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Insulin not working so far

C

carandol

Well-Known Member
Messages
102
Type of diabetes
Type 2
At the end of October, by diabetes took a sudden turn for the worse. I'd been on gliclizide for a couple of months, which was having a positive effect, when suddenly my blood sugar started going up, even though there had been no change in my diet or lifestyle. After a week of monitoring my sugar level and keeping a food diary, my diabetes team decided I needed to start injecting insulin. Since then, I've been taking Novorapid 3 times a day at lunchtimes and Lantus every night before bed. They keep putting the dose up, but my blood sugar is refusing to budge even slightly - its averaging around 14.5, occasionally peaking at 19 or even 20, and never dropping below 7.8. I'm now up to 10 Novorapid per meal and 30 Lantus every night, with no sign of improvement. A lot of the time I'm in a brain fog (apart from a couple of hours after every meal), which is not good as I'm a self-employed writer with deadlines to meet that aren't being met as I'm having trouble stringing words together most of the time. I'm not overweight, the dietitian is happy with my diet, and I get a reasonable amount of exercise as I don't have a car and walk everywhere. My diabetes nurse is starting to seem like things aren't going according to plan, saying things like "I wonder if there's something we're missing" and asking me to demonstrate how I'm injecting to make sure I'm doing it right. She'd like to put me on metformin, but last time I tried that (even the slow release variety) it made me sick. I'm beginning to wonder how long this is going to go on with no improvement, whether I should be seeking a second opinion. I'm 51, and worried that if I'm going to be taking huge amounts of insulin now, how much am I going to be taking by the time I'm 60?
 
Hi. I'm afraid I can't comment on insulin as I'm T2, but would just query the diet your dietician has provided. Whilst many are very uptodate, there are some who still profer the bad (for diabetics) Eat-well plate with starchy carbs with every meal. Are you low-carbing and having low-GI carbs? Perhaps you are in which case sadly I can't offer any help.
 
I'm T2 too, or I was until a few weeks ago, anyway! And I thought the low-carb diet would come up. My dietitian is of the opinion that low carb diets are good if you're overweight, or have trouble keeping your weight down, but in my case it would be a bad idea. I'm a vegetarian, and don't have any trouble controlling my weight. Her reasoning is that your body needs glucose to function. If you cut out carbs, your body will start burning fats instead, and if you're not overweight, you'll quickly run out of fats and start burning muscle. I'm prepared to be convinced that the science doesn't work like that, but since I only need to lose a stone and I'll be underweight, I don't want to experiment on myself *too* much!
 
I've nothing to offer on the insulin but I took the low carb route only to find I lost a stone in no time at all after having a perfect BMI. I've decided the only way out of this is to increase my carb intake. So far my BS levels havent increased and are running at 5/6 two hours after a meal. I'm hoping my weight will stabalise. It's a difficult balancing act.

Nik
 
Thanks, that does sound like what my dietitian was warning me about! I can keep off the sugary stuff, but I do like my spuds...
 
I'm no expert on the low carb diet, but presumably people get energy and maintain weight by increasing other components of the meal such as (good) fats? Nuts and oily fish spring to mind.
 
Hi. I think your dietician has given some good advice overall particularly as you are now overweight. I might argue his point about the body burning muscle when the fat runs out. If you have a good fat intake instead of too many carbs, the body will store the resultant 'glucose' thru a more complex metabolic process than for carbs. This may not appear as body fat but will be available. As you say it's about getting a balance and tailoring it for your needs but the fact still remains that all carbs consumed are converted fairly quickly to glucose in the blood. I'm also below average BMI but still keep my carbs below around 150 mg/day. I go to gym several times a week and get plenty of energy from my other foods, but I do have protein as well as fat so it may not be so easy for a vegetarian? Anyway I hope your problem gets resolved.
 
your situation is not uncommon, I know a lot of people with diabetes, the figures you quote are similar to many on medication, I
would not panic at the moment, many people go on about diets carbs ect, but the real way to reduce levels is to eat less, you
could try this, at every meal remove one third from the plate, you should get a result, the big problem with insulin is it can make
you fat, which in turn can lead to less exercise because of weight increase, hence more insulin a vicious circle for sum, but in
saying that I have met diabetics who are very thin and they also have the same problem as you, you could ask for a change of
meication to something like byetta this works well, and is not insulin, the other symptons you describe could be due to another
medical condition, do you have blood pressure problems, do you drink, I would ask for a further medical check, and a revision
of your medication, you are allowed to try all types of insulin on the market, the one you are taking may be the wrong one for
you,ask if you can try a different type, or byetta, in the short term I would not panic, your readings are certainly not the highest
I have seen, many people on diet have similar readings, some as high as 17 to 20 at times, I would ask for a new opinion and
make the hosptal aware you know your rights of treatment choices. Carl Fenn.
 
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