After 9 Years, I Finally Feel Satiated!
Just before I decided to start Adventures with Diabetes, I came across a website by Brian Lucido, www.brianlucido.com. Brian’s site really made a huge impression on me and I refer to it for inspiration and insight to living with Type 1 regularly. Brian is an exceptional athlete with a focus on cycling, he is a Type 1 Diabetic, and won the Tour Divide in 2017. ( If you are not familiar with the Tour Divide I suggest you Google it. The Tour is no joke). Brian is a master at knowing his body and how it reacts to meals, dosing, and exercise. He also documents his epic adventures on his site which are fun to read and provide additional inspiration.
One of the articles really stuck with me, Symlin for use in Type 1 Diabetes. Symlin is the drug that replaces the body’s natural hormone Amylin. Type 1’s can no longer produce Amylin. I had never heard of Symlin or Amylin before, and I am not going to try and explain it here. Brian has already done an excellent job with that. Instead, I recommend you go read his article and pay close attention to 4, 5, and 6 in the Reference and Footnotes section. These references, along with Brian’s article, are crucial in the understanding of what Symlin is and why type 1 diabetics should probably be taking it.
In his article, Brian describes how he just couldn’t feel satisfied after eating huge meals followed by second meals and snacking. Despite the fact that his stomach was stuffed, he still felt hungry. This describes perfectly how I have felt since 2012, a year prior to my diagnoses. I had come to accept the fact that I just “needed more food” than other people before I could push away from the table. I got used to the surprised look on peoples faces when they saw the quantity of food I was eating, and just chalked it up to genetics and lack of willpower. When I tried to eat like a normal person, I could fake it for a day or two before giving up and binge eat until my stomach physically hurt but still felt unsatisfied.
I try to compensate for these large meals and constant snacking with cardio. I love riding a bike and trail running, so for nine years it has been a tolerable pairing. Lately though, I have not been able to burn all the calories I am consuming and my weight has crept from 170 to nearly tickling 190. As I shove handfuls of roasted and salted mixed nuts in my mouth, I find myself contemplating what I can possibly do about it while feeling overwhelmed and discouraged as my self esteem plummets. At age 50, my body and mind are retaliating.
After reading Brian’s article, and the corresponding footnotes, I had a Zoom call with my endocrinologist and asked her if she could write me a prescription for Symlin. Her response was dismissive, stating “I don’t think you are a candidate for Symlin. It’s not something I would give to an active person like yourself”. I was slightly irritated by this response. I mean, if Brian Lucido takes it, obviously it works for athletes.
I eventually accepted the opinion of my endocrinologist and went on with my cardio and excessive consumption. A couple of months later, my extremely supportive wife shared an article she read on Facebook. It was a post from beyondtype1.org titled Insulin, Glucagon, Amylin, oh My! The Other Hormones Type 1 Diabetes Impacts. After I read through, my wife suggested I contact my endocrinologist again. Through email the next morning, I explained to her my weight gain, increased need for insulin, and overeating. I also included the link to the Beyond Type 1 article. This time she responded by writing the prescription and giving me guidelines for reducing my bolus insulin. (When taking Symlin, the need for bolus insulin can be reduced by as much as 50%).
The next day I rushed to the pharmacy and picked up a box of Symlin that costs $40 for a one month supply. I told the pharmacist that I had reached my deductible and asked if that was the cost after insurance. “Yes, that’s the co-pay cost. The retail cost is $1,118.99” she said. Later, at home I opened the box and discovered a month-long supply consisted of only two pens.
I have been taking Symlin at meal time for a week now. I am very happy to report that I finally feel normal! It is such a great feeling to eat a responsible meal and actually feel satisfied. This change cannot be overstated. My life is better. I am no longer looking through the refrigerator for something that will fill the hole, make me satisfied, feel satiated. My stomach feels better too (although nausea is a side effect when getting used to Symlin) because it’s not hard and protruding and I don’t feel bloated but still hungry. I have the right amount of food on board for the first time in years and it feels incredible. As an added bonus, without trying very hard, I have slowly started creeping down the scale rather than up. I feel like as long as I have eaten an adequate meal and my body has the appropriate nutrition for the day, I now have a choice. The choice to have a second helping, the choice to have a snack, or the choice to wait until the next responsible meal. It’s truly a wonderful feeling and I no longer feel like a freak!
Do you struggle with overeating while still feeling ravenous? Send me a message if you would like to share your story!
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