Problems with Insulin? Side effects?

[Woollyfuller]

Hi All,

Can you help?

I'm 40 and I was diagnosed 4 months ago with Type 1 after the usual symptoms - excessive thirst / loss of eye sight etc... Within the space of 7-10 days, I went from a normal healthy fit man to Type 1.

I started out on Nova rapid and Lantus and my glucose levels have come down to healthier levels (usually around 4.5 to 7) so i must be doing something right, but 4 months on and I think I must be having some kind of side effects. I constantly feel washed out and dizzy after taking Insulin, I also seem to be getting a hunger type feeling, even within 30 minutes of eating so I know its not me actually being hungry. It is affecting my work (I have to work from home a lot) and social life and I also seem to have developed mild insomnia as I often have the hunger feeling when I try to sleep.

The consultants at the hospital (lovely as they are) don't seem to have a clue and are vague at best. They changed the Nova Rapid to Humalog to see if that would improve my situation, but it seems to have the same affect on me as Nova rapid. They keep going on about counselling and coming terms with my diagnoses, but I'm not struggling with it mentally as I've always been pretty tough in that department and this is definitely a physical problem, but again they don't seem to get where I am coming from.

I know all about Honeymoon periods and hypos, I have discussed this at length with my support team - but it's more than that. I have tried reducing and also not taking the fast acting and it does make me feel a lot better, but my glucose levels quickly go up to double figures and my eye sight starts going wobbly - so not good. I thought I might be a Type 2 at first and was possibly misdiagnosed, but further tests and the way it presented itself show I am defo a type 1..

I am sort of damned if I do and damned if I don't - talk about doing your head in! Is this something anyone else has experienced and if so what did you do to sort it out? I could really do with getting this fixed!

I am seriously looking forward to some advice!

 

[noblehead]

Try changing your basal insulin and see if this helps, some people do report to have problems with lantus and swap to an alternative insulin and they feel much better in themselves, tiredness and lethargy is one such side-effect that is often mentioned so it's certainly worth asking your DSN if you can change your basal insulin.

Other than that if this doesn't work then see your gp and ask for some some blood tests to rule out other causes for your symptoms, it may be totally unrelated to your type 1 diabetes.

 

[mrman]

Had much the same after diagnosis, arranged other tests to be done with gp as to rule out other causes. Was only when I was changed from lantus to levemir these symptoms slowly eased and eventually went.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Heathenlass]

What has already been said !
I had major problems with Lantus including much of what you and Noblehead describe . You may find that you do much better on another basal insulin. The difficulty is getting the HCP's to acknowledge that Lantus can cause problems because most people get on fine with it. I suggest you ask all the same, if they do their homework, they can see that it's not suitable for everyone and at least give another one a try.

Godd luck !

Signy

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Insulin problems are unusual but do happen. Levemir is the other popular Basal so it may be worth trying that?