I have a raft of autoimmune diseases, Mixed Connective Tissue disease, Beceht's disease, Sjorgens and heart electrics problems. My GP has been tinkering with different meds for a couple of years, I had really low, lows of 1.2 and Ketosis over Christmas. While in hospital last month for an angioplasty the diabetic specialist came to see me as I was burning ketones. Thankfully the Diabetic training school for medics is on the same site as the hospital. Within hours I was on Humalin and it magically saw my numbers decrease in a way diet and pills hadn't managed. I was diagnosed as having autoimmune diabetes and sent home with Humalin, am dose of 14 units and night time the same also Glimepiride. I am still not down to below 12 so am waiting for an appointment to properly sort it out. I am starting on a low carb eating plan. First day and I am down to 7.1 so it is obviously the way to go. Looking forward to getting tips and when I am more in the know to sharing.
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Finally the right diagnosis
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Kristin251
Expert
Bad news but good you are on the right road.
Just a word of warning. Be careful with your insulin doses. As you reduce your carbs you will most likely need to reduce your insulin as well.
Others will be along with more help
Just a word of warning. Be careful with your insulin doses. As you reduce your carbs you will most likely need to reduce your insulin as well.
Others will be along with more help
TorqPenderloin
Well-Known Member
I'll second this.
I'll also add that you're almost certainly going to have issues with Humalin and you really need to go to a basal/bolus regimen instead.
Presumably, you're using one of the mixed Humalin versions (I'm going to guess the 70/30). The problem with combining that with a low-carb way of eating is that you have no control over your short vs. long-acting insulin absorption.
As your pancreas slowly begins to losing its ability to produce insulin, you're going to need more an more basal (long-acting) insulin over time. On a low-carb diet, you're going to need less and less fast-acting insulin. I'm sure you can see how that can be potentially problematic on a mixed insulin.
Kristin251
Expert
I can't imagine how I would function on mixed insulin. I would think one would be chasing bs all over the place all the time.
I agree that you should have your basal to keep you steady and bolus separate for food depending on what your going to eat.
I also don't know how one can be given a set dose of insulin not knowing what we were going to eat. With separate basal bolus I could skip a meal if I wanted ( but I like food too much) but not sure how you could do that. I am not familiar with mixed insulin but I am familiar with reading it is not the best regimen
I agree that you should have your basal to keep you steady and bolus separate for food depending on what your going to eat.
I also don't know how one can be given a set dose of insulin not knowing what we were going to eat. With separate basal bolus I could skip a meal if I wanted ( but I like food too much) but not sure how you could do that. I am not familiar with mixed insulin but I am familiar with reading it is not the best regimen
TorqPenderloin
Well-Known Member
I'll put it this way: The patents for Humulin R and Humulin N were approved back in 1982 so you're talking about 34 year old insulin technology.
I'm sure it wasn't terrible back in the days when people learned to manage their insulin with the sliding scale method. However, it's all but obsolete technology and I can't imagine why it would ever make sense to use it except to save costs.
We now have a number of basal and bolus insulin options which makes it tremendously easier to manage insulin in tandem with the carb-counting method.
In short: I'd ask your doctor to recommend something that is more relevant to the 21st century.
I'm sure it wasn't terrible back in the days when people learned to manage their insulin with the sliding scale method. However, it's all but obsolete technology and I can't imagine why it would ever make sense to use it except to save costs.
We now have a number of basal and bolus insulin options which makes it tremendously easier to manage insulin in tandem with the carb-counting method.
In short: I'd ask your doctor to recommend something that is more relevant to the 21st century.
Daibell
Master
Hi. I agree with the others that you should ask to go onto Basal/Bolus. The only advantage of twice-daily mixed insulin is that there are only 2 shots a day whereas Basal/Bolus has 4 or 5 but gives far better control as you adjust the meal time Bolus to match the carbs in the meal. I would also query why you are still on Glimepride. I had to ask my nice nurse to stop my Gliclazide (similar drug) which she forgot to do. There should be no normal reason to stimulate the pancreas when on insulin.
