New to insulin

[Wattief1]

I have been on metformin and gliclizide for the past 7 years yesterday I changed to insulin (humulin M3) on the advice of my diabetic nurse as my hba1c steadily been creeping up to an eye watering 97. Stopped my metformin and gliclizide and started my insulin injections 10 units last night before evening meal and breakfast this morning, my finger prick numbers are now high teens to early twenties as opposed to high tens early teens.
Has any body had a similar experience?

 

[urbanracer]

I have been on metformin and gliclizide for the past 7 years yesterday I changed to insulin (humulin M3) on the advice of my diabetic nurse as my hba1c steadily been creeping up to an eye watering 97. Stopped my metformin and gliclizide and started my insulin injections 10 units last night before evening meal and breakfast this morning, my finger prick numbers are now high teens to early twenties as opposed to high tens early teens.
Has any body had a similar experience?

Hi @Wattief1

Welcome to the forums.

I am wondering if you have made any changes to lifestyle and diet since being diagnosed?

 

[Jaylee]

Hello @Wattief1

Insulin; takes time to adjust to. & understand how it can work for you.
Though, it's no "magic bullet" with regards to control of BG alone. A suitable diet & structure of daily routine with meal timings may compliment a regime on Humulin M3 taking fixed doses? (It's a loooong time since I was on this sort of set up.)

Having said that, it's more advisable to bring down the A1c to normal parameters slowly (acclimatise to new levels.) after prolonged periods running high? Which can cause diabetic related issues if one attempts the "bull at a gate" aproach.

Do you hold a current driving licence?
Have you been advised by your HCPs to inform the DVLA on your new prescribed medication..?

Keep a log of dosage, timings, diet & numbers. This will help your DSN understand what's going on.

When is your next appointment?

 

[~Noodles~]

Unfortunately, you didn't mention the unit your HbA1c was measured in, so I can't interpret the value.

If it was high, it might just take a little while to get things up to speed. When I got started on insulin I thought they gave me a placebo, glucose just wouldn't budge after ever increasing doses. In the end, it took 3-4 days to notice much of a difference. Might wanna keep an eye on it and give it a chance to dial in.

 

[TooSweetForMe]

I'm on insulin myself, but was also kept on my janumet so maybe you need to go back on your orals until you get your insulin doses straightened out.

 

[EllieM]

Overdosing on insulin can have immediate life-threatening effects in terms of hypos, so consultants tend to start people out on lower doses than they need, and then increase them. Also, since T2s tend to be insulin resistant, they often need far more insulin than T1s, so it's even more difficult to get the dosage right.

Have you considered going the low carb approach? If you haven't then this may be an option to take, as many T2s on here find it reduces their levels to normal with a greatly reduced need for medication.... But you need to be careful about this, as hypoglycemia is a real risk if you're on insulin and you suddenly lower your carbs. You'd need to run it past your medical team. Hopefully your doctor/clinic have explained about hypos?