Hey All, I was diagnosed wih Type 2 January 13, 2006 (yep it was FRIDAY!!) how appropo. Initially I had it in control in about 3 months with varying doses of Amaryl. Then I started the highs and lows and constant snacking etc. What a mess. I was out of control.
My doc, who is absolutely the bomb, told me we needed to try Byetta, so I went on 5 mcg twice daily – that lasted about 1 month. Then up to 10 mcg twice daily, then I added 22 units of Lantus to my regimen. OH my gosh! What a relief.
Even tho I take 3 shots a day (started in July 2007) I have never felt better and more in control. It was absolutely the best thing I did for myself. a1c = 6.5 my weight is going down… LIFE IS GOOD.
well i was recently diagnosed with type 2 and as i was always scared of needles.
my father has it and sometimes at night i would catch him mixing his insulin and doing shots. never thought i would be doing that.
when i took my first shot i was scared and thought it was kind of depressing, almost like someone cutting themselves, has anyone had that feeling?
i’m still not use to taking shots, i hesitate all the time.
basically the insulin pen was the only safe choice i had since i have a fatty liver.
I hesitate too… but the thought that keeps going through my mind is “if I don’t do this, I will surely die.” Kinda morbid, but that’s what gets me through the initial stage… and quite frankly, sticking my fingers is actually worse than the insulin needle for me. I do know how you feel though, honestly. Especially the first time I had to inject 30 units of Lantus… now I’m up to 58 units each night, but I am feeling so much better. I have so much more energy and my happy-go-lucky self is even happier! And it’s not always just a mask now-a-days!! cheezie grin
I had the opposite reaction - no problem using needles; it was such a relief to start using insulin and getting better BG readings. But I do feel like you when poking my fingers for testing. It’s depressing because of the possible reading (too high!), the pain from the poke and the bruising afterward. I hate hate hate testing.
The shots are nothing after a while ahahah, its weird I FEEL NO PAIN ANY MORE OH GOD …I FEEL NOTHING! LOL in a good way, diabetes was depressing thing a while back were i saw nothing positive in the future, but bud I’m still living it up and diabetes and def. made my life more interesting, wish i didn’t have it but still interesting non the less.
July 14, 2008 was the big day. I was admitted into the hospital that afternoon due to an infection going berserk near the nut sack and was scheduled for surgery the next day. I got the news that night when the nurse said my BS was at 509. They immediately started me in an insulin drip. After a few days they started me on the shots, Novolin N 52 units in morning 18 unitsat night and Novolog 5 units 3x a day on a sliding scale plus 500mg of metformin twice a day. Got control of the sugar levels and my doctor said I could start decreasing my Novolin and see what happens. By September I was down to 30 units in morning and 10 at night. By this time decided to go on the pump cause it would give me flexibility with the kind of work I do. September and first A1c was 7.3, this month it was down to 5.8.
Levemir 40 units before bed and now starting humulin between 2 and 5 units in the morning.I have been exercising for 1 hr a day for 8 mos and dieting.Lost nearly 20 pounds but still getting high readings
I was diagnosed on November 2002 with my BG of 180. I was under metformin, then change to diamicron MR. Just this year was I have been put to 14 units NOVOMIX 30 flexpen plus diamicron and metformin with actos in the evening. My BG is now ranging from 98- 120
I was diagnosed with D2 over 20 years ago - when I saw that there was an Agent Orange Registry with the VA - I weent and got tested and apparently developed it (possible) thru Agent Orange (Vietnam 1968-1969),I am max’d on my orals (2500mg Metformin and 20mg Glyburide) than I was put on Lantus (October 2008) starting at 10 units (now 25) and this past week put on Novolin at 10 units.My frustration is that my sugar still shoots up. My big downer is EXCERCISE-if I did I might be able to control better - just venting - frustrated.
I am 60 years old and 245 Lbs, 5’11" and last A1c was 8.9 - tks for letting me vent
my name is thomas i have been an T2 Diabetic for almost 12 years now. I have been on insulin for the last 5 years it hurt to take shots but this is myt simple win. the T2 does not control me I control it. this one monkey that Ihad to shed somewhat
I am Type 2 and I now use Lantus at night and Byetta during the day. The reason I decided not to take orals is because I kept having high readings on my ALT and AST Tests. Although I didn’t want to go to the insulin so early on since my diagnosis, I feel better now.
