I started Symlin!

[Kat]

And so far....

I'm lovin' it! Haven't gotten nausea and blood has been a lot better!

yay!

[Subby]

Hey Kat. Tell us a bit about it, what's the idea behind it for you?

[jenb]

Hi Cat. Symlin makes sense to me but I've hesitated to use it because I use such a small amount of insulin. How much less insuling are you using now that you've added the Symlin?

Jen

[kgm0612]

Good Luck, Kat!

Karen

[Delphinus]

I love the animation on the main page. Haha...

https://www.symlin.com/

Looks like they are holding something else. :D

[rak1978]

Kat,
I'm glad to hear that the symlin is working out for you.
My doctor just gave me a prescription for it and wants me to try it. Do you have any advice/insight on it? I've tried to search for any info on the forums, but can't seem to find much. Until a couple days ago, I had never even researched it. I'm especially confused on the dosage. From what I understand from my dr, you take 1 injection (or 60 units) and that is the standard, regardless of quantities of carbs consumed. Then, reduce the insulin bolus by half to cover the carbs. Does this sound right? I'm going to start up on it tomorrow. I'm a little apprehensive!

Rachel

[Subby]

Rachel, good luck with this, and keep us posted with what occurs for you.

[It Ain't Over]

Kat,
I'm glad to hear that the symlin is working out for you.
My doctor just gave me a prescription for it and wants me to try it. Do you have any advice/insight on it? I've tried to search for any info on the forums, but can't seem to find much. Until a couple days ago, I had never even researched it. I'm especially confused on the dosage. From what I understand from my dr, you take 1 injection (or 60 units) and that is the standard, regardless of quantities of carbs consumed. Then, reduce the insulin bolus by half to cover the carbs. Does this sound right? I'm going to start up on it tomorrow. I'm a little apprehensive!

Rachel

I have been using Symlin since it first came out. From where I am there is some confusion over the dosing. I started using vials with U100 syringes. With that I started out with the recommeneded doses of no more than 10 units. Later the endo told me to go up to 25. Now Symlin is dispensed via pens and the dosing seems to have changed. The dosing on the pens does not match well with the dosing on a U100 syringe. In any event I would not recommend you start with the max dose. You need to get used to it Will cause you to have a tight feeling in your tummy, or some nausea. That goes away over time.
Yes you will need to lower your insulin dose. They told me to cut by half. I found that was too much of a cut. 1/3 was about right.
If you use little insulin as I do now, take less. Still works to contol appetite and keep bg spikes to a minimum. Anymore with the very low carb diet I only take Symlin anymore when I am dining out or when an unexpected hi strikes. I have found mixing 15 units of Symlin and 3 units of insulin (U100 syringe) will drop my bg by 150 in less than an hour, sometimes more. The effects of Symlin go away after about 2 hours and it seems to accelerate the working of insulin. It also seems to use up the insulin injected very fast. As far as I can tell that does not work the same if I were to set my pump to bolus 3 and then injected the Symlin.

[plattb1]

I love the animation on the main page. Haha...

https://www.symlin.com/

Looks like they are holding something else. :D
Yes, it does, Jason! And, one doesn't have to possess a dirty mind to see it ... although I confess that I do have one ...

[rak1978]

I have been using Symlin since it first came out. From where I am there is some confusion over the dosing. I started using vials with U100 syringes. With that I started out with the recommeneded doses of no more than 10 units. Later the endo told me to go up to 25. Now Symlin is dispensed via pens and the dosing seems to have changed. The dosing on the pens does not match well with the dosing on a U100 syringe. In any event I would not recommend you start with the max dose. You need to get used to it Will cause you to have a tight feeling in your tummy, or some nausea. That goes away over time.
Yes you will need to lower your insulin dose. They told me to cut by half. I found that was too much of a cut. 1/3 was about right.
If you use little insulin as I do now, take less. Still works to contol appetite and keep bg spikes to a minimum. Anymore with the very low carb diet I only take Symlin anymore when I am dining out or when an unexpected hi strikes. I have found mixing 15 units of Symlin and 3 units of insulin (U100 syringe) will drop my bg by 150 in less than an hour, sometimes more. The effects of Symlin go away after about 2 hours and it seems to accelerate the working of insulin. It also seems to use up the insulin injected very fast. As far as I can tell that does not work the same if I were to set my pump to bolus 3 and then injected the Symlin.

Thank you for the feedback! My doctor did instruct me to start out slow and gradually increase until I'm up to the full dose. I'm hoping that it won't make me too queasy. I have a sensitive stomach. This is probably a question for my doctor, but I'll ask here anyway...I am going to take the symlin in the morning w/ breakfast. If I eat a snack within the two hour mark, do I still decrease my bolus, or would I only decrease the breakfast bolus?
I'm having some insurance issues with this right now, so I'll probably start in the next couple days if it gets approved.
Thanks for the advice! It's much appreciated.

[It Ain't Over]

I am not sure you will want to eat a snack after the two hour mark. Symlin is a powerful appetite suppressant.
If you do take a snack after two hours it will not be affected by the Symlin anyway. Symlin has a much shorter half life than insulin. It is mostly used up at the two hour mark. For me the appetite stays low after that.
When taken at the start of a meal with insulin the effects are fast. It will lower your bg's at least as fast as you normally eat. If you take a normal bolus with breakfast you will likely go low very shortly afterwards, sometimes during the meal! I have found with a higher carb diet it will often lower bg's to the point of going low, then it wears off and bg's may go up again. All depends on what you eat and how much.
If you really want to overeat, Symlin will remove that thought from you. It makes one feel very sated, very quickly. That is why all the warnings are out there with being carefull. There are two ways it lowers your bg's. First is it really does lower them. Like I said with a high, mix Symlin and insulin and watch the bg's drop fast. The other way is easy to overlook. When taken before, or at the start of a meal it can stop you from eating so much and you may not even notice you did.
The big negative with Symlin is the nausea. If that is a problem just take less. Even very small doses do a lot. Over time you will lose that, but be careful with the boluses. Higher doses of Symlin should be followed with lower boluses. Likewise lower doses will take a little more of a bolus.