Unable to reduce insulin needs

Helen s said:

yes, I can exersise but not intensly as I have compressed/worn out discs in my lower back, I am waiting for an op but thats not likely to happen anytime soon,
food wise this is what I have eaten today

No breakfast just coffee with a a little bit of single cream
Lunch
two slices of plain ham, a boiled egg, some salad lettuce, cucumber, 2 small cherry toms, spring onion & a spoon of mayo
Dinner tonight is chicken breast wrapped in bacon, stuffed with stilton, roasted courgette, cavello nero
I drink around 4 cups of coffee with a dribble of cream
Cold drinks are fizzy/plain water with a squeeze of lemon, rarely have a coke zero more than a couple of times a week

I dont eat pasta, rice, bread, root veg, fruit apart from a few raspberries/strawberries maybe once a week if I have some carbs left

just to add something else into the mix I am 50yrs old so I am guessing menopause hormones may be coming into play although I dont have any of the typical symtoms

Click to expand...

Hi Helen,
I feel for you - some similarities with my experiences. I have been LADA for over 20 years - on useless meds to start with too. I'm on Tresiba long acting (20iU) and Novorapid 'fast acting' dose varies. I am very impressed by your low carb - I haven't achieved less than 100-150g per day (drinking beer being the culprit..)

I have found that if I just use insulin to control glucose levels my weight goes up and it is very difficult to shift. As others have noted, exercise is very important if you can. I walk about three miles a day - taking the pooch for the walk gives me the motivation to do it. I certainly find that if I do more intense activity my BG's can drop rapidly on the same fast-acting dose - keeping an eye on the Libre is very important and having glucose handy. Bottom line, if you can up your exercise I am sure it would help. Do you swim? might be less of a strain on your back.

Interested in your eye injections. I too have retinopathy and lots of laser. The injections (Eylea) helped but was taken off it for cost reasons - it was prescribed for diabetic macular swelling, but certainly helped with the blood vessel proliferation. Can I ask why injections were prescribed for you?

You’ve said that your cortisol is high.
High cortiol will always raise blood sugars.

how high?
Please get your cortiols rechecked.
It should be done before 0930 in the morning.
Miss out steriod (lung skin nose) on the morning of the test then take after the bloods been taken.
If it is high please ask for a referal to the adrenal section of endocrinology.
Snd whilst waiting ask for some imagine of your adrenals of the cortiols is high.

Helen s said:

I have been low carbing now for 7/8 months & dispite keeping carbs to less than 25gms per day I just cannot get my insulin needs to go down, I know that I am hugely insulin resistant but to keep my A1c at 50 which is where it currently is I am needing 60u of long acting per day, my fast acting needs are minimal as there are so little carbs in my meals so rarely raise my BS, the insulin is causing weight gain which is then leading to more IR & its just getting so frustrating, I am taking max dose of metformin per day but I am also taking sertraline which is for depression & I know that is notorious for weight gain
I am getting so disheartened as my retinopathy is getting worse rather than better, I have had 7 eye injections this year but with no improvement & have been referred for laser on them,
I have thrown in intermittant fasting but thats doesnt seem to have had an impact & I feel like giving up!
Sorry for the pity party just wondered if anyone has any ideas of what else I can try

Click to expand...

I have similar problems. I am LADA and take a lot of insulin. 62 units of Toujeo at night and then I take nova rapid for bolus sometimes at 1 carb to one unit insulin. Dawn effect/insulin resistance has been brutal. Insulin resistance runs in the family. Almost all of us have but I am unique in having LADA. In Canada LADA isn’t well known. I was 30 years old and very fit when I was diagnosed. I was always 20 to 30 lbs overweight and at first I was treated as Type 2 with metformin for years and when I dropped 25 lbs in my 40’s my doctor decided that since I lost the weight and my blood sugars were still high that I needed insulin which I have been using for 11 years I Recently started taking Ozempic which really helps with the insulin resistance and I am slowly/cautiously taking less insulin. The low carb option I have tried. At lunch I would go for a walk and keep my carbs low by having salad with chicken for example. My blood sugar would go higher later. One day I noticed that when I had jerk chicken with rice for lunch my blood sugar was more stable in the afternoon. The nutritionist I was working with agreed. It is like insulin needs something to ‘stick to’ in order to work in my body. I have since stopped eating as low carb as you are now but by adding carbs I have gained weight. I am also taking amitriptyline which is notorious for weight gain too. It’s so hard to know what to do. I am exercising more now though so between the Ozempic and the walks I hope can reverse the trend and start to lose the weight. Please let me know when you find something that works!

Helen s said:

lucentis, not sure if thats spelt right

Click to expand...

Thanks Helen, (spelling is correct I think). Can I ask why you were prescribed it? was it macula swelling or for blood vessel growth such as retinopathy or rubiosis (vessels on the iris)? The reason for asking is my local health board (in the UK) only prescribe it for macular swelling - even though it works for the other conditions - point being that other people being prescribed the injections for reasons other than macular swelling may persuade my Dr to relent..