I was diagnosed during my pregnancy in 2005, took insulin then and thought it was all good after having the baby. They decided to keep me on Metformin but after the first few months I stopped taking it, thinking nothing was wrong. Six months later I started drinking excessively (water that is) and so I went to the doc. My BS was 714 so I stayed in the hospital for a week and they said going back on insulin was the best way to go. Until last week I was on Levimir but the insulin was not being absorbed because I have insulin resistant anitbodies so I just started the pump (with actual insulin) this week. I’ve had it for I think over a month now, but they’ve had saline in it…don’t know if that is normal or not. Anyway since I’ve had the insulin I’ve done great and am so blessed to the pump, makes life ALOT easier!!
If you have not done so already it would be well worth while to get a book like " Using Insulin" ISBN 1-884804-85-3, I think I bought mine from Amazon but it is possible it may be at your local library. It is a not so simple 300 page read, if you are a chemist or an engineer it helps.
Usually you should take a long lasting insulin and a fast acting insulin. I take about 40 units of Lantus per 24 hours and about 30 units per 24 hours of a fast acting novorapid. One thing to watch out for that the book does not mention is that in some people the long lasting one acts for a period of less than 24 hours and in my case it acts for much longer than 24 hours. Usually your doctor will tell you to inject the long lasting at night, this is great advice if your body processes it completely in less than 24 hours, however if it takes longer you will overlap doses with the possible occurance of low blood sugar episode during the night when it is most difficult to handle. So when you start it may be best to inject the long lasting one in the middle of the day.
The main problem I found when starting insulin is that you fell constantly hungry and it is a make fat hormone. Some of the current thinking is to still keep on taking metformin(glucophage) to minimize the amount of insulin used. Not a bad idea if your body tolerates metformin.
The fast acting insulin you can use in a feedforward mode i.e. you know you are going to eat say 100 grams of carb then you would inject at least 10 units of fast prior to the meal and measure your blood sugar 2 hours after the meal and if it is not in the normal range. Next time you eat the same thing you can up your before meal dose to say 12 units. And of course you should inject a few units if you are not at the normal range after two hours. The book explains in detail how to go about this. It is tricky to keep the blood sugar close to normal without gaining enormous weight. Some people like Dr. Richard Bernstein maintain that because of the uncertainty in being able to predict the amount of insulin you have to inject before a meal that you should limit the amount of carbohydrate at each meal to a very small amount. The more carbs you eat the bigger the error will be. The logic of this is air tight but my body does not like low carb diet. Also if you look at Dr. Bernstein suggested diets they are very low calorie ones which again I find it depressed me.
Keep glucose pills on hand at all time and if you sense a low pop 10 to 20 grams to up your blood sugar. In my case I start to see stars when I close my eyes and have at light hand tremor. Before driving go easy on the insulin, the more so until you get a feel for all this.
I had diabetes for a least 5 years before starting on insulin. Metformin was never a sucess as it may me feel sick and extremely tired. The sulphonyl ureas I found gave me no control. So I used mostly a low carb diet with a lot of exercise. But the Ha1c went up to 8% from less than 6.5%. Insulin is a great success in keeping the HA1c well below 7% but it is a disaster when it comes to weight gain. Any ideas from anyone on how to minimize this problem?
I was diagnosed maybe 14 years ago… I do not remember exactly when because I didn’t believe it. I was on diet first few months, I was on Avandia for several years until I started swelling a lot. I was on Glucophauge , then he added two other pills, I forget the names. Taking 3 different meds oral wasn’t working, so he started Lantus at night, Humalog at meals and Glucophauge at night. Not getting any younger, I said I wanted to get better control. I started insulin maybe 3-4years ago. Two years ago, He switched me to the pump. He suggested the pump because of inadequate control and my lifestyle of working long hours and not getting to eat at regular interval. With the pump, if I have to delay or skip a meal, I don’t go low. I still take 1000mg Glucophauge at night
Manny: I am a 20+ years diabetic. I started out on orals but most of them irritated my IBS to the max. I tried resulin, something starting with an “A”, etc. and all of them proved to have negligable results. I started insuliin when I was on vacation in the early 90’s. My denials (I am sure) didn’t help the situation any either. As time went on, I had to increase and increase insulin and then added Lantus. Later, I had to take TWO Lantus shots (am & pm) and then increase again. Finally, they responded to my request to go on the pump. I had some sort of blood test that measured the amount of insulin I am producing in order to qualify for the pump. I am barely making any anymore. Although I did way back when. So, you see, I started out a type 2 and have never been told I’m type 1. Lois La Rose
I was diagnosed in 1999. I never did great on pills. Best A1c I ever had with orals was a 6.9 and that was HARD work. I think every doctor I ever had used insulin as a threat. I, like many T2’s didn’t want any part of injecting. Always hated needles. But the A1c’s kept creeping up. In February 2007 I was put on insulin. I was handed a vial of lantus and told to take 15u at night, a vial of Humalog, a hand written sliding scale, and a script for syringes and sent on my way. Neither doctor nor nurse showed me how to shoot. I went home and googled to find a video on how to inject insulin. I probably watched it 50 times in the three days it took to get up the nerve to inject. It should come as no surprise I didn’t know to count carbs, not exchanges as I had been taught years before.
