Why am I on Humulin I?

[mbudzi]

When diagnosed 2 months ago I was put on Humulin I. I understand this is an intermediate insulin.

Everyone else I have spoken to has gone straight onto basal bolus regimes. I'm not in a hurry to stab myself 4+ times a day but I am curious as to why I was put on this regime.

Anyone else on Humulin I and know why this was selected for them?

Anyone know if there are medical benefits/downsides to a twice a day, intermediate regime?

Thanks

 

[Snodger]

Did you maybe say that you were reluctant to inject? I know of some people who are put on a regime with fewer injections because of that. Personally I'd rather inject more and get the flexibility. But I know everyone's different.

As far as I know, the benefits of twice a day are purely that it's convenient to do, and it can be fine for many people, especially if they have a quite standard day/lifestyle that doesn't change a lot day to day.
The downside is that you can end up eating to match your insulin rather than injecting to what you want to eat. The long lag times while you wait for your insulin to work make it a little harder to find out what insulin dose you should have for the carbs you are eating.

Do you adjust your own doses to the carbs you are currently eating? What kind of info did they give you when they put you on insulin? (not much by the sound of it?)
If I were you I'd ask them what the best insulins would be for your lifestyle, and describe your lifestyle to them. If they don't really know what to advise, or why they have decided on one insulin over another, ask to speak to a specialist.

 

[mbudzi]

They said to inject and eat at similar times. Other than that nothing was said. When I ring and ask about adjusting the Humulin, they prescribed Novarapid to address highs over 13 but as they haven't explained how to work the two and not overdose, I haven't tried it.

I need to bite the bullet and just take a unit and see what happens. Nervous tho as I assume I must have to take less Humulin I but not sure how much less. Diabetic support team are pretty useless, I get handed around different nurses and they all tell me variations which boil down to don't change what isn't broken

Bit down. I have picked up a stomach bug and at a loss what to do through tonight as sugars are going up and down like a jackinabox.

Today is definitely a bad diabetic day!

 

[Snodger]

it does sound as if they are particularly unhelpful!
Personally I wouldn't mess around with injecting novorapid and humulin. As you say, it's going to be hard to work out how to get the two to work together. I've never met anyone who uses novorapid and humulin together (but maybe others on here have?).

Bottom line is: you need some proper diabetes support, and a health professional who can prescribe sensible treatment and explain why they have prescribed it and how to use it. Different regimes work for different people, there's no one correct way of doing it, but they need to be helping you understand the regime and get to a point where you can make informed choices about the insulin you need and the number of injections you need.

Are you able to get on any patient education courses at all? DAFNE is the main national one but there are a number of similar courses - see http://www.diabetes-education.net/pdf/t1_centres.xls for a list and contacts.

 

[mbudzi]

I've asked to go on DAFNE but they won't refer me up to a year. But I have heard from someone else they managed to get referred after 6 months in Leicestershire so I'm going to push hard for this at my next review meeting in a fortnight's time.

Thanks for the list of others - I'll have a look and find something that works. More positive today ... it's mine to make work and I just need to get on with it.

Appreciate your input - its a ray of sanity in a confusing world!

 

[CollieBoy]

Mbudzi,
If you are not given a course soon , can I suggest an alternative (to at least lt you get some info): Bournemouth Diabetes and Endocrine Centre) are currently offering an on-line course which you can enrol in at no charge.
For more details visit
www.bdec-e-learning.com/home.asp