Symlin Begins

First observation: it smells like bandaids!!

I took my first dose of symlin this morning and so far, so good. For a few minutes I wondered if I felt nauseous. Nausea is one of the two big potential side effects. Honestly, I can't tell if I am reacting to the med or to the power of suggestion. Regardless, it's pretty mild.

I read the starter kit info last night. It's now my understanding that symlin does two things. One, it slows down the emptying of the stomach, producing a more gradual release of sugar into the bloodstream. I'm imagining that the bonus here (aside from a more even release of sugar into my system) is feeling full longer and hopefully not experiencing the munchies that often follow a post-prandial high. Two, it basically tells the liver to chill with the natural sugar output (thereby avoiding piling sugar on sugar).

I think symlin has another effect, one that's not documented in the literature. You only take the drug when you are sitting down to a meal of more than 30g CHO. For the first time in a long time, I stopped and thought about what I was going to eat well before I ate it. Though I enjoy the freedom that pumping and carb counting give me, I am ready to revert (for a while at least) back to a more structured approach. I've always been a fan of 'new toys' when it comes to diabetes - anything that will reinvigorate me is of interest, whether it's a new log book or a new treatment approach.

I'm excited (finally) about the prospects of improvement with this drug (and with the addition of synthroid to my arsenal). We'll see what I think when I've taken more than one dose!