starting on insulin

[Dode]

Good evening everyone. Was finally started on insulin today. My specialist said to start on 20 units at night but my gp only ordered 10. He wants to see me every 3 or 4 days for awhile to monitor my progress. I think this is a step in the right direction, as my bsl has been too high for too long. I am very hopeful that this will work. I can't wait to start feeling better. I sure hope this also gives me some energy. I sure need that badly.
Night all.

[duck]

What kind of insulin?

If you are constantly high, then yes, you will feel better when you get back to "normal".

[Dode]

The insulin I am taking is Novolin. Last night was my first dose and this morning at 5:30 my bsl was 7.5 and at 9 a.m. it was 8.1. My Dr. said just to take my bs once a day but I have news for him, I will be taking it a lot more than that. So far I am not niticing any side effects. In fact I am more awake today than I usually am. A long way to go but I will take whatever I can get as I can get it.

[liz32]

I started insulin-lantus about three months ago now and I love it. I hope you get good control quickly...it feels great! Let us know how you're doing..I'm soooooo happy for you. :thumbsup:

[duck]

I was gonna say I thought Liz started on Lantus...I wonder why one doc would prescribe basal and another prescribe fast-acting? :confused:

[liz32]

duck, I was wondering the same thing, but seeing as I only know lantus I didn't want to ask. I'm wondering how it will work. I hope it works well for you dode. Let us know.

[am1977]

I know it's kind of scary starting on insulin (especially the whole needle thing :) ), but you will get used to it and it does get easier. Plus, I think you will feel so much better as you gain better control. I'm surprised that your dr. only said to test once a day. I think being on insulin, it's a wise idea :nerd: to test a little more b/c sometimes things can be a little unpredictable ;)

[duck]

I know it's kind of scary starting on insulin (especially the whole needle thing :) ), but you will get used to it and it does get easier. Plus, I think you will feel so much better as you gain better control. I'm surprised that your dr. only said to test once a day. I think being on insulin, it's a wise idea :nerd: to test a little more b/c sometimes things can be a little unpredictable ;)

That's a very good point, and I missed that initially. You are so right about the testing, it should be much more frequent, at least four times a day. What is it about doctors and Type 2's? Don't they realize you can't fix it if you don't know when it's high or low? Dode, I don't want to act like I am a medical authority (none of us here are), but you are prudent to test more than once a day--Basically, if in doubt, test!

[kcope]

I was just put on insulin (Humalog 75/25 10 units twice a day) and my Doc has me testing 4 times a day. He told me that I will feel a lot better once we get everything ironed out.

The first injection was pure terror for me but after that I'm doing okay.

[jdstein11]

Good evening everyone. Was finally started on insulin today. My specialist said to start on 20 units at night but my gp only ordered 10. He wants to see me every 3 or 4 days for awhile to monitor my progress. I think this is a step in the right direction, as my bsl has been too high for too long. I am very hopeful that this will work. I can't wait to start feeling better. I sure hope this also gives me some energy. I sure need that badly.
Night all.
I'm on Novolin, too, as well as Lantus at night, and I'm getting control of my levels after a week on this stuff.

As for the testing, I test myself before every meal and snack, which is 6x day, which means I could have that many injections. My doctor told me last night that most people don't eat that many times each day, but since I eat breakfast at either 5:30 or 6:30 AM, depending in which office I'm working, it's too much time b/w breakfast and lunch for me. So in the interests of keeping my blood glucose consistent (which I thought was our goal), I have a small snack around 9:30, and make sure to check my level beforehand and then take a shot. Based on my readings, I seem to need insulin every time I eat, so that's my deal; if I want to eat, I have to stick.

All I know is that I want to have a day where my variation is < 50 points and my average level is 110; I've been close on the variation, but my levels are averaging above 150 as I'm learning how much insulin to take. The only way to truly be accurate is to check often.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, but yesterday was a good day, and I just needed to share. The types of insulin I'm on are helping me, and I hope they help you, too.