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insulin

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kentishman

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I am on tablets and low carb diet but I am so fed up with the restriction that applies to food I am tempted to go on to Insylin.From people who have done this would my diet improve and be able to eat a few of things denied to me now?
 
Hiya I'm in similar boat to you, i'm on tablets (glucophage SR and repaglinide) and diet but for me i'm still finding i'm getting spikes after food and the tablets have given me a erm runny tummy since i started them 3 months ago. Also i get hypos if i go more than 3 hours without eating so i can't win grrr!!

Would also welcome any comments as i'm thinking of asking doctor if i can switch to insulin tho tbh I dont know if its something i am allowed to suggest??

Shirl
 
I don't think taking insulin makes life easy. I am on diet only and although I get a bit ratty sometimes about it all, it'd much easier than having to work out what I'm eating and how much insulin to take, avoid hypos, deal with injection site problems etc etc. I'd think carefully about it and do a lot of research if I were you.
 
Why anyone would want to voluntarily take insulin is beyond me. Being on tablets was far easier. No hypos, no need to work out exactly how much I was going to eat, no need for injections, no weight gain, no need to carry around the insulin, no need to notify the DVLA.

You would need to be just as careful with your diet kentishman, as insulin causes weight gain so you would have to eat carefully to avoid this. You would also need to avoid sugary foods and carbohydrates just as you do now, more carbs = more insulin = more insulin resistance.

Shirl ask your doctor if your tablets need adjusting, I don't think you should be having hypos?
 
carnabychick said:
Also i get hypos if i go more than 3 hours without eating so i can't win grrr!!

Would also welcome any comments as i'm thinking of asking doctor if i can switch to insulin tho tbh I dont know if its something i am allowed to suggest??

Shirl
Click to expand...

I agree with all HLW has said. Why go on Insulin with all that entails. I eat fairly low carb, but low GI and GL. Plenty of variety for me.

These hypo's.....what sort of readings are you getting and when exactly ?
What sort of diet do you have, what sort of food are you eating ?

Some more info might help us to better help you.
 
Hi I find that the hypos tend to be at least 3 hours after having eaten. I take 1000mg Glucophage Sr in mornin and evening and Repaglinide 2mg 15 mins before meals.
I normally have oatbased cereal for breakfast, wholemeal sandwich and quavers for dinner and then maybe pasta, tuna, potatoes, meat, veg etc for tea. I work 12 hour shifts and find that theres often a good gap between meals ie breakfast at 6am then by 9am i'm starting to feel hungry. Hypos seem to occur late morning or mid afternoon so maybe i need snacks then as the repaglinide only acts for a short time during my main meals, so i know that aint causing my lows as even with taking both tablets i still get the high spikes after main meals???
Also I am fed up with the side effects of the tablets, not been 'normal' toilet wise for ages and its mde me have time off when its really bad.

Any suggestions ???

Shirl
 
Shirl.
Need a bit more detail.......

What are your fasting readings, on waking, immediately before each meal, 2 hrs after each meal and just before bedtime.

You haven't said what your levels are when hypo either....... :?:
 
sorry
fasting normally between 5-7.5 (was 5.6 this morning)
2 hours after meals between 7-12
lows have been between 2.5-3.5 and normally 3-4 hours after eating but never seems to occur in the evening?

Shirl
 
kentishman said:
I am on tablets and low carb diet but I am so fed up with the restriction that applies to food I am tempted to go on to Insylin.From people who have done this would my diet improve and be able to eat a few of things denied to me now?
Click to expand...


Hi kentishman

I would personaly not go for insulin im type 2 on 4 injections of insulin a day im hoping to come off of it or go on maintaining injection soon ive been reduced twice since my discharge from as im changing my lifestyle food etc exercise and ive noticed im getting low readings this is second nite running my levels have gone low last nite 4.1 i think post meal and to nite 3.9.

I dont think ive denied myself anything that i want food or drink wise just done it in moderation today got offered sweets instead of handfull just took 2 checked my bg hour later as it was time no noticesable diffrance in readings from any otherday.

If you go on insulin you have to notify dvla :cry:
 
carnabychick said:
sorry
fasting normally between 5-7.5 (was 5.6 this morning)
2 hours after meals between 7-12
lows have been between 2.5-3.5 and normally 3-4 hours after eating but never seems to occur in the evening?

Shirl
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Shirl. Just one more question for you. Do you know what the carb count is for the meals you have ?

I have noted everything down but out at the minute. I will return to this tomorrow if that's Ok with you ?
 
oh blimey carb count, i reckon bout 30-50g maybe on main meals?? I'm not low carbing, just been reducing carbs and totally cutting out sweets, cakes etc :?

