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Type 1 - Strange turn in insulin sensitivity

G

Griffter15

Well-Known Member
Messages
68
I've had a bit of a turn since Friday. My insulin sensitivity has really increased and I'm not sure why.

I do a lot of exercise but I've been in a similar routine for a long time and not changed anything dramatically.

I've been eating a lower carb diet since January (typically 80g - 100g a day) so I usually have about 8-10 units of novorapid a day, and 16 or 18 units of lantus split in two doses.

It started Friday and as continued all weekend. I had my libre on Friday so have a screenshot.had 2 units bolus at 9 with a breakfast bar, and some cheese and nuts. I had 4 units bolus at lunchtime with some pasta. But inbetween times I had to keep topping up with lucozade and sweets.

On one hand it's great. Haven't been above 7 all weekend. I took some snacks before bed last night as I was worried. Expected to wake up high but at 4am I was 5mmol so I had a cereal bar. And 8am I was 3.9.

I guess my only option is to start reducing my basal.

Has anyone had a similar experience to this?
 
I think you are right, we had a similar situation. Think about lowering your basal and also do a BG trend analysis. Find the periods of the day where you had most hypo's. Those should be corrected with lower insulin doses. Not only sensitivity, but the insulin/carbohydrate ratio changes.
 
my numbers have been low all this week, I wondered whether it was because our office was so cold? will start a new bottle of basal as this morning basal alone dropped me by 10 points (not pretty). Ive been carrying a whole packet a biscuits to work every day...too random sometimes.
 
I'd be perfectly happy with those numbers , but that's my personal preference. Things that normally improve my insulin sensitivity are:-
> Weight loss (with weight gain causing more insulin resistance) , I see an improvement when I'm below 95 kg.
> Temperature changes (the colder the better for me but some people report warmer conditions to lower their BS)
> Increased exercise or more intense exercise. This week I started cycling further and faster on my road bike on my daily commute and my FBS has been mainly in the mid 4's.
> When I dropped saturated fats completely.
 

Don't get me wrong I'm more than happy sitting inbetween 4 and 7 the issue is having to keep topping my self up with sugar every hour or so. And if I didn't have my libre I'm sure some of those 4s would have been 3s or worse.

The weight loss is an interesting one. I'm quite lean but I don't calorie count and think I probably drop down a few pounds when I'm not drinking. That could be it.

I'm back to normal insulin sensitivity now by the way.

I think primarily it must be down to exercise and low carbs. I usually get an insulin sensitivity increase about 10-12 hours after running as the muscles try to top up glycogen. Because I've been eating very little carbs maybe the effect has extended over a few days.

I guess I'll never know. Just have to react to whoever the body decides to do.
 
That's correct-react to what your body is telling you. I've been diabetic type 1 for 61 yrs & there have been many changes throughout this time. There have been times when my testing & body demand xtra sugar throughout the day even though there have been no other changes that I'm aware of, and times when I run high, for no apparent reason. Of course, site injection, stress, etc. play a part but doesn't seem to explain why these two scenarios can go on for 2,3, or 4 days then suddenly correct. When xtra sugar is required more often, I do what you do and inject a bit less until "normal" returns. And vice versa. Take care.
 
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Yes. I have been type 1 for 30 years on a Medtronic pump. I have had the exact same problem. I have had to reduced my basal rate by 0.15 to 0.25 and also my carb ratios. Still getting 1-2 hypos a day. This has been going on for about 4 weeks now. Had a similar period of 2 weeks last summer but never before. The only thing I can come up with is that I have had a break from a stressful job. I have had my thyroid and kidneys checked as they can cause hypos. But as it has only been 2 days for you so far maybe it is due to some more recent changes in your lifestyle which maybe causing less stress to your body and therefore less cortisol and therefore lower sugars. In the meantime, I did fasting sugars in the morning to check if my basal was going down. Then after correcting that, I checked my meal insulin 2 hours after a meal - if that had gone down significantly. That many hypos is far too disruptive to life.
 
wow 61 yrs is a long time. I have had it for 50yrs. I have been haveing trouble with injection sites lately. So they changed my insulin to Toujeo (300) strengh and humalog(200) strengh. Not quite right yet though. I just bought a Libre which is working really good so far, first day. I might use it till I am sorted.
 
I reduced fat to try to drop a few pounds and needed to reduce insulin by 50%! Goes to show small changes can make a big difference. Oh, I also switched from red wine to vodka and water at dinner. Those are the only two changes I made and what a huge insulin reduction. I still can go low after lunch and dinner.
 
Griffter15 said:
Has anyone had a similar experience to this?
Click to expand...

I have traveled overseas recently and my insulin needs dropped significantly. Had to reduce both basal and bolus by about 50%.

After returning home, it went the opposite direction. I had to double my basal.
 
Not sure if you are a man or a woman but I had all kinds of odd things happening in the early stages of pregnancy...
 
Happy to find this. Last time I went to see the consultant he was talking about my cholesterol being high and statins. I changed my diet to cut saturated fat but increased carbs to keep my weight up. I thought I would have to increase my insulin but in fact have become more sensitive and had to reduce it.
 
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