Starting on Insulin

[Catlady19]

Hello all, it's been a while since I have posted.
I am about to start using insulin injections and wanted some advice on what to expect.

Up until now I have been on tablet medication and after trying Sitagliptin for the last few months (and despite keeping LCHF), my HBa1C is still too high (59), so the doctor has suggested starting insulin. I am going for the appointment on Thursday to learn how to do the injections.

I can't pretend that I am not disappointed that despite low carbing I am still getting high readings and now have to resort to Insulin. I am also peri-menopausal and I cannot seem to lose any weight no matter what I try (it's like it is stuck on there with super-glue!) I am also about to start some treatment for menopause and hope that the mixture of this and insulin will help sort me out.

Any tips or advice on starting the injections or losing some weight?

Thanks

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

As an injector myself I can certainly help with that side of things..

Do you know what insulin/s you have been prescribed?

 

[Member496333]

Any tips or advice on starting the injections or losing some weight?

Have you had your own endogenous insulin levels checked to see if they are low? Fasting insulin or c-peptide? If you are finding it impossible to lose weight then it may be that your insulin levels are already permanently elevated. Something typical of type 2 before the pancreas runs out of capacity to cope. If this were the case then adding more won't help. Something to think about.

How long have you been low carb, and how low? It took me the better part of one entire year to overcome my insulin resistance, and that was with hardcore keto 24/7. These things sometimes take many years to settle down. I hope your doctor isn't rushing to offer treatment that will make your insulin/weight problems worse. It happens a lot.

On the other side of the coin, if your insulin levels are now low, and/or dropping, then obviously injections may make more sense.

 

[Catlady19]

Hi,

As an injector myself I can certainly help with that side of things..

Do you know what insulin/s you have been prescribed?

Hiya, off the top of my head I think it is something like Lantus? I am sure it began with an L anyway.

 

[Catlady19]

Have you had your own endogenous insulin levels checked to see if they are low? Fasting insulin or c-peptide? If you are finding it impossible to lose weight then it may be that your insulin levels are already permanently elevated. Something typical of type 2 before the pancreas runs out of capacity to cope. If this were the case then adding more won't help. Something to think about.

How long have you been low carb, and how low? It took me the better part of one entire year to overcome my insulin resistance, and that was with hardcore keto 24/7. These things sometimes take many years to settle down. I hope your doctor isn't rushing to offer treatment that will make your insulin/weight problems worse. It happens a lot.

On the other side of the coin, if your insulin levels are now low, and/or dropping, then obviously injections may make more sense.

Ooh that sounds quite complicated. No, I have never had insulin levels checked as far as I know just HbA1C. The doc did um and er about insulin as he doesn't want me to gain weight and hence tried me on the other tablet options but these haven't been working.

Re low carb I haven't been very strictly counting but trying to keep around 50-100g per day.

 

[bulkbiker]

Ooh that sounds quite complicated. No, I have never had insulin levels checked as far as I know just HbA1C. The doc did um and er about insulin as he doesn't want me to gain weight and hence tried me on the other tablet options but these haven't been working.

Re low carb I haven't been very strictly counting but trying to keep around 50-100g per day.

In your shoes and with your HbA1c levels I’d push very hard to get my insulin levels checked before starting the injections. Your levels aren’t amazingly bad so I’m quite surprised to hear doc mentioning insulin.
I’d also suggest keeping a tighter control on your carb levels and try to get lower. You might be in the position of just having “too many” to get the benefits of ketosis.
Topping up your glucose levels would explain why your levels aren’t dropping as well as the lack of weight loss. As an aside insulin will not help weight loss at all...

 

[Jaylee]

Hiya, off the top of my head I think it is something like Lantus? I am sure it began with an L anyway.

Hello,

Lantus, is a basal background insulin which is meant to work over a 24 hour period?
It will probably help with fasting BGs, but will be insufficient for any meals consumed.

I use the stuff myself.

 

[Lowcarb 2]

Hello all, it's been a while since I have posted.
I am about to start using insulin injections and wanted some advice on what to expect.

Up until now I have been on tablet medication and after trying Sitagliptin for the last few months (and despite keeping LCHF), my HBa1C is still too high (59), so the doctor has suggested starting insulin. I am going for the appointment on Thursday to learn how to do the injections.

I can't pretend that I am not disappointed that despite low carbing I am still getting high readings and now have to resort to Insulin. I am also peri-menopausal and I cannot seem to lose any weight no matter what I try (it's like it is stuck on there with super-glue!) I am also about to start some treatment for menopause and hope that the mixture of this and insulin will help sort me out.

Any tips or advice on starting the injections or losing some weight?

Thanks

Hi I am post menopausal aged 56 and diagnosed type 2 three years ago last year high sugars saw me in hospital and after 10 weeks of changing medication to lower my readings nothing worked and I was out on slow release insulin Nov 19 it was a big step and I didn't get a lot of guidance , left to my own devices with follow ups i braved it because I knew it was necessary and to be honest it took some bravado at first but not to bad in the end . Recent blood test show that my pancreas is failing and I have been told that I am likely to become type 1 and completely insulin independent sooner rather than later which came as a shock to me as I have been told that my pancreas was getting tired and that some time in the future i may need more insulin, I was in the mindset of old age in my 60's 70's

 

[donnieboy]

Hello all, it's been a while since I have posted.
I am about to start using insulin injections and wanted some advice on what to expect.

Up until now I have been on tablet medication and after trying Sitagliptin for the last few months (and despite keeping LCHF), my HBa1C is still too high (59), so the doctor has suggested starting insulin. I am going for the appointment on Thursday to learn how to do the injections.

I can't pretend that I am not disappointed that despite low carbing I am still getting high readings and now have to resort to Insulin. I am also peri-menopausal and I cannot seem to lose any weight no matter what I try (it's like it is stuck on there with super-glue!) I am also about to start some treatment for menopause and hope that the mixture of this and insulin will help sort me out.

Any tips or advice on starting the injections or losing some weight?

Thanks

I have been on insulin since 1990 and really did not want to have to stick myself - I tried everything to avoid the needle but nothing worked (obviously a Type 1 here). BUT, the result was terrific. More energy and in generally good health. The discomfort is a very small price to pay, in my opinion.

 

[EllieM]

It seems to me that there are several issues here.
1) T1/LADA T3c whose bodies stop producing insulin eventually. Insulin injections are a must and you will feel much better on them.
2) T2s - typically they are insulin resistant and produce increasing quantities of insulin to process the carbs they eat. High insulin plus high blood sugar leads to weight gain so it's very hard for these T2s to lose weight. The medication treatment for this is to typically throw more and more insulin at the problem, either by making the pancreas produce more insulin or by injecting extra insulin. Now I'd argue that if the problem is insulin resistance then adding more insulin to the mix just makes things worse, BUT if they also have failing insulin production (due to overuse of the pancreas, is this a thing?) then insulin injections are going to be necessary. We all need some insulin.
3) T1s who have been misdiagnosed as T2s. This is increasingly common and because T1/LADA can be gradual, going low carb will often work for several years before insulin is needed. But insulin will be needed eventually.

A c-peptide test can be used to see how much insulin @Catlady19 is producing, and identify whether more insulin is a good or maybe not so good idea.

Good luck.