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Beating insulin injections.

A

Aiwais

Member
Messages
6
Hello, I don't know if people have had read my previous post about a month ago, but I just wanted to update my story and hopefully inspire some other people.

I am 20 years old, pretty slim and healthy, but on the 12th I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and my sugar levels were reaching 28 mmol/L. I was in hospital for a few days, then they let me go and told me I needed to see a specialist nurse every week who would tell me what to eat do etc. I was on 2 injections a day at the start and was told that by mid may I would be using 4 injections of insulin a day.

From day one I knew i could get off the injections, and even metformin tablets. As soon as I got out of hospital, I started eating non processed foods and low carbs.
For about two weeks, whilst i was on injections my food was just boiled eggs in the morning, grilled chicken or fish during lunch and just something light in the evening, chicken soup or something. My sugar levels came down major! With the insulin injections I was reaching 2.3 mmol/L till 4 mmol/L.
I went to see my doctor and he told me to get off the injections and i started taking metformin tablets, i think 500 mg with every meal, I did that for about aother 2/3 weeks and my sugar levels were normal again! reaching 4-6 mmol/L before meal and then around 7-6 mmol/L after meals. By this time i was eating pretty much normal stuff again. Had burgers and chips, and other home made stuff which had some sugar in it and stuff. In the morning I started having brown bread with a little jam and stuff. you know just about normal things.

Now I went to see my doctor again and he told me to get off the metformin tablets and has given me Repaglinide Accord tablets, now i am not sure what the big difference between the two is, but I did notice that these tablets were just 2mg instead of 500 mg. I have been doing some research and found out these tablets were just for type 2, but I was officialy type 1 according to the hospital and 'special diabetes consultants'



Good luck to every one else!
 
If you are Type 1 then you are likely to be in your honeymoon period where your pancreas produces insulin for a while before finally giving up. Have a google for it.

Unfortunately, all Type 1s need insulin injections no matter how much you put your mind to it!
 
I think this post is going to be misleading for some people. Although some T1 people can come off insulin for a short period in their honeymoon phase, they will not be off forever.

It may be that you're original diagnosis of T1 was wrong as it is quite clear you are T2. Simply saying its all about the attitude will not "reverse" diabetes for type 1 as its just not possible!

Type 2 is a whole different issue!
 
Hi Aiwais!

Put very bluntly, you are wrong and your message to Type 1s is both ignorant and dangerous. Type 1s must not stop their insulin or they will die. Type 1.5s or Type 1s in the honeymoon period might require lower doses of insulin and might be able to miss injections occasionally, but full Type 1s will become very ill very quickly if they do not take their insulin and they could be dead within days. Please stop posting such dangerous rubbish. I am now going to report your post to the moderators to deal.

Smidge
 
As a Type 1 diabetic (since 1975) I find your post deeply offensive and misguided. Type 1 diabetes is an auto immune disease and has nothing to do with the mind!!

You are Type 2 which is obvious from the medication you have been prescribed
 
I wish positive attitude could do what you say. Reality is it doesn't!
And anyway you need insulin not only when you eat carbs. That's why you inject lantus or levemir as background insulin or basal (if using insulin pump)
Apart from that, suggest to read about the honeymoon period and about the number of young T1 diabetics who died because they stopped injecting insulin.
Going into a coma and developing ketoacidosis sometimes unfortunately can become a non return voyage.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Awais, when people are first diagnosed with T1 and are given insulin their glucose levels drop rapidly from toxic levels . With lowered levels, the remaining beta cells (and there will be some still there) may often enable them to need little or no insulin though most specialist doctors recommend that it is better to continue to use tiny amounts. Unfortunately this period will come to an end as more beta cells are destroyed.
http://www.joslin.org/info/will_diabetes_go_away.html

The drug that you have been given actual stimulates the beta cells to produce insulin; fine if there was a mistake and you are in fact T2 but if you have T1 this treatment will not be effective for long. Personally, if I were you I would ask for an opinion from the specialists I saw at diagnosis.