I changed jobs and had no insurance for 3 months and the numbers got worse and worse. When I got insurance I got a new doctor. My A1c had gone from low 8’s to 10.6. Worst in my life. I got put on actos. and the new doc had me adjusting a couple of units of Levemir ever few days. Still had me on a sliding scale. I started getting sick all the time. Stomach problems, lymphoditis that ran through 3 courses of antibiotics, always felt awful. I went to a diabetes expo and got a business card from a CDE with her own business. I put it in my pocket and thought nothing of it.
All I knew was I still hated needles and I wanted to feel better. Started snooping around D sites and hearing about this thing called an insulin pump. Asked different pump reps about insurance coverage. All of them said the same thing, $300.00 - $500.00 out of pocket. I called Accu-Chek and asked them to check my coverage. They actually took my insurance info. The next day I got a call from my PA saying she had gotten a fax about an insulin pump. She agreed to fill it out, but cautioned that I wouldn’t get it because she wasn’t an endo. A week later I had a pump.
It so happened I found that CDE’s business card around that time. Had a web address so I took a look. Said they were pump trainers, too. Their office wasn’t too far from where I lived. I went there and the CDE spent a good half hour talking to me, no charge! When she heard my story, her jaw dropped. They could get me started on proper carb counting, and they did. I’d found my D home. Before starting pump training, my educator figured out my i:c ratio and ISF. She sent the pump orders to my PA, PA signed and she was finally free to teach me everything I needed to know without going against the doc’s sliding scale orders. Started pumping in December 2007 and have had an A1c in the 5’s ever since.
The really sad part of your story is that you did NOT need a pump to get those great A1cs.
If someone had taught you how to use your basal insulin correcly and taught you how to dose meals with an insulin pen, you’d have been fine.
If someone had explained to you how to lower blood sugar to lower insulin needs, you’d have been even better off.
I make this point because where I live, no insurer will pay for a pump for any Type 2 who has any C-peptide left at all. Since Type 2s can avoid ending up in that condition by starting insulin early and lowering carbs, it is important to know that the solution for most Type 2s is NOT a pump, but much better diabetes education!
I’ve had Type 2 for almost ten years. I recently switched to insulin (with Metformin) on purpose. I would rather not fool around with new drugs, many of which haven’t been proven safe. Insulin, but contrast, is natural, cheap, and extremely effective.
I cannot recommend highly enough Jenny’s Web site, which was acclaimed the best health jWeb site on the Net (and I have no personal interest in it!), but it has saved my life. Many doctors today are not up to date on diabetes care. Here’s the link: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/
She has recently published a book “Blood Sugar 101.” She reviews all the studies and gives practical, everyday strategies for keeping your blood sugar below 140 and your AiC below 6, and anyone can do it!
I was diagnosed with type 2 5 days before christmas 5 years ago,I started just on metformin,1000 twice a day,that didnt work,so my doc added byetta,10mcg twice a day…i had been on that regimen until last october.suddenly my blood sugars started to be high again,fastings anywhere from 150’s to 200’s…and i couldnt get them down,we tried everything even going on actos,all that did was make me swell and feel like crap!..so now I am on Lantus,we stared out with Lantus 30 units once in the evening and janumet twice a day…I had all the side effects of the janument,the headaches,the upper respiratory problems,go figure,I am asthmatic also,so then I went to just Lantus (the solostar pen) 30 units in the evening and metformin 1000 morning and night,my sugars we leveling out,but then they got high again,so i was told to up the lantus by one unit every day till my fastings were down,so far i am up to 34 units and my fastings in the mornings are around 108 to 118,but about an hour after that they skyrocket again,the reason i was put on the insulin was becasue of my c-peptide and he didnt want my pancrease to play out completely, sooooo i have an appointment in a few days and i’ll see what happens,i will ceep you posted
a1c = 6.5 my weight is going down… LIFE IS GOOD.