Starting on insulin

[May14]

I’m 38 with high blood sugars (waking up with 10 and it can go up to 13 or 14 in the day) and want to conceive child no.2.

I put on a stone over lockdown which has wreaked havoc with my blood sugars. After trying exercise and diet for the past 10 months my sugars have continued to get worse (despite weight remaining stable).

The doctor suggested I begin Humulin 1 to help my sugars come down and also improve fertility (taking insulin will reduce insulin resistance and improve fertility).

Anyone managed to lose weight on insulin? Any tips for me?

 

[ert]

The side effect of taking insulin is weight gain. What does your diet look like on a day-to-day basis?

 

[May14]

Not good to be honest - cakes biscuits and chocolate and ice cream are a heavy feature.

 

[Fenn]

Hi have you considered eating differently before trying insulin? It’s a much easier route. Insulin sounds like a magic bullet but it’s a viscous circle for type twos and should be avoided if at all possible, weight gain being just one problem. I’m not trying to frighten you, I hope you find some motivation.

 

[May14]

Thanks Fenn, I think I need to find the motivation to do it properly. The sugar numbers on the monitor often demoralise me and my efforts and I end up giving up.

Perhaps I’ll give it one last shot and stick to a strict eating pattern. In any case, even if I go on insulin, I’ll need to mitigate weight gain by not eating in excess….

Thanks so much for sharing

 

[May14]

Essentially if I can prove to myself that I can stick to healthy eating and exercise for 2 weeks - the. I have a real chance of losing the weight and beating this…another 2 weeks won’t hurt the limited reproductive years I have left…

 

[Fenn]

If you need another child you can choose one of mine, I’ll have it back once it has a good rent paying job.

only playing, I love em really!

 

[May14]

I wondered if you could elaborate on the other issues with insulin apart from weight gain…

Couldn’t I come off it after having baby no 2.

Although to be fair my BMI is unfortunately already 29 so I don’t want to compound my weight problems!!!!

 

[searley]

I wondered if you could elaborate on the other issues with insulin apart from weight gain…

Couldn’t I come off it after having baby no 2.

Although to be fair my BMI is unfortunately already 29 so I don’t want to compound my weight problems!!!!

The major risk with insulin is risk of hypos

Having to tell the dvla you are on insulin and getting a medically restricted license

 

[May14]

Thanks guys for your responses, I feel way more supported than I have been for ages. I will start tomorrow, really dig deep, to give myself an earnest shot - really giving it my all - before embarking on insulin

 

[ert]

I wondered if you could elaborate on the other issues with insulin apart from weight gain…

Couldn’t I come off it after having baby no 2.

Although to be fair my BMI is unfortunately already 29 so I don’t want to compound my weight problems!!!!

It's difficult to manage as injected follows a fixed curve over 5 hours and doesn't match the food you are eating. If you eat normally you will spike over the five hours. You have to constantly monitor your blood sugars day and night as you lose your homeostasis and your blood sugars can fall below 3.9 mmol/l with injected insulin.

 

[ert]

Not good to be honest - cakes biscuits and chocolate and ice cream are a heavy feature.

Don't have them in the house. This is an easier choice to insulin.

 

[Fenn]

I reckon you are going to come back with an inspiring story in a few months about how close to the breach you came, how we should all follow you example and how the triplets you are expecting will be enjoying low carb milk

 

[May14]

Don't have them in the house. This is an easier choice to insulin.

Yes you’re soooo right. It’s less tracking and worrying about hypos and the rest…it’s not like I can stop worrying about food/exercise by getting on insulin… I’ll need to track it even more carefull.

I’m thinking i’ll just hand over my money card to hubby (and any spare cash) to stop myself from buying the junk food…!!

 

[May14]

Okay, just done. I have only PayPal to order groceries and Amazon (hubby’s account). Apart from that no cash, no cards, and no endless access to junk food. Plus I’ll show him the Tesco order receipt.

It’ll mean I have to forward plan for everything consciously - rather than my default position of going for instant convenience at the whim of my emotions (both of which have been my downfall from the get go)

And I will accept upfront that I’ll naturally have to face difficult emotions head on and accept the physical symptoms of hunger/ feeling weak etc I will have to deal with it without food and be forced to find alternative means of coping.

 

[May14]

Honestly thank you all, you’ve helped me see things so much more clearly. And to realise insulin is no magic bullet - Faaaar from it.

I really mean it, I’m touched by your kindness and am digging deep for greater self-belief and determination as a result of your comments.

 

[Daibell]

The side effect of taking insulin is weight gain. What does your diet look like on a day-to-day basis?

Insulin itself does not cause weight gain. It's a hormone that enables the body to metabolise Carbs. If you have too many Carbs with insulin you will gain weight.

 

[EllieM]

Insulin itself does not cause weight gain. It's a hormone that enables the body to metabolise Carbs. If you have too many Carbs with insulin you will gain weight.

High blood sugars plus high insulin cause weight gain, and unfortunately for insulin resistant T2s too many carbs lead to high bgs and high insulin...

 

[ert]

Insulin itself does not cause weight gain. It's a hormone that enables the body to metabolise Carbs. If you have too many Carbs with insulin you will gain weight.

It's more about total calories as remember if you eat low carbohydrate as I do (mostly less than 20grams a day), you can still put on weight like I did (20 kg) when starting insulin.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases...in-depth/insulin-and-weight-gain/art-20047836

 

[VashtiB]

Hi @May14

Just wondering how you are travelling. I will put my hand up to say I found it very difficult reducing my carbs. I made the decision to go very low carbs as I really love them. As a carboholic and an all or nothing person combined I find it easier to go very low carb than medium low carb. I also use artificial sweeteners. This is what works for me currently. You need to find the balance that will work for you that you can sustain long term. I've also lost weight. It took me a while to feel okay about reducing my carbs but I am there now. For a while I avoided shops altogether as it made me too sad. I am glad I persisted but will not say it was easy for me. I stuffed up but the help and support here helped me. So please keep reading and posting.

We are all individuals and we need to find the way forward that we can manage. Some type 2s need to use insulin and that is perfectly fine. I personally want to try to remain on diet and metformin only as long as I can.. At the moment I can. So to manage my balance I use artificial sweeteners. I am going to try to reduce my use of them but with a stressful job until very recently I couldn't do that.

So I guess what I am saying is we will support anyone here. We are all different with one thing in common. well actually two. What we have in common is a need to consider our response to carbs. The other thing we have in common is the desire to help and support others who also have to consider our response to carbs.

Good luck