Finally, you may wonder why people are so upset by your post.
1) T1 cannot be 'cured' by either exercise or diet.
2) Many of us that have a positive attitude and live with diabetes, we control it, not the other way around.. I came out of hospital saying I wouldn't let it beat me and would run a marathon. I ran that marathon but I still have diabetes and still use insulin.
 
Hi Awais. I think some of the posts have been a little hard on you. If the hospital said you were a T1 that was their best understanding at the time and ideally they would have done a GAD and c-peptide test to 'prove' it. Your GP who you say took you off insulin should have re-diagnosed you as T2 and told you that as he should know that T1s don't just come off insulin even for the Honeymoon period. If this was not clarified for you then I can see as a newly diagnosed person you may not have known your true situation. Anyway let's hope you can stay off the insulin but do keep an eye on your sugar levels and get a meter if you haven't already got one. If your sugar levels rise again rapidly then see your GP again immediately to consider the next move.
 
Hi All .

I have edited the OP post of misleading information .

Left in certain quotes as these are part of the OP's testimony story .

We however dont encourage any advice to promote to stop using/taking insulin
or other medication with members treatment of Diabetes .

Anna .
 
I'm with Daibell,

You are really young and obviously excited that ur condition 'changed' as it were and i think ppl hav been rather harsh... Hav u been tested for the c-peptide and the antibodies because that's where u need to be looking for future reference?

I was recently diagnosed as type 1.5 and I have antibodies and I am not taking insulin at the moment but I have been warned that although I'm ok and producing enough insulin for now, this is a progressive disease and I need to get my head around the fact that ultimately I will eventually need to inject insulin....


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.
 
Aiwais i hope you can keep it up for as long as possible! Seriously though if you are type 1 it won't last forever. I am slow onset type 1, only needing insulin in pregnancy and was able to come off it after my 2nd baby, i'm back on it now and IF i were to get lucky with another spell of not needing it once our baby is born it will be short lived. If its type 1 then i'm pretty certain its slow onset type 1, where your pancreas slowly packs in, as opposed to the typical type 1 onset which is rapid.
If you keep low carbing then it will slow things down abit, but be prepared for illness to crank it up again, when i had a virus last july my fasting bloods went from lovely 4's (no insulin or tablets) to 8's. Anything than mess it up!
 
Ok clearly I have offended many people by such a post. It's right I am newly diagnosed and maybe the joy of not taking injections may have taken over, but honestly I didn't intent to offend or misguide anyone. I just shared my story, that's what people do on here right? Really, do people really have to go hard headed and all out on attack?

Thank you all for the information though, will read up more and will see my DR again.
 
No I think it's just when you sed you 'knew you could get off the injections' people got defensive about it when really they should have just mentioned that if you have type 1 diabetes or even a slow onset type 1 diabetes then eventually u will need the injections again for definite and forever.... It's extremely extremely unlikely that you have type 2 diabetes at ur age and weight and the insulin they put you on immediately might have given your pancreas the break it needed and so now ur in a honeymoon period as mentioned by others..hence the suggestion that you ask for a c-peptide and antibody test from your GP as this is the way they now distinguish between the CONDITION of type 2 diabetes and the DISEASE that is type 1 or late/slow onset type 1. Good Luck tho and long may the honeymoon period last :-)


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.
 
Aiwas. I'm not sure people have been unduly harsh. I sincerely hope You aren't type 1, if You are then in time You May understand the responses.

When I was first diagnosed I went to hospital and fainted when they put me on a drip. I had cramp so bad that my toes were touching my shins. I had probably been living with the condition for months because mind over matter meant I didn't see the gp. Within a day I was injecting and changed my diet for good.

I was once mugged, had one broken leg and a featured skull courtesy of 4 blokes, they took everything I had, phone insulin the lot. I was 12 miles from home on a country lane at 2am and had to crawl on my hands and knees for 3 and a half hours to get help. If it was a case of mind over matey then trust me, I would be cured!

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
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