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Humulin M3 Kwik Pen

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Chris5280

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Hi

New member here. My 90 year old Mother has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 following a course of steroids and I'm trying to develop my understanding of all things diabetic.

She's been given a Humulin M3 Kwik Pen. She started on 4 units in the morning, but has gradually been increased up to 28 units in the morning and now 4 in the evening. Her blood sugar level is generally coming out at between 12 and 18 but varies dramatically from about 10 up to 25 on occasions. She's on a very low sugar diet. She was originally taking 15mg of Prednisolone steroids daily which I know can cause chaos with sugar levels but she is now down to 3mg, yet the sugar has remained high.

All I can get from the nurses is "she's fine". But can anyone tell me please how big a dose 28 + 4 units actually is? It sounds incredibly high when she started on 4.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Chris
 
Hi Chris

The first thing to remember that it is the total amount of carbs being eaten that is important and not just the suger as all carbs are converted to glucose and take a look at how much she is consuming each meal and in snacks in a typical day/week as a slow reduction will allow her BG levels to come down to a healthy level and help reduce the amount of insulin she uses for example I aim to eat less than 60 carbs per meal (3 meals) and 30 for snacks and am currently on a quest to reduce my weight which will reduce my bodys resistance to insulin and thus my dosage needs will come down but please keep in mind that all diabetics are different in what their body needs in insulin so you should not compare one person to another.

I am currently on 14 units of Lantus a day
 
As a mixed insulin, M3 takes care of both the basal and bolus requirements..........

I wouldn't say the current doses are too big to be honest......

you need what you need, unfortunately a mixed insulin does decrease the flexibility of the diet and dose adjustment results are not as good compared to a multiple injection regime....

but for a type 2 who has some insulin production left it should be reasonably effective....

as previously mentioned, take note of carbs consumed and if she can, cut them down...
 
Welcome @Chris5280

I don't think your mother is on a large dose. I can see why the increase from 4 to 28 looks huge to,you, but remember that it's very common to,start someone on a small dose and gradually increase it for,safety reasons.

The right dose of insulin is the one that keeps a person's sugars in range. It can vary hugely between different people.
 
I'm on66 on a morning and 80 at night insulin humalog mix 25
 
Thank you both for your quick replies.

28 just seemed really high when the initial dose was only 4, so I am relieved to hear that you think it's ok.

It's a very long story and I won't bore you with too many details, but my Mother lost her sight completely in the space of 24 hours a couple of years ago due to an erroneous diagnosis of a condition by the hospital and she has been on massive doses of steroids as a result, which have played havoc with her sugar levels. The steroids have also caused her to have a ravenous appetite, which we have tried to control, but she has still put on a lot of weight. We've been watching the carbs anyway because of the weight situation but your comments are really helpful and we'll focus on that side more.
 
Steroids are known to increase resistance to insulin as well I believe which may also be the cause for any quick increase in dose....
 
Wow, that puts it in context Doug. Thanks for your response.

I can't believe how quickly people have responded and how helpful the responses have been. I'm glad I found this forum!

Thanks again everyone.
 
Chris5280 said:
Wow, that puts it in context Doug. Thanks for your response.

I can't believe how quickly people have responded and how helpful the responses have been. I'm glad I found this forum!

Thanks again everyone.
Click to expand...
But please see your nurse be for hadin more insulin my blood sugars was really out of control that is why I'm on a high dose still have problems you will get but do get advice off your gp or nurse all the best
 
Hi Chris,
I've been Humulin since April when started on 4 units, morning and night, but was told to increase it by 2 units every 3 days until I get it down a reading of 7. At present I'm on 36 units morning and evening, and things seem to be getting there! Again, I've been told that this is still a low level.
Judy
 
Speak to your Diabetic Nurse or GP about Insulin levels. I was on 60 Humulin in the morning and 40 in the evening. My 3 monthly BS average was 8.6 so my DN put me on a new type of Metformin and I was able to reduce my Insulin to 40 units in the morning and 30 in the evening. My 3 monthly BS average dropped from 8.6 to 7.3 - so ask your GP about this new type of Metformin, there seems to be no bad side effects from it.
 
I've been on M3 for 3 years or so now & take 100 units morning and again early evening. Having had my first hypo the other night (combination of chest infection, antibiotics & not eating properly) I have an appointment on Monday to learn about carb counting.
 

Good morning Rabbit. I don't really bother about Carb counting - although I have had some good advice from this Forum about how to Carb count. Food is a mystry to me - I can't cook, can't smell, and my tasting is impaired. At age 75 I just want to get on with living and wait for my day to be called home.

In February this year I started the LCHF Programme and now eat mostly non Carb foods. So, if my wife puts it on the plate I eat it - and although I still weigh 85 kilos and do very little exercise I have watched my Insulin needs drop from 100 units per day before taking this new long acting Metformin to 78 units. On the LCHF diet Insulin needs have again dropped to 60 units per day. Insulin needs in March/April were right down to about 30 units per day because I stopped eating fruit. But I also found that I was constipated -so I am now back to taking fresh fruit and Insulin needs are back up to 60 units per day.

Things like bread, pizza, breakfast cereal, potatoes, rice, carrots are the carbs which which force the BS up - so stay away from them.

Have a nice day and a good life.
 
I use Humulin M3 started at 4 units ended up on 90 am and 90 pm now down to 38 am and 36 pm. I was told that even though 90 meant injecting 60 the pens max then dialling in another 30 I wasn't the highest dose they had seen. Hope your mum gets better soon and stabilizes her BS.
 
Chris5280 said:
Wow, that puts it in context Doug. Thanks for your response.

I can't believe how quickly people have responded and how helpful the responses have been. I'm glad I found this forum!

Thanks again everyone.
Click to expand...

Good afternoon Chris - so far you have had some very good & personal advice on this Forum. Now for the difficult part. You say that your mother has a ravenous appetite - to satisfy that appetite she will probably eat carbs like potatoes, bread, etc. These are deadly to a Diabetic. Feed her with plenty of "greens" at lunch time and in the evening. Let her eat as much fatty meat as she wants and for a snack turn to cheese and other dairy products. Above all avoid potatoes, bread, pizza, rice, and breakfast cereal.

Instead of having a big meal at lunch time and another big meal in the evening, try having smaller meal 4 or 5 times a day (don't let her snack on biscuites etc), rather introduce her to the many types of cheese.

Hopefully this Low Carb High Fat diet (LCHF) will gradually reduce her weight and also the need for so much Insulin. On this diet I have at long last (after 20 years) got my HbA1c down to 6.8 HAPPY DAYS.
 
I don't known if this is helpful to anyone but Morrison's sell a high protein low càrb bread and I find it really helpful
 
This is really helpful to me as my struggles are with the demon bread so thanks I'll go investigate at the weekend
 
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