Glucose in cells

[Lisaopp]

So, I'm 50, I have type 1, I'm in the honeymoon phase for almost a year and have an a1c of 6. My last c-peptide was low-normal. I eat about 140 carbs a day and take 2 units of lantus once daily. My blood sugars spike when I eat but come back down.
Someone on a FB page told me that NONE of my sugar/glucose would get into my cells without the use of insulin. I asked this question because my legs have become weak in the past year and I have an overall lack of energy, although I was never really all that active to begin with.
I asked my doctor about the comment from the FB person and she said if your glucose wasn't being absorbed into your cells, you would have a sky high blood glucose.
So my question is, just because my blood sugar goes down, does that mean the sugar is getting into my cells? Or does it just exit my blood for some other reason I'm unaware of.
I'm sorry for the long post and for possibly the stupid question. Some people can be super opinionated and pushy so she made me question what I thought I knew.

 

[Diakat]

I think glut1 transporters are insulin independent.

 

[Lisaopp]

I think glut1 transporters are insulin independent.

I'm not sure what that means.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

So, I'm 50, I have type 1, I'm in the honeymoon phase for almost a year and have an a1c of 6. My last c-peptide was low-normal. I eat about 140 carbs a day and take 2 units of lantus once daily. My blood sugars spike when I eat but come back down.
Someone on a FB page told me that NONE of my sugar/glucose would get into my cells without the use of insulin. I asked this question because my legs have become weak in the past year and I have an overall lack of energy, although I was never really all that active to begin with.
I asked my doctor about the comment from the FB person and she said if your glucose wasn't being absorbed into your cells, you would have a sky high blood glucose.
So my question is, just because my blood sugar goes down, does that mean the sugar is getting into my cells? Or does it just exit my blood for some other reason I'm unaware of.
I'm sorry for the long post and for possibly the stupid question. Some people can be super opinionated and pushy so she made me question what I thought I knew.

Just a T2 here, but if it wasn't getting where it's supposed to be, (in your cells, that is, with the assistance of what insulin you still make yourself and the Lantus) it would show up as high blood glucose. You're honeymooning, so you're still producing some insulin of your own. If you didn't make any, and didn't take Lantus, you'd have high blood sugars and you wouldn't be able to use the carbs as fuel. But you do take Lantus and you do still make a little insulin yourself, so... You're all good, far as that's concerned.

As for lacking strength in your legs, get checked for vitamin d deficiency. That's where I feel it first when I get low(er) than usual. Maybe check for too little magnesium as well. People on the internet can be very.... Well, you know, you've experienced it yourself. But I don't think it's a bloodsugar issue. But the lack of strength in your muscles does merit looking in to. Doesn't have to be diabetes related.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[Lisaopp]

Just a T2 here, but if it wasn't getting where it's supposed to be, (in your cells, that is, with the assistance of what insulin you still make yourself and the Lantus) it would show up as high blood glucose. You're honeymooning, so you're still producing some insulin of your own. If you didn't make any, and didn't take Lantus, you'd have high blood sugars and you wouldn't be able to use the carbs as fuel. But you do take Lantus and you do still make a little insulin yourself, so... You're all good, far as that's concerned.

As for lacking strength in your legs, get checked for vitamin d deficiency. That's where I feel it first when I get low(er) than usual. Maybe check for too little magnesium as well. People on the internet can be very.... Well, you know, you've experienced it yourself. But I don't think it's a bloodsugar issue. But the lack of strength in your muscles does merit looking in to. Doesn't have to be diabetes related.

Good luck!
Jo

Hi and thank you. I think people have good intentions but this one woman is so pushy! ... anyway.
When I was dx'd last September I went from 130 to 122 and felt really weak. I've gained my weight back but I haven't built my muscles back up. My vitamin D was the low end of normal so I'm taking drops daily, but I'm not sure about my magnesium.
Thanks again!

 

[Diakat]

Glut transporters move glucose into cells. As your c-pep was low you are producing some insulin.