Also my first hb1ac was 10 and bs on diagnosis was 22 if thats any xtra help

And thx for help, need as much advice as poss
 

Hi Shirl.
It would seem that your meals are very carb laden to start with which is where those spikes will come from.

You are on max doses of both Metformin (Glucophage) and Repaglinide. Repaglinide can cause hypoglycaemia in rare cases........

So on the one hand your Bg levels are consistent with the number of carbs you are consuming hence the 7 - 12 readings. Then 3 - 4 hrs later you are getting 2.5 - 3.5 readings .......hypo's.

We can't diagnose but from looking at what you have told me you need to discuss your medication with your GP bearing in mind what I have pointed out above. It may need to be changed. There is also something called re-active hypoglycaemia which is normally found in non-Diabetic's but can also happen with Diabetic's, we have a few members who suffer from this dual condition. Not often diagnosed though. Basically about 3 -4 hrs after a carb rich meal which should elevate Bg levels for a while they in fact drop dramatically as the Pancreas over produces Insulin in response to the glucose in the blood. An over reaction.

Just a couple of things that you might like to discuss with your GP or Consultant.
 
Hiya thanks for your advice
I've been back the doctors this morning and hes changed my medication to 1000mg glucohpage and 80-160mg of gliclazide and also finally been given test strips and lancets too yay, tho i do now have to be more careful of hypos :? Doctors also thinking of putting me on Victoza but is waiting till i get my next blood results back early feb.
So gonna try new tablets and see if that helps, will keep you posted.

Thanks again for your help

Shirl
 
I'll give you an idea of my diet. I eat one slice of toast for breakfats.For lunch I have a sald with two water biscuits and some cheese. Evening meal is meat or fish, two green vegetables and one small potato followed by an apple.
When I was taking Avandia with my Gliclacide and metformin I coped ok on this but since they stopped Avabdia my levels have increased to 8,9 or ten My nurse will not give me Actos since she says I must not have three drugs and talks of Insulin.I asked for Byetta but she says my kidneys are not too good and cannot prescribe it. I cannot eat less or better than I do.
 
I wonder why they won't prescribe 3 drugs at once, NICE say it's OK.I guess it depends on what they are?
You could try asking your nurse to go over all the treatment options again, it might be possible for you to continue with the metformin and also long lasting insulin eg lantus which would just mean 1 or 2 injection per day. There are other things like Byetta (there's one beginning with V?) maybe those are a possibility.
 
Kentishman.
According to the BNF60 Actos (Piogliazone) can be taken alone or combined with metformin or a sulphonylurea (Gliclazide), or with both, or with Insulin.

However, there are several interactions and cautions when the Patient has some other condition.

Maybe this is the reason the Nurse will not prescribe all three together ?
 
Kentishman.
Direct answer to your question is that insulin is not a miracle, you still have to watch what you eat. I think it is a better alternative to tablets for people who are prepared to put in that extra effort to get good control of sugars. Well controlled it is far kinder to your body than tablets can ever be.
 
for me insulin has been better than tablets

with tablets i had so many horrible side effects that i got to the stage i told my consultant where she could stick her treatment, and went for several months without any form of treatment

im now on 4 injections a day with no ill effects so far.. but there is certainly more hassle as stated in other posts

yes i can get away with the odd treat every now and then, and yes i can just take a little more insulin to control that.. but the side effect of this is that your body will process all the carbs you eat, and if they are not being used they will turn to fat

if i were able to tolerate the tablets then i would much prefer to stay on them, but i am happy with insulin as i atleast feel well..
 
Kentishman
you say>>I cannot eat less or better than I do.<<
I'm not clear what this means.
Do you mean you don't want to eat better, because you could certainly improve on the breakfast by having less bread,say half a slice, and some protein, which would stop you getting hungry. How about an egg. Takes no longer to cook than toast.
I personally find water biscuits very sneaky. If I have one, my bg goes up. They are over 70% carb, even if light. They must be very quickly digested. If you need a cracker, look for something that's a bit lower in carb and up the portion of salad.
You don't need to eat less! A whole lettuce would be ok
Hana
 
If your nurse is suggesting using insulin try it for a few months believe me i really does help.Im type 2 tried a few different cocktails of tablets,they never seemed to work .then my diabetic nurse (who is an absolute darling of a nurse)put me on a slow release metaformin (2000ml) and levermir slow release insulin after a few weeks on it and increasing shot size to 40mls my fasting reading is now around the 8 mark which is fantastic for me as my usual readings are around 14-15 .but my levels started to creep up so she put me on a insulin called nova rapid at every meal time im now on 6mls and my levels very rarely go above 8.Ive never been one for watching what i eat although i do eat reasonably sensible.
try the insulin you may find that it suits you fine it did me and i was at first dead set against using it .
 
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