How did you feel about switching onto injections?

[robertconroy]

Don't be afraid of needles, it hurts far less to inject than to test. The needles are very thin and tiny.

I'm concerned that an earlier poster said that taking insulin was a death sentence for type 2s. This is alarmist and untrue. If your pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin then you need injected .
Some people need to take insulin for life, others like Sid on here find that they can come off it eventually . Obviously that will depend on how much insulin your body produces.

There is a frequent poster on a couple of the US forums, he has had T2 for over 17 years, for the first 12 years he took oral medications but eventually his glucose levels began to rise. He went onto insulin, and being in the US he was eventually able to use a pump (though I'm sure he could have got similar results without).
Here are his HbA1cs for the last few years (from his signature)

Which do you think was better for him the slide upwards to higher and higher glucose levels and the higher risk of diabetic complications or the steady levels he has now?
He's not the only one I know of, just the one who I thought of first.

 

[robertconroy]

If you google it you will find serious damage to your eyes and kidneys start at about 6.2% on your HbA1C.

 

[Geoff-O]

As part of our Diabetes Week questions, here's a question for people with type 2 diabetes who have gone onto injections -or are considering going onto injections.

How did (or do) you feel about switching onto injections?

Did/do you have any worries about going onto injections?
If/when you made the switch, how did you adapt to being on injections?
- was it easier or harder than you thought?
- was there any part of it that struck which you hadn't considered before going onto injections?

This question covers injections for insulin or for incretin mimetics like Byetta, Victoza and Bydureon

 

[Geoff-O]

After 20 odd years of T2 tablets (with neuropathy & ED) I've been worried about going on to insulin as I live on my own, but our surgery got in this sparky bright nurse who talked through everything. She really made the difference. One should not underestimate the effect and confidence that a good personable (& seemingly interested) health professional can give.

After 4 months of Humulin M3 I wished I'd moved across years ago. My hypos start to kick in at 5.1 (according to my brand of meter) - hot, sweaty, very shaky. Half-a-dozen chocolate buttons and a banana and I'm right as rain after 1/2 an hour. It's really about planning & anticipating. During the week I need quite high doses, but I lower the doses at w/ends when I might be gardening/shifting furniture/doing DIY. The real problem is eating rubbish - because you can!

Even eating rubbish my bg levels are lower than they have been for years - and none of those early morning big spikes any more. But I've put on a stone. After the Humulin M3 honeymoon I'm now trying to get back more towards the pre-insulin diet which was much, much healthier. I can then lower my doses & lose some weight. But I'm not over anxious about it (I was pretty thin before) - I just take one day at a time.

HbA1c came down from 9.5 to 8 after just one month. Looking forward to my next bloods in a couple of months!

No downsides at all so far. I get 2-month prescriptions of Humulin M3, Gliglazide & Metformin - and as many testing strips as I need - so fewer trips to the pharmacy - hurrah! In fact I'm more concerned about my blood pressure which although not quite at the level where I need medication - each year it gets that little bit closer.

For me, life is SO much better with Humulin M3. And of course everything is free in the UK for Diabetics. Though I'm not sure I can see the logic of that for NHS finances. I'm lucky - I could afford to pay - and feel rather guilty that I can't.

 

[PatsyB]

Been on injections now for two months Humalog mixed am and humalog fast acting at tea time only draw back is I am eating more so putting on weight...the injections themselves do not bother me they are easy to give and as some one else has already said not t all pain-full to give y yourself.
I do however feel I managed better on tablets but as it is a progressive illness one has to adapt and move with it .....

 

[fairiesue]

Been on injections now for two months Humalog mixed am and humalog fast acting at tea time only draw back is I am eating more so putting on weight...the injections themselves do not bother me they are easy to give and as some one else has already said not t all pain-full to give y yourself.
I do however feel I managed better on tablets but as it is a progressive illness one has to adapt and move with it .....

Hi Patsy it isn't always so easy for us poor diabetics to get things easy on any meds and you are not the only one struggling with the weight , I really feel for you and the others as I have been successful with the Levemir/forxiga combo with weight loss...I do still eat my choccy biscuits and believe if I do my best it's my problem.
Life has thrown a big struggle to deal with this illness and we can only keep trying and be as strong as we can be...keep smiling...xxx

 

[PatsyB]

smiles...I am now 9 stone I must say I prefer being 8stone 6 but am eating more ....I still feel more myself on tablets though I just can not explain it...but have my bloods done next week and will see if they are better than they wa son Tablets otherwise I shall be saying I want to try tablets again ..laughs

 

[crookycrumble]

My doctor has said it looks like I will have to inject sooner rather than later, but I'm a bit apprehensive about this as I don't feel as if a variation of meds have been used yet, I'm on three 500 sr metformin, I was also given glicazide which really didn't agree with me as I had constant headaches and feeling/being sick all the time. He did say he wanted me to be in more control of my medication so for the last week I have been taking three metformin which has helped reduce my number from double figures to single figures. I am also taking sitagliptin so hopefully I can manage to get on track with tablets rather than having to inject at this stage. I really don't want to be injecting just yet!

