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Insulin need is getting more and more am concerned!!

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/h ... -cell2.htm
Click to expand...
Sorry, but proof by ghost reference is not a valid form of proof: The article explains how insulin makes fat cells store excess fat/carbs only. Curiously, it's the first Google result when searching for "insulin stored in fat" :think:

Well, he's not there any more.
Since you we're given this information 30 years ago when you were a child (speculating since it's a children's hospital), do you think there is any chance you might have misremembered it?
 
You don't say how long you have had diabetes for, but I have found, after 47 years that the body sometimes objects to constant insulin and refuses to 'play the game' any longer. You don't need to go on a carb counting course, all the info is on line and on packaging. Just take the time to get to grips with it. These are guidelines only, don't be suprised if you need more or less insulin to cover different foods. I found I have an intolerance to anything with wheat and needed 3X the insulin. Keep at it, keep your BS down and don't worry. This forum is where you will get the best and varied advice, from people who experience it 24/7 Good luck
 
Hi Guys, that link doesn't mention anything about insulin being released when fat is broken down. It's my understanding that it doesn't work this way I don't think the body can store hormones hence why we store insulin in the fridge if it was at 37 body temp for longer than a few days it would denature and be unusable. But assides from that the body will generally use up all the hormone it has in it's system sometimes it is slow to get where it's needed or isn't as effective but it will all get used up or broken down not stored. Another point about why people who have continually high BG are so thin is because the body does not have enough insulin putting the body into starvation mode. As the body's cells can't obtain any glucose from the blood it starts braking down fat to release energy but because there is not enough insulin to help the bodys cells abosorb the glucose/energy it breaks down more fat putting BG higher and giving people DKA you can give yourself just enough insulin to stay out of dka but still be slim with high BGs, but it's a thin line, a reason why diabullemia is ever increasing people purposely keep themselves in this state. Drs much like everyone else get things wrong I've had several tell me the biggest load of rubbish to make you think how did you get through uni? A few years ago a friend 3 year med student asked did I have the type of diabetes where my blood sugar was too high or too low!!!! He was very soon corrected and made to feel like an eejit! Although if you can find a paper that says insulin can be stored in fat cells I would be very interested to read it, it may well help in lots of different research.

Back to the original poster,
excercise may help to bring down your sugars but not because it releases insulin.
If you've changed your insulin I would check that the insulin is from the same batch if it is it may be a problem with the batch or that it was stored incorrectly at the pharmacy or on the way to the pharmacy or even when you got it home? If you're sure you insulin is fine then you do probably need more. Have you ever tried to do a fasting test to check that your background insulin is at it's right level? if not your background then your fast acting might be off I would definitely work out how much carbs your having at each sitting 1u to 10g suits a lot of people but for instance in the morning I have 1u to 5g and for lunch I have 1u to 12g as i always dip after lunch. I would wait for 2 hors after a meal to test as I would always get around 9 or 10 an hour after but by 2 I'll be back to 5 or 6, although it depends what your having. I would definitely try and rotate your sites a lot more you've got arms bum hips that you could try as well. The main thing to do is lots and lots of testing so you can keep an eye on any patterns there seem to be keep a note of the food as well. It may be a passing thing or you may just need to up your insulin. Hopefully your dsn/doctor will be of some help. good luck
 
@loopy i have only had type 1 about 4 months had Gestational on insulin for 4 months but had 3month break in between gestational and type 1. The insulin is from the same batch and at moment have no new insulin. tonight i am measuring at 27 after 20 units of nova.
I am just getting so fed up now and am banging my head against a brick wall, no support from diabetes team at ALL!!!
GP trying her best to help but admits its not her area of knowledge, has told me to phone her on friday for more help in mean time i am supposed to wait till 1st of Feb to see nurse, had ding dong with the clinic as cant make the 9am appointment as my son goes to school at 9 and is 5 miles away, apparently i cant change it :evil:
 
Hi JConnor!

You say you were diagnosed Type 1 about 4 months ago? Are you actually LADA/Type 1.5? If so, your pancreas will still be producing some insulin (probably no 1st-phase, but a diminishing amount of 2nd-phase). Until the condition fully-progresses to Type 1, your insulin requirements will keep changing. I've had LADA for more than 3 years now and I am still producing some 2nd-phase of my own. As the 2nd-phase diminishes you will need more insulin - both basal and rapid-acting. You might have already progressed to full Type-1.

OK. Next, I find that different parts of my monthly cycle have a huge impact on my insulin needs. Hormonal changes affect insulin sensitivity. I believe it is high progestorone that makes us less sensitive to insulin and high estrogen that makes us more sensitive (but I might have that the wrong way around ). Anyway, the week to 10 days leading up to my period means I have to increase both my basal and my rapid-acting:carb ratio significantly. As the period starts, I have to reduce my doses quickly to avoid hypos. Many Type-1 women find the same. Also, pregnancy can cause a lack of insulin sensitivity - is there a chance you are pregnant? The same is true of various forms of contraception - have you changed any of these recently?

