The issue there is that some of the insulin injected has to cover glucose mobilised by the liver when we eat. Glucagon is secreted, which converts liver glycogen to glucose. In addition to causing post-meal spikes, it means injecting more insulin and this can cause weight gain. Symlin inhibits this liver glucose supply and is particularly useful for people trying to lose weight. Insulin dosage reductions of up to 30% have been reported.... Why not just inject more insulin rather than have two different injectables? ...
Hi. I don't think I agree with some of your post. Insulin itself does not cause weight gain. It enables the body to metabolise all the carbs you throw at it and if that's too many you will gain weight. I guess there may be unusual situations where the body's metabolism is not typical and needs this approach. I gain weight easily if I have too many carbs so I limit myself to around 150gm/day max with insulin to match and maintain a stable weight. If I wanted to lose weight I would just further reduce the carbs (and insulin)The issue there is that some of the insulin injected has to cover glucose mobilised by the liver when we eat. Glucagon is secreted, which converts liver glycogen to glucose. In addition to causing post-meal spikes, it means injecting more insulin and this can cause weight gain. Symlin inhibits this liver glucose supply and is particularly useful for people trying to lose weight. Insulin dosage reductions of up to 30% have been reported.
Yes, it does, and any carbohydrate that is not immediately used for energy gets pushed into cells where it is converted into fat. This why insulin is known as the anabolic hormone. It facilitates the building of both muscle and fat, both of which show up on the scale..... Insulin itself does not cause weight gain. It enables the body to metabolise all the carbs you throw at it ....
Thanks TypeZero for the extra information regarding Amylin. I'm intrigued by your name. Do you have long periods requiring zero basal insulin like I do?
Can you explain what you mean by overloading insulin?
Metformin decreases supply of liver glucose. Anyone tried it?
No it only very marginally increases that risk if you also have other tablets. It does not affect insulin output from the pancreas; only the liver and that is background output reduction. I'm one of the many who have Metformin with insulin. My DN suggested I stayed with it as it has other apparent benefits e.g. some cancer risk reduction. I did halve the dose. It reduces my BS by around 1 mmol.Would this not in theory increase your risk of hypoglycaemia greatly?
No it only very marginally increases that risk if you also have other tablets. It does not affect insulin output from the pancreas; only the liver and that is background output reduction. I'm one of the many who have Metformin with insulin. My DN suggested I stayed with it as it has other apparent benefits e.g. some cancer risk reduction. I did halve the dose. It reduces my BS by around 1 mmol.
Yes, I am interested in T1 experience with metformin because it seems like a no-brainer for T1s to me. T1s make too much glucagon because insulin is injected under the skin and doesn't come from the pancreas. In non-diabetics, the liver stops supplying glucose when it sees insulin, which comes through the portal vein from the pancreas next to it. T1 livers never get that message. So something that inhibits liver glucose would seem to make sense. But Metformin is not considered as T1 treatment for some reason. I tried it a while back and it seemed to reduce blood glucose. But the effect also seemed to be inconsistent, so I stopped it. I was eating high-carb back then. I want to try it again now that my control is much better.... If my basal needs are reduced then the risk of hypoglycaemia would reduce as you would have less background insulin in your body so anything like exercise would be less likely to cause hypoglycaemia
Wow that’s interesting. I’m newly diagnosed so my medical team are a bit nervous to change anything yet but I will have to do my research as it may be something I can benefit from.
If my basal needs are reduced then the risk of hypoglycaemia would reduce as you would have less background insulin in your body so anything like exercise would be less likely to cause hypoglycaemia
Yes, I am interested in T1 experience with metformin because it seems like a no-brainer for T1s to me. T1s make too much glucagon because insulin is injected under the skin and doesn't come from the pancreas. In non-diabetics, the liver stops supplying glucose when it sees insulin, which comes through the portal vein from the pancreas next to it. T1 livers never get that message. So something that inhibits liver glucose would seem to make sense. But Metformin is not considered as T1 treatment for some reason. I tried it a while back and it seemed to reduce blood glucose. But the effect also seemed to be inconsistent, so I stopped it. I was eating high-carb back then. I want to try it again now that my control is much better.
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