Type 2 Help with understanding t2

[Julesboo67]

Hello!!

I know that’s a broad question but I cannot get my head round this disease!! I’ve been diagnosed prob 10 years but have now started insulin, I cannot fathom why I am high in a morning after insulin injection, I would love a lesson in what is happening to my body and asked for an appointment with a dietitian but was told that’s not a available for type 2 diabetes… does anyone have any tips for videos to watch or anyone I can pay for some guidance?? Thanks in advance of any help

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Julesboo67 and welcome to the forum.

You seem to be asking 2 questions 1. A general one about Type 2 diabetes
2. A specific one about high BG readings in mornings (after your insulin injection.

1. I assume you are aware that all the carbohydrates (both sugars and starches) you eat digest into glucose which end up in your bloodstream and that your blood can only hold in total quite a small amount of glucose. The purpose of Insulin (either your own normal insulin from your pancreas, or external injected insulin) is to remove that glucose from your blood so that it doesn't harm you. The amount of insulin required is in proportion to the amount of glucose in your blood which is in proportion the quantity of carbohydrates you have eaten.

Here is a blog post by one of our members which helped explain it all to me and got me on my path to T2 remission, I've been in remission for over 3yrs so far: https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html

2. The high BG in the morning is due to two things
A) Dawn Phenomenon (DP) or Foot on the Floor syndrome which happens in non-diabetics too (but they don't measure their BG - so don't notice it. It's an evolutionary hangover from our hunter/gatherer days when we needed quite a lot of energy to get our breakfast, so our liver either makes glucose uses stored glucose which it puts in our bloodstream to give us the energy for us to get our first meal of the day. The liver also dumps glucose at other times when the body signals that it may need it. Thus blood glucose tends to fluctuate during the day even if we don't eat anything - stimulated by exercise or stress etc.
The reason your insulin injection doesn't mask this is because insulin takes a little time to take effect, in fact there are slower acting insulins and faster acting insulins.
I'm not an expert on these since I never needed to use insulin myself, finding it easy to control my T2D by just changing from eating so many high carb foods.

 

[Julesboo67]

Hello ianf0ster, thank you for your reply, in all honesty I have been in denial for so long and I guess now paying the price for that! Thank you for making things a little clearer, I will have a read of the article. Many thanks

 

[IanBish]

Hello!!

I know that’s a broad question but I cannot get my head round this disease!! I’ve been diagnosed prob 10 years but have now started insulin, I cannot fathom why I am high in a morning after insulin injection, I would love a lesson in what is happening to my body and asked for an appointment with a dietitian but was told that’s not a available for type 2 diabetes… does anyone have any tips for videos to watch or anyone I can pay for some guidance?? Thanks in advance of any help

Here is a video that is one of the first ones I watched when I was diagnosed. I'm type 2, but not on insulin. Dr Jason Fung and Dr David Unwin have some good videos too.

 

[EllieM]

What kind of insulin are you taking @Julesboo67 ?

Some people do manage to reduce or even come off insulin doses by reducing carbs but I would urge you to be aware of the possibility of hypoglycemia.

This happens when your blood sugar goes below 4 mmol/L and can cause confusion and even unconsciousness. So if you suddenly reduce your carbs you need to be aware of this as a possibility as you may find your dosage needs to be reduced. (Something to discuss with your DN who has hopefully already spoken to you about hypos.)

As an insulin using T1 I always have some form of sugary food with me when I go out (ideally something I don't like so am not tempted to eat it unless I actually need it). And insulin users need to test their blood sugar before driving as you can imagine how dangerous it would be to drive a car when hypo.

Good luck.

 

[Julesboo67]

Here is a video that is one of the first ones I watched when I was diagnosed. I'm type 2, but not on insulin. Dr Jason Fung and Dr David Unwin have some good videos too.

Thank you for replying, I’ll have a look thank you

 

[Julesboo67]

What kind of insulin are you taking @Julesboo67 ?

Some people do manage to reduce or even come off insulin doses by reducing carbs but I would urge you to be aware of the possibility of hypoglycemia.

This happens when your blood sugar goes below 4 mmol/L and can cause confusion and even unconsciousness. So if you suddenly reduce your carbs you need to be aware of this as a possibility as you may find your dosage needs to be reduced. (Something to discuss with your DN who has hopefully already spoken to you about hypos.)

As an insulin using T1 I always have some form of sugary food with me when I go out (ideally something I don't like so am not tempted to eat it unless I actually need it). And insulin users need to test their blood sugar before driving as you can imagine how dangerous it would be to drive a car when hypo.

Good luck.

Thank you for your message, I’m so grateful for info
Best wishes to you x. I take Humilin insulin xx thanks again

 

[Ro9998]

Hi @Julesboo67 and welcome to the forum.

You seem to be asking 2 questions 1. A general one about Type 2 diabetes
2. A specific one about high BG readings in mornings (after your insulin injection.

1. I assume you are aware that all the carbohydrates (both sugars and starches) you eat digest into glucose which end up in your bloodstream and that your blood can only hold in total quite a small amount of glucose. The purpose of Insulin (either your own normal insulin from your pancreas, or external injected insulin) is to remove that glucose from your blood so that it doesn't harm you. The amount of insulin required is in proportion to the amount of glucose in your blood which is in proportion the quantity of carbohydrates you have eaten.

Here is a blog post by one of our members which helped explain it all to me and got me on my path to T2 remission, I've been in remission for over 3yrs so far: https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html

2. The high BG in the morning is due to two things
A) Dawn Phenomenon (DP) or Foot on the Floor syndrome which happens in non-diabetics too (but they don't measure their BG - so don't notice it. It's an evolutionary hangover from our hunter/gatherer days when we needed quite a lot of energy to get our breakfast, so our liver either makes glucose uses stored glucose which it puts in our bloodstream to give us the energy for us to get our first meal of the day. The liver also dumps glucose at other times when the body signals that it may need it. Thus blood glucose tends to fluctuate during the day even if we don't eat anything - stimulated by exercise or stress etc.
The reason your insulin injection doesn't mask this is because insulin takes a little time to take effect, in fact there are slower acting insulins and faster acting insulins.
I'm not an expert on these since I never needed to use insulin myself, finding it easy to control my T2D by just changing from eating so many high carb foods.

Have you managed remission