How did you feel about switching onto injections?

TomGreen101 · Mar 13, 2016

I'm sure once you. Get the proper balance of medication, you'll feel better and sleep better.
I actually insisted on going on insulin and I still take all the pills. You'll get to know how you react to your meds.
It took a year after bypass surgery to get my energy back.

Liam1955 · Mar 13, 2016

I am Type 2 (16 years now), I began using Insulin 20 months ago and have had no problems adapting to it. I thought great I will just take Insulin and no more tablets = how wrong!! I still take 4 x 500mg of Metformin and 1 x 5mg Dapagliflozin as well everyday.

Giffer67 · Mar 13, 2016

benedict said:
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

Best thing I have ever done...no.more fatigue...no.more blurred vision....no.more. mood swings...steady..blood readings....one wee tiny injection in my thigh after tea.....brilliant

Barb60 · Mar 16, 2016

borderter said:
Just sheer relief as tablets no longer working and having bgs in the high teens was such a worry. Took to it easily and taught myself carb counting and havent looked back. One thing I would like to happen for all going on to insulin is a buddy scheme whereby you are put in touch with an established insulin user so that you have someone to ask those trivial little things which always occur to you after 5 on a Friday when all medics have gone home for the weekend :thumbup:

I agree. I have been on insulin now for just over a month, still taking my tablets too. My practice is not that brill and the diabetic nurse is not that informed, so when I ask or try to discuss stuff she listens but doesn't really know how to advice, so says talk to the GP, but he is limited in his knowledge. Having a buddy would be so helpful on so many levels!!

jhncookie · Mar 19, 2016

I am T2 and have been injecting for about 4 years now (Levemir) I have never had any problems with it, I inject twice a day. The only thing I seem to have trouble with is the Metformin, I also take Glaclizide . You soon get into a routine and becomes the norm. The main thing is you must check your bloods regular! Don't let it worry you

Big_Jumbo · Mar 25, 2016

I have been Type 2 for 20 years taking Metformin 3000mg and Glipizide 15mg daily.

Finally consented reluctantly as I had 8 Lows in 2 months (twice fell over at work). ( 2 while driving ) real scary!!!!

Dr said I had no choice and told me that if I was to go on Lantus once daily and continue with the Metformin I would no longer have lows or so many fluctuations.

I went on Lantus and have found it great, I am needle phobic but after 1 injection at the Doctors under supervision I have had no prblems and have only been sore once (struck a nerve)

Since starting 3 months ago my BG has gone from all over the place (150 to 200) to around 110 to 135.

I have in 6 weeks dropped 4.5 kg in weight and altered by diet ( no potatoes,no sugar ,no rice ,no bread no rice)

and feel a million dollars

Should have started insulin years ago

Magisham · Mar 26, 2016

My partner is type 2 and was getting bloods of 12 - 15 for a while after Christmas, but we changed to a low carb high fat diet and now he is mostly around 6, sometimes lower, sometimes a bit higher. His GP wants to put him on insulin, but I want to stick with the diet a bit longer. He's already lost 4kg in the 4 weeks we've been doing it and I am sure if he lost more things would be even better. I tend to think that, once he's on the insulin, they'll just leave him on it. He's had a heart bypass and a kidney transplant in the past and I don't want his new kidney getting messed up. Any thoughts please.

TomGreen101 · Mar 26, 2016

I'd listen to his Doctor. Not sure how insulin would mess his kidneys up. I've had quituplet bypass at 70years of age but kidneys are doing great.
I would listen to your Doctor.

NewdestinyX · Mar 27, 2016

I take 46iu Levemir before bed and 6 more iu in am.. 3-5 iu of Novolog with meals. After met gave me nothing but stomach distress.. I went to insulin.. Never looked back.. BG's between 95-130 all day every day.. A1C 6.1 and holding. Happy!

TomGreen101 · Mar 27, 2016

NewdestinyX said:
I take 46iu Levemir before bed and 6 more iu in am.. 3-5 iu of Novolog with meals. After met gave me nothing but stomach distress.. I went to insulin.. Never looked back.. BG's between 95-130 all day every day.. A1C 6.1 and holding. Happy!

