I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1993, first two years was on exercise and diet then until 2008 November on oral tablets. In November the diabetes specialist put me on lantus .on 14 units. In January 09 he increased it to 18 units and in April 09 he increased to 22 units . Also at night I take 4 metformin 500 XR the slow release. At the momemt it is so and so the levels before breakfast and before lunch they are fine, but it is sometimes high 2 hours after dinner. That is why my specialist increased the lelels. When I have my blood test in a month time, he told me if it is not under 8 preferably under 7.5, he will put me on another rapid insulin to help with the night levels after dinner, he mentioned novamix 30 and instead of the current once daily, it will be twice daily and continue the metformin at night, something I am not looking forward to.
Have a ncie day.
We could be twins, I was diagnosed at the same time, did the same things and now my life is ruined. Your case and mine are typical of bad diabetes treatment. You and I should have been put on insulin as soon as possible not after the pancreas suffered severe damage. I am not sure what your number mean are you refering to Ha1c in percentage or your after supper BG readings in mmol/L. If it is the A1c then 8% is horrible and 7.5 % only a little less so.
It is time to stop fooling around and start proper treatment:
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you need a slow acting insulin like lantus this is called " basal insulin" and you take as much of that as you can without going low too often. this can be split into a evening and morning dose for better control and to avoid nightime lows.
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Then you need a super fast acting insulin like “novorapid” if you have the same trade names as in canada, this is to be injected 10 minutes before all meals based on how much carbohydrates your are going to eat. This is called “bolus” insulin.
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metformin you can keep on taking
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you must go on a very low carb diet: no rice , patatoes, bread , pies, very sweet fruits or anything you find out causes a spike in your sugar.
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Test many times per day.
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get a book called “using insulin” and figure out for yourself how much “basal” and “bolus” insulin is right for you. If you count on your Doctor to guess the right amount for you you are in big trouble this is a trial and error procedure that only you can do.
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forget about mixed insulin an ancient concept you get better control with the basal, bolus approach.
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do whatever it takes to avoid gaining weight this will increase insulin resistance and make the disease unmanageable.
We still have snow on the ground here in our corner of Siberia but it is melting rapidly now as the daylight hours and the sun’s intensity increase a lot. Don’t worry injecting many times per day is a very small inconveiniance to pay compared to a dead pancreas and developing insulin resistance cause mostly by too high blood sugars for too long.
Hi N.B.,
What are your fasting & after meal readings? How high after dinner?
Some doctors are too lax about our readings & accept unhealthy BG with the attitude that it’s “good enough for a diabetic.”
Good idea to go with rapid acting for meals. Depending on your other readings, basal insulin might be helpful as well.