What would you do ?

[dingbat]

Hi, I joined over a year ago when I was first diagnosed and found an awful lot of help, now I'm back for more !!
Type 2 -15Months
120gm Gliclazide
100mg Sitagliptin
Intolerant of Metformin
Hba1c - 8.5 steady for 6 months - originally 13
Fasting BG - 11
2 hours after a meal 12-17, and boy do I feel the high ones !
Sorry to bore you but Doc has now put me on the spot and asked if I want to make the jump to insulin. On the one hand it would be nice to feel ok more often but on the other it seems like a big - no going back type of jump.
Will the benefits outweigh the negatives ? will I feel better ? will I need to take time off for a while ?
etc etc.
I can't ask for anyone to tell me to do it but some general advice/pointers/experiences would be massively appreciated. eee I think I'm scared
thanks

 

[cugila]

Hi dingbat. welcome back.

As i'm a T2 who is shall we say 'heavy of foot' you didn't say if you are overweight like a fair few of us around here. That can make a difference as to what treatment options are open to you. I personally would tell them to stick the Insulin in a very dark place ! I consider it to be a last resort, others may think differently.
I also don't trust many GP's to treat what is a complex problem. I favour a referral to someone who knows what they are doing - an Endocrinologist. As for diet - read the posts about lo-carb etc and make your own mind up.
Your choice - my advice - for what it's worth.
Be very well informed.

Ken

 

[sandiegirl]

Hi,
I agree - I am type 2 and was put on insulin last Novemberafter metformin made no difference to my BS. Am now on 5 injections a day. Unfortunately I hadnt seen this forum at the time - if I had I would have put my foot down and said no. I would then have started to lo-carb and would have got the good results I am now seeing.
I have managed to cut my doses down, in fact have halved my Novorapid ones and have nearly halved the dose of Lantus I take in the evening and in the morning, but I feel very strongly that if I had been better informed at the time I would not be injecting today.
So hold off as much as you can, I am very overweight but have now managed to lose a stone in the last 4 weeks by following the lo-carb diet.
Good luck,
Sandie

 

[Dennis]

Hi Dingbat,

My advice would be along the same lines as Ken's. Your high blood sugars simply show that you are eating more carbs than the combination of your own insulin plus meds is capable of dealing with. My personal choice would be to stay off insulin for as long as possible, especially when it would be unnecessary if you were to change your diet. Of course the other factor in the equation is high carbs which then needs high insulin = weight gain. More weight = more insulin resistance = more insulin = more weight gain. Get the picture?

There are also other oral meds that your doctor could try before resorting to insulin. For example the glitazone treatments (rosiglitazone and pioglitazone) are designed to reduce insulin resistance the same as metformin does. There is also Byetta, which works in a number of different ways and has been proven to be one of the most successful type 2 medicines, but doctors are reluctant to prescribe it because of cost.

 

[dingbat]

Many Thanks for taking the time to reply, all much appreciated. The link was informative too.
Just for information I'm fit, 12 stone 10 and diabetes isn't in the family.
I think the penny might have dropped a bit as far as the carbs are concerned !
Coincidently this morning my fasting BG was 10 then I ate a brown bagel at work, I felt ropey so i tested and BG was 16. This happens regularly with Pasta potato etc so we may be on to something here (Doh!).I honestly didn't think that a small thing like a bagel could make such a huge difference to the BG level.
So I think I'll have to investigate my diet a bit more. (mind I've just had half a pizza !)