I take 68 u Lantus at night, approx 24 units NovRapid before each meal or snack. A1C 6.1. I eat what I like including donuts deserts. Eating is one of the great joys of life.

david1968 · Mar 27, 2016

I wasn't given a choice. Straight onto insulin when I was diagnosed. Originally put on 8, 12 and 12 units of Novorapid and 34 units of Levemir but am currently down to 3, 6 and 5 for Novorapid and 5 for Levemir.

Mandysmith · Mar 27, 2016

Reading these reminds me of my experience. Yes, they do often start you off slowly but actually, that doesn't help. If you need insulin, you need insulin. You need to be able to work out how much longer acting you need yourself. Nobody else can really do that for you. As for insulin with meals, again, you are the only one who can calculate that. It's no good a nurse telling you to take so many units when she hasn't got a clue what you're going to eat. It was only when I took control that my sugar levels sorted themselves out. Sorry for rant but watching a GP programme the other day, a nurse was telling a patient how many units of insulin to take and to make sure they ate carbs - which a friend of mine was also told on a diabetes course. What on earth are medics doing? Grrr. Sorry. But it's our health they're messing with.

Sent from my D6503 using DCUK Forum mobile app

ep5 · Apr 3, 2016

Magisham said:
My partner is type 2 and was getting bloods of 12 - 15 for a while after Christmas, but we changed to a low carb high fat diet and now he is mostly around 6, sometimes lower, sometimes a bit higher. His GP wants to put him on insulin, but I want to stick with the diet a bit longer. He's already lost 4kg in the 4 weeks we've been doing it and I am sure if he lost more things would be even better. I tend to think that, once he's on the insulin, they'll just leave him on it. He's had a heart bypass and a kidney transplant in the past and I don't want his new kidney getting messed up. Any thoughts please.

I think you are doing the right thing by supporting your partner in LC HF eating. The problem with insulin for type 2 diabetics is it makes our insulin resistance WORSE, so even when your blood sugars come down, the disease is still progressing. Have you read or viewed Dr. Jason Fung? He is my hero : ) I started with a fasting blood sugar of 268 (about 14.9). Within 36 to 48 hours of very low carb, high fat eating my fasting blood sugar had dropped into the 160's (9.0) range. It's taken another 12 weeks or so, but my fasting blood sugar is now under 125 (6.9).... and going lower. All without medication. Also, my depression has significantly decreased, and the neuropathy in my legs is about 80 percent gone, something I was told by the endocrinologist could not be reversed, no matter what I ate or how much I exercised, the best I could hope for was slowing the progression. Yeah, right. This is why I would not trust a doctor's advice on this issue.

I've also lost over 30 pounds without counting calories, which is a great side effect : ) His lectures are great, and exhaustive... I think I've read all of them! https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/

Magisham · Apr 3, 2016

ellenpham said:
I think you are doing the right thing by supporting your partner in LC HF eating. The problem with insulin for type 2 diabetics is it makes our insulin resistance WORSE, so even when your blood sugars come down, the disease is still progressing. Have you read or viewed Dr. Jason Fung? He is my hero : ) I started with a fasting blood sugar of 268 (about 14.9). Within 36 to 48 hours of very low carb, high fat eating my fasting blood sugar had dropped into the 160's (9.0) range. It's taken another 12 weeks or so, but my fasting blood sugar is now under 125 (6.9).... and going lower. All without medication. Also, my depression has significantly decreased, and the neuropathy in my legs is about 80 percent gone, something I was told by the endocrinologist could not be reversed, no matter what I ate or how much I exercised, the best I could hope for was slowing the progression. Yeah, right. This is why I would not trust a doctor's advice on this issue.

