I have been on the pump since January of 2010 and I have put on 10 plus pounds so fast! Just getting ready to go to dinner with my husband and my jeans are tight I usually wear so, I had to get on ask for advise… I have heard that when your blood sugar goes from 200 and 400 down to mid 100’s you no longer loose excess calories like you did before and retain excess calories …So in other words…if your diabetes is in control you are fat and if your out of control you are skinny. Why be in control if I am not going to fit in any of my clothes. I really know the answer to that but, I am so frustrated I just want to scream. I work out 3-5 days a week and consume 1300 calories or less and the weight just came on. I asked my diabetes educator about it at the scripps whitter institute (san diego) and she says she hasn’t heard of this happening… most people loose weight. Help anyone with thoughts. I am so stressed over this that my blood sugar levels are showing it. Thank you for your help.
Sorry that no one has responded, Skinsue…sometimes there are so many discussions that they get pushed off the home page quickly. Try asking the question again on the Omnipod users page. I am gaining weight on the pod also, but my over eating is to blame. It’s so easy to dose! Good luck.
Well, if you were running in the 200-400 range, then you are definitely going to put on weight if you’ve normalized your blood sugars. This has nothing to do with the pod. I regained the 15 pounds I lost before diagnosis in the first couple of months on insulin. Luckily I also stopped peeing all the time, regained my energy and didn’t feel the need to eat 24/7, too.
If you’ve been under control and find you’re putting on weight, then you either have some sort of thyroid problem, are consuming more calories than you think you are, or are having way too many lows that need to be corrected. If you’re having lots of lows, then you should probably do some basal, I:C ratio and SF testing. John Walsh describes all of this in detail in his “Pumping Insulin” book. It’s kind of the pumper’s bible, and if you don’t have it, I highly suggest getting it.
Hi there. I feel for you! Diabetes can be a drag in terms of vanity, be it extra pounds or damage to tissues from insulin injections… I tried a few times with my nutritionist and Endo to shed some weight, but had some hang-ups (mostly due to my own commitment issues!). This last year I joined Weight Watchers and have had great success! But it was not easy.
You’ll have to work first to normalize your blood glucose as you are, and then work on modifying the food and insulin regimen. You can design a plan with your doctor. You can use some pretty basic formulas to calculate how many total calories you should consume per day in order to maintain OR lose weight (those numbers are different from each other). The direct effect of having a pump, and then better glucose control, is that more calories are actually being used by the body and converted to energy (fat) storage, rather than just slinking out through your sweat and urine.
Find your control plan first, then work with a nutritionist to minimize total food intake, as well as insulin. This is challenging! But trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. I wish you the best of luck.