Insulin Therapy

[martydozer]

Has anyone heard of a thing called insulin therapy for Type 2 Diabetes? And if so... does it work?

 

[himtoo]

Hi there @martydozer
insulin therapy is one of the methods of treatment on the T2 pathway
at diagnosis normally the HCP's ( health care professionals ) try metformin , followed by metformin and glicazide.
if there is no improvement the next step will be insulin........

there are possibly other options on the T2 pathway
I will tag @AndBreathe . @asparagusp , @PenfoldAPD to give some guidance on possible alternatives to the standard advice from our NHS.

all the best !

 

[Aaron187]

I'm type 2 and I take metformin tablets 3 times a day and lantus long acting insulin in the evening it works for me

 

[SWUSA_]

@martydozer I have Type 2 currently treated with metformin and insulin. I started out with treatment with diet and exercise, then added metformin much later.I added insulin after two years of metformin. It works well for me. I felt the biggest improvement in my blood glucose readings after starting insulin. It was a dramatic improvement overnight. Is your doctor recommending insulin for you?

 

[martydozer]

Im meeting him next week. I've been type 2 for 3 years now and my latest Hba1c was a reading if 57. I feel as though i may benefit from insulin. Lord knows my stomach has been at the mercy of metformin. If im honest it has hindered me greatly.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Whats your food n diet like?

Insulin allows more choice of food that is or should be limited with T2.

However, it is different as if you drive, you will have to notify dvla and insurance.
You must test before driving. You should test before and afer eating.

To me, insulin is ok.. as a T1 I had no choice. However both really need ling term
Great attention to carb counting and paying attention to eating.

If you do not pay attention in detail to what you are eating as a tablet person. Beware of Insukin as you must do this when on insulin.

 

[Daibell]

Im meeting him next week. I've been type 2 for 3 years now and my latest Hba1c was a reading if 57. I feel as though i may benefit from insulin. Lord knows my stomach has been at the mercy of metformin. If im honest it has hindered me greatly.

Hi. It's advisable to not be an overweight T2 if starting insulin as any insulin resistance may result in the insulin being added to a body with too much insulin already and hence may not be very effective. Have you been using standard Metformin or the Slow Release (SR) version? The latter is much kinder. Are you having a low-carb diet?

 

[AndBreathe]

@martydozer - Welcome to the forum.

To be honest, if your major issue is the gastric impact of Metformin, with an HbA1c of 57, there are quite a lot of options your Doctor can suggest you try before considering insulin.

Whilst insulin may seem like a simple solution to a really pesky problem, reading has informed me that it has a downside too which always has to be considered, and if it were me, I'd want to explore all other options before considering insulin.

The stark reality is most T2s actually make plenty of natural insulin, but their bodies have lost the ability (in some cases potentially temporarily) to use it efficiently. Where that is the case, the body then pumps out more natural insulin in an attempt to deal with whatever is eaten. Broadly, and in its simplest form, this is what happens with insulin resistance.

I know I certainly suffered with insulin resistance when I was diagnosed, but over time, as I have learned more about my own body, I have been able to help my body recover it's better functionality. For me the greatest difference was what I was eating and drinking.

Without knowing a bit more about you, I couldn't suggest whether you have insulin resistance or not, but it could be worthwhile for you to do a bit of reading around it.

Do you do finger prick testing of your bloods at home, on a day to day basis? Most of us aren't given the tools by our Docs to do this, but for me, it really helped me work things out.

It would be good if you shared a bit more about yourself so that we could see if we could offer you any helpful pointers whilst you're trying to move forward with your diabetes.

 

[martydozer]

@martydozer - Welcome to the forum.

To be honest, if your major issue is the gastric impact of Metformin, with an HbA1c of 57, there are quite a lot of options your Doctor can suggest you try before considering insulin.

Whilst insulin may seem like a simple solution to a really pesky problem, reading has informed me that it has a downside too which always has to be considered, and if it were me, I'd want to explore all other options before considering insulin.

The stark reality is most T2s actually make plenty of natural insulin, but their bodies have lost the ability (in some cases potentially temporarily) to use it efficiently. Where that is the case, the body then pumps out more natural insulin in an attempt to deal with whatever is eaten. Broadly, and in its simplest form, this is what happens with insulin resistance.

I know I certainly suffered with insulin resistance when I was diagnosed, but over time, as I have learned more about my own body, I have been able to help my body recover it's better functionality. For me the greatest difference was what I was eating and drinking.

Without knowing a bit more about you, I couldn't suggest whether you have insulin resistance or not, but it could be worthwhile for you to do a bit of reading around it.

Do you do finger prick testing of your bloods at home, on a day to day basis? Most of us aren't given the tools by our Docs to do this, but for me, it really helped me work things out.

It would be good if you shared a bit more about yourself so that we could see if we could offer you any helpful pointers whilst you're trying to move forward with your diabetes.

Hiya, sorry for the lack of replies. my diet is very good and up until september my activity levels were great. i broke my ankle and that left me sitting for a long time being inactive. going to discuss it all with my GP on Thursday when i call in.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hiya, sorry for the lack of replies. my diet is very good and up until september my activity levels were great. i broke my ankle and that left me sitting for a long time being inactive. going to discuss it all with my GP on Thursday when i call in.

When you say your diet is very good, what sortr of things are you eating, and what do expect insulin to do for you?

 

[martydozer]

Eat when i need to, low carbs. Can be accused of grazing this past while if im honest. Metformin is cery rough on me since i was diagnosed 3 years ago. very intense GI issues. Asking about merformin SR. I guess at the minute im just preparing myself for a discussion about insulin with my GP and just want to be better informed.

 

[Mep]

I'm insulin dependant, doing MDI with bolus & basal insulins. But I'm on insulin because a c-peptide test result showed I no longer produce much insulin. So I'm insulin deficient.

If you're not at the stage I'm at, you have a few options for treatment and I'd imagine your doc should be exploring that with you. I do understand that sometimes docs put you on insulin to get quick control of sugar levels. If that is what happens, you can always come off it later. I don't have that option. I wasn't put on insulin until I had to be put on it basically.

I wish you the best.

 

[martydozer]

I'm insulin dependant, doing MDI with bolus & basal insulins. But I'm on insulin because a c-peptide test result showed I no longer produce much insulin. So I'm insulin deficient.

If you're not at the stage I'm at, you have a few options for treatment and I'd imagine your doc should be exploring that with you. I do understand that sometimes docs put you on insulin to get quick control of sugar levels. If that is what happens, you can always come off it later. I don't have that option. I wasn't put on insulin until I had to be put on it basically.

I wish you the best.

thanks @Mep . just preparing for the discussion with my Doc and becoming better informed i guess. i've just seen a lot of people having the same issues i have with Metformin. maybe the slow release will be better. i dont really know yet.

 

[Mep]

thanks @Mep . just preparing for the discussion with my Doc and becoming better informed i guess. i've just seen a lot of people having the same issues i have with Metformin. maybe the slow release will be better. i dont really know yet.

it's worth trying the slow release. I didn't tolerate metformin myself the entire time I was on it which was 5 years. My docs insisted it was the drug T2's should be on. They did throw other drugs into the mix along the way, but in the end the drugs were like taking placebos for me really. They did work for a good couple of years or so. Everyone is different though.