Increasing insulin resistance?

[slipperyelm]

TRUE, FALSE, UNKNOWN, OR OTHER:

People with insulin resistance experience increased insulin resistance as a consequence of introducing more insulin, whether by taking an insulin stimulating med or by injecting insulin.

[jacobsam622]

That is why drugs a lone only work for so long. You have to combine the meds with a diet high in complex carbs and protien and exercise. Because as the borg like say to resistance is futile.

[fgummett]

Based on personal experience I would say, "Yes" and I agree with Jacob.. Sam...

[slipperyelm]

jacobsam, I'm asking about insulin leading to insulin resistance. I'm not talking about "drugs alone." I don't even consider insulin a drug. Oh, and I would be asking about insulin resistance increasing independently of the other coping methods you mention --Only considering the effect of insulin.

[fgummett]

For what is worth... I have been on insulin for 4+ years and on a pump for 4 years. Earlier this year, due to a financial crunch I went without the insulin for a month... my sugars were much higher than they had been pre-diagnosis and it has taken me much longer to get myself back under control after starting the insulin again.

[BlueSky]

TRUE, FALSE, UNKNOWN, OR OTHER:

People with insulin resistance experience increased insulin resistance as a consequence of introducing more insulin, whether by taking an insulin stimulating med or by injecting insulin.
I don't think there is a simple answer to that question. It depends what you mean by "insulin resistance". If you are talking specifically about the down-regulation of insulin receptors on cell surfaces to limit entry of glucose, then yes, introducing more insulin will stimulate this process. If blood glucose is high, the rate of entry of glucose into cells is directly proportional to the amount of circulating insulin. So introducing more of it increases insulin resistance. Organ and muscle cells shut down insulin receptors, and the excess glucose gets shunted off to fat cells.

Having said that, it seems there are other causes of elevated blood glucose. Causes that apparently have nothing to do with the glucose supply/demand regulation mechanism I described above. There are a lot of people who are thin and apparently insulin sensitive but have been diagnosed as Type 2 diabetics. Excess glucose/insulin does not appear to be the problem. Perhaps increasing their insulin supply would simply bring their blood glucose down, without aggravating their "insulin resistance".

It looks like what we know as type 2 diabetes is probably a cluster of disorders that share a common symptom - above normal blood glucose. Various things could be causing it, and we can't generalise about the treatment options. ;)