I went to my endo yesterday and was so upset b/c I recently packed on some pounds. I generally eat well during the day but I can’t control the noshing at night. The correction boluses are causing me to wake up heavier every morning.
He recommended Symlin and gave me some samples. It was never determined whether I’m a T1 or 2 but he gave me the 60mcg dose.
I’m really confused about how to take it when trying to keep low carb. I am hoping it will curb my appetite but I don’t want to add carbs just to take it.
I usually have some plain yogurt with apple as a late morning snack, which I figure is about 30 grams of carbs. I’m hoping this will be enough to take the Symlin.
A few questions:
How long does the appetite suppressant feeling last?
How long does the glucose lowering last? If I test 2 hours after taking it and I am running high, do I correct as usual or less?
I’m so nervous of the lows that I’m scared to take it till I get all this info.
The recommendations are either 30 grams or 250 calories, so I think you can still do low carb (and I think others in this group have mentioned doing so).
I’ve only been on symlin for a few days, but the appetite suppressant has worked very quickly for me…starting about 15-20 minutes (not sure if it’s mild nausea or the suppressant that’s really working) but I’ve also noticed that for several hours after that I’m also not hungry and have no urge to snack either…
As for glucose lowering…I think it varies because symlin doesn’t directly lower blood glucose… it is supposed to shut off the liver’s glucose effect…
I was really worried about bad lows…but instead I’ve found the opposite… where it will stay steady and then rise about 1-2 hours later and then not come down…even with injecting the full amount… so still trying to figure this out.
Everyone responds differently to a treatment; if you don’t really know whether you are T1 or T2, then you should definitely NOT be dosing at 60mcg dose (the max dose is 30mcg for type 1s if I’m not mistaken); so that would be against the FDA guidelines, and it can potentially be dangerous (many T1 Symlin users find that their lows can be very hard to correct when using it, as Bernard Farrell can attest). Also, Symlin is not a weight-loss drug or an appetite suppressant, it may be an oversimplification, but basically Symlin is a synthetic hormone (the natural hormone is called amylin, which is made by the pancreatic beta cells) that helps to regulate metabolism by controlling the rate at which food is absorbed into the bloodstream. It sounds to me like your doctor wasn’t giving you very good guidance, which you deserve before starting it.
There is no risk in NOT taking this drug until you have more information, as the effect of taking it could be more difficult and dangerous than simply following your old treatment protocol. I would insist upon a long talk with your doctor before starting this!!
I’ve been on Symlin for 3 yrs. I hesitate if a meal is 30 grams…it needs lots of non-carb to go with if its only 30. You can start with much less than 60 mcg and titrate up. Its a very safe way to determine appropriate dosage. I take it for post-meal spikes. I take 20 mcg.
You may find you can cut your bolus at meals. It’s suggested you do.
Re 2 hrs later high - You should bolus as always. It’s out of your system after 2 hrs.
The correction boluses are not causing you to wake up heavier. Eating is.
Thanks for all the info to those who replied. I tried it yesterday and I survived. My dr chose to start me on 60mcg as he feels I am a T2. We don’t know scientifically but this is what he believes - I did not choose my own dosage! My diabetes started as gestational with my first child. After I gave birth I had severe complications and needed several blood transfusions. About 2 years later when I had a miscarriage it was discovered that I had diabetes for good. It’s most likely due to the fact that my immune system went thru shock. We don’t know.
Anyway, I checked my bs at 12:30 and it was 169. I didn’t bolus (pump) but took the Symlin and ate cottage cheese and a green apple. I checked again at 1:30 and I was at 182. I then took half of what my correction would be. I checked again at 3:45 and I was up to 269. I gave myself a regular correction and thankfully the rest of the day I was on target.
I didn’t feel nauseas thankfully but in the evening I did feel a tad bit queasy. I took a Zofran. I didn’t have the urge to snack.
Again, thanks for all the advice. Please refrain from bashing my Dr. or eating habits.
Ok, so 4 days of Symlin, once a day @ 60mcg. The first three I felt it controlled my numbers and appetite. Yesterday it didn’t. I think it was an “off day” all together b/c my numbers were just higher than normal. Could be hormonal. I’m going to try it again today and speak to my endo as well. We’ll discuss when he feels I should make the jump to 120mcg.
Cheri, btw, I feel that the pump just pumps me up so I’m actually on a combination therapy. I use Lantus in the morning but still bolus with my pump and have a setting where the pump is set on 0 until around 3am and then at only half my usual basal. Then around 7am it goes to my normal basal till I inject the Lantus. Some days I just stay on the pump and switch back to my standard basal setting.
I had a dka scare last year as well which freaked me out. The pump insertion piece was kinked and I had no clue. I was pretty busy that day and I wasn’t testing enough. I was also eating an bolusing and it never crossed my mind that I wasn’t getting delivery. I wound up in the hospital for 2 days. Anyway, the Lantus keeps me safe in that way.
I just started about a month ago on Symlin with the pens. I take 120 twice a day. The appetite suppressant works fine and I am often full faster. I just tend to nosh a lot in front of the computer or tv in the evening hours. So I wound up gaining 3 more pounds in a month. I have tried to keep a real close eye on my sugars since it has radically dropped three times in the last month. I always caught it in time and had some candy handy. It looks like this is a new journey for a lot of folks. It is nice to have company on the trip.
