sad with insulin

[cdpm]

type 2

i use insulin
and it makes me sad
because it makes me so hungry and the weight gain isnt stopping
and when i can afford some low carb food
im still very hungry
so i did a few experiments to make sure it was the insulin
and went off for 2 weeks
3 things happened
my extreme hunger went away and i lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks
i felt so much better not so ravenous
but my numbers went to the 12s consistently
regardless of what i ate or didnt eat

so im faced with the choice--
do i use the insulin for the better numbers (blood sugar numbers)
or not and feel less hunger and not keep gaining weight

i feel sad everytime i have to inject
everytime i eat

 

[Fenn]

It’s a tough question, is the higher bg worse for your health or is the extra weight more harmful? I’m not sure, what is it making you sad, the actual injection or the hassle of working out your dose? Personally I hate the carb counting, I find it such a drag. If it’s the injections, I have recently started jabbing my arm with my basal, I much prefer it to the tummy, have you tried it? Seems to have the same effect as the tummy on bg but it’s like giving my tummy a break.

Easy for me to say but please try and find some peace with it, high numbers can only end badly, hope you find a way through it.

 

[cdpm]

im so heavy now that im buying the biggest clothing
i can find and afford
and having trouble with self care like cleaning myself
i dont want to gain so much it gets so i absolutely cant do
self care
so im going to get worse in one of the ways
using insulin-- gain weight
not use insulin--complications

there has to be an answer

 

[cdpm]

It’s a tough question, is the higher bg worse for your health or is the extra weight more harmful? I’m not sure, what is it making you sad, the actual injection or the hassle of working out your dose? Personally I hate the carb counting, I find it such a drag. If it’s the injections, I have recently started jabbing my arm with my basal, I much prefer it to the tummy, have you tried it? Seems to have the same effect as the tummy on bg but it’s like giving my tummy a break.

Easy for me to say but please try and find some peace with it, high numbers can only end badly, hope you find a way through it.

the injections do hurt alot
as i cant reach any non painful spots
would it work if i tried my arm above my wrist ?
i may be able to do it there
i dont mind working out my doses thankfully

whats sad is that i know that the insulin makes me hungry
but i seem to need it and it is hard to not eat again in less than 2 hours later
but i feel ravenous and will likely need insulin again but 2 hours is too soon
and im very insulin resistent and the large doses are scary
and the guilt and self blame causes shame for being type 2

 

[Marie 2]

Have you ever had a C-peptide test to see how much insulin you are still making? I am suspicious because when you stopped insulin you lost weight fast. And an antibody test?

What happens is when you don't have insulin to utilize your food, food just goes through you not broken into fuel for your body. Weight loss is common with type one before diagnosis because they aren't utilizing their food without insulin. Once insulin is started they are all of a sudden utilizing their food and gain weight because they usually didn't actually need all the food they were eating.

Fast weight loss isn't as common with a type 2 stopping insulin because usually they still make insulin, they just don't use it well.

To prevent weight gain with insulin you need to better your insulin settings. I am not a type two, but I am on insulin as a type one. One of the mistakes people make is they eat to their insulin, not take insulin to what they eat. Weight gain is too much food. That can really vary per person, unfair but it's life. Make sure you aren't dosing your insulin and then eating to make sure you ate enough for what you took. Eating extra unneeded food, and then the extra insulin will make you gain weight. Plus if you are taking too much insulin you will get hungry to fit the insulin you took.

It's not just carbs, too much fat will make you gain too. Even too much protein can cause problems. You want to make sure your insulin usage fits what you are eating and that it's not too much.

 

[Fenn]

the injections do hurt alot
as i cant reach any non painful spots
would it work if i tried my arm above my wrist ?
i may be able to do it there
i dont mind working out my doses thankfully

whats sad is that i know that the insulin makes me hungry
but i seem to need it and it is hard to not eat again in less than 2 hours later
but i feel ravenous and will likely need insulin again but 2 hours is too soon
and im very insulin resistent and the large doses are scary
and the guilt and self blame causes shame for being type 2

Hi, sounds like a viscous circle, I am no expert but I think I might go Very low carb if you are able, eating enough fat should hopefully stop you being hungry, it did great things for me, but as I say I’m no expert.

