Insulin side effects

[TG4567]

Hi I have only been diagnosed a year and I am really struggling to find the right insulin.

I used Toujeo to start with which caused joint pains and I also had fast hitting hypos a few times when i hit a blood vessel (this puts me off all the glargine insulins).

Then I tried tresiba. Everyday I woke up with a headache, I piled weight on and also had a weird winded feeling in chest all the time. At this point I went back on toujeo just to confirm the tresiba was causing it all and it was.

I have now been on levemir for 3 weeks and have exact same side effects minus the headache. Im feeling analogue insulins may not be for me which is a shame as my sugars are great!

I tend not to use much fast acting only a couple of units per meal if any so doubt its causing issues.

Does anyone else have experience of this?

My medical team just say they have never heard of any side effects.

 

[Juicyj]

Hi I have only been diagnosed a year and I am really struggling to find the right insulin.

I used Toujeo to start with which caused joint pains and I also had fast hitting hypos a few times when i hit a blood vessel (this puts me off all the glargine insulins).

Then I tried tresiba. Everyday I woke up with a headache, I piled weight on and also had a weird winded feeling in chest all the time. At this point I went back on toujeo just to confirm the tresiba was causing it all and it was.

I have now been on levemir for 3 weeks and have exact same side effects minus the headache. Im feeling analogue insulins may not be for me which is a shame as my sugars are great!

I tend not to use much fast acting only a couple of units per meal if any so doubt its causing issues.

Does anyone else have experience of this?

My medical team just say they have never heard of any side effects.

Hi there, sorry to hear this has been happening to you. I suffer joint pain but mine are hormone related.

Through my experience of dealing with many t1d related issues here on the forum it's rare to hear of side effects with taking insulin and I haven't heard your symptoms mentioned before amongst t1d's here, have you tried seeing your GP and seeing if there's anything else going on that may be causing this ? Living with type 1 can go hand in hand with other auto immune conditions so in your shoes i'd be getting my bloods checked and discussing these symptoms with your GP, this would be my starting point, good luck hope you get to the bottom of this.

 

[Antje77]

Through my experience of dealing with many t1d related issues here on the forum it's rare to hear of side effects with taking insulin and I haven't heard your symptoms mentioned before amongst t1d's here

I had the joint pain with Lantus, and insulin glargine is known for being able to cause Lantus lows. I've had one of those and I'm lucky to be here to tell the tale.
I only found out about the joint pain (it's a rare but listed side effect from glargine) after I switched insulins because of the Lantus low, and my pain went away as well.

The other side effects mentioned I haven't heard, except for weight gain, which can happen with all insulins.

 

[TG4567]

Thank you for your replies.

I do already have hashimotos and will check my levels to check nothing out of whack.

I wouldnt know where to turn to for more tests. I was ill for ages asking to be tested for type one and eventually I paid privately. The result was positive for GAD antibodies and it still took GP ages to refer me.

I feel Toujeo gives me least side effects but will be worried about the lantus lows but I may do another trial on it to see if other side effects disappear again.

Thanks again

 

[Antje77]

I feel Toujeo gives me least side effects but will be worried about the lantus lows

Those only happen if the insulin accidentally hits a small vein or capillary.
I know some people divide their injection to minimise the risk, if you inject only half or a third of your full dose in each spot you'll have a much smaller effect if some of the insulin ends up in your bloodstream.
I do the same with my Tresiba usually because I'm on a relatively large dose, less volume in the same spot. I tend to dial up my full dose and after injecting about half I Inject the second half a cm or two away from the first.

Another safety feature can be to not inject it within the last hour before going to sleep so you can sleep knowing all went well.

 

[TG4567]

Those only happen if the insulin accidentally hits a small vein or capillary.
I know some people divide their injection to minimise the risk, if you inject only half or a third of your full dose in each spot you'll have a much smaller effect if some of the insulin ends up in your bloodstream.
I do the same with my Tresiba usually because I'm on a relatively large dose, less volume in the same spot. I tend to dial up my full dose and after injecting about half I Inject the second half a cm or two away from the first.

Another safety feature can be to not inject it within the last hour before going to sleep so you can sleep knowing all went well.

Thats a great tip! Thanks so much