Type 2 Type 2 started insulin 6mths ago ( No Energy and being Sick)

Fridgey

Newbie
Messages
2
I have been a type 2 for 7/8 years and have switched from slow release Metformin to Nova rapid and Abasaglar I take 8 units of Nova rapid 3 times a day and 14units of Abasaglar at night. When I first started it was brilliant I felt like a pocket Rocket but now I have no energy almost like having the flu and when it comes to meal times I’m feeling and being sick and my blood sugars are spot on 5.3 on every blood sugar test I know I’m suffering with neuropathy in my feet but this no energy and sickness is depressing me I sleep at night as I have had two spine fusions and nerve decompression the specialist put me on diazepam 20mgs a night and 25 MGs of Quetiapine so I sleep well and I’m up in the morning but I just don’t have any energy and just feel sick after I am sick my energy feels worse has anyone else had these symptoms I could do with some advice and I have had bloods taken and seeing the Doctor on Friday but curious to know if anyone else has had something similar just so I can ask the doctor better questions also I do apologise if I’m not supposed to post this as a first post
 

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,471
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome. I’ll tag @daisy1 in for her welcome info. I’ve never used insulin so any comments are from my readings and observations on here. But a bit more detail might help those in the know.

How long have you been on insulin? Why did you jump straight from metformin to insulin? There’s usually a raft of other drugs tried in between. what sort of readings were you getting before starting it? How long has it been since it’s made you sick?

was any form of low carb diet tried? If not it’s possible you may be able to reduce the amount of insulin required by eating less carbs thus reduce the symptoms. That doesn’t negate the need to establish exactly what’s causing the sickness though.

Also relevant would be how long it was ok before you got these symptoms and did anything else change at the same time?did the other drugs start at the same time as the problems?
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Fridgey
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 600,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Fridgey

Newbie
Messages
2
Thank you for all your advice
It was labyrinthitis a nasty inner ear infection the Docs won’t let me drive for 3 wks and I honestly thought that I was doing something wrong with my Diabetes