This morning I was 147.9:12 am waking/before Breakfast.
I didnt eat because I wasnt hungry.
Now, lunch time…I’m 155. 12:46 pm
My Dr gave me a book to read . …" Am I hungry?" Supposed to help me gage when I need to eat.
I dont get this. When do I eat? How do I get my numbers down?
I’m on Humalog. 2 units if I’m over 120 before meals. 4 units between121-150 etc…
I cannot afford a dr appt to go ask questions. the copay is just money we dont have at this time. sigh… Feeling like just not taking the insulin and not eating if I’m not hungry. this is just not getting better. My numbers are getting crappy because I just keep giving up.
fuss with me? give me your thoughts? I need some hugs and a kick to get something going at the same time.
MeadowLark
i see you’re using humalog as a bolus, what are you using for a basal? levemir or lantus?
It’s not a bolus. Dr has me take it “Before a meal.Only at the following rate.” test 4 times a day.
70-120 2 units
121- 150 4 units
151- 180 6 units
181 - 210 8 units
211 - 240 10 units
271 or up 12 units
he says,"you have insulin resistance, your sugars will never be normal unless you can lose some extra weight with diet/exercise. sorry that the answer is not sugar coated. your body cannot handle ANY excess carbs/sugar. insulin is only a bandaid, and has great potential to cause weight gain, meaning that eventually you’ll need greater doses of insulin. you could kick/control this without medications if you can find a way to fit some aerobic activity in and shed 10-15 lbs. I know, easier said than done, but it’s the truth. If you could do this, and maintain the diet and activity that it takes to get you there, you would probably never have to see a physician for a diabetic visit again…there’s some incentive."
That is all the help I am gonna get. I’m no longer able to go in for a Dr visit because I can no longer afford the copay.
Of course, the copay goes bye-bye after the end of May when our “TriCare” ends.
I just feel kicked. I’m having a hard enough time trying to eat different than the rest of my family. I’m not succeeding.
MeadowLark
MeadowLark Please don’t give up!! Keep taking your insulin no matter what.Your body still needs it. The liver creates glucose in the morning upon rising.This is the dawn phenomenom.But upon taking insulin it will level out during the day.
sigh…when the money runs out…so will the insulin. Even if it is cheaper than the Byetta pen.
I’m just not doing good fixing two different meals. Then, sitting in a corner to eat my meal so that I dont eat what my family eats. I’m not that strong. I ride my bike and chase after the kids. I’m not an “aerobic person…”
MeadowLark
"you could kick/control this without medications if you can find a way to fit some aerobic activity in and shed 10-15 lbs"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
When will doctors learn to treat their patients better? Insulin resistance has nothing to do with how much you weigh, and unfortunately whether or not you lose the weight you will probably still be resistant. Diabetes has more basis in genetics than it does anything else. (Oddly enough, so does weight, though you will never get an MD to admit it).
So, before we give advice on how to control your blood sugar, did he tell you to take the above amount of insulin regardless of what you were about to eat?
Yes,. Just take the insulin exactly as the number fits. I’m not gonna exercise more than I already am. It just does not fit our lifestyle. I’m Not a bouncy aerobic girl. I’ve a fused neck, rhuematoid artharitus,
had surgeries years ago to remove spurs from both feet… I’m not into more than riding the bike.
My family? as far as I know … all were diabetic both type 1 and type 2. Along with heart problems galore and cancer and , and , and etc…
I’m just wanting to make it long enough to see all my kids thru school and hopefully settled in life.
My political thoughts of this world stink, So I dont care about living past another 20 years. That’s all.
MeadowLark
Sorry all…I’m just depressed. I dont know how to get out of the funk,
Today:
09:12AM
Sugar
147 mg/dL (Morning) Before Breakfast Edit Glucose Entry Delete Glucose Entry
Comment Comments: not hungry
12:43PM
Sugar
155 mg/dL (Afternoon) Before Lunch Edit Glucose Entry Delete Glucose Entry
Comment Comments: Chickpea/mushroom hummus with carrots, blackbread with pb.
06:23PM
Sugar
106 mg/dL (Evening) N/A Edit Glucose Entry Delete Glucose Entry
Comment Comments: not ready for dinner yet… not hungry
I have to wonder about the way some doctors prescribe insulin! Can you possible see a certified diabetes educator? It was a CDE who actaully worked out the exact amount of insulin to carb ratio I was at, and helped me determine how much insulin I needed to correct a high.
If you can get a copy of “Using Insulin” by John Walsh, I think you’ll be pleased with the information he gives on how to adjust your dosages for what your needs are. Some of his info is also at www.diabetesnet.com/
I’m not at a point where I can buy any books. I’m not able to afford switching dr’s or seeing anyone new due to not being able to afford the copays. ( not that it will matter much in a couple of months.)
My problem started when I emailed dr asking if I could "take a bit more insulin after a meal if I hadnt counted my carbs incorrectly. ( At that time, I had been testing ok’d by him for 6 times a day. I got that email,.the one above… then discovered that I had been switched to 4 times a day.) I dont have the copay money to afford to go ask him why the changes.
My guess… he thinks that I just want to try to "cheat the numbers,be lazy about exercise or what type of foods I"m eating."
MeadowLark…not really sure if I should take any insulin considering the circumstances. Just really not sure what to do. I feel left out. Like I dont fit in so many places because I’m basically on my own. The only difference is now I know after I eat that if I get sleepy it was too much of something.
Hi Meadowlark
I am sorry, but I think what your doctor told you is a bunch of bull. For some of us who are insulin resistant, the insulin we make may not be available to us no matter what we do. That is why we have to use injectable insulin. And you can wait all day long without eating and your blood sugars may not come down. Shoot the insulin and also eat. My doctor tells me I only mess up my metabolism if I don’t eat on a regular schedule. If you are not hungry, only eat a small amount and shoot. But keep up a regular schedule. If you are in a habit of skipping meals your body thinks it is going to starve so it will conserve energy. I really wish you could see a doctor who likes diabetics or at least is sensitive to a diabetics needs. I hope you can feel me hugging you. Many of us have been through this kind of garbage before we found a doctor who treated us well. I wish you good days with good blood sugar control. I wish you better insulin coverage and most of all I wish you lots of good loving care. Please come back and tell us how you are doing. And please take you insulin.
Meadowlark…Wow…you are going through a tough time.
You know there are many people here rooting for you…
Ok, here are my suggestions:
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You can take some of your insulin in the morning even if you decide to skip breakfast. This will bring your blood sugar down. But remember that the scale the doc gave you (even though it sucks) is based on you taking insulin and then eating. If you don’t eat, but you still take the same amount of insulin, it is possible for you to go low. You might try taking 1 unit instead of 2, or even half a unit if whatever supplies you have