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Type 2 On fixed doses of insulin: so confused about insulin injections

R

Red28

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello

I've been on humulin m3 insulin injections since last August ... 30 units before breakfast and 28 units before evening meal.

DN briefly mentioned changing to another type of insulin injections ... She said I'd be injecting more times daily but this would give me better control of blood glucose levels. I'm not sure which injections these might be?

I need to lose weight and get blood sugars under control again. Ideally I'd rather not take insulin injections.

Not sure what to do for the best ... Whether to increase the units of insulin I'm taking twice daily now ... or change to multiple injections or something else ??
 

Sounds like your nurse is talking about MDI to me? (Multiple daily injections.)
A long acting like a Lantus? Then shorter acting for meals. Novorapid..

You would need to get into counting the carbs in your meals for it to work successfully!

The choice at the end of the day. Is yours..
 
Thanks for the reply ... So how will I know how much insulin to inject and would I need to inject for every meal?
 
Red28 said:
Thanks for the reply ... So how will I know how much insulin to inject and would I need to inject for every meal?
Click to expand...

The question should be how many carbs am I eating in this meal? Based on how many carbs let's say "40 grams" in the meal you then bolus (inject) the appropriate amount to cover it. Your nurse or doc should sort out an insulin to carb ratio for you. But it can still be trial & error getting the blood levels right..
 
Red28 said:
Thanks for the reply ... So how will I know how much insulin to inject and would I need to inject for every meal?
Click to expand...

That's the fun of being diabetic. Figuring out your carb intake and the corresponding dose of insulin. There is loads of info on these forums about that, don't worry, you're in the right place
 
Red28 said:
I need to lose weight and get blood sugars under control again. Ideally I'd rather not take insulin injections.
Click to expand...

OK.. I'm going to tag in @daisy1

Along with a few other T2s.. I've been doing MDI for 30? Years.. No choice as a T1.

But your diet maybe holding you back...? Don't take this personally. There are some killer hidden carbs out there just waiting to scupper yer blood..?

@Bluetit1802 @Oldvatr @bulkbiker @Squire Fulwood @Indy51 @JohnEGreen @pleinster

****. Nearly forgot @AndBreathe

You should get some balanced common sense!
 
mist said:
That's the fun of being diabetic. Figuring out your carb intake and the corresponding dose of insulin. There is loads of info on these forums about that, don't worry, you're in the right place
Click to expand...

The carb and insulin ratio sounds very confusing at this stage but I'm sure there's lots of info on these forums ... It's like being diabetic all over again.

I'd managed to control it very well for the first 11 years then I got terribly ill with one thing and another but I need to take control of the beast again.
 
If you want to get off insulin completely it will mean having a good look at your diet and reducing any carbs drastically. The worst culprits are potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, cereals and anything made with flour (in addition to all the sugary stuff). Do you eat these foods, and in what quantities? Reducing carbs will not only lower your blood sugars dramatically but you should also lose weight, so a double bonus. Diet is the key, more so than medication.

There are many people on this forum that will help and guide you with a new diet plan. It isn't a starvation diet because you can still eat anything you like that is low in carbs or has no carbs. In fact, it is a sustainable and very enjoyable way of eating.

If you are prepared to do this you need to speak with your nurse first because the amount of insulin you inject will need changing if you are to avoid hypos, so don't rush in to it.
 

I have been eating a lot of carbs but recently been trying to cut down.
 
Red28 said:
I have been eating a lot of carbs but recently been trying to cut down.
Click to expand...

If you are attempting to cut down the carbs? Keep an eye on your blood levels more regularly.. (Assuming you have a meter.)
The insulin you are already using (dosage wise.) may send you low? "Hypo".

There can be such a "margin of error" with a basal/bolus regime (MDI.) personally it's still not a "magic bullet" for a "normal" diet.. How the insulin profile works in the body might not empathise with how the profile of a certain carb is digested? Thus one could be thrown high then hypoglycemic later? Or even the other way round..?

That's just using Novorapid to eat.. Getting the fasting levels right with Lantus (background insulin) has its own profile temperament too?

I keep my carb count down. Less insulin means (in short.) less dramatic peaks & troughs for me if it does screw up?!
Feel free to look in the T1 section? Lol, we don't always get it right!
 
@Red28 Youre on fixed dose of mixed insulin, so you shouldn't lower your carbs without checking with your DSN. A sudden drop in carbs could mean nasty lows.
 

Thank you ... this info is a real eye opener. I've been doing it wrong all these years as I took the advice of the DN who has been drumming the "eat loads of carbs at every meal" mantra.

I'm very limited with food as I'm a vegetarian and suffer badly with stomach issues.
So, I don't eat eggs, meat, fish and nowadays I can't tolerate any salad whatsoever but I'm ok with milk and certain types of cheese in small quantity.

All these years I've been eating good ole porridge oats, rice, potatoes, wholemeal cereals, bread and flour ... But I can and will change my diet so that I can come off insulin and get my life back and energy and health.
 

Did you mention "milk"..? Another carby hazard for me, which can kick up the bloods for hours... It's liquid pizza!

I mirror what @azure says.. & Test your blood regularly..
 
I am a T2 that has so far avoided insulin, so I am not really able to offer much advice here. I do know that there are insulin users on this site that also have success with a Low Carb diet, and they seem to have been able to reduce insulin doses and reduced peaks and troughs. So there is strong evidence that an LC diet works well.

But heed the advice of thoae on insulin themselves, since LC works differently for us T2's, and insulin lows seem to be more of a pain for those on it, Mine occur but they are quite manageable compared to my best mate (T1) who I had to drag out of a deep hypo last night.

Review the LC threads on this site, and also www.dietdoctor.com for recipes and tips.
 
Jaylee said:
Did you mention "milk"..? Another carby hazard for me, which can kick up the bloods for hours... It's liquid pizza!

I mirror what @azure says.. & Test your blood regularly..
Click to expand...

Ooh I love milk and didn't even think of it as being 'carby'
 
I would suggest trying to cut your carbs right down as much as you possibly can. Carbs cause your blood sugars to go up which is obviously not good for us Type 2's. As a vegetarian you are slightly more limited in doing this. I would suggest taking a look at the threads here for some meal ideas.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/vegetarian-diet-forum.71/

If you do manage to low carb then you will probably have to reduce your insulin doses but I am far from knowing anything about how to do that.
Hopefully you can eat green veggies with lots of butter on them? The fat will help you feel fuller for longer. You could also try some fasting (again watching your meds). This seems to work very well in bring blood sugar levels down quickly.
Have you heard of Dr Jason Fung? He is a Canadian nephrologist who has some great ideas concerning insulin resistance and Type 2. There are lots of videos of his on you tube and www.dietdoctor.com. I'm a huge fan of his.
As with everything here. I'm no medic so am just advising from my limited personal experience.
Hope that helps a bit.
Regards
Mark
 
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