Long term problems with high doses of insulin?

[bodchris]

I would be very grateful if anyone could tell me if there are any long term medical problems associated with high doses of insulin?

 

[mortigger1968]

I wud also like a answer to this if possible

 

[claymic]

Bump

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[phoenix]

I think it's an almost impossible question to answer. It's a chicken and egg situation . If you need insulin to prevent high glucose levels then you need what you need , not enough insulin results high glucose levels. Very high levels can be immediately dangerous and sustained high levels causes complications over time.
What do you mean by high?
Insulin needs change with age, weight ,fitness, whether in adolescence (may need more) ,pregnancy (needs rise), illness (needs rise), some drugs like steroids (needs rise)
There is a chart in pumping insulin . For a reasonably fit T1 this works out at just under .5U per kilo per day. So a person of 45kg would need about 20U a day and someone of 90kg about 41u a day. This dose is consistent with the average dose used by the people in the 50 year Joslin medallist study at 0.46U per kg.

If the person has any of the other 'problem's above needs rise and so insulin use will vary over time.

Insulin resistance is the biggest factor in higher insulin requirements.

There are actually some genetic conditions that require several hundreds of units of insulin per kg per day.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/5/1240/F4.expansion.html
This doctor reports someone requiring 35,000 units a day. http://www.consultant360.com/content/insulin-dosing-how-high-can-you-go
These people have many problems in addition to severe insulin resistance . The insulin however is needed to help prevent additional problems.

To an extent this also applies to people who have a large amount of insulin resistance,maybe needing upwards of 200U a day as described by the doctor above. Unfortunately as weight rises so do insulin needs , being overweight increases insulin resistance. Being overweight carries it's own risks for health problems. Without the insulin though to lower glucose we are back to the original problems of high glucose.

So I don't really think there can be an answer and why I described it as a bit of a chicken and egg situation
Losing weight and becoming more active though both work to increase insulin sensitivity and that helps reduce insulin needs.


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[tonyS54]

I would be very grateful if anyone could tell me if there are any long term medical problems associated with high doses of insulin?

This was discussed in January unfortunately the thread has been locked.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/recent-insulin-study.50729/