I would like to hear from insulin dependent T2’s on how you feel about being on insulin therapy. I have found it to be a liberating experience. I have been thru the full range of non insulin treatments each with initial success that seemed to fade away after a while. All the while feeling I had no real control of my situtation. It was always that when I missed my BG goals there was nothing I could do except try again tomorrow. After missing so many goals I just gave up after a while.
At least now with insulin I have a tool that I can work with and can make a difference. Sure there are downsides but I had already experienced some of them with the Byetta and the Victroza. Several years ago I was given the option of starting Byetta or insulin, I wish now that I had chosen insulin. Since starting mutiple day injections I have made real progress and have renewed my efforts with my diet and excercise. I have managed a 4 point drop in my A1C in 3 month and feel better than I have in years. I wonder why doctors let us languish for years with poor or so so results.
I feel liberated, how about you?
I started insulin in December, you can read about my story here. I feel relieved with insulin, finally after years of feeling unable to control my blood sugar, I can do something about it. Despite repeated claims, I’ve not gained any weight and although I’ve had a few moderate hypos, I’ve never had one serious (requiring assistance).
I’ve come to the conclusion that most doctors make decisions about first prescribing insulin based on official guidance and managing liability. The guidance (such as the ADA stepwise therapy) says to evaluate every possible combination of oral medication before starting insulin, and only you start insulin when your blood sugar gets really, really bad. And the primary reason doctors told me that they wouldn’t prescribe insulin, that I would get fat and die from a hypo. Of course, once I started insulin on my own, no doctor has expressed any concern about weight gain or hypos.
i was on insulin when I was first diagnosed. Insulin was a whole lot easier to deal with and no side effects like medicine that I have been using. I did not stay on insulin after that year because my pancreas seemed to have gotten a kick start and were producing more insulin as diet and stress were better managed. I used a slide scale at the time and i started using less and less insulin down to the point i did not inject anything at all. When my numbers started to creep back up I was put on medications that cause a world of hurt.
At this point once the metformin stops working I will request that we do either more test to see if its insulin resistance or if I dont produce insulin like when I was diagnosed. If I had to pick out of medicine or insulin I take insulin any day.
Steamwinder: Now that your pancreas is getting a rest from the T2 drugs and you have more control over the diet and exercise, are you finding that, like Patient X, you are able to decrease your insulin shots?
BSC: Same question: Now that you have more control do you feel that your pancreas is starting to kick in again?
Ooops! “Stemwinder” sp
I was diagnosed Type 2 in April of this year, at a time when my BGs were typically in the 300s. With levels like that, I unsurprisingly felt crappy most of the time. I really wanted to get it under control, but found that for various reasons I couldn’t take Metformin, Januvia, or most other oral meds. Diet and exercise helped with the fasting levels, but not anywhere near enough. So started Lantus and Cycloset. Those, along with diet and a new gym membership (and 4 days a week actually using the membership) helped a lot and got my fasting levels down to about 100. But post-prandial BGs stayed high for hours and hours. I felt pretty powerless to affect anything, and dropped into a bit of a depression for several weeks.
I read and read about treatment options and then called up my endo to ask if I could start MDI. That worked great. I had a tool I could use to make a positive improvement! Very very rewarding. My depression lifted almost overnight.
I learned carb-counting pretty quickly, and within a month my average BG was down to 105 mg/dl. My A1C went from 8.9 to 5.6. Woot!
I have no problems giving myself shots anywhere, anytime. My friends have been great and very supportive. Even when we found out in the middle of lunchtime in a crowded restaurant that my best friend passes out at the site of needles. That was entertaining!
After about 6 weeks on Lantus plus MDI Apidra, I asked if I was a good candidate for a pump. I feel better than I have in months, and I’m completely satisfied that this is the way to go to stay healthy. I’m just wrapping up my second week of saline trials of both the Animas Ping and the Omnipod. Tough choice – I see pros and cons of both. Tomorrow I end the trial and I’ll have to make up my mind and pick one of em.
Bottom line, I feel great about starting insulin. That I need it sucks, yes. But along with diet and exercise, it gives me my best chance to stay healthy. Insulin rocks!
Hi Peetie
I have been able to reduce my dosage by about 20%. I feel that this is due to decreased insulin resistance from the excercise and not because my pancreas is making a comeback. As we all know oral meds and Byetta/Victroza are not kind to your pancreas so I have no expectation that it will rise from the ashes of being burned out by 20 years of over use.
