i would love to hear from any type 2 diabetics that have gone on to take insulin ,how long it took from diagnosis to taking insulin ?or equally how long any type 2s have been diagnosed and still havent gone on to insulin? i was told by my diabetic nurse that it is on average about 7 years. i would really appreciate any replies thank you dermot :?:
how long before going on insulin type 2
- Thread starter mullaneder
- Start Date
This assumes that diabetes is a progressive condition :? I'm currently working on the principle that if I get my blood sugar under control and reduce my insulin resistance by losing weight and exercise that it doesn't have to be progressive and I won't find myself in that position and dealing with the long term effects of high blood sugar.
My dad wasn't diagnosed until after his first heart attack at the age of 58. He died last year at the age of 80 (almost 81) and had been on insulin for the last 2 years of his life, although it had been mentioned as a possibility for about 2 years prior to that. He never actually got the hang of managing his diet, which was dreadful.
My dad wasn't diagnosed until after his first heart attack at the age of 58. He died last year at the age of 80 (almost 81) and had been on insulin for the last 2 years of his life, although it had been mentioned as a possibility for about 2 years prior to that. He never actually got the hang of managing his diet, which was dreadful.
Absolutely right Graham. I know a few T2 veterans not on insulin. I also know some who have come off insulin just by making some changes to their diet. Progressive my a**e.
fergus
fergus
fergus said:
Quite!
It IS progressive if you eat starchy carbs with every meal and avoid fats. I've met many people who were assured they'd be on insulin in three/five years and aren't. Before Kentishman my record was 25 years - he used a low carb diet and cycled a lot, but I've met many in the 5 - 10 year zone who have improved and so far not worsened again, and I strongly suspect if they carry on the way they are, well they'll carry on the way they are.
Hi Dermot,
I strongly suspect that the majority of type 2s who have followed their doctor's advice about diet will have struggled to gain any control over their blood sugars and most likely will end up on insulin after 7 years. It becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.
If you look at just about every person on this website who has reported good BS control they all have one of two things in common. They have been told by their GP or a dietician to reduce their carb intake, or they have discovered for themselves that a reduction in carbs works. And before you switch off, I am not talking about low-carbing!!
I said, and I meant, a reduction in carbs. How much of a reduction will be very different for everyone. Some may find that they have no option but to drop to below 50g carbs per day, but most people don't need to go anywhere near that low. A low GI diet is another alternative because this is generally lower in total carbs, but those that you do eat are slower to convert to glucose, so don't overload the pancreas. If you can find a diet at which you can maintain BS control, then there is no reason why you should ever need to resort to insulin, unless your pancreas gives up the fight.
And of course, by reducing the amount of carbs we eat, we are also reducing the strain on the pancreas to keep producing high amounts of insulin. So you also help to ensure that your pancreas doesn't burn out.
I am a type 2, first diagnosed in 2002, so I should be just about ready for insulin any time now. But instead I have an HBA1C of 5.7 and maintain pretty much non-diabetic BS levels with no difficulty. And I have no intention of ever going on to insulin as long as I can keep at these levels as easily as I currently do.
I strongly suspect that the majority of type 2s who have followed their doctor's advice about diet will have struggled to gain any control over their blood sugars and most likely will end up on insulin after 7 years. It becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.
If you look at just about every person on this website who has reported good BS control they all have one of two things in common. They have been told by their GP or a dietician to reduce their carb intake, or they have discovered for themselves that a reduction in carbs works. And before you switch off, I am not talking about low-carbing!!
I said, and I meant, a reduction in carbs. How much of a reduction will be very different for everyone. Some may find that they have no option but to drop to below 50g carbs per day, but most people don't need to go anywhere near that low. A low GI diet is another alternative because this is generally lower in total carbs, but those that you do eat are slower to convert to glucose, so don't overload the pancreas. If you can find a diet at which you can maintain BS control, then there is no reason why you should ever need to resort to insulin, unless your pancreas gives up the fight.
And of course, by reducing the amount of carbs we eat, we are also reducing the strain on the pancreas to keep producing high amounts of insulin. So you also help to ensure that your pancreas doesn't burn out.
I am a type 2, first diagnosed in 2002, so I should be just about ready for insulin any time now. But instead I have an HBA1C of 5.7 and maintain pretty much non-diabetic BS levels with no difficulty. And I have no intention of ever going on to insulin as long as I can keep at these levels as easily as I currently do.
many thanks to spiral,graham,fergus,denis and trinkwasser for your great replies,much appreciated.i know that there will be a lot of posts with the success stories but i also know that there will be people that have gone on to have to take insulin and i would like to hear from these also hopefully i will never have to go on the stuff .at the moment i have great numbers currently test twice a day and havent had a number over 5.9 in the last three weeks.at the moment i dont have to watch the carbs too much yet although i have cut down and i have spread them out also.thanks again for the replies dermot
hi Mullaneder,
I am type 2 and currently on 30 units of Lantus (split into 2 X15 injections, one at night and one in the morning) and 3 X 10 units of Novorapid with meals. I was diagnosed as a T2 4 years ago and was put straight onto metformin, then had gliclacide added a year later as my BS were still up there in the 15's. Carried on like this for another year or so and was then told there was no other option except to go onto insulin.
Unfortuantley I hadnt found this forum at this stage and was following my DN's advise to the letter as I naievly prsumed she knew best!!! How wrong was I???
