Is anybody else out there using Januvia or Janumet to treat T1??
Our 18 year old son was diagnosed a year and a half ago with T1. His doctor tried to get him into a drug study using Januvia but because he was 17, they wouldn't take him. He decided if we agreed, to try it himself and got his Merck rep to supply us he drugs for free if we would let them watch him and see his medical records. Our son is extremely athletic and exercises 2, 3, sometimes 4 hours a day. It was unbelievable. Within a week or so, he was down to using humalog once or twice a day and Lantus. The use of the humalog has gone down so much that he probably uses 45-50 units a MONTH. The Lantus varies depending on what sports' season he's in. We just had to up it to 16 now that basketball season is over (he was on 10 then) and we'll watch it now that baseball season has started.
His only problem is gaining weight. At a little over 6' tall, he's at 175 right now and his doctor said he should be 185-190. His body fat % is less than 5 and he needs more. He also needs 8 hours of sleep a night. We've noticed if he gets less his BG tends to be higher.
His doctor thinks he is one of the lucky people with T1 who still have a few working Beta cells and the Januvia part of the Janumet stimulates them to produce more insulin. The Metformin part makes his body more receptive to the insulin he does produce. All I know is that it's working.
At first we though maybe he was just "honeymooning" but after a 19 months and the numbers getting better we think it's more than that and his doctor may be on to something. We're just trying to keep him healthy until a cure is found.
His doctor calls him his miracle kid and told us at his last visit that he's "famous" at Merck.