 

[Geoff-O]

"He did say he wanted me to be in more control of my medication" I would say this is a good approach. So you decide. My personal opinion is that you should keep on the tablets for a few weeks closely monitoring your blood glucose. Experiment with different foods. Experiment with different exercises. Experiment with different meal times. It can take some time for everything to settle down. Each of us is different. Metformin is great if you can tolerate it, On Metformin, for me, if my levels were really high i.e. 15-20 it could take a day or two to come back down. Exercising would bring levels back down much more effectively. I fought against injections for several years, but now I find it much easier, with my levels much more controllable. The drawback with insulin is that the brain thinks... hello, my body is swamped with insulin - I need to eat. You probably need more will-power than on tablets. But as long as you are sensible & thoughtful about the interaction between doses/food/lifestyle, and aware of the precautions you need to take - you can take more control of your illness with insulin if you are at that stage of the disease. And achieve lower HbA1c results - with fewer spikes on a daily basis.Obviously, just my personal view. You're the boss!

 

[crookycrumble]

Thanks Geoff, I find it a little difficult with my food, I'm really fussy and a vegetarian, I'm not into buying foods that are already prepared because I like to know what's in them, apart from pizza I love pizza but I'm afraid it doesn't do my any favours as my bloods go through the roof, so it will have to be a case of a little on special occasions! At the moment it's very hard to exercise for too long as I'm having real problems with my feet, dryness and cracking which makes even the simplest tasks excruciating, hopefully this will be short term, so again little and often, it's all a case of trial and error, making notes, increasing the good and eliminate the bad! I'd say keeping us on our toes but mine are sore so best not!!!

 

[Geoff-O]

To be very light-hearted - on insulin, if you want a pizza every now & then, you can just increase your dose a wee bit. I have a Pizza Express about once every 2 months. For me, an extra 5 units does the job! Yum! Sorry about your feet, that does make it difficult. You could get some small hand weights and do arm exercises. Or do sit-ups. It all helps. When I was on just Metformin & Gliclazide, fish (not breaded/coated) and a salad (no spuds/carrots) would have no practical effect on my blood glucose levels.

 

[PatsyB]

Had my bloods done last week and again this week because they said my iron levels were lower than should be ...am in to see the Doctor tomorrow Friday to see what he thinks as to whether to take B12 or not as the Diabetic Nurse does not want to take me off metformin I suggested to her that having a mixed humalog at tea time as well as am could alter my levels through the night and in the morning so am trying that and hopefully it will work....wait now to see what the Doc says....

 

[linda321]

I was diagnosed last summer and after a couple of months on Metformin, Glicazide and Sitagliptin went onto mixed insulin (Novomix 30) in August. My Hb1ac has come down from 13.5 at diagnosis, to 9.6 last October and 8.4 just recently. I am disappointed that my BS has not come down further.

I am trying to eat a low carb diet and have eliminated potatoes, bread, pasta, rice and cereals completely from my diet. I estimate I eat about 50g carb per day from milk and vegetables. I exercise regularly at the gym, and am trying to walk every day. The gym usually increases my BS by 3 or 4 , but walking and gardening tend to decrease my BS.

My BS readings are generally above 7 during the day, usually between 7 and 10. I have increased my insulin and now take 10 units in the morning and 12 units with evening meal. But I still get hypos! For example, this week I have been working in the garden for about 1 hour at a time. I always eat a muesli bar or something similar before gardening, but I still hypo'd. Yesterday I did Pilates at the gym, then gardening, having eaten 2 muesli bars and had a latte coffee. I even had a little bit of bread with my soup at lunchtime. I hypo'd in the night 3.1, and treated it with a 1/3rd bottle of lucozade. I woke up with 4.3 (quite happy because I usually overtreat!) and after eating a no-carb breakfast of poached egg, 1 rasher of bacon, mushrooms and tomato had BS of 12.3!!! I did have a cup of tea on waking with milk and a coffee after my breakfast again with milk. Could it be the milk spiking me? I'll have to experiment and not have milk for a couple of days.