Anyway, started off on 20 units of Lantus which was then increased till we got to 40 units and then the Novorapid was introduced with a starting dose of 15 units 3 times a day. So this all happend from September 08 until February this year where I was on a HBa1c of 7.7, taking 60 units of Lantus and a total of 75 units of Novorapid and still having high fasting bs between 12 and 15. Felt that I needed to do something drastic as I felt so awful most of the time.
I had been reading about reducing carbs on here so gave it a try and I am now taking 30 units of Lantus and 30 units of Novorapid daily and I am eventually hoping to bring these numbers down even further and have lost 32lbs so far in weight.
So hope that helps, I feel strongly that I was not given enough information when first diagnosed and went like a lamb to slaughter along the insulin route which if I had taken myself in hand at this early stage may have meant I could have managed on diet and exercise alone - but the right diet for me and not the one given to me by my DN.
Still, on the right road now, and looking good!!!
Regards,
Sandie
I am type 2 and currently on 30 units of Lantus (split into 2 X15 injections, one at night and one in the morning) and 3 X 10 units of Novorapid with meals. I was diagnosed as a T2 4 years ago and was put straight onto metformin, then had gliclacide added a year later as my BS were still up there in the 15's. Carried on like this for another year or so and was then told there was no other option except to go onto insulin.
Unfortuantley I hadnt found this forum at this stage and was following my DN's advise to the letter as I naievly prsumed she knew best!!! How wrong was I???
Anyway, started off on 20 units of Lantus which was then increased till we got to 40 units and then the Novorapid was introduced with a starting dose of 15 units 3 times a day. So this all happend from September 08 until February this year where I was on a HBa1c of 7.7, taking 60 units of Lantus and a total of 75 units of Novorapid and still having high fasting bs between 12 and 15. Felt that I needed to do something drastic as I felt so awful most of the time.
I had been reading about reducing carbs on here so gave it a try and I am now taking 30 units of Lantus and 30 units of Novorapid daily and I am eventually hoping to bring these numbers down even further and have lost 32lbs so far in weight.
So hope that helps, I feel strongly that I was not given enough information when first diagnosed and went like a lamb to slaughter along the insulin route which if I had taken myself in hand at this early stage may have meant I could have managed on diet and exercise alone - but the right diet for me and not the one given to me by my DN.
Still, on the right road now, and looking good!!!
Regards,
Sandie
phoenix
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There are lots of type 2s not using insulin. In the US the 2004 figure was 27%, though some doctors feel that it should be used more often/earlier in some cases.
There are some 'type 2s' that will need to go onto insulin because they will not be able to achieve good control whatever measures they adopt.
Some of these will have had diabetes for a long time before official diagnosis and so have lost a great deal of beta cell function already. Others will have massive insulin resistance,I ' know' one person who needs to take 1000 units of insulin a day + metformin, ( I take 25) with that type of resistance, and who knows why he is so resistant, insulin must be inevitable.
Lastly, at least 10% and may be as many as 15% of people diagnosed with type 2 probably don't have type 2 . A few will have MODY, more may have antibodies to their islet cells resulting in low levels of insulin.They will gradually lose remaining beta cell function whatever the diet and/or oral medication given. If the person is a 'non obese' type 2 it has been suggested that there is a least a 50% chance of this being the case.
What I'm pointing out is that many people initially diagnosed as type 2 insulin may be inevitable and not the result of any failure to adopt the 'correct' type of diet etc.
There are some 'type 2s' that will need to go onto insulin because they will not be able to achieve good control whatever measures they adopt.
Some of these will have had diabetes for a long time before official diagnosis and so have lost a great deal of beta cell function already. Others will have massive insulin resistance,I ' know' one person who needs to take 1000 units of insulin a day + metformin, ( I take 25) with that type of resistance, and who knows why he is so resistant, insulin must be inevitable.
Lastly, at least 10% and may be as many as 15% of people diagnosed with type 2 probably don't have type 2 . A few will have MODY, more may have antibodies to their islet cells resulting in low levels of insulin.They will gradually lose remaining beta cell function whatever the diet and/or oral medication given. If the person is a 'non obese' type 2 it has been suggested that there is a least a 50% chance of this being the case.
What I'm pointing out is that many people initially diagnosed as type 2 insulin may be inevitable and not the result of any failure to adopt the 'correct' type of diet etc.
I think there are high numbers of folks wrongly diagnosed as Type 2 and actually turn out to be Late Onset Type 1....like me.I went straight onto Gliclazide on diagnosis and onto insulin a year after that. It took another four years before a correct diagnosis. I don't understand why, if there is any doubt about type, they don't do GAD tests for people in that category.I think the Gliclazide was actually the wrong sort of tablet for my type of diabetes, so would not have helped me at all.From what I've read, as a LADA, going onto insulin sooner, rather than later, actually helps preserve any beta cells left working.
thanks a lot chocaholic great post 
thanks graham it looked like the other thread got personal and from recent experience that solves nothing and hopefully this thread wont go the same way as i am getting a lot of information
i dont want advice in this thread i was only trying to see any trends hopefully i will never need insulin as my career as a train driver would be over
thanks dermot
thanks graham it looked like the other thread got personal and from recent experience that solves nothing and hopefully this thread wont go the same way as i am getting a lot of information
i dont want advice in this thread i was only trying to see any trends hopefully i will never need insulin as my career as a train driver would be over
thanks dermot
Agreed, Type 2 is NOT a single disease, there are many different variants and a small but significant number of them may actually progress faster than some Type 1/LADAs, one reason why the latter are often misdiagnosed as Type 2 is because they may still have significant insulin output after months or even years. They and the MODYs generally lack the IR characteristic in most but not all forms of Type 2. Clear as mud eh?
