Danger of too much Insulin ??

[Nita]

I was told to eat 45-60 grams of carbs a meal and find myself going over this amount quite frequently.

With those that are insulin resistant what is the danger of having too much insulin running around in your blood that you are resistant to?

No, I can't ask my NP....she is not available for a while. I will see her in June but wanted to know your thoughts.

Thanks, Nita

[princesslinda]

From what I understand, insulin resistance is when your beta cells are making more than enough insulin, but your body isn't able to adequately use it....therefore your beta cells are working and working and will eventually wear out and will stop making enough insulin. When this happens, you will have to supplement with insulin shots.

Are you on metformin? This helps you better use the insulin you are making.

[Nita]

I am sorry I was not clear on this. I take insulin and have for 10 years. I started out on 70/30 and now take Humalog at a scale of one unit for every 5 carbs and 45 units of Levemir each night.

Some say this is a large amount (my scale) and I know we are all different but was having a discussion with someone that says insulin resistant people (am I?) have too much insulin in their body that is not used and therefore dangerous thus my question. That is....insulin I have injected. I don't know....maybe I am worrying unnecessarily.

Nita

[sprzepiora]

To make you feel better, I have a 1:8 ratio for carbs and take 34 u of lantus in the evening. So your TDD is not a whole different than mine.

[fgummett]

I am Type 2, Metabolic Syndrome and insulin resistant. I use an insulin Pump and average about 100u of fast acting insulin daily... 73u is basal (4u/hour from midnight to 09:30, 2u/hour from 9:30 to 18:00, 3u/hour from 18:00 to midnight) meals and correction boluses account for about 27u. From my testing that is the amount of insulin I need to regulate my blood sugar within acceptable limits. I currently use a carb to insulin ratio of 7:1

I would be interested in more detail as to what your contact feels is harmful about too much insulin :confused:

[BlueSky]

... what is the danger of having too much insulin running around in your blood that you are resistant to?...
High insulin levels cause premature aging and lead to macrovascular complications (heart disease). High levels of stress hormones (adrenalin & cortisol) and insulin are inflammatory. Inflammation of the artery lining causes plaque to build up, which increases the heart attack risk.

This is a big issue if you are insulin resistant, because the beta cells produce, and/or you have to inject, an excessive amount of insulin. Minimising carbohydrate in the diet reduces the insulin requirement, so it improves your chances. But I would say that 45-60 grams of carbo per meal is still way too much. If you are serious about minimising insulin levels, carb in the diet needs to be under 100 grams a day ;) .

[Janlaton]

Ditto to all above. Please limit the carbs till you get with your NP. There is a big debate about the use of insulin when a person is still producing any insulin at all. THis is where many docs are struggling to say not at all others are going ahead. Who knows?

[georgepds]

High insulin levels cause premature aging and lead to macrovascular complications (heart disease). ....

Just curious Bluesky, do you have medical training. Your posts are always so informative

[Nita]

High insulin levels cause premature aging and lead to macrovascular complications (heart disease). High levels of stress hormones (adrenalin & cortisol) and insulin are inflammatory. Inflammation of the artery lining causes plaque to build up, which increases the heart attack risk.

This is a big issue if you are insulin resistant, because the beta cells produce, and/or you have to inject, an excessive amount of insulin. Minimising carbohydrate in the diet reduces the insulin requirement, so it improves your chances. But I would say that 45-60 grams of carbo per meal is still way too much. If you are serious about minimising insulin levels, carb in the diet needs to be under 100 grams a day ;) .

Thanks so much to all of you! I just don't know what to eat anymore. I am suffering right now with a swollen left leg with severe gout that my foot doctor said "women don't get". He finally concurred and said it is drug related. Drugs that are suspect are diuretics, BP meds and Methotrexate for severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. So he says less protein. BUT I also wondered about too much insulin also and your explanation points to that med also. I am on arthritis meds also which cause swelling. It is no fun. If only I could be satisfied with salads and some veggies.

I am going to try my BEST to do 100 grams a day.

Thanks again,
Nita

[BlueSky]

Just curious Bluesky, do you have medical training. ...
LOL, no, I was trained in business, banking and computers. Good training for developing thinking skills, and I have used them to get an understanding of health issues. I read widely around the subject, and I don't limit myself to mainstream thinking. As my signature says, everything I write is just opinion.

The insulin level issue is a bit more complicated than I indicated in my post. It is generally accepted that hyperinsulinemia is associated with heart disease, but causality is questioned. See this study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1864491?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsP anel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=2&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed), for example. What they are saying is, high insulin levels are definitely a marker for heart attacks, but reducing insulin levels won't reduce your risk of having one. Currently, this is the popular view. But some researchers maintain that high insulin levels definitely have very harmful effects. For a good explanation, see Ron Rosedale's lecture on the metabolic effects of insulin (http://www.drbass.com/rosedale.html). It makes good sense to me.