Tempted but scared

nessals946 said:

I know its a very dangerous thing to do,but im sorely tempted to stop taking my bolus insulin and just have basal.If i stopped just the novorapid for a little while then i could kickstart my weight loss.
Before i get shot down,ive had t1d for 43 years and im sick of struggling with my weight.Ive been a size 6 up to a size 14 but if my blood sugars are good its always ended up with me being heavier.It seems i can only be thin when i barely eat or inject.

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Hi @nessals946 I'm in the same position of putting on weight because of insulin. I eat low carb so I rarely have to use my Novorapid, nothing has happened to me yet. It might be as @EllieM's dietitian says about basal being too high. I've yet to test to see if my basal dose is correct. but it is a bit of a pig when you eat low carb and walk after meals and still put on weight as I do.

The title and fact you posted in eating disorders shows you know the risks. It's your body, your risk of complications.

nessals946 said:

I know its a very dangerous thing to do,but im sorely tempted to stop taking my bolus insulin and just have basal.If i stopped just the novorapid for a little while then i could kickstart my weight loss.
Before i get shot down,ive had t1d for 43 years and im sick of struggling with my weight.Ive been a size 6 up to a size 14 but if my blood sugars are good its always ended up with me being heavier.It seems i can only be thin when i barely eat or inject.

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Hi Nessals, surely any kick start to your weight loss would not be worth sky high sugars (if that was the result)? What if you ended up in hospital? I would agree with Sue, I would go low carb and with lots of testing etc, see whether that meant I could reduce my insulin (how much are you on now?). As for weight loss, I haven't had to do this myself but surely diet and exercise would work unless you have some underlying issues. I am a strong believer that there is no easy way when it comes to these things, for anybody not just those with diabetes. When I was diagnosed I ended up in hospital with suspected ketosis, this was because my body had started to burn fat for fuel, is that what you are prepared to risk? They told me it comes on very quickly and without immediate treatment you die. No messing.

I did this. It nearly killed me twice.

I took my Lantus morning and night, but rarely, if ever took my Novorapid because I wanted to lose weight. I ended up with two near fatal DKAs, where my young son saved my life by calling an ambulance. He was only 7 at the time, and had two terrifying experiences watching me almost die. I spent a week in intensive care both times, and we’re still not sure of the long term effects. I’ve lost some feeling in my feet, and it’s possible that the fainting episodes I experience when I change position are a neuropathy.

Please take your insulin, it’s really not worth the risk just to be thin. Have you considered a very low carb or keto way of eating? You still get to eat well, lose weight, and on keto I find I need very little bolus. Some days I don’t actually need any at all, except for a couple of units at stupid o’clock in the morning to beat the dawn phenomenon. But I take maybe 1-2u with a very low carb (but satisfying) meal. Sugars are in range and I’m losing weight.

Sending hugs. It’s hard, I know xxx

Is your weight more important to you than stable blood sugars and all the benefits that brings with it.....that's the question....?

Starving your body from glucose if not taking the needed bolus to keep bg below e.g. 10 mmol/L for your main meals and thereby incurring ketosis is definitely not a recommendable way to loose weight. Ketoacidosis is the ultimate endpoint of this with both very severe complications, coma or death as potential end result.

As written above, diet and exercise, potentially one of the low-carb approaches would be the thing for you to try?
But as type1 you always need to take required basal and then whatever needed bolus to keep your bg in control. The consequences of being overweight are less than the potential consequences of a ketoacidosis episode due to too high bg and no insulin in your system. Don't play Russian roulette with your health.

Btw, times are really changing!
I have been member of a diabetes science forum for 20+ years. And never have we had one single type1 reported being overweight. Ever.

Personally I even struggle to keep my weight up. I need to force myself to eat more and its like nothing sticks on me no matter what I engage in. A high activity level and luck with the genetics to have a high level of metabolism means a lot I think.
But we are all different and not all get the same chance in the lottery of life.

Celsus said:

I have been member of a diabetes science forum for 20+ years. And never have we had one single type1 reported being overweight. Ever.

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Ha ha, that's strange......I am overweight, but its not because of too much insulin, its too much food and lack of exercise....

novorapidboi26 said:

Ha ha, that's strange......I am overweight, but its not because of too much insulin, its too much food and lack of exercise....

