with side effects - ended up in the hospital after passing out, etc. It was apparently from low blood sugar.
Fast forward. They began to suspect that something was amiss, due to the reactions to the metformin and a few other drugs that were substituted later on. These thoughts centered on the fact that the spleen was not there to filter out old red blood cells and was causing A1C levels to not accurately report blood glucose levels. The A1C test was also not correlating with the results of the daily blood sticks first thing in the morning.
So, the docs tested them via another method and, lo, it seems that the A1C reading was falsely high. Given that the second means of testing still showed elevated glucose, just not nearly what the A1C test had been showing, we now know that the individual had been overmedicated on the metformin and other drugs. They are now on the smallest dose available of glipizide, dieting, and having lows. They were told that once their daily readings were below a certain point reliably they could stop taking the medication entirely. Except for a couple of spikes past that mark, their daily fasting testing is coming in now below that "stop" point pretty regularly. They're going to give it another few weeks before they cease the glipizide.
I am wondering if this has happened to anyone else?
A few years before the spleen was removed, this person was diagnosed with Type 2 due to having A1C levels just inside the lower boundary for the criteria of diagosis. They were put on metformin and had many problems with side effects - ended up in the hospital after passing out, etc. It was apparently from low blood sugar.
Fast forward. They began to suspect that something was amiss, due to the reactions to the metformin and a few other drugs that were substituted later on. These thoughts centered on the fact that the spleen was not there to filter out old red blood cells and was causing A1C levels to not accurately report blood glucose levels. The A1C test was also not correlating with the results of the daily blood sticks first thing in the morning.
So, the docs tested them via another method and, lo, it seems that the A1C reading was falsely high. Given that the second means of testing still showed elevated glucose, just not nearly what the A1C test had been showing, we now know that the individual had been overmedicated on the metformin and other drugs. They are now on the smallest dose available of glipizide, dieting, and having lows. They were told that once their daily readings were below a certain point reliably they could stop taking the medication entirely. Except for a couple of spikes past that mark, their daily fasting testing is coming in now below that "stop" point pretty regularly. They're going to give it another few weeks before they cease the glipizide.
I am wondering if this has happened to anyone else?
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