Very High Blood Sugars - advice please.

[Martin46]

I am 74 and was diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes in the mid-80s, although I suspect I had it for some years before that. From around 1988 I have been on insulin, and take Humalog after each meal and Lantus at night. I also take Metformin.

I have gone through some highs and lows (sugar levels) through the years, but by and large, I have been able to maintain my Blood sugars within an acceptable range. I do frequent daily testing and adjust my insulin accordingly. I was overseas for many years and my insulin doses were 12 units of Humalog after each meal and 20 units of Lantus before bed.

When I returned to the UK in 2017 the nurse told me my results were a little on the low side (although I didn’t really agree) and told me to change to 8 units of Humalog after meals and 18 of Lantus at night. It so happened that my return to England led some weight loss (92 kilos down to around 84 kilos) and the new insulin regime worked well.

I then started to get some highs as my weight increased and I increased the insulin to 12 units Humalog and 24 units Lantus. This seemed to keep me on an even keel, but a few months ago my sugar levels started to increase a lot and it’s taken me a long time to get them under some semblance of control. I now take 24-26 units of insulin per meal, and 30 units of Lantus. Some of my BS readings are still high but better than before. I have gained weight and now weigh around 88 kilos – which is still less than it was when I came back to the UK – and my Humalog units have doubled and my Lantus is 50% more.

All the weight gain has gone to my stomach and I’m trying to lose weight. Due to some other chronic illnesses, including COPD, the only exercise I can do is walking, and I manage about 65 minutes a day, split over two sessions. They say that more insulin means more weight gain, so I’m not really sure if I am doing the right thing by taking so much insulin – over 100 units per day.

Any advice would be much appreciated. All I get from the GP’s nurse is platitudes, (if I can get an appointment which has been impossible since lockdown), and I get the feeling I know more about diabetes than she does.

I would be grateful for any advice, as I have never had this kind of high BS consistently before, (except when on steroids), and not sure what is going on.

Below is a graph of some of my August readings.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I am 74 and was diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes in the mid-80s, although I suspect I had it for some years before that. From around 1988 I have been on insulin, and take Humalog after each meal and Lantus at night. I also take Metformin.

I have gone through some highs and lows (sugar levels) through the years, but by and large, I have been able to maintain my Blood sugars within an acceptable range. I do frequent daily testing and adjust my insulin accordingly. I was overseas for many years and my insulin doses were 12 units of Humalog after each meal and 20 units of Lantus before bed.

When I returned to the UK in 2017 the nurse told me my results were a little on the low side (although I didn’t really agree) and told me to change to 8 units of Humalog after meals and 18 of Lantus at night. It so happened that my return to England led some weight loss (92 kilos down to around 84 kilos) and the new insulin regime worked well.

I then started to get some highs as my weight increased and I increased the insulin to 12 units Humalog and 24 units Lantus. This seemed to keep me on an even keel, but a few months ago my sugar levels started to increase a lot and it’s taken me a long time to get them under some semblance of control. I now take 24-26 units of insulin per meal, and 30 units of Lantus. Some of my BS readings are still high but better than before. I have gained weight and now weigh around 88 kilos – which is still less than it was when I came back to the UK – and my Humalog units have doubled and my Lantus is 50% more.

All the weight gain has gone to my stomach and I’m trying to lose weight. Due to some other chronic illnesses, including COPD, the only exercise I can do is walking, and I manage about 65 minutes a day, split over two sessions. They say that more insulin means more weight gain, so I’m not really sure if I am doing the right thing by taking so much insulin – over 100 units per day.

Any advice would be much appreciated. All I get from the GP’s nurse is platitudes, (if I can get an appointment which has been impossible since lockdown), and I get the feeling I know more about diabetes than she does.

I would be grateful for any advice, as I have never had this kind of high BS consistently before, (except when on steroids), and not sure what is going on.

Below is a graph of some of my August readings.

View attachment 43683

I am probably absolutely useless to you, being just 4 years in and a non-insulin user, but a few things pop up: COPD? I take it you're on inhalers with steroids for that? maybe othet conditions too? Steroids up blood glucose. (As do statins, often). You need them to breathe, so not taking them would be quite impossible, but it may be a reason why you need more units and see more spikes. Also, have you changed your diet at all in the past 40 years?
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- might be slightly informative, just be aware that if you low carb, there is a very real chance of hypo's with insulin. So I hope you're really, really good at carb counting. I don't know whether you still make insulin yourself or not, but.... It might be a way to lower the amount of units you're taking per day. (And as it happens, walking is the best thing a T2 can do for exercise if you ask me, so yay for being able to do that still...!).

I do hope someone more useful be along soon. Good luck!
Jo

 

[MrsA2]

you only mention medication, not diet which can have a huge impact. I don't just mean a diet for weight loss but one to lower blood sugar.
Whats a typical days food for you?