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Yes @novorapidboi26 and I am an eager learner and take in these new revelations with gratitude!
Through history we have of course experienced many type1s that over time 'evolve' to also be type2s, but those typically were due to age and not overweight as such. But our ability in 'these modern times' to treat type1 more intensely and maintain bg levels within 'acceptable levels' no matter our food intake is probably the reason why we now will start to see overweight type1s more frequently. It was certainly revealing to see several of you type1s posting right one after the other the challenge of being overweight and having type1.

Celsus said:

Yes @novorapidboi26 and I am an eager learner and take in these new revelations with gratitude!
Through history we have of course experienced many type1s that over time 'evolve' to also be type2s, but those typically were due to age and not overweight as such. But our ability in 'these modern times' to treat type1 more intensely and maintain bg levels within 'acceptable levels' no matter our food intake is probably the reason why we now will start to see overweight type1s more frequently. It was certainly revealing to see several of you type1s posting right one after the other the challenge of being overweight and having type1.

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So are you saying historically, type ones feared unstable blood sugar and so limited their diet in the absence of modern dosing techniques.....?

it makes sense....

@nessals946 ... I'm not a T1, but that sounds like downright Russian roulette

Celsus said:

Btw, times are really changing!
I have been member of a diabetes science forum for 20+ years. And never have we had one single type1 reported being overweight. Ever.

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I’ve been overweight for the entire 20 years I’ve been type one, with the exception of a couple of years where I did exactly what the OP is considering. As I said, it nearly killed me twice - and I’ve learned my lesson. It’s not worth it.

I take 17u Tresiba a day, so not a lot at all x

The amount of insulin taken is highly variable and individual. All that matters is that it is right for you.
How tall are you? As it might just be that you are the right weight for your height.

Just a bit taller than me! So only just into overweight at your current weight. Probably worth sticking with weight watchers or trying low carb over stopping bolus...

novorapidboi26 said:

So are you saying historically, type ones feared unstable blood sugar and so limited their diet in the absence of modern dosing techniques.....?

it makes sense....

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Yes. Back in the pre-historic days when I was diagnosed it was not possible to measure the bg at home. Even at the hospital it could take hours to get the result. And the 'therapy' you had to follow was strict adherence to a fixed intake of a daily fixed amount of insulin units no matter what you did. And all you ate during the day was put on a scale and scrutinized down to the last gram before you could start eating anything. So yep, I had aka the same breakfast day in and day out for more than 15 years.
And I bet you many diabetics of my generation can still remember precisely the time for each daily food intake, what it was supposed to be, how many grams of food in total and how many grams of carbs it contained. You essentially had to eat to feed your insulin. All executed with military precision.

...Except, as we all know today, it gave terrible bg levels never the less. And typically resulted in severe complications within just a 8-12 year timeframe from initial diagnosis.... But back then the hospital staff praised you for exceptional good control as long as you just didn't have ketones in your urine. Little did we know....
So due to this strict control and no diversion (if you complied to it, which most of us tiny skinny type1 kids did) we typically also remained tiny and skinny as we grew up.

Thank God we got better gadgets in our hands, the medical world started to understand how we could exchange and swap food items on our diet with others of equal carbs, we got bg readers for home use and fast acting insulin with a reasonable predictable effect curve.

Suddenly enabling us to start eating very flexible, eat when we were hungry and skip other meals if not. Or take that forbidden food and indulge ourselves in diverse palate pleasures which previously were dictated to be absolute no-gos!
So now we can shoot insulin to counter and match our chosen food and lifestyle and no longer do it the other way around.
But the previously indoctrinated discipline will probably still linger in the back of our heads...

Mel dCP said:

I’ve been overweight for the entire 20 years I’ve been type one, with the exception of a couple of years where I did exactly what the OP is considering. As I said, it nearly killed me twice - and I’ve learned my lesson. It’s not worth it.

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I know we shouldn't ask for the age of a lady so I wont.
But for kids getting diagnosed with Type1, it typically wasn't happening until you in reality had had the disease already for like 6-9 months or so, until it became soooo obvious that you were like 8-12 kilos below a decent weight for your BMI to be 'normal'. That of course next to your final stage of permanent nausea, vomiting on a daily basis, living next to the water tap and the toilet to pee 24/7.

So you were discovered 'early' to be type1 after your onset, so not completely just a skeleton when getting the right Dx confirmed?
Or your time of Dx was at a more 'mature' age?