Increasing insulin and headaches?

[type1nick]

I have recently begun using Aspart at meals. I have also been waking with more headaches. any connection?

[AngelKitty]

Hi there,
I have found that when I wake up with a rotten headache that I have had a 'hypo' in my sleep. This was happening quite a bit until I readjusted my insulin.
Perhaps your insulin dose is a little too high, or you might find that having a light supper like a glass of milk really helps with overnigh hypos.

[Subby]

It's not that common seeming, but:

I had headaches (with flushed feelings) with Apidra (probably not technically aspart, but close), nausia with Humalog, and no side effects from Novalog.

I don't know if what you describe may be a BG fluctuation effect like AK suggests above, or whether it might be a similar mild side effect.

What are you BGs doing around the times these headaches?
How long have you been on an increased regimen?

[morrisma]

Rapid changes in bg level can give me all sorts of badness, including headache.
Mike

[type1nick]

I have been on Aspart for about 6 weeks now. I have the occasional hypo at night...but mostly, I go to bed and wake with blood glucose of between 180-220.
My doc at the VA suggested keeping a headache log...which will be simple enough, since I would only have to log the occasional wakening without a headache...

[morrisma]

Those numbers are too high. Has your doc seen them and not expressed concern?
Mike

[lorilei]

maybe a headache log and a night of hourly or so testing to see...

[lorilei]

also consider hydrating yourself...many headaches come from dehydration..

[Subby]

The suggestions here are good.

Agreed that the numbers should be worked on, both for your overall control and your daily health, if you're going to take insulin you may as well get it to do a better job!

If you feel that the headaches really might be the insulin, it should be relatively simple to try a switch to Humalog which for most people to all intents and purposes is close to identical, but is different enough to make a difference for others, such as myself. That' would be my suggestion if you can't get a handle on the headaches in another way.

[type1nick]

Those numbers are too high. Has your doc seen them and not expressed concern?
Mike

My doctor told me to expect high numbers while adjusting to my new Aspart/Lantus regiment for at least 6 months. right now I am adjusting Aspart pen according to carbs consumed at meals.

This is system I am using right now:

1 unit per 10 grams of carbs + 1 unit per 100 Blood glucose reading before meals. (If my BG is 200, I add 2 units of aspart)

I am fairly new to using insulin at mealtimes...does this seem like the norm?

[Subby]

6 months! You couldn't accuse your doctor of being impatient, could you :)

While insulin therapy can be frustratingly hard to get "right" and can then go "wrong" again, (and right and wrong can be fuzzy, "sufficient" is probably a better term for working insulin therapy) - what I think he might have meant (maybe not...) was that in the process of adjusting your doses to get them right, things are not going to be completely stable for some time. Which is a fair enough comment, if a little lacking in ambition. What I don't think he meant (or, I hope he didn't mean) was that you should stick to incorrect doses for 6 months.

I think you could get things looking better quicker than that. You're paying a price for being high, both with long term complications and with your daily health. Put simply, if you are not acting on the information you are getting through BG testing, you are not getting anywhere anyway, that's treading water.

That's not to say it doesn't take some time and that you should be quickly changing things every day. It is the right course to stick to a routine/ certain settings of insulin, and seeing what trends emerge. It's when you are relatively sure about trend, you can take action. If after a while you sit around thinking "I'm going high every morning" but don't do anything about it, you should instead be acting on it.

As for your dosaging, it is different for all and we have no way of knowing what is correct for you. All I can suggest is getting more involved in the calculation yourself, negotiate with your doctor to be actively adjusting your own I:C ratios and correction factors, what it probably involves is an amount of trust between the two of you. Different doctor/patients might do it differently. The good docs will recognise that you are going to be the absolute best expert on your body, and educate and arm you and let you make changes if you are responsible and engaged.