I again am no expert about this but I would guess you have to be careful not to inject into a vein, that’s probly why google shows injection sites as tummy, back of upper arms and outer thighs/butt. Have a google to check.

I feel terrible for you and wished I could offer something useful, the shame we feel is due to this horrible largeist world, walk a mile in someone else’s shoes huh. What I believe is the type two makes us fat not the fat makes us type two, I think the word is metabolic? So no guilt or shame is appropriate, that just fuels the circle.

I will be watching the forum for your progress and success story.

 

[Trevor vP]

type 2

i use insulin
and it makes me sad
because it makes me so hungry and the weight gain isnt stopping
and when i can afford some low carb food
im still very hungry
so i did a few experiments to make sure it was the insulin
and went off for 2 weeks
3 things happened
my extreme hunger went away and i lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks
i felt so much better not so ravenous
but my numbers went to the 12s consistently
regardless of what i ate or didnt eat

so im faced with the choice--
do i use the insulin for the better numbers (blood sugar numbers)
or not and feel less hunger and not keep gaining weight

i feel sad everytime i have to inject
everytime i eat

Lower Carb meals will reduce the amount of Insulin you need to inject, exercise will reduce the amount of insulin you need to inject. Loosing weight will reduce insulin resistance if you type 2 therefore over longer term reduce the amount of insulin you need to inject.

For cheaper low carb foods idea I use
Breakfast
handful Omega 4 Seeds, half hand full Chia Seeds 100ml Full Fat Milk, some berries, some yoghurt 50 ml, warm it all together on the stove. (I use this before a half ironman and has plenty energy and chia seeds help to keep you full and a small amount goes a long way)

Lunch
Eggs ( Try different methods )
Salad
Green Veg
Red peppers
Mix and match make a omelet with the peppers or some onion

cheese (depending on country this can vary in price )

You can do this, by reaching out on the forum we know you want to work this out. Keep us updated on your progress

 

[cdpm]

hi thankyou for the great responses.

i wish i could say things are better
but so far its just roadblocks to
improvements
such as teeth issues i didnt even mention.
i have difficulty with meat l like as
for various reasons the dentists
wont pull the 3 i need pulled until
he pulls them all in dec/jan
so meanwhile anything making contact
on the 3 bad ones is awful.
then when they all get pulled a
whole new ballgame starts (refiguring out what i can eat and pain).
so with the higher carb ive had to use
more insulin be more hungry and gain more
weight.
i have a blender and a food processor and a crockpot
but not the skills or knowledge to use them
for the sausages and ground beef i have.
when i eat the high carb food i also
can see the pics of rotting feet so i feel
even worse and my skin is bruised from
the injections
sorry for going on

 

[Fenn]

I searched “low carb crock pot recipes” I don’t even know what a crock pot is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keeXqzcnNCc

this was the first thing that popped up, looks easy, soft and inexpensive, you can make cooking/baking fun and healthy, what do you have to lose?

You are not going on! You are sounding off and reaching out, if not here, then where? I know there are people (that will never post) reading your posts and feeling better just from knowing there is someone going through the exact same stuff, wishing they were brave enough to ask the questions, brave enough to bear their soul, brave enough to seek help and try to get better. Just by posting you are taking the first step, you are not going on.

 

[Member496333]

This is not advice, but in your position I would try to eliminate all carbohydrate. At least in the short term in order to kickstart some fat burning. Eggs and fish should be fairly easy going on your teeth? At first you would need to offset the carbohydrate with dietary fat but after a short while your body will start using its own fat stores and you should find that you’re very rarely hungry.