 

[Fenn]

Glut transporters move glucose into cells. As your c-pep was low you are producing some insulin.

I shouldn't even be poking my nose into the OPs thread but this is interesting, are you saying you can get rid of glucose by using this Glut thing without insulin? if so this answers a huge puzzle for me.

Sorry OP I wouldn't usually dream of getting involved in a T1 thread

 

[Mr_Pot]

I shouldn't even be poking my nose into the OPs thread but this is interesting, are you saying you can get rid of glucose by using this Glut thing without insulin? if so this answers a huge puzzle for me.

Sorry OP I wouldn't usually dream of getting involved in a T1 thread

Glut transporters are part of cells and are "activated" by the insulin.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Hi and thank you. I think people have good intentions but this one woman is so pushy! ... anyway.
When I was dx'd last September I went from 130 to 122 and felt really weak. I've gained my weight back but I haven't built my muscles back up. My vitamin D was the low end of normal so I'm taking drops daily, but I'm not sure about my magnesium.
Thanks again!

Hopefully posters here aren't super pushy!
Those who know always qualify their knowledge because they also know how much they don't know.
Those who don't know are blindly convinced they know everything.
If that makes sense.

 

[Diakat]

@Fenn this is where I got that idea
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014579398011491

 

[Fenn]

@Fenn this is where I got that idea
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014579398011491

Thankyou, im too dumb to understand that.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi and thank you. I think people have good intentions but this one woman is so pushy! ... anyway.
When I was dx'd last September I went from 130 to 122 and felt really weak. I've gained my weight back but I haven't built my muscles back up. My vitamin D was the low end of normal so I'm taking drops daily, but I'm not sure about my magnesium.
Thanks again!

Pushy people are usually firmly holding on to the wrong end of the stick they're trying to beat you over the head with. In any case, speak to someone about how you've been feeling, because you shouldn't have to be feeling like this, something else might be up. Protein usually helps to build muscle, but as a honeymooning T1 that might raise your need for insulin some. Not my area of expertise, sorry...

 

[1spuds]

Thankyou, im too dumb to understand that.

LOL,I thought the same thing reading that.

In my learning as a type2 I found out in much simpler terms about GLUT4 and how that exercise opened receptors on muscles to grab the glucose,hence why the walking works on sugars as the leg muscles are your biggest muscles and they just grab that glucose and metabolize it.That was how I understood it to be.Sounded good to me.

Is that beneficial to type 1,I have no clue.Just the subject of glucose transport (GLUT) came up.

Anybody who knows better or can explain in easy terms what is,or isnt, going on please jump in.Im not a molecular biologist by a very long shot.

Sorry,I never saved any of my research on it.

 

[ert]

So, I'm 50, I have type 1, I'm in the honeymoon phase for almost a year and have an a1c of 6. My last c-peptide was low-normal. I eat about 140 carbs a day and take 2 units of lantus once daily. My blood sugars spike when I eat but come back down.
Someone on a FB page told me that NONE of my sugar/glucose would get into my cells without the use of insulin. I asked this question because my legs have become weak in the past year and I have an overall lack of energy, although I was never really all that active to begin with.
I asked my doctor about the comment from the FB person and she said if your glucose wasn't being absorbed into your cells, you would have a sky high blood glucose.
So my question is, just because my blood sugar goes down, does that mean the sugar is getting into my cells? Or does it just exit my blood for some other reason I'm unaware of.
I'm sorry for the long post and for possibly the stupid question. Some people can be super opinionated and pushy so she made me question what I thought I knew.

You doctor is certainly right, you'd have sky-high sugar levels. You're also right in thinking that sugar is getting into your cells. Your HbA1c of 6 is amazing and you are still producing insulin based on your c-peptide. You appear to have a firm diagnosis which a lot of people here struggle with. I'd love to hear your diagnosis story.

 

[kokhongw]

Amy Berger's blog post provides some interesting perspective on the generally accepted idea that insulin is needed for glucose clearance...
http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2019/03/insulin-glucagon-pancreas.html
This extract may be relevant to the discussion...