this ones weird lol , but help if you can :)

[flafla]

ok first post. ty all so much for the efforts you make here . the care you peeps show for eacg othersissues is so admirable. long sotory as short as can . 6 months ago mr doc added levimer to 1000 metformin bid and 2.5 glipizide bid. the fist night i took 8 units and with in 3 minutes i was having a full blown Panic attack. mouth tasted like it had copper pennies in it and went stright to palpitations . my bs was fine no where near hypo. i just figired i hit a minor vein or something i dunno. and it was my 1st use of injectable insulin. so novice to say the least . in the past i had had panic with huhe swings with my bs . so i wrote it off to that possibility. i continued to have panic daily . my numbers were fairly consistent but were going from like 240 to 150 or sometimes even 80 . my doc was kind enought to Rx Xanax in large amount to help witht he anxiety. my resting numbers were fine 4 hrs after my meals but my 2 hr readings were still high. and the panic continued Daily. we decided to add novolog to the mix and drop the oral meds. my numbers improved ! . but the panic continued . no real lows to speak of . i suggested dropping the levemir to 30 units in a split dose and she added 500 metformin back in bid . the panic continued . on july 18th i dropped the levemir totally . 1 day later upped the metformin to 1000 bid. continued with the novolog . i noticed the AM anxiety went away in about 4 days . i used to wake yup with anxiety or panic 5 days a week. however. after my injection of novalog the anxiety would return. not as bad as when combined with the levemir , but still significant . this went on for about 10 days when i decided to stop the novolog as well . and returned to the 1000 metformin bid. i was free of ALL anxiety for 48 hours for the first time in 6 months ! has anyone experienced this kind of reaction to injectible insulins ...please not i was not having LOWS . i do not believe the symptoms are attributable to my bs levels . thanks so much for your anticipated cooperation.

[jbmacomber]

sorry never had reaction to insulin, hope you find answer.

[flafla]

yea im prolly the 1st person to be " allergic " Yay for 1st lmao thanks tho for your response and hopeful wishes ")

[Jan74br]

I'm allergic to 2 kinds of insulin - but I get reactions on the injection site, not anxiety.

[CDeuce]

Hi flafla! Welcome to the forum! So sorry for your experience - sounds unpleasant, to say the least. I really, really wish I could be helpful here, but am not on insulin. I did, however, want to say "so glad you're here"...

[Hammer]

What were your BG levels before you started taking insulin? If your levels were high....say around 150, then you took insulin and you dropped to 100, you would experience false hypos. A false hypo feels exactly like a real hypo only it won't hurt you, since you aren't really low, it's just that your body isn't accustomed to being at 100, so it reacts as if you were low.

A false hypo (like a real hypo) can feel like a panic attack.....sweating, shaking, weakness, fast heart rate, etc., but it won't hurt you, it will just feel very uncomfortable. Remember, a hypo, whether real or false, causes your body to alert you by releasing adrenaline. This is a built in alert system that you body has. When you release adrenaline into your system and you are sitting or relaxing, your body suddenly tries to speed itself up, but if you are just relaxing, you end up with the typical hypo symptoms since you aren't doing anything physical to use up that extra influx of adrenaline.

[flafla]

yea that is exactly what both my doc and i thought was happening at first... but since its been for 6 full months my body has prolly had time to adjust to my new numbers . the attacks right near the end of my use seemed to Directly correlate to when i injected the novolog. prior to that they were just all the time . im guessing because the levemir is Long acting. im guessing its Something in the Pens not the bg levels they are producing . thanks so much for the feedback and for the welcome

[Nita]

Hello ... do not get offended by me saying this but what were your feelings about taking insulins in the first place? Were they anti-insulin? So many people think or say I do NOT want to go on insulin some even saying it is my body I will do as I please with it. My diabetes lady says she cannot help those that resist it and there are many who do.

There came a time when my body no longer responded to oral medications thus the need for insulin which I am sure is keeping me alive. I truly hope your meds will be adjusted and you get on the right track.

Be well,
Nita

[flafla]

i waas actually very happy to start the insulin. i had no needle anxiety and was hopeful i would finally be able to get good control of my numbers. not at all offended . very reasonable question . and to be really honest, it could be anything . im just thnking it was the insulin as i had the panic attack the 1st time i used it and had been having them ever since . but a weird coincidence is also possible . its one of those who knows. which is why i posted here. hoping someone had had the same experience and could shed some light .

[Jan74br]

Like I said, you used the word "allergy" and an allergy would take place at the injection site. This would be more like an adverse side effect, either to the insulin, or to the blood sugar results you got from the insulin. Also, your post said you had panic on glipizide too, so it seems to be more related to change in blood sugars than to the actual insulin.

[flafla]

yea allergy might have been a poor choice of words . and the panic started with the levemir. i had been on metformin and glipizide for yrs with no panic. and im thinking your right . it must be related to bs changes . but im gonna let my doc figure this one out . 6 straight months of daily panic attacks is getting very old and very exausting ! thanks tho for all of your input.

[Jan74br]

Oh, regardless of the cause, I wouldn't keep taking anything that causes panic attacks. I'd go to the doctor and have him suggest anything else in place of it.

[flafla]

yea went to the doc and i told her i had stopped both the levemir and novalog . and for a sec there she thought it might have been insulin anxiety of the psychological kind . LMAO . i was like people attenuate after a short while not 6 months of mind issues lol . and ALL the Anxiety has stopped ! yay ! thanks all for you tender lovin care

[modcarb]

yea allergy might have been a poor choice of words . and the panic started with the levemir. i had been on metformin and glipizide for yrs with no panic. and im thinking your right . it must be related to bs changes . but im gonna let my doc figure this one out . 6 straight months of daily panic attacks is getting very old and very exausting ! thanks tho for all of your input.

Allergy was probably the correct word.

I am allergic to both Lantus and Levemir. 6 weeks after I started taking Lantus I started itching--all over within 30 minutes after a shot. My endo switched me to Levemir. 6 Weeks later I started itching again all over. Like my nerve endings were misfiring.
It doesn't have to be at the site of the injection because the insulin spreads throughout your body.

[Jan74br]

Yes, but itching and anxiety are very different things, modcarb. Itching all over = definitely allergy.