Insulin not working to bring sugar levels down!?

[kitedoc]

Hi there @Mozza47, the post I think that you are referring to is a bit over 6 years ago.?
Maybe start a new thread and please include some details if you could to help sort out what the trouble is??
Best Wishes

 

[frias1968]

Hi everyone!
I am a 30 year-old male and have been diabetic for 16 years. I am currently using novorapid and lantus injections to manage my blood sugar. Generally speaking my blood sugar control has been pretty good over the years but just lately I have had some problems where, when I have done a blood test my levels have been very high (15+ in some cases.) I have made an adjustment innjection to bring the levels down but after an hour my levels are still high, sometimes even higher than they were before. It is as though the insulin is not having an effect at all! Has anybody else experienced anything similar?

I sometimes work abroad and the first time this happened to me was when I was spending a few weeks in South Korea - at first I put it down to something in the food however it has since happened to me back in the UK too. Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's obviously a little unsettling to feel unable to bring my sugar levels back under control!

Cheers

I have the same problem but i take Novorapid Insulin and Levwmir .sometimes i up to a whole pen but no changes .I do take it in different places arms legs and belly . Its a bit scaring because if it all starts woking at the same i be in trouble . This gets me down because the amount of Insulin i take and the weight i'm putting on i believe to do with the insulin. this amount of insulin is ok if your young and fit like i was once woking on building site but no i can't handle move .I can't say anything to my doctor because i'm wrong . i don't go to the diabetic clinic anymore and haven't done for years just fell bully .

Hi everyone!
I am a 30 year-old male and have been diabetic for 16 years. I am currently using novorapid and lantus injections to manage my blood sugar. Generally speaking my blood sugar control has been pretty good over the years but just lately I have had some problems where, when I have done a blood test my levels have been very high (15+ in some cases.) I have made an adjustment innjection to bring the levels down but after an hour my levels are still high, sometimes even higher than they were before. It is as though the insulin is not having an effect at all! Has anybody else experienced anything similar?

I sometimes work abroad and the first time this happened to me was when I was spending a few weeks in South Korea - at first I put it down to something in the food however it has since happened to me back in the UK too. Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's obviously a little unsettling to feel unable to bring my sugar levels back under control!

Cheers

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @frias1968, you are not sounding like you are in a good space health-wise.
Most of us TIDs have gone through a patch of chasing Bsls with insulin and eating more to ward off hypos.
And weight gain is one consequence and risk of long term damage because of up and down BSLS.

Hiding away from your health team and obtaining continuing prescriptions from what appears to be a disinterested and perhaps neglient prescriber is not going to be a succful strategy forever.

So thank you for posting and telling us about yourself.

Rebuilding trust and finding people who will help understand you, not be hyper-critical and help you move to a better space is what it is about.

Also if you can connect with some local TIDs say by enquiring through Diabetes UK or other means that those who post here may be able to offer is also a way to find ways back nto the system and get the help you desparately need.

A change in diet wih appropriate insulin adjustment and medical check looking for any causes to explain your troubles sound like a possible approach, but that is why you do need help from the right health professionals.

Please consider the above seriously to get you off the present merry-go-round which is anything but merry.

 

[Gazzamius]

This is an old topic under several different headings. I have been Type 1 diabetic for over 64 years and have given advice on this subject several times.

There are two situations where insulin does not bring down BG levels and both are "the body's immune system". In non-diabetic people the body's BG level is regulated by hormones from either the pancreas or the liver whereby the body increases the BG level by releasing hormones to protect it (the body) from a hypo or insulin to reduce BG levels.

Your problem is not shortage of insulin, it is too much... Next time, just try about 30 carbs, no insulin and patience; after a while, possibly 12 hours, you should find the BG level comes back to norm. It's best to do this overnight.

This works for me, the problem with hormones is that they don't go away quickly, the body has to know that it is not going to be overwhelmed by another huge dose of insulin. Trust me, even my DSN does now.

Good luck

This makes a lot of sense, I shall try this method, i have been injecting far too much insulin and was getting very worried myself. will let you know how it goes. thanks.

