Diabetes Type 2 Support Group

Type 2 Diabetes is a condition in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not make efficient use of it. Insulin is a hormone needed to convert food into glucose, a sugar that the body uses for energy. Without enough insulin, glucose can accumulate in the blood, and can cause serious health problems such as heart disease and strokes and organ damage...

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Endocrine System
/ Diabetes Type 2 Support Group

Insulin is weird!

OrphanAnnie
OrphanAnnie
Not very urgent, just a comment by someone who's just gone on insulin. It's, well, a little weird!

My endocrinologist's PA (whom I deal with mostly) told me things would be very different on insulin. Not worse, just different. Like, in the past, when just on pills, if I was high at lunch I could count on being higher at dinner (and I'd worry about it all afternoon). Today I was high at lunch and low at dinner. wtf? (pardon my language!) I mean, that's great, but it's like my BG is doing totally different things and I'm having to learn all over.

Guess that's why my doc & PA are having me test 4 times a day -- it's not just them looking at the numbers, I'm having to get a feel for the numbers.

Of course, the good thing is that every once in a while (not often!) I can shoot a little extra and have a little treat -- like tomorrow, when the guys at my office are celebrating the birthdays of a couple of friends and myself. For once I can actually have a (very small) piece of my own birthday cake!

Another random weird thing is that I'm suddenly hungry at meals, even tho I'm not down into normal ranges yet (low for me is about 225 -- I'm still coming down from some real heights).

And I'm really enjoying food again. You know that stage we go thru, where food seems like the enemy? Well, even tho I'm not down yet I don't feel that way anymore. On pills I never felt like I had much control, but on insulin I know I do.

btw, this is not in praise of insulin or trying to persuade anyone to go on it. I just hadn't realized there would be differences in how I feel on insulin compared to pills, and my reactions are different too. It's strange....
deleted_user
deleted_user
I have been on insulin for only about 3 months myself. I didnt know you could give yourself a little extra if you were going to have something sweet or that would make your blood sugar higher. No one told me that. I have had to do alot of adjusting. My morning bs was always higher, so I have a higher, long acting insulin at night. It seems to be working so far. I am still not really used to it yet.
Debbie66
Debbie66
I'm just a recent beginner to the insulin thingy too, and i can say that i feel much better on insulin than i did with the oral meds, and i have more energy, i feel more "brain farts" and focused, and as my sugars continue to come down within range, even my sex drive is coming back! I finally feel in control of my sugars, not them in control of me, and it feels GREAT!!! And i'm hungry at EVERY meal and feel good about eating healthier now that i'm seeing results with my sugars. Ladies, let's keep up the great work! Hugs and kisses, Deb :o)
deleted_user
deleted_user
Remember, insulin shots are just replacing what your body isn't making itself anymore. It isn't medication.

Personally, I can't stand the smell of insulin. That's what I think is weird about it. LOL
deleted_user
deleted_user
What do you mean, it isnt medication? Is there a certain amount I am suppose to take and how do I know? I go by my bs and if it is high, I add a little more, but I didnt know you could take more insulin if you wanted to have some cake or something....
Trish50
Trish50
Hi all... well... I take 2 shots a day... I dont test much.. if I do and they are high.. i wont eat.. so.. im best to just live... i have been diabetic for 20 yrs.... lows and highs.. as some might know.. I truely hate this illness.. as most would.... '

I eat very little.. and mostly chicken. and very low carb.. if possible. we are kinda very low income.so.. sometimes gotta eat what you have..

shots...!!!.. wha.... im so sick of shots.... and some really hurt... I give my in my thighs.. and wow..some times "ouch.."...

I know this disease will take me out someday.. think just do the best you can..

think someone mentioned that you take more insulin if you have a treat.. not a good thing to do..can drop you sugar like a rocket.. simple thing.. dont eat it...

I havent had a candy bar or anything sweet in 20 yrs.. nada.. not even a cookie.. I know alot of diabetics that eat whatever they want to... and for the life of me.. I will never understand that..

I feel a strong guilt feeling if I do take a bit of something sweet.. even a bite of a cookie... dont know how they do it..

ya insulin... damn pancrease.. lol.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Goldi, it isn't medication in the sense that it makes you "better". Insulin is something your body typically makes in the pancreas. In a diabetic your body does one of two things. It either stops producing insulin (or enough) or you become resistant to it. So then you have to "suppliment" so to speak, with injected insulin. Insulin is a hormone.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Goldilox, beware taking more insulin to accomodate eating sweets!!! The main effect of that is to enlarge your rear end!!! My solution is to keep my dosage the same and eat sweets OR food, not sweets AND food.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Oh no, I never do that Cliff. Someone on here said they did it for a birthday or something and I had never heard of doing that. I keep on plan as much as I can, and if I go off, I dont give myself anymore insulin.
deleted_user
deleted_user
SockFuzz, I have been using insulin for 15 years and never yet had the opportunity to smell it. It's either sealed in a vial or pen or trapped in a syringe. What in the world does it smell like, and how did you ever happen to get a whiff?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Cliff, don't you prime your pen before you inject? (squirt a tiny bit out) You should.

It smells sort of like rotten gasoline.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Goldi don't you count carbs and use a sliding scale to measure how much insulin you should inject?
deleted_user
deleted_user
No, I dont really count carbs alot. I just know what is high or isnt high for carbs. I take my blood sugar before each meal and adjust my insulin according to that. I know when I first went on insulin, they put me on a sliding scale, like between this and that, you take this much insulin. But I got some endocrinoligists on my case and they changed it according to my bs.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I've never heard of an endo suggesting you don't count carbs and use a sliding scale. That could be why you are having such a difficult time with your foods.

Typically you take a specific amount of insulin for your blood glucose reading. Then on top of that you take a specific amount of insulin for your carb exchange.

So say you are on a 1:10 ratio and you are on a 50 increment sliding scale 150-200=1 unit etc.

You would take 1 unit for each 10 grams of carbs. Plus then you would take additional insulin to cover your meter reading.

So say you ate 60 carbs and your BG was 173 prior to eating....you would take a total of 7 units insulin.

Your basal dose (long acting insulin) doesn't factor into this.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Nope.. I have NEVER had anything like that, even when I first started. At first I was on a sliding scale, but no carb count was EVER mentioned to me. The sliding scale worked like this for example.
bs is 12... sliding scale says between 9 and 13 inject 11 units or bs is 8 and sliding scale says between 7 and 9 inject 8. That is how my sliding scale worked. again.. nothing to do with carbs, but high carbs would raise my bs, therefore be higher on the scale and more insulin to inject.But when the endos came into the pic, they did a standard and if my bs was higher, I gradually increased it until it was stable.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Maybe its so different because you are in Canada. But it seems so dangerous to me because you aren't getting a true compensation with your insulin then. They are disregarding a huge part of your daily need.

Think of it this way. In a non-diabetic person, the body automatically compensates for the glucose by producing and releasing the proper amount of insulin every time you eat.

The way you are being told to do it is guessing at approximates. It's astounding to me.

Here is a canadian link that also encourages this method. I would discuss this with your doctor next time you visit. I found that in your country this is called "Intensive Therapy" and has only recently become popularized in Canada.

http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/kbase/as/uf5054/how.htm

I know you said you saw a dietician and an endocrinologist. One other path that would probably be greatly beneficial is for you to see a diabetes educator. They are specialized nurses who work with you on an individual basis to find the best possible regime for your body.