I just hope that my 54 year old knees will hold out under the increased walking because I have rediscovered that I really it.
After years on oral meds and an A1c never below 6.5, I finally talked my doctor into prescribing insulin. He wrote the scripts and told me I was on my own cuz he had no patients on insulin, didn’t want patients on insulin, and was upset that I wanted to go on insulin. My 1st A1c on MDI was 6.1. I started on the Omnipod insulin pump in March and my latest A1c was 5.7. It has been wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work but the rewards are well worth it. I have lost 25 pounds and workouts are wonderful. So easy now. Easy to stay motivated. Health wise: no more migraines. I feel so much better. Only when I am high do I feel lethargic.
I love insulin and I love my Pod.
Marty
Hi Stemwinder: Congrats! Hmm… I’m 59 and very protective of my knees. I alternate walking with weight training and it seems to work well now that I’m off those drugs.
There seem to be a lot of myths surrounding Type 2 diabetes. There are many who say that the drugs burn out the pancreas but… what if they are wrong? I’m thinking that if the drugs fail to control the numbers just what are they doing? Do they just set us back for years? I’m not in denial and if my numbers ever go out of control again, I will make sure I take insulin … even if I have to go all bsc. lol I wish you continued success on your journey. Cheers! Joanne
Following my diet closely, carb counting and dosing my insulin, I can achieve very tight blood sugar control. Essentially normalizing my blood sugars. But, I still have my days, no matter what I do and I will miscount my carbs or overeat and my blood sugar goes right up. I’ve seen nothing to suggest I’ll ever recover. I don’t think this was ever about my pancreas being tired or exhausted. I have diabetes. What has gone wrong has taken away the vast majority of my insulin production and I don’t produce enough insulin and I don’t think it will ever come back.
This is an interesting thread to me. I was diagnosed a year and a half ago and was immediately put on metformin and Lantus. Luckily I got Lantus right away as I had to get my bgl down fast for an upcoming surgery. At the same time I researched and immediately started a low carb/high fat diet and have stuck with it and in the meantime have lost 88 lbs and got my A1c down to 5.3. I just was at the doctor yesterday for routine labs and appointment and he said since I was doing so well, I could come off Lantus. He is worried about lows but I am very tightly controlled and have only had moderate lows when I have lost enough weight to go down on my Lantus dose. I am now on 28 units and my bgl stays between 70 and 100. Now I am in a quandry, what to do? He said it was up to me (he knows better than to tell me I have to do something…LOL). Do I try to go off Lantus and risk my good control or possibly find I can get control again with diet? I am not sure I can go any lower with carbs (I now stay under 30 gms a day) or do any better than I am doing with diet. Is there value in being off meds? Or will it just come back to bite me in the behind? I know that if I eat any more carbs my bgl spikes. For example, the other day I did a test, I ate a bun (I have been avoiding all bread) and about a quarter cup of potato salad with some meat and cheese. My bgl level went from 88 to 178 in about an hour and a half and stayed above 140 for at least 3 hours so that tells me my body can’t handle the carbs. I want to lose another 40 lbs and I wonder if I would lose faster if I was off Lantus? I am really confused and other times I wish I had bolus insulin too so I could enjoy and occassional meal like regular people and I wonder if that is the way to go although I doubt my doctor would be willing to prescribe bolus insulin with my numbers as they are. So I thank you all for your input on this thread as it gives me much to think about.
Liquid Insulin shots of standard Humalog Lispro with 5 hour duration have been a real winner providing excellent control, ability to tune each meal, keep diet on track and prevent super lows…
Biggest pain in ■■■ are 10.5 hour glyburide, 12 hour lasting 75/25 humalog Insulin.
I wish I had gone on Insulin from start but not the 75/25 Humalog.
I am still on metformin so in fact it is a mix but I am happy with.
starlix is ok but you need enough food or get lows when you are older trying to limit carbs and weight gain.
Once I got my insulin resistance turned off and old body generated insulin working properly, small amounts of humalog lispro most effective. Old style just add tons of insulin became useless.
backing up the basil insulin, 15 units of lantus very effective and bg at night asleep had level slope and value of 122 to 133.
Real issue is what works better for body altogether. Liquid Insulin for me - no doubt.
Metformin crucial to shut down leaky liver and bad dawn effect.