HOWEVER: be advised that this approach would dramatically reduce your injected insulin requirements and would only be advisable if you are knowledgeable enough and have the equipment to monitor for hypoglycaemia in the event of insulin overdosing. I’m not an insulin user so can’t help with that.

 

[cdpm]

went food shopping today
i found cans of tuna at 1.49 cdn each
and cans of ham at 1.25 each
and so far have decided to eat as much as i can
of foods that dont require insulin
there are some eggs here
and some cheese
i like all those foods
but how do i make a menu from them?
not 3x a day but maybe twice a day?
ham and eggs
then tuna and cheese for a 2nd meal?
i have sausage too but upon cooking they
get a tough outside to them

 

[Marie 2]

Next time on your trip add some lettuce and a few low carb veggies to add to your meal. Canned string beans are pretty low carb and the canned ones are usually soft and easy to eat. Canned asparagus is more expensive but very soft usually too. If you can get frozen spears of asparagus they are usually softer, the whole spear can be harder to chew. Lettuces would be great and add some bulk. Fresh or frozen broccoli and cauliflower can be cooked well and made soft and cauliflower comes in rice cauliflower that looks like rice. Just cook everything really well to soften so it's easier to eat.

It would open up more variation in food. Cheese over veggies, veggies mixed with your protein. Protein with rice cauliflower. If you get some coconut cream you can grill the coconut cream with the cauliflower rice to change it up. Low carb plain yogurt mixed with veggies as a sauce can change it up too.

I also suggest you start using your blender. You don't really need to learn a blender. You just learn what you like to put in it. If and when you get your teeth pulled it will be invaluable for food. A low or no carb protein powder, you can get them flavored mixed with milk. Also even low carbers usually will eat some berries which is a nice treat over yogurt.

A crockpot is also easy, you just throw stuff in it and cook over time. It would be great to throw some veggies and protein in it to soften up because of it's slower or longer cook time. If you have any spices you like you can experiment with adding a little to change up the flavor.

 

[Trevor vP]

went food shopping today
i found cans of tuna at 1.49 cdn each
and cans of ham at 1.25 each
and so far have decided to eat as much as i can
of foods that dont require insulin
there are some eggs here
and some cheese
i like all those foods
but how do i make a menu from them?
not 3x a day but maybe twice a day?
ham and eggs
then tuna and cheese for a 2nd meal?
i have sausage too but upon cooking they
get a tough outside to them

Some ideas

A. Omelet with egg/ham/cheese

B. Scrambled eggs.

C. Tuna and Cheese if you get some lettuce with that nice lunch.

D. Spanish fatata


Try get some green vegetables, even if frozen so you can buy a bag and just heat a small amount and add them as a small side dish or mix into fatata as really important to get nutrients in your diet.

 

[cdpm]

Have you ever had a C-peptide test to see how much insulin you are still making? I am suspicious because when you stopped insulin you lost weight fast. And an antibody test?

What happens is when you don't have insulin to utilize your food, food just goes through you not broken into fuel for your body. Weight loss is common with type one before diagnosis because they aren't utilizing their food without insulin. Once insulin is started they are all of a sudden utilizing their food and gain weight because they usually didn't actually need all the food they were eating.

Fast weight loss isn't as common with a type 2 stopping insulin because usually they still make insulin, they just don't use it well.

To prevent weight gain with insulin you need to better your insulin settings. I am not a type two, but I am on insulin as a type one. One of the mistakes people make is they eat to their insulin, not take insulin to what they eat. Weight gain is too much food. That can really vary per person, unfair but it's life. Make sure you aren't dosing your insulin and then eating to make sure you ate enough for what you took. Eating extra unneeded food, and then the extra insulin will make you gain weight. Plus if you are taking too much insulin you will get hungry to fit the insulin you took.

