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Type 2 Recently moved onto insulin, but confusion awaits!

G

Graham76

Member
Messages
17
If this has been asked before, I'm sorry.


I’ve been T2 diagnosed now for quite a long time and as a result I’ve been on Matformin and Gliclozide. However, I was recently been moved onto insulin by the hospital. They ask I take one shot a day first thing after checking my bloods, which are normally in the rage of 16+ (sometimes as high as 20), and then check again before meals and make a note of the results.

The first day I started taking my shots my blood readings dropped to 10 at lunch and 11 by dinner time. By bedtime I’d already snacked on something and my results were in the region of 14.

Now, the question is, those initial readings of 10 and 11 have never since been repeated. A week later the hospital have ramped up the dosage (asking me to adjust the amount again by the weekend if the results are still high), but, again, the results have never shown like they had before.

I understand food plays a large part of the result process, but at the moment I’m lost. For example, before my morning shot this morning my blood readings stood at 16.4. So I made a small banana smoothie for breakfast with semi skimmed milk (which I read was a good thing for diabetics to have) and when I checked my bloods again more than two hours later, they still read high (15.2).

So the question is why would I see a onetime magical change in my blood readings after my first shot of insulin and never see them again? Even on the higher dose I’ve taken today the numbers just don’t seem to drop.

Any thoughts or knowledge?
 
Hi @Graham76

What insulin are you taking? It sounds like a basal insulin. It also sounds like your team may make further adjustments to your dose.

I suggest you not only record your blood sugar but also what you're eating. You should then be able to find what amount of carbs per meal works best for you.

Smoothies are absorbed very quickly and bananas can be high in carbs. Maybe try an option with less carbs. Keep testing frequently.
 
Wow - I can't think of anything worse that you could be having to eat.
The smoothie making process breaks up the cells, making the starches easy to digest. The banana is high carb, the milk is high carb, so your blood sugar will rise. That is high my what I have found spikes my BG.
As a totally diet controlled type 2 I might have scrambled eggs with a bit of grated cheese and half a tomato thinly sliced.
 
I presume the insulin you're taking is levemir or lantus? a slow acting basal insulin - for type 1s it is used to keep our Blood Sugars level and stable through out the day and night even if we don't eat. For T2s it should help bring them down overall - you don't mention the dose you're currently taking - but would you say in general yours have come down all be it slightly?

Do you know if you're producing enough of your own insulin, or if you're insulin resistant? if you are IR then you might have to take very large dosages, I'd be inclined to keep your DSN informed and they will help you, but as Azure said keep a food diary as well as a Blood test result diary - it will help them help you.

Have you also tried the LCHF diet/way of life? As you body can't control the blood sugar then maybe reducing/cutting carb would help?

PS the other insulin you could be on or could ask to try is a mixed insulin x2 daily at breakfast and dinner/evening meal
 

The insulin I'm taking, it's called Abasaglar.
 

Ah the levels have come down slightly from what they were. I started out with readings of 28, sometimes 20, so to come down to around 13 is, for me, a good sign. However, when I first started my levels dropped to 10 and 11 on two consecutive tests, but then rose again and never went back down to those levels.

As regards the dosage, I started at 12 (upped to 16 recently) and if my readings haven't altered much by the weekend, then, I have to ramp it up to 20.

I'm currently looking into new dietary methods, which was where i discovered the banana smoothie recommendation. I trusted Google, but there seems to be a wealth of information here to look over regarding this.
 
so a slow release, basal insulin then. You take it at the same time everyday?
 
long shot but maybe the 10 or 11 results may have tied in, just be chance, with a lower carb intake ?
 
slip said:
long shot but maybe the 10 or 11 results may have tied in, just be chance, with a lower carb intake ?
Click to expand...

Very possible. Though to be honest, until very recently it's only now that I've become more conscious of what I'm eating. Its a minefield. Lol.
 
LOL, if you've been following the NHSs 'eat well plate' or the main stream of thinking of what should be eaten, as a T2 it becomes the 'Eat ill plate' - basic synopsis of LCHF is avoid carbs (potatoes, rice, pasta and bread - white or brown they all have lots of carbs) - as well as sugar obviously, and your body will use fat for energy - whether that fat comes from your own body or what (good) fats you consume.
 
Graham76 said:
Very possible. Though to be honest, until very recently it's only now that I've become more conscious of what I'm eating. Its a minefield. Lol.
Click to expand...

Keep a record of what you eat. Carb counting is crucial and the basics aren't hard. Don't suddenly cut your carbs right down as you're in insulin. You need to reduce carbs gradually (if that's what you want to do).

Experiement logically with meals. You'll find lots of the carb info on the packets. It's Total Carbs you're looking at eg if you normally have two slices of toast for breakfast, look at the bread packet and you can work out how many carbs that is. If you eat yoyr two slices and have a high blood sugar after, then you know you either need to eat less carbs or have more insulin.

If in any doubt, speak to your nurse first. Go slowly and steadily.
 
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