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Is insulin necessary?

N

nikolakiss

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Insulin is necessary ,in order ,for cells to absorb the glucose they need.

As we excercise the muscles use the glucose in the cells.

While we refuel any glucose we receive ,goes straight to the bloodstream...but if we don't bolus ,how it suppose to get in the cells?

I think that if we dont bolus ,we might keep a steady glucose in the bloodstream ,but we gonna lack of energy...
So the right order might be ,taking carbs and bolusing, so the glucose goes in the cells... that way we are not going to feel tired and we are keeping a steady bloodstream glucose levels because the cells are having enough energy and wont absorve the glucose from blood.
 
Insulin does more than one thing. First it signals cells to absorb glucose. Second it inhibits the breakdown of glycogen by the liver (i.e. it has an effect on glucagon produced by alpha cells). If your pancreas beta cells are not producing enough insulin then the answer to "how it suppose to get in the cells" is clear. It doesn't and you die. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's the truth
 
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nikolakiss said:
but if we don't bolus ,how it suppose to get in the cells?
Click to expand...
Glucose will not get into the cells in any way. That's the problem. This will all remain in the bloodstream and cause ketoacidosis.
nikolakiss said:
I think that if we dont bolus ,we might keep a steady glucose in the bloodstream ,but we gonna lack of energy...
Click to expand...
Yes, we will feel tired, but very soon we just find ourself in a hyperglycemic coma

heh, google what diabetics looked like before the invention of insulin, shock content is guaranteed
 
I probably did not made my point clear. I am talking about bolusing while exercising and refueling.

From my point of view it is necessary .sure we gave to adjust to much smaller doses,but we must bolus in order to keep our energy levels steady.

And not just to consume carbs ,with out bolusing ,in order to just keep steady bloodsteam glucose
 
I don't usually bolus when I eat while exercising, I also reduce my basal insulin. So it depends (as with all things diabetes related!) I am aiming for a gradual declining blood glucose level (via the basal) for long rides, if this doesn't happen then one does need to bolus, however the effects of bolus insulin are very pronounced while exercising, so don't take much at all (I might reduce my usual 1:10 insulin:carb ratio to something on the order of 1:50, and I would be very reluctant to take more than 1 unit of novorapid for fear of then not being able to deal with a resultant drop because I don't have enough food with me)

This becomes more troublesome if you stop exercising (to have lunch for example) as the bolus dose lasts quite a long time, so I certainly have to under dose (and probably not eat too much), accept I may go a bit high shortly after eating, and then get back on my bike fairly sharpish at which point blood sugar will start heading down.
 
I agree. When you exercise insulin gets much more powerful. Some years ago I would eat 60 g carbs before exercising with no bolus insulin, just relying on the basal insulin. Then I needed some 3 IU insulin in addition, these days I am up to 7 IU, about half what I would inject without exercising. While your body will tolerate hyperglycaemia to a degree, hypo can be positively dangerous if you are swimming or cycling. (I do triathlon.)

The best is to have continuous glucose monitoring while you exercise. In another post today I describe that Abbott Libre 3, xDrip on my Android phone and my Garmin forerunner work wonders for me, a solution that I discovered 3 weeks ago.
 
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