FASTING WITH INSULIN

Sassco said:

Hi, As I've only been using Insulin for a week (Humulin M3 KwikPen (Lilly) Human Insulin 30% Soluble & 70% Isophane) together with Metformin, Glicazide and Januvia - can anyone please tell me if it's ok to Fast (being Jewish it's Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement on Wednesday 26th) and although my GP said it was ok to fast but I shouldn't take my insulin or meds, I have been reading up of the subject and it appears that opinions are divided :? . Any advice would be welcome. My GP was supposed to ring me to discuss but never did. :thumbdown:

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Hi Sassco,

I'll bump your post up and see if anyone can answer. A difficult one. As you do not have to fast until Wednesday, is there a Dr. within your synagogue who could advise?
I did find this article which may help.

The information here is that if you are prone to hypos then you should not fast.
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/164 ... tor-weigh/

Hi Sassco and welcome to the forum. As Catherinecherub previously stated, it would be a wise idea to speak with a doctor in your synagogue about this - chances are that they've dealt with something similar before! :thumbup:

I don't understand your GP's advice ... if you are taking a certain amount insulin to cover the carbohydrate you normally eat, and on Wednesday you still take it at the start of the fast, but you stop eating, you'll go hypo. If you stop taking your insulin at the end of the fast, and then eat carbohydrate, you'll go too high.
I would have expected him to say it the other way around: don't take insulin at the start, do take it at the end. Could you/he have possibly got it the wrong way round by mistake?

I would agree you are taking a mixtard insulin; 30% of that is fast acting more than likely unless your blood glucose is particularly high then if you don't eat anything you will hypo 2 - 4 hours later.. that said not taking your insulin for 24 hour probably isn't a great idea either..

I never had to fast on a mixtard so I am not sure what the correct practice is.. I will see if I can find out.. perhaps someone like Noblehead or Jopar might know I will PM and ask..

Yes it makes more sense if you will be eating something before the fast - but your insulin jab tonight will still be working through tomorrow (humulin 30/70 lasts 18-24 hours - http://www.globalrph.com/combination-insulins.htm). So make sure you are always carrying some sugar or sweet sugary drink with you tomorrow, just in case - I'm sure you know that already but no harm in saying it again.
I still think it's better to take your Wednesday evening jab when you break your fast, than wait for Thursday morning, if you are going to be eating Wednesday evening. Otherwise there's going to be no insulin left to cope with the carbs in your Wednesday evening meal. But the worst that can happen if you don't jab on Wed pm is that your blood sugar will run high overnight and maybe take a bit longer to come down again on Thursday.

Just for info - apologies if you already know this - there are other insulin regimes which are much easier to fast on. It might be worth asking your doc about them for next year. Let me know if you want more on this.

Hopefully some of the others Pneu has PM'd will come along soon with more concrete info.

great, let us know how you get on.

Hi, I am also a type 2 diabetic, controlling with Novamix 30 insulin and Metformin. As Christian it is sometimes requested that the whole church fasts. On medical advice I was told not to fast, the church understand this and agree that diabetics should not fast. God knows our condition and accepts we can not fast, however fasting of foods is not the only means of fasting, giving something else is acceptable.

Hi
I'm also Jewish and itis a fact that you are excused fasting on medical grounds especially Diabetes

Hi
I'm also Jewish and itis a fact that you are excused fasting on medical grounds especially Diabetes