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Insulin not working

S

slayer

Well-Known Member
Messages
132
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I have been diabetic for twenty years. I've exhausted my stomach with injecting and have been advised to use my thighs for apidra and butt for lantus. This worked well for the first few weeks but now my sugars are out of control. I also have a fibroid and polycystic ovaries - not sure if this is relevant to my sugars. I am fed up and would like to try for a baby, but feels like no matter what I do, my diabetes is working against me, this is a lonely place! Please help x
 
You can also use your arms for injecting @slayer, not sure what effect your other conditions would have on your diabetes control but have you done some basal testing of late?
 
My arms bleed and bruise if I inject in them, even with a 4mm needle
 
Have you spoken to your dn about this? Is there some form of counselling available to you such as talking therapy? If there is go along for some sessions, talking about your problems and feelings will make things better.
 
slayer said:
My arms bleed and bruise if I inject in them, even with a 4mm needle
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Maybe a insulin pump would be your best option, do try and do some basal checks as this is important to get right before you look at your insulin-to-carb ratio's and diet.
 
1 unit used to bring me down by 3mml but this is not the case now. Strangely my last Hbac1 showed my control has improved significantly. I have been on the pump beflre and am considering going back on it and also considering counselling as I feel awful! Could it be the fact that Lantus is not as effective as other long acting insulins? I am thinking of requesting a different insulin, but also feel scared.
 
Some people don't fair well on lantus, but if your thinking about becoming pregnant then a return to pumping might be a good idea to get your bg levels under control, I'm going to tag @azure as she has some great advice in this respect. Best wishes.
 
Hi :)

Sorry you're feeling so bad. I've never used Lantus so I can't comment on that, but I have used a pump for more than 10 years. I found it absolutely invaluable when I was pregnant as it meant I could make careful and precise adjustments to keep tight control.

You said you had polycystic ovaries - I believe that can be connected with insulin resistance. Maybe you could ask your doctor if that's contributing in any way?

It does seem strange that your thighs, etc only worked for a few weeks. Has your doctor given you any reason for that? It may certain,y be worth enquiring about different insulins.

When are you getting the highs? Is it all the time or after meals? At night?

I know it must be stressful when you hope to get pregnant, but it'll pay dividends if you can get your sugars sorted first. Don't let it get you down {{ hug }} Diabetes is a total pain sometimes, but keep going and you'll get on top of it again. Slowly but surely :)
 
Lantus was a real problem for me, Levemir I was on before that for a number of years and out the blue started getting huge lumps when I injected which itched like mad. I got moved onto Tresiba which is great but with my job being so up and down my bloods are still all over the place. My A1c was inline on my last check-up and thats why my pump got held up, I purchased rapidcalc and when I see the graph (which I will show the consultant on Monday) there is no pattern to my levels, but as said I cook for a living and days are either hard or slow and you cannot dose for this kind of work, but maybe Tresiba (if you can get it in your area is a choice you may want to look into)?
 
Have you tried an insulin pump , ask your doctor you may qualify on the NHS .
The other option is try Metformin with insulin as it helps balance you if you have become insulin resistant ask your diabetic nurse for more information . Metformin has been proved to work with POS.
 
@azure the highs are usually after dinner and then continue into the morning even after insulin correction.

The doctor has never given a reason for the sites not working, my arms and legs are skinny so this may have something to do with it!

My eyes are also bad but my last hbac1 was good and ironically they are telling me that as my control improves, my eyes will get worse.

I feel as though they are reluctant to put me on a pump because they are so expensive.
 
@Gaz-M I teach for a living and the stress does not help! I also find I have no time to correct doses at school or check my sugars. I find it hard to inject in my classroom because people are constantly coming in. I've even considered quitting teaching altogether because I am so fed up of all the highs and the tiredness!
 
I take metformin and it isnt making a difference. I am trying to get on the pump but they seem so reluctant to give me one!
 
When you make a big change in sites there can be big changes to BGL readings, usually more insulin sensitive. I might take awhile for this to settle. I take lantus (twice a day) the but and novo rapid in the tummy.
David
 
slayer said:
[My eyes are also bad but my last hbac1 was good and ironically they are telling me that as my control improves, my eyes will get worse.
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Assume you mean you have diabetic retinopathy @slayer.

The usual advice is to reduce your HbA1c over a longer period of time if someone has retinopathy, it is said that sudden tightening of bg control can (in some cases) make matters worse, but again if you do have retinopathy then you also want to be looking at keeping your bp and cholesterol levels under control too, have a read of the following as it contains a wealth of information & advice on the condition:

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/index.html
 
slayer said:
@Gaz-M I teach for a living and the stress does not help! I also find I have no time to correct doses at school or check my sugars. I find it hard to inject in my classroom because people are constantly coming in. I've even considered quitting teaching altogether because I am so fed up of all the highs and the tiredness!
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To be brutally honest, if you work in a school, you need to start treating yourself in spite of others around you and stop not doing things because they are there. Given what you do, wouldn't it be a perfect opportunity to educate the kids (and other teachers) about T1, the intricacies of it and how it is managed?
 
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