Type 2 just put on insulin

[NwuyeIfy]

My husband has been a type 2 for about 11years. He's just been put on insulin today. Any advice on this please?

 

[sleepster]

Hi @NwuyeIfy, I'm not type 2 but I would say the most important thing is to make sure to always have some quick-acting carbs nearby in case of hypos, that could be fruit juice, jelly babies, glucose tablets or something else. Also if your husband drives (and you're in the UK) then DVLA will need to be informed. Your husband should also have been prescribed a blood glucose monitor and test strips, but hopefully he already has those. I'm sure some type 2 members will be along shortly to offer some more advice

 

[thhpe]

I am Type2 for 14 yrs, 21/2 yrs ago after getting stented due to atherosclerosis, I asked to be put on insulin. My understanding is this: A non-diabetic while not eating a high carb diet will have normal blood glucose of 4.6 mmol/l throughout the day and night as his/her blood glucose regulator is working, secreting physiologic doses of insulin as needed.

My A1c is 5.1 for the last two years. The treatment of diabetes mellitus is to normalized blood glucose.

Also when you are using insulin, you must carry glucose tabs (4grams per tab) which can be broken into quarters of 1 gram each) This will rapidly raised blood glucose within minutes if for whatever reason the blood glucose drop below 4.0mmol. 1 gram of dextrose of glucose will raise an average 70 kg person by about 1 mmol/l. Always test blood glucose when feeling cold, giddy, seeing stars, shivering or sudden weakness and do correction using glucoses tabs, so when measured at 3.5 mmol/l take two grams to bring up to 5.5mmol.l.

(edited by mod)

 

[Fenn]

My husband has been a type 2 for about 11years. He's just been put on insulin today. Any advice on this please?

Hi, sounds kind of weird but I was once a T2 on insulin, or maybe I still am, anyway… speaking from experience, once you’ve exhausted all other methods of control and nothing is working, insulin is the way forward, it’s not failing, it’s not the demon it’s made out to be, you need it? You need it!

The doc/nurse will have started him on a low dose, this is generally an anticlimax because it’s probly not enough, slow and steady win this race. Eventually, once you guys find the correct amount, hey presto! It’s such a nice feeling actually taking a medicine that works so well and so fast.
The magic number on the insulin is personal, you can as an example take 12 units that do absolutely nothing, 14 puts you into hypo but 13 is your sweet spot, the problem is that it is only the sweet spot for that meal, on that time of day, with an easterly wind, there’s the main problem, balancing what you eat and do with how much to take and when to take it.
Hypos are not just a word, they suck! And should not be underestimated, keep some sweet stuff nearby, especially when navigating the early days.

Learn to count carbs, find the ratio, google this, it’s good stuff.

I can’t talk this long without saying LCHF is like it or not, amazing.

Ok I rambled too long, assuming way too much, ask specific questions if you have any, lots of clever people here (not me). Best of luck

 

[EllieM]

My husband has been a type 2 for about 11years. He's just been put on insulin today. Any advice on this please?

As an insulin user, I agree with the others to always have fast acting sugar available in case of hypos. My husband has been of enormous help to me on the (very rare) occasions where I have had bad hypos, because a severe hypo can make you confused, and a partner who can bring you fast acting sugar at that point is invaluable.

Not sure I agree with @thhpe on sugar dosing advice for hypos, (though this may be a T2 and/or someone on a very low carb diet ratio and I am T1) and I suspect it also varies person to person. Most T1s get told to take 10g or 15g of sugar for hypos, though I do find that I need less than that to bring me up (I reckon I have mild insulin resistance). I would recommend that your husband asks for advice on that from his diabetic nurse. (Hopefully as a new insulin user he has someone he can talk to about the situation if he has issues.)

Do you know what kind of insulin your husband is on? Some T2s are on long acting insulin plus short acting for meals (which is where @Fenn's advice on carb counting comes in, because you can balance your insulin to your meal carb dose). However many just start on a fixed long acting dose to act as a bit of a boost to their own insulin production or are on a fixed dose of so called mixed insulin, which means they don't adjust their insulin to their meals. (Though learning to carb count isn't bad, as fixed dose regimes tend to require you to have fixed amounts of carbs for each meal.) I have to be careful what I say here as a T1, because all my insulin is injected, whereas hopefully your husband is still producing some of his own insulin.

Good luck, don't panic, and hopefully insulin will be a massive help to your husband on controlling his blood sugars.

 

[EllieM]

I've moved some posts to their own thread
Insulin and Carbohydrate balance for an insulin dependent low carber | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community
because although the discussion was fascinating it deserved its own space without risking derailment of the existing thread.

@NwuyeIfy , we will be able to give you better advice if you let us know what kinds of insulin your husband is on and whether he follows any particular diet.

 

[Jaylee]

My husband has been a type 2 for about 11years. He's just been put on insulin today. Any advice on this please?

My advice for @NwuyeIfy 's husband would be get to know his own body on insulin, let his meter & (if applicable) sensor be his guide on the trends with BGs..

What insulin/s is your husband prescribed?