@Red28 ,
@Jaylee tagged me in on this yesterday but I've only just got to it.
You've had lots of input already, all of which has merit. I'll give you my own take your scenario, as I observe it, from what you've mentioned on the thread.
Firstly, let me state, I'm not an insulin user; in fact I'm not a meds user in any format. My treasure chest of meds is joyfully empty, and always has been, so I have no personal experience of insulin use or dosing and so on, but I still feel I have some potentially useful suggestions to make.
Obviously in all of this, you need to have the support of your Medics, in order to help you manage the changes you will need to make - whatever option you choose. Each option is likely to involve a slightly different form of support, but I strongly believe you will need it, especially as you will want to be mindful of your colitis.
So, my understanding is your current regime isn't returning the sorts of blood glucose you need to stand the best chance of a long and healthy life, so something has to change. Your Medics have suggested a change of insulin from twice a day to more frequent injections.
You have stated that you currently consume a generous amount of carb, day-to-day, so it seems highly likely that moving to multiple injections each day you will need to learn to carb count, in order to be able to match your insulin doses against what you eat and drink.
For the huge majority of T2s, the most important weapon in their management of T2 is what they eat and drink. As a result, many of us have become carb aware, and many carb count, in order to track personal tolerances or targets. There have been some fabulous results from this methodology. My personal stats are in my signature. I did well, but there are others on the forum who have made far bigger shifts than me, including some who have been able to ditch their insulin altogether, and many, many who have been able to empty their diabetes meds chest totally.
It doesn't work for everyone, but it is a very impressively successful method for many, and the site's Low Carb Programme has published some gob-smacking numbers, which I don't have to hand right now.
But, in a
very rambling way; to my points.
It strikes me that moving forward you will need to gain a better understanding of carbs and how they impact your bloods, if you are to change insulin regimes and achieve more flexibility.
What I might ask you to consider is to take a short while to make your final decision, but in the meantime start to really learn how carbs affect
you. I can tell you what I do. Others can tell you what they do, but although there will be common trends, everyone has their own little nuances creating their very own, personal brand of diabetes.
If you are learning about carbs, and you have stated you would like to trim them back somewhat, you could find that by learning about carbs, and trimming them back that your insulin needs change, but in a more positive way - needing less, rather than needing more.
So, if I were in your shoes, I'd be keen to get on the learning curve to learn more about carbs and start trimming back. If I were in your shoes, with colitis, I would take the time to do a period of one or two weeks testing and recording both insulin, carbs and blood readings, before making changes at all. So, that would mean testing before you eat, then a couple of hours after, for every single meal (actually, every time you eat). If you use something like the website myfitnesspal or the book Carbs and Cals you will quickly get a handle on the numbers of carbs you are consuming at the moment.
Once you've done that you can start to trim back on the carbs. - provided you've had input from your Medics about what to do if you were to go low. If you are eating fewer carbs it is likely firstly your numbers will improve, then after a while, you might find yourself dipping a bit low for your current insulin doses. So, it would be useful (in fact it's important) to have discusses how you would trim back the insulin doses if you go consistently low.
I'd take it steadily, rather than the cold turkey approach many have adopted in order to have a decent chance of keeping your digestive system on an even keel. Big, big changes all at once can put anyone's system off balance, so I imagine yours might be a bit more delicate, and the last thing you need is a big colitis flare up.
Diabetes is a long game, so there's little point flying off the starting line only to find it drives you off plan down the road a bit.
All of that involves being organised to record foods, bloods and doses, but it can pay huge dividends.
I really do wish you well, whatever you decide to do.
Much appreciated xx
