how much insulin?

[andypoo]

Anyone out there use a lot of insulin? I think I take quite a bit,but I don't know if that's normal after having it for 37 yrs. I take 60 nph in morning and 30 to 40 reg. Before supper,I take 30 u. of reg. And before bed i take another 60 u of nph. My dr. doesn't seem to think it' s unusual,but,I am going to start taking symlin,so that should cut that down.I am overweight,but she says insulin makes you fat. That sounds silly to me. My diabetes is completely out of control,last one read 10.2. I hope I can take symlin with having heart disease (taking meds and all),guess they'll mix,I don't know yet.Going to start symlin the 16th of nov. wish me luck!

[Cyborg]

Good luck and welcome aboard :wavey:

[Emm]

Anyone out there use a lot of insulin?
Not me, but I know others who do. Needs generally increase over the years, so anyone who's been diabetic for a while probably (tho not necessarily) takes more than a newbie. It all depends on your carb intake too of course :D


I am overweight,but she says insulin makes you fat. That sounds silly to me.
Insulin can bring on weight gain in two ways - 1: you're digesting a whole better than you ever did pre-diabetes, so the body can hold onto what it thinks it needs (and our bodies DO love to store fat! Grr!). 2: Insulin attracts fat.. or something like that! LOL I wish I knew the correct answer... but I do know that somehow injecting insulin encourages fat cells to hang around where you inject.

ALSO.. high blood sugars bring on the cravings, and usually for naughtier foods...

My diabetes is completely out of control,last one read 10.2.

Just being here shows that you're keen to work on that - and I bet you'll feel heaps better real soon!

And.. well, there's so much to say, but I'll shuddup now coz I don't know what you already know! knowledge of how to treat diabetes has changed a lot since you were diagnosed, so maybe you need to look at it like a new thing, get some research in and start fresh?

WELCOME to DF!

[CycloneKitty]

Anyone out there use a lot of insulin? I think I take quite a bit,but I don't know if that's normal after having it for 37 yrs. I take 60 nph in morning and 30 to 40 reg. Before supper,I take 30 u. of reg. And before bed i take another 60 u of nph. My dr. doesn't seem to think it' s unusual,but,I am going to start taking symlin,so that should cut that down.I am overweight,but she says insulin makes you fat. That sounds silly to me. My diabetes is completely out of control,last one read 10.2. I hope I can take symlin with having heart disease (taking meds and all),guess they'll mix,I don't know yet.Going to start symlin the 16th of nov. wish me luck!

Welcome to the forums. I have had T1 for 25 years and think Im on a relatively small amount of insulin. 12u of lantus in the morning, and before meals i have 8 - 12u of humalog. Everyone is different in their insulin requirements tho - what suits one person will not suit the next person. Being overweight will generally require someone to require more insulin. And yes - insulin does put on weight. I was over-dosing on insulin when i was in my teens and ended up putting on about 20 kg in 2 months. The BG control was really out also. Weird thing is tho - that I cut my insulin down slowly and the BGs became more stable and the weight slowly came off also. Its a tricky thing all this Diabetes, insulin, weight thing ... you end up getting stuck in a vicious circle and cant find a way out at times. Good luck with the Symlin also. Let us know how it goes! :tee:

[KickStart101]

Anyone out there use a lot of insulin? I think I take quite a bit,but I don't know if that's normal after having it for 37 yrs. I take 60 nph in morning and 30 to 40 reg. Before supper,I take 30 u. of reg. And before bed i take another 60 u of nph. My dr. doesn't seem to think it' s unusual,but,I am going to start taking symlin,so that should cut that down.I am overweight,but she says insulin makes you fat. That sounds silly to me. My diabetes is completely out of control,last one read 10.2. I hope I can take symlin with having heart disease (taking meds and all),guess they'll mix,I don't know yet.Going to start symlin the 16th of nov. wish me luck!

Hi Andy: If I took that much Insulin, I'd be unconscious or dead.
There are however, others here who take the same or more Insulin.
So you are not alone.

I normally take:
- 10 units Lente after I awake
- 07 units Humalog(usually)

-07 units about 7 hrs. after my 1st Lente shot

-4-5 units(usually)in the evening

-6 units Lente about 6 hrs. after my last Lente shot

Definitely sliding scale---TDD: 33-37 units.

-I will have had Diabetes for 45 yrs. as of next month(Dec.).

I don't appreciate this sweeping blanket that says Insulin causes
weight-gain. I was only slightly over-weight twice and it wasn't
from my Insulin. When I was 14 yrs.old, I gave my homemade lunch
away and bought junk food in the cafeteria and wasn't as active
in sports for about 4 mths. I didn't like the result so switched back
and lost the weight. I was on beef and pork Insulin back then(which
is easier on the body, I think).
My 2nd (common)over-weight experience, I got hooked on baking
croisants(yum)and ate more than I should have. I gained weight
and my blood-pressure went from 124/80 to 148/90. That scared
me so...I had to cut out my croisants...:bawling: I see them once
in a blue moon now. Synthetic Insulin then. But my bp was 120/78
last month. :)
Maybe weight-gain from Insulin use causes some people to gain weight
but I've never had that experience as alot of others have not had that
problem.
You seem to be Insulin Resistant. I think more exercise and less carbs
is the usual tonic plus different meds. for your situation. I hope that the
Symilin works Very Well for you. Good Luck and Take Care. :)

[SueM]

Hi Andy
I use aprox 22 units total in the whole day.
But I do watch the amount of carbs I put into my mouth.
The only reason insulin would make you fat is if you are feeding the insulin IE to much insulin so stuffing your face to right the low. Insulin it's self does not cause you to be fat.
Think of a set of scales and balance the food intake with the insulin.
I also use your equiv of NPH and Reg.

Before you use symlin you need to go read the website by the manufactures. There are a lot of exclusions for using it.

[poodlebone]

I'd also be dead if I took that much insulin, but I'm not you. Up until recently I was also very overweight but still didn't come close to using that much insulin. I was able to (very easily) lose weight while on insulin. It wasn't insulin that made me gain, but the types I was using. NPH was a killer for me and that's what I was given when I was diagnosed in `987, and I never changed it. Partly because I didn't have insurance for 11 years and partly because I had idiot doctors. Switching to Lantus allowed me to start losing weight and switching to a pump made the most difference.

Do you have a lot of low blood sugars on the amounts of NPH + R that you're currently taking? With an A1c of 10.2 I'm guessing maybe not, but you never know.

Besides adding Symlin to your routine, I'd also ask the doctor about switching to a basal/bolus routine of taking a newer long acting insulin (to replace NPH) and a newer fast insulin before every meal/snack to replace the NPH (like Humalog, Novolog or Apidra).

[Cinnabon]

Welcome....

I hope you join in and share with us all your years of Diabetes.

[DeusXM]

How much do you exercise too? Regular exercise can dramatically reduce your insulin requirements as your muscles absorb the glucose at a faster rate, and also conditions your body to be less resistant to insulin.

[Cyborg]

I also think that it's caloric intake that is responsible for weight gain and not the insulin...

[aeromarv]

I am now on a pump and only use novolog. Between my Basal and Bolus dosages, I use an average of 120 - 130 units per day.

I am a bit overweight, but not drastically so. I do have a little to lose, but I also have a good bit of muslce mass. Having a high muscle mass and / or extra weight will increase the insulin resistance.