 

[Cherokee Dawn]

Just off a five day high. BG running in two hundreds with insulin tripled. Did a great deal of research and ran across multiple articles on three topics. Seems I cannot post links so I will post a summary and you can research the results if you're so inclined. Here's a summary of what I found.

Vitamin D deficiency can cause sustained elevated BG.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause sustained elevated BG.

Long term, low carb diets can cause some people to begin burning protein for energy because of carb shortage. Symptoms include muscle weakness and a ammonia or metallic odor when sweating or in urine.

I've been off Vitamin D and B12 for some time and I have been on a very low carb diet for months. I purchased both D and B12 (B12 that desolves under the tongue) and added a "Dr. Dean's" protein shake (found it the most effective and includes a great probiotic). Within an hour my BG started down. This morning I awoke with a BG of 88. Can't say for surtain which worked but I suspect it was the protein shake because I have had several of the symptoms articles identified. Hope this helps others as well.

 

[Allen50yearsT1]

I was diagnosed in June 1971, aged 17, so almost 50 years Type 1. I’ve been on a pump for 12 years, and generally good control. The last few months I believe I now have IR, and it’s driving me mad with the uncertainty of whether the insulin is working or not. I’ve always rotated regularly, no bumps or bruising anywhere. Recently it took 5 attempts to get a new infusion set working, and then it only works a couple of hours or often not at all. Recently I had an overnight hypo which my girlfriend couldn’t bring me back from. An ambulance was called and 3 paramedics also had difficulty and resorted to injecting a drug to stimulate my liver to produce glucose. My girlfriend heard them say later my bs had risen to 1.0 at last. I’m scared of that occurring again so regularly wake myself during the night to check my sugars. My diabetes specialist nurses have never mentioned the possibility of IR, neither has my consultant. I’ve tried longer cannulas, from 6mm to 8mm, and 10mm. I tried my thighs for the first time and the initial result was excellent. 3 days later I tried the other thigh, nope instant IR. I’ve resorted to manual injections into my upper arm, first one was fine, subsequent ones IR again. I’ve run out of ideas, and hope. I’m fairly active, about the correct weight but I know I eat a bit too much fat, but with bad acid reflux having bread and butter helps it go down otherwise it tends to stick in my throat. Also sugar free products have a high % of fat, low fat products have a high % of sugar. It’s reached the point when I feel like giving up.

 

[poppyIsCrying]

Hi guys! I’m Stanislav, I’m from Ukraine.
I’ve been diagnosed with diabetes t1 since 2007. Now I’m 21. My weight is 55kg.
I faced this kind of problem, I took lots of boluses to bring my sugar down and it didn’t work. But sometimes my sugar went down, usually it happened when I went to walk or do sports. I had my blood sugar almost all the time on range level 10-18 mmol/l.

I’ve been overcoming this problem for 10 months at this moment and I SUCCEDED!!!

My basal dosage on pump was 0.9 u/h - 1.2 u/h

I took thioctic acid droppers (600mg) and on 6th day my dosages dropped to 0.3u/h and my insulin started working PERFECTLY!!!
I’m so happy! I thought that I’ll never overcome this such a difficult problem. PLEASE READ MY MESSAGE, IT CAN SAVE YOUR HEALTH!!!

 

[juliekem]

This is an old topic under several different headings. I have been Type 1 diabetic for over 64 years and have given advice on this subject several times.

There are two situations where insulin does not bring down BG levels and both are "the body's immune system". In non-diabetic people the body's BG level is regulated by hormones from either the pancreas or the liver whereby the body increases the BG level by releasing hormones to protect it (the body) from a hypo or insulin to reduce BG levels.

Your problem is not shortage of insulin, it is too much... Next time, just try about 30 carbs, no insulin and patience; after a while, possibly 12 hours, you should find the BG level comes back to norm. It's best to do this overnight.

This works for me, the problem with hormones is that they don't go away quickly, the body has to know that it is not going to be overwhelmed by another huge dose of insulin. Trust me, even my DSN does now.

Good luck

I tried this last night but I woke up with bloods of 19.5!