I lost 2 stone before diagnosis, and have managed to keep it off until just recently. I've put on about 5lbs. Maybe this is a good sign, and that I am beginning to control my BS.

I'm off on a big holiday in 2 weeks time, and am quite apprehensive about how I am going to cope with the long haul flights and time differences with my diabetes.

I'm pretty fed up with having to watch what I eat and worrying about hypos. Plus the worry that I have had high BS for a long time now and how that might affect me in the future. I hate this disease! One thing that might make it easier is to switch from mixed insulin to basal/bolus and I'm going to ask after I get back from holiday - I thought it would be easier to just have the 2 injections per day for the holiday.

Sorry for the long post!

 

[Jaxx01]

Linda, I went on a basal/bolus regime straight away after months and months of gliclazide not working..been on it just over a week and have managed to get my fasting down to around 7 from 15+!! I was put on a mixed when I was pregnant and I just couldn't cope with how restrictive it was..I love my new routine...Fingers crossed my hba1c in may will reflect it!!! x

 

[Geoff-O]

Linda, we are all different. I get hypos when I don't plan ahead with my Humilin M3. I have to remember to LOWER my dose on a gardening or exercising day. It's all too easy to eat UP to your dosage, when surely it's better to lower your dosage & eat less? It may be a "low carb" breakfast, but fat content - as in, say, streaky bacon can cause BS increase, as can tomatoes. I restrict that sort of breakfast (I love bacon/tomatoes/eggs) to just once a week as a real treat on a gardening day. Kippers are good with a poached egg though!

 

[dsturm]

Byetta was my first go at injecting and that took some getting used to to. Once you realise that injecting doesn't hurt and that with practice it becomes easier life isn't too bad. I actually shook when I did my first Byetta injection ! When my bg levels continued to rise I contacted my DSN and asked to go on insulin and I did feel better for it too.

Yes it was a relief to be put on it - partner was already on it by this time, as Byetta was a waste of time for him. I more or less knew what to do, having helped him. Hypos and realising that I am about to hypo are still a bit of a worry, but so far I have avoided any - been using insulin since this time last year - so that's not bad going.

I have been able to help a friend who went on Byetta and then insulin. We support each other and chat about our worries and concerns.

 

[dsturm]

Hi just joined and read your message bout Byetta...I was first on dose of 5 taken prior to breakfast and dinner, I am now on 10 prior to breakfast and dinner, I really dont know what effect this has on me as I also have 60ml novamix @30 after breakfast and dinner....lets back track for a mintue lst injection for the day is 60ml of Lanust Solostar this is suppose to cut out the lunchtime insulin as I didnt want to take inulin at work, I work with 13 men and there is no privacy other than the loo....thats good because now I can go out to lunch with out trying to inject under the table, how ever I find going out for dinner very hard with byetta and novamix the before and after injection....

 

[gofsmith]

After 12 years on tablets and gradually increasing HbA1C I started on 10 units of Levemir 5 days ago. I haven't yet seen a significant change in my BM readings but, after halving my glicazide dose at the same time as starting the insulin I have completely lost the daily headache and sore eye symptoms. I also feel a lot 'brighter' than I have for months even though my daily BM is currently averaging 14mmol.
So, my reaction to joining the throng of insulin injectors is one of hope. Obviously it's very early days and I suspect I'm quite a long way from putting a smile on my GP's face by having an HbA1c of much less than the current 12 - nevertheless, I remain hopeful. Having joined this forum today I can see it's going to be very useful.

 

[Tezmum]

I posted that first message nearly a year ago. I was scared about going on to Lantus but I'm please to say they've become a part of my routine and no problem. Accept it now seems they don't work for me any more.

I was taken into hospital on Friday and my blood sugars were 18.3. I thought it was a blip but I've kept testing since I got home and they've not dropped below 11. I don't get it! Last month I had my HB1C and it was fine! Now 3 weeks later its through the roof. So I'm waiting for the doctors to open tomorrow morning so I can get in and see whats next. I'm guessing as I'm on 50mg per day of Lantus the next step is a faster release insulin?? I'll be honest, I'm scared. I'm diabetic because of damage to my pancreas 13 years ago. I was told I'd be a type 1 within 10 years and I'm not but could this be the fast track to it?

Sorry to go on. I'm really struggling and don't know where to turn.

 

[PIPSY]

Currently taking x3 metformin a day (morning/afternoon/evening) with no real change at all blood sugar levels are still high, And i am not looking forward to switching to switching to injections because i have a fear of needles and i hate them alot. :thumbdown:

I take four slow release metformin &4 Gliclazide,they have controlled my diabetes for years,maybe you should try some more diabetes tablets.