[snakeye]

Hi all,
After spending a some time with the season, I'm definately sure that i've re-discovered diabetes. Before winter something happenned and my bg went high, I've started to shot 2 more units and (plus) ate less. I had blamed on the season but it's still the same.

But the real deal is, before that whenever I "cheated" I had a tolerance; it wasn't going up over 160. And I never waited 30mins after my shot (regular) because it always had a tendency to drop.

But now I'm counting crumbs on my plate! I've never had a bad A1c reading up now but I'm curious this time..We'll see. That old feelings when I first diagnosed started again..eyes, feet, tinglings all round my body and so.

Meanwhile my weight is at the top limit (even though it dosn't look so) Because I'm mostly on my arse in front of the computer.

Experimentally; Do you know how much change in the weight could casue a change in the overall need of insulin? Does it cause a kind of resistance?

(Always curious am I)

[DeusXM]

Insulin requirements change depending on a variety of factors, including weight, diet, and the the current orbital position of Neptune. Weight does have a major bearing on how much insulin you need though. The heavier you are, the more insulin you will need.

By the way, taking an insulin shot isn't 'cheating'. You're just replacing what your body can't make or use normally. Think positively about insulin shots - they're keeping you alive.

[dpav]

I have to back this one up.
When I grew up back in the 60's it was thought that the more insulin you took the worse of a diabetic you were. Now the truth is simply take what you need as you need it to keep your BG down as close to normal as possible. They found that control with insulin is a good thing, not that it was bad because you used the stuff.

We have come a long way in thinking since I have started. Just keep your levels normal and enjoy life.
Don

[snakeye]

how how how howww wait wait... keep it cool guyz. You all just got it worng out there hey, I ain't a kid anymore (wish I was anyway!)

What I meant by cheating was eatin more than I needed like one or two slices of bread or so (15-30gr carbs; 1-2BE)

Meanwhile I know that the weight is a major factor but just experimentally, u know.... I dont and never had weight problems I'm 26 weighing 86kg and 1,82cm tall so... I'm thinking like what if I drop back down to 80kg is it really a deal in the bs numbers, or anyone had an experiment on that...

Nobody come up to me on doctors or formulas, please!
I already have an impression that most of us think the same way on docs; (experimenting on us worse than the way we can do it ourselves when it comes to "some" point)

[Ella1]

snakeye,
You don't seem to be overweighed to the point that you can be considered as insulin resistant.

How long have you had diabetes for? if it's not a secret. In the frist few years people get a so-called "honeymoon period" when diabetes is fairly mild. During this period your body still produces some insulin and helps you to control your blood sugar. You can afford treats and your HbA1c would be very good without much effort, as it was in our case. Though, some people might argue with me saying that this little insulin which is still produced in the body might be unpredictable and make the control more difficult. Well, it wasn't in the case of my boyfriend - it was very easy back then. Unfortunately, it ends, and then you have to control it yourself. Just less than a year ago, he used no more than 2 strips a day.. Now we are talking at least 8 a day or could be over 10 blood checks on the days when he plays football. Apart from counting carbs, he also counts in Glycemic Index and protein. He even switched to complex use of bolus insulins for food, so it's not just 1 injection per meal, but 2 (Novorapid + Actrapid)..

What I'm trying to say here is counting every single gram of carbs is not the end of the world, just read what I wrote in the above paragraph

[snakeye]

My secrets are in my profile
Thats what exactly what I was onto. And its over. And yes it's quite different then it was before and when I look back now its quite obvious that I had some sort of production of insulin out there because today bs peaks where I had hypos or kind a lows that time...

Having that insulin was much better, felt better (even a littile streaming insulin would feel better for all I guess) just had more of the hypos but it wasnt that bad.

See I was very confused at that time; everyone told that their BS rises when they got angry mine was getting low... Why? Cus the body was compensating the rise caused by the anger while my shot was acting over time.

Now everything is more like explained "in the book."

[Ella1]

I figured that when the honeymoon period is over, it's very important to quickly readjust to the new ways. And try to avoid hypos at all costs. Indulging in excess insulin injections may lead to constant BS swings when diabetes could become brittle and unfortunately it takes longer to bring things back to normal. We had pretty bad 6 months trying to understand what was going on. It's over now, but still learning
I hope you will make your new adjustments, you are already on a good track counting carbs

[Orion]

quick question, are there any long term side effects of this manufactured insulin? I suppose it must be different from the stuff your body naturally produces. Or is it virtually identical? I notice the stuff smells rather funny and stings when injected too... yeah it's been approx 1.5 yrs since diagnosis for me and my glucose numbers are becoming more difficult to control as of late. That honeymoon thing makes sense, I think I'm in for some stricter dieting.

[Andrea]

No, there are no long term side effects of injected insulin. Sometimes your symptoms to hypoglycemia change over time, especially the longer you have had diabetes, but that has more to do with the disease itself rather than the insulin.

Yeah, insulin does smell funny. Have you ever tasted it? Yuk! But it shouldn't sting when you inject. Lantus seems to sting a bit for some people, but other insulins should not. Are you keeping your insulin in the fridge? It is better to inject room temperature insulin - it can sting if it is too cold.

I came out of my honeymoon very brutally when i was diagnosed with celiac disease. When i started to eat gluten free and my intestinal lining healed, i suddenly started absorbing food that i had never absorbed before. That wreaks havoc with blood glucose levels! It took me about 8 months to be fully back on track!

Andrea

[snakeye]

The only thing I know from the prospectus is that using insulin causes a lack of potassium in the body, I don't take any precautions for that but I'm curious if anyone has...

And really the food absorption in any case change things a lot. I try to track my absorbtion as much as I can, or how fast it is. In some cases you go to a hypo just "right before" you notice theres a problem with the digestion.

Once I ate figs all the day as a fruit exchange, because I was travelling, and the fig was a "mobile" solution and had a low glycemic index. However (as you may guess) it had affected my intestines quite enuf to make me go hypo after a veryyy large dinner in the evening.

Andrea I hope all is going well. I wonder what adventures u've had.

[Andrea]

Yes, actually, now that you say that, i have heard that a possible side effect of injected insulin is low blood potassium levels. But i have never heard of anyone with this symptom. The only time when my potassium level has been low that i know of is when i was in DKA when my diabetes was diagnosed. And that was from the dehydration from the lack of insulin. So not taking insulin injections can be far more dangerous for your potassium level than taking it is!

Things are good here, but not to many adventures these days. Too busy at work! Why is it that work always gets in the way of life??

:p

Andrea

[Harold]

Low levels of Potassium cause insulin resistance.

It's really small so you may have to copy it to word and increase the size.

[snakeye]

Harold thanks, usefull site! bookmarked.

Do you really think so Andrea? Maybe u need to switch...

[HeatherP]

Bananas and Cantaloupes are full of potassium. There are also supplements if you're into them.