Finally, rapid-acting insulin has to be matched to the number of carbs you are eating - this is essential, not optional. You must count the carbs in the food you are eating and take the rapid-acting appropriately. As a very, very rough rule of thumb, 10g of carb will raise your BG about 3m/mol and 1 unit rapid-acting will reduce your BG by 3m/mol, so you should begin with a starting point of 1 unit rapid-acting for every 10g carb in your meal and adjust it from there. (That's a 1:10 rapid-acting:carb ratio). Buy a book called Calorie, Carb and Fat Bible. It is available from Amazon and details the carb in most of the food you eat, so you can calculate roughly how much is in your meal. I got started with this straight away and did not wait for the medical team. It is a lot to get your head around, but if you wait for a DAFNE course, you might wait a very long time.

Just so you know, I limit my carb intake to around 50g a day as I find my diabetes much easier to control safely without a lot of carb. You will need to assess your diet for yourself, but most diabetics have to reduce their carb intake to some extent to achieve stable figures - even if they are on insulin.

Take care

Smidge
 
What time are your high readings? Are they within 2-3 hours of eating? Or do you also get them when getting up?
I ask because it may not be the novorapid that needs adjusting, but your long acting or a combination of both..
Do you eat small and offen or main meals at night.. Do you kick start your body with a breakfast in the morning?

You are still in early days..(weeks/months) you mention your gp seeing you and about seeing a dsn.. Have you been referred to hospital to see a consultant.. When are you expecting to see a consultant next?

Lots of questions.. Sorry. Times of eating, injecting etc can be useful to see and what your readings and units are during a full 24 hr can enable people to interpret easier and better and advice would be less 'stab in the dark'....
 

Hi @smidge - I just wanted to let you know this info is soooooooooo helpful, thank you!!!! I'm brand new to insulin - literally 2.5 weeks in; started off super well but last week or so numbers have been awful - I couldn't sus out why! As my 'ladies holiday' ;-) is due to start tomorrow, pretty sure this is what's going on.... phew!

How did you figure out when to increase your doses and how much by? Do you literally just wait till you see a spike, or do you know to automatically increase a week before...? And same with dose - do you know what to increase by each month, or does it vary...? I'm wondering particularly with the basal as I think any changes take a few days to take effect...? I'm on Levemir, the same as you I think...

Want to try and avoid this from repeating next month if I can - this last week has been awful!
 
i really cannot understand how little your insulin is I'm on novamix 50 units three times a day i also take metformin twice a day
 
 
I was using 80 to 100 units a day for five years for type 2, but after a proper diagnoses of being a coeliac and b12 deficient, my insulin levels have dropped to 40 units a day. b12 plays a major roll in balancing a lot of this, get your dr to test your levels. I was then tested as a type 1.

Hope this helps
 
Insulin is a hormone that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy
 
 
First time trying to post...sorry if I'm screwing up. Wanted to reply to JConnor. I had something similar happen to me lately and I found out I was filling up with water due to congestive heart failure. Just something to check. The nurses in the hospital wouldn't even give me the amount of insulin I was up to.
 
Wow you got a lot of responses. I am not sure I can say any better. But my insulin needs changed rapidly when first diagnosed until it reduced down to about 5 units of mixtard twice a day.
They called that the 'honeymoon period' But now I have become resistant to the usual u100 insulin. I take Humalog in a pump and because my insulin needs are high I also take two 50 units of Lantus a background insulin. It is a lot. Each person is so different you have to test regular and do before meals and on waking up and going to sleep. Also if you are unsure of a high or a hypo cos you feel weird.
Make adjustments to insulin only when you have studied a pattern for 3 days and then if you are not confident get your diabetes nurse to help you work it out until you feel confident to make adjustments yourself.
One of the easiest regimes is to take a background/long acting insulin twice a day and then take short acting insulin with each mealtime. There is a course called the Daphne course which if you do that you can be even more flexible and do insulin when you eat.
Its great cos you can get very precise with things.
Try to get your levels lower because diabetic complications are no fun at all. I have a lot and its mainly due to having difficulty with control. And most of all do not worry cos stress is not good for diabetes.
But rather than worry get help. You can always phone the hospital you are based at and ask for the oncall diabetologist/or senior registrar. But that's if you have a big worry and just do not know what to do. Usually what you are asking the diabetes nurse should be able to advise or even your gp. But if you need help in a hurry you can do a call like I said. However if you have a lot of ketones and very high sugars you need to get yourself to Aand E. I tend to wait longer cos I have 30 years experience but do not worry about asking for help when you need it.
In my case I have brittle diabetes and did the best I could with what was available. But now there is so much flexibility really study and learn whats possible.You can only benefit.
 
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