 

[TerryC56]

Hi everyone!
I am a 30 year-old male and have been diabetic for 16 years. I am currently using novorapid and lantus injections to manage my blood sugar. Generally speaking my blood sugar control has been pretty good over the years but just lately I have had some problems where, when I have done a blood test my levels have been very high (15+ in some cases.) I have made an adjustment innjection to bring the levels down but after an hour my levels are still high, sometimes even higher than they were before. It is as though the insulin is not having an effect at all! Has anybody else experienced anything similar?

I sometimes work abroad and the first time this happened to me was when I was spending a few weeks in South Korea - at first I put it down to something in the food however it has since happened to me back in the UK too. Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's obviously a little unsettling to feel unable to bring my sugar levels back under control!

Cheers

Hi Bob,

I am 49 years type 1, sometimes novorapid seems not to work and for no reason your sugars go high, stick with it, it may take a couple of days to rectify. You may have a virus or used an old injection site, I was told when I was sixteen that if I was lucky I would make 40 made it to 65 now so just stick with what you are doing and keep watching your levels, you will be fine.

 

[TerryC56]

Hi everyone!
I am a 30 year-old male and have been diabetic for 16 years. I am currently using novorapid and lantus injections to manage my blood sugar. Generally speaking my blood sugar control has been pretty good over the years but just lately I have had some problems where, when I have done a blood test my levels have been very high (15+ in some cases.) I have made an adjustment innjection to bring the levels down but after an hour my levels are still high, sometimes even higher than they were before. It is as though the insulin is not having an effect at all! Has anybody else experienced anything similar?

I sometimes work abroad and the first time this happened to me was when I was spending a few weeks in South Korea - at first I put it down to something in the food however it has since happened to me back in the UK too. Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's obviously a little unsettling to feel unable to bring my sugar levels back under control!

Cheers

Hi, I worked in dubai for seven years, I’m type 1 now for 49 years and over the years have experienced many weird levels, as long as your checking regularly it tends to work itself out.

 

[FDRK]

Thank you, this has just been happening to me and I've been giving myself more and more insulin. I do have a tooth infection at the moment though which may have some bearing? Anyway I will do as you suggest. Fingers crossed. Thank you.

Hey, did you try this and did it work for you? I read an article a while back on insulin toxicity and the above post makes a lot of sense. just wondering how you found it.

 

[FDRK]

Thank you, this has just been happening to me and I've been giving myself more and more insulin. I do have a tooth infection at the moment though which may have some bearing? Anyway I will do as you suggest. Fingers crossed. Thank you.

Hey, did you try this and did it work for you? I read an article a while back on insulin toxicity and the above post makes a lot of sense. just wondering how you found it.

 

[FDRK]

This is an old topic under several different headings. I have been Type 1 diabetic for over 64 years and have given advice on this subject several times.

There are two situations where insulin does not bring down BG levels and both are "the body's immune system". In non-diabetic people the body's BG level is regulated by hormones from either the pancreas or the liver whereby the body increases the BG level by releasing hormones to protect it (the body) from a hypo or insulin to reduce BG levels.

Your problem is not shortage of insulin, it is too much... Next time, just try about 30 carbs, no insulin and patience; after a while, possibly 12 hours, you should find the BG level comes back to norm. It's best to do this overnight.

This works for me, the problem with hormones is that they don't go away quickly, the body has to know that it is not going to be overwhelmed by another huge dose of insulin. Trust me, even my DSN does now.

Good luck

This makes so much sense to me, I was just wondering if you have any recommendations for additional reading on this please?

 

[Vanbeard]

I would suggest that yousy wish to inject into your upper arms as these are more effective than legs when your levels are high.

You've listed two reasons yourself.. junk food and lumps.

There are other reasons like your doses not being correct..

Are you cofrecting and measuring your bloods every 2 hours?


Most importantly have you checked for ketones. Your levels are dangerously high and I would be getting to A&E if I had your levels...

I see all of the finger sticks and some people may be over correcting or reacting. A CGM saved my life and it checks blood sugars every 5 minutes around the clock and you are able to view on your Phone or Meter that comes with it. Also a Computer reads as well. Each Meter stays on for 10 days and I swear by it. It provides a running trend for you to see how you are running in a 24 hour period. PLEASE TRY! Dexcom G6 or G7 would be what to get, the G7 is the newest!!! Hope this helps!