It's not just carbs, too much fat will make you gain too. Even too much protein can cause problems. You want to make sure your insulin usage fits what you are eating and that it's not too much.

so likely i dont need the 120 units the label says to inject daily?
that would be 360 grams of carbs for me a day with my 1 to 3 ratio
alot of carbs way too many

i actually dont know who decided on the 120 units (rapid insulin)
i have always set my doses according to my numbers and amount of food
and its composition
the labels used to say use as directed
my normal procedure has been to decide on what im eating
then figure out if i need insulin for it and how much
i cant always take the insulin before i eat because sometimes
i cant eat all that i thought i could
i dont think im going to try for the 120 units no matter if
the label says it or not cause its way too much

 

[cdpm]

does anyone use the older routines
the nph one?
i believe its just 1 or 2 injections a day
and it covers both basal and meals?
does it work well? and can it be self adjusted?

i was just thinking maybe that would give me less
needles to have to take

 

[Member496333]

Always keep in mind, if you have a lot of fat to burn off, and you’re not eating carbohydrate, the odds are that you may barely need to eat at all more than once a day. Nothing much easier or cheaper than not eating. You could probably fast for 24h periods with little trouble. But again you would of course have to be extremely careful with insulin dosing.

 

[cdpm]

Always keep in mind, if you have a lot of fat to burn off, and you’re not eating carbohydrate, the odds are that you may barely need to eat at all more than once a day. Nothing much easier or cheaper than not eating. You could probably fast for 24h periods with little trouble. But again you would of course have to be extremely careful with insulin dosing.

as it is now since the needles hurt so much
im also working on eating less frequently
trying to eat only twice with the goal of
only once ( i used to do omad)
that would bring it down to 2 needles a day
also i inject my basal at the same time as
one of my meals to get most of the needles
over with rather than needles at 3 separate times
its still 3 but seems less that way
i have 4 strips available a day and dont
always use all 4 so i can do extra testing
with the dosing
should i be able to get to the once a day eating again
to make sure for adjusting insulin carefully

 

[jape]

Cdpm - I notice in your profile that you live in Canada. In which province? If you live in Ontario, Quebec or the Yukon, and using insulin, you can get the Libre system through the provincial health plan - so no need for strips.

I have been diabetic for 13 years, and have used insulin for 11 and a half years. This means more than 12,000 injections during that time. What I found is do not hesitate when injecting the insulin. That helps not to hurt. Occasionally, I would hit a nerve, it would hurt somewhat.

Also, since I have been eating low carb for the last 4 years, my insulin needs have decreased dramatically. For instance, this past week, I only had to give myself 4 Novorapid injections. I do give myself though a Tresiba injection daily.

 

[Marie 2]

@cdpm
120 units of insulin is a lot. But some type 2's can be very insulin resistant. At 1 unit for 3 carbs that you have said you are doing, that's 360 carbs per day which is a lot even if you were highly active. (I still suggest trying to get tested for type 1or type 2).

You can contact your team for adjustments. But a lot of time they give you a general amount and it needs to be adjusted to what you eat and what your needs are over time. Which can change. Sometimes they just put a set amount on the package to make sure you have enough and extra in case you need it for writing the prescription purposes but it's not actually what you have to take daily?

Set amounts can easily cause an issue because then you are eating to fit the amount of insulin and hence easy weight gain. Taking an adjusted amount for what you actually eat is usually the recommendation. I prebolus half of what I think I need beforehand and the other half right after I eat. That way I can adjust the second dose to what I actually ate.

Honestly NPH is very hard to figure out and I wouldn't do it unless you have too. It has weird peaks that can be hard to figure out.

 

[cdpm]

im pretty sure my toujeo makes me hungry too
because there are the odd days i dont need any rapid
and im still just as hungry
i experimented with that too (by not using itoujeo for 1 - 2 weeks)
and wasnt near
as hungry
it just seems that i have no answer for the
hunger caused by the insulin
because even going low carb i still need the
toujeo
even the 1mg of ozempic makes no difference
and as i know it highly appears that the insulin
is the culprit thats why im sad using any
kind of insulin