I've also lost over 30 pounds without counting calories, which is a great side effect : ) His lectures are great, and exhaustive... I think I've read all of them! https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/

Thanks for your reply. You have reassured me that I am going the right way. I have seen videos by Dr Tony, but haven't watched any yet. I've seen a lot by Dr Eric Berg and he's good too. He explains things very clearly, I have learned a lot. Thank goodness for the internet eh! If we were left with UST the advice we get from hospitals and GPs we'd be floundering around I the dark. You have done really well with your weight and blood results. We see the specialist at the hospital in a few weeks time so it will be handy to be able to quote other people who have improved their results. He said to me last time "Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it." Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

ep5 · Apr 4, 2016

Magisham said:
Thanks for your reply. You have reassured me that I am going the right way. I have seen videos by Dr Tony, but haven't watched any yet. I've seen a lot by Dr Eric Berg and he's good too. He explains things very clearly, I have learned a lot. Thank goodness for the internet eh! If we were left with UST the advice we get from hospitals and GPs we'd be floundering around I the dark. You have done really well with your weight and blood results. We see the specialist at the hospital in a few weeks time so it will be handy to be able to quote other people who have improved their results. He said to me last time "Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it." Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Magisham, today, for the first time, my morning fasting blood sugar was under 100 (98 on my meter, about, about 5.4 on yours.) This was so encouraging to me. I had gotten down to about 120 - 125 (6.7 to 7.1) but then it bounced up again to around 7.5 to 8.0 -- discouraging, as I was eating the same. I did make one change, I stopped drinking coffee (with cream) all day long, limiting myself to when I wake up and when I eat in the early evening. Even though heavy cream has very few carbohydrates, I think nursing on carbs all day, even in this small amount, was stalling me. Maybe it was just that my body adjusted, like a tipping point.... or maybe both. It was hard to give up all day coffee, as that has been my habit since my late teens, that's 40 years ago! But I couldn't think of anything else that was causing it.

Sometimes the last little bits are in the smallest, individual details. And I agree, without the internet I would still be so sick! I got almost zero guidance from my health care practitioners.

The other help I discovered, for my body at least, was to eat raw vegetables with all my meals. I even eat a stalk of celery in the morning when I have my coffee, if I can't manage anything else. I find I can eat a bit wider range of food if I do this.... still no bread, but I can handle a bit of beans, or if I eat more than 1/4 cup of hummus at a time, it all goes better if I eat a salad, too. I'm pretty sure this is because the fiber slows down my digestion and the glucose enters my bloodstream more slowly. A bit odd to munch on celery with my morning coffee, but so worth it : )

You and your partner are in my thoughts, so glad I can be an example of 'living proof', as I like to describe it <3

PS I think I forgot to mention, Dr Jason Fung is a nephrologist. This is his most comprehensive series of blog posts... I think there's about 36 of them, and I've read them all! It was comforting to have this resource to come back to again and again, as I was all alone in figuring this out.

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/category/lectures/the-aetiology-of-obesity-lecture-series/

Magisham · Apr 4, 2016

ellenpham said:
Magisham, today, for the first time, my morning fasting blood sugar was under 100 (98 on my meter, about, about 5.4 on yours.) This was so encouraging to me. I had gotten down to about 120 - 125 (6.7 to 7.1) but then it bounced up again to around 7.5 to 8.0 -- discouraging, as I was eating the same. I did make one change, I stopped drinking coffee (with cream) all day long, limiting myself to when I wake up and when I eat in the early evening. Even though heavy cream has very few carbohydrates, I think nursing on carbs all day, even in this small amount, was stalling me. Maybe it was just that my body adjusted, like a tipping point.... or maybe both. It was hard to give up all day coffee, as that has been my habit since my late teens, that's 40 years ago! But I couldn't think of anything else that was causing it.

Sometimes the last little bits are in the smallest, individual details. And I agree, without the internet I would still be so sick! I got almost zero guidance from my health care practitioners.

The other help I discovered, for my body at least, was to eat raw vegetables with all my meals. I even eat a stalk of celery in the morning when I have my coffee, if I can't manage anything else. I find I can eat a bit wider range of food if I do this.... still no bread, but I can handle a bit of beans, or if I eat more than 1/4 cup of hummus at a time, it all goes better if I eat a salad, too. I'm pretty sure this is because the fiber slows down my digestion and the glucose enters my bloodstream more slowly. A bit odd to munch on celery with my morning coffee, but so worth it : )

You and your partner are in my thoughts, so glad I can be an example of 'living proof', as I like to describe it <3

PS I think I forgot to mention, Dr Jason Fung is a nephrologist. This is his most comprehensive series of blog posts... I think there's about 36 of them, and I've read them all! It was comforting to have this resource to come back to again and again, as I was all alone in figuring this out.

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/category/lectures/the-aetiology-of-obesity-lecture-series/

Thanks once again. Interesting that Dr Fung is a nephrologist (from the Greek, nephro, meaning kidney, as my partner would say! He is Cypriot, but exactly like the old dad in the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") because my partner had a new kidney 2 years ago, which is partly why I am so keen to get the diabetes under control. It came on after the operation and they said it is partly to do with the anti-rejection drugs. Unfortunately, the meds he's on also give him an appetite, so we have a few extra hurdles. However, we are not doing too bad at the moment. I will watch the Dr Fung lectures as soon as I can. Off to my mum's for a few days and no internet there. Will watch them as soon as I get back. Thanks again for your support.

ep5 · Apr 6, 2016

Magisham said:
Thanks once again. Interesting that Dr Fung is a nephrologist (from the Greek, nephro, meaning kidney, as my partner would say! He is Cypriot, but exactly like the old dad in the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") because my partner had a new kidney 2 years ago, which is partly why I am so keen to get the diabetes under control. It came on after the operation and they said it is partly to do with the anti-rejection drugs. Unfortunately, the meds he's on also give him an appetite, so we have a few extra hurdles. However, we are not doing too bad at the moment. I will watch the Dr Fung lectures as soon as I can. Off to my mum's for a few days and no internet there. Will watch them as soon as I get back. Thanks again for your support.

Hi Magisham. After I posted I remembered Dr Fung writing, somewhere in all those blog posts, that the only time we need to be concerned/ extra cautious with high protein intake is when we have severe kidney disease. LC HF is still fine, but the amount of protein has to be considered.... I wish I could be more help on the details. Like so much else in life, since it didn't affect me directly I just noted it without paying all that much attention to the details.... sometimes I think that's why we have this trouble or that in our lives, so we can understand others better! I hope you have a great visit with your mum <3

Magisham · Apr 11, 2016

ep5 said:
Hi Magisham. After I posted I remembered Dr Fung writing, somewhere in all those blog posts, that the only time we need to be concerned/ extra cautious with high protein intake is when we have severe kidney disease. LC HF is still fine, but the amount of protein has to be considered.... I wish I could be more help on the details. Like so much else in life, since it didn't affect me directly I just noted it without paying all that much attention to the details.... sometimes I think that's why we have this trouble or that in our lives, so we can understand others better! I hope you have a great visit with your mum <3

Hi. Back from my visit. Had a very nice time and managed to see quite a few of my family and friends too. Have watched 3 of Dr Fung's videos already. Can't wait to see the rest of them now any have sent the link to a couple of friends too. Try to keep the protein not too high in each meal e.g. moderate size piece of meat, etc. Never know whether I am doing good or bad. So difficult to focus on heart, kidney and diabetes at the same time. Seeing diabetic specialist next week so will see what he has to say. He knows about the other issues. Thanks for your interest.

Leggoman · Apr 11, 2016

Best thing I ever did 6 years now never looked back.

BML · Apr 23, 2016

I thought that as I was around 7.0 when I did my sugar test I was all right but obviously not so I have been started on injecting Lyxumia. I have no problem with injecting because a few years ago I took part in a test for something like the Lyxumia that I have now been put on and found the needles so fine it was not a problem. My Blood sugar levels dropped and I lost weight but what was a problem was I started to feel nausea and developed a food rejection feeling where I felt sick to even look at cream doughnuts so I came off the drug test.
My doctor told me the Lyxumia is nothing to do with the drug I was testing. What I do find is even as an idle sort of a person I now take my idleness' to an extreme and yesterday I dozed on and off for about four hours and then slept when I went to bed apart from my normal need to get up for the toilet three times.

How did you feel about switching onto injections?

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