• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Insulin Resistance

T

TROUBR

Well-Known Member
Messages
203
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Sorry if this is another silly question but how is insulin resistance determined. Is it just based on the amount of insulin one it taking or is it the amount of insulin compared to the amount of carbs, or something completely different?

I only ask as I have been given metformin to take in the evening along with my lantus and I saw on here that it is used for those with insulin resistance - I was just told that it would help avoid weight gain (which I haven't had for over 1.5 months and 1/2 and I am still 1.5 stone less than I was before my DKA). It can't have been a desision based on my carb intake as I have not yet done the whole carb counting thing - still on the "have the same amount each time" regime. Was it just based on the fact I am overweight?
 
You don't often measure insulin resistance directly - at least not as part of treatment - it is just a phenomena that is known to occur and which can be used to explain various aspects of diabetes. It is measured by researchers when they are working out the mechanisms, or testing new drugs. The usual way that it is measured is a procedure called a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp. This involves continual infusion of insulin into a vein for several hours - and another infusion of glucose to counteract that. Blood glucose levels are measured continuously, and the glucose infusion is varied to keep them constant. The amount that this has to be varied allows the resistance to a given dose of insulin to be calculated. The only way that you would ever have this done to you is if you volunteer to participate in a research programme. The rest of the time when medics talk about insulin resistance it is essentially a highly educated guess - based upon what is known to happen in a particular set of circumstances.
 
Hello Louise,

The measurement of fasting serum insulin levels will normally provide good
evidence of insulin resistance.

Put simply, insulin resistance means normal amounts of insulin are inadequate
to produce a normal response from your body's cells.

Regards,
timo.
 
Thank you for your replies - so an add on question to timo -:
DiabeticGeek said:
Put simply, insulin resistance means normal amounts of insulin are inadequate
to produce a normal response from the your body's cells.
Click to expand...

what is percieved to be a normal amount of insulin required in a type one diabetic?
 
This is what I meant to comment on!

Thank you for your replies - so an add on question to timo -:

Put simply, insulin resistance means normal amounts of insulin are inadequate
to produce a normal response from the your body's cells.

what is percieved to be a normal amount of insulin required in a type one diabetic?
 
Fasting insulin levels can certainly provide evidence for insulin resistance, but they don't prove it or measure it. The results can be really difficult to interpret because many things have an affect upon this (including age and gender) and since you are dealing with very tiny amounts (we are talking picomols rather than millimols or micromols) different lab techniques produce very different results. As a very rough guideline levels above 60 pmol/l are generally considered to be reasonable evidence of insulin resistance. As for what is normal for a T1 - I am afraid there a so many factors to consider that you really would have to talk to an endocrinologist to get much beyond this sort of broad brush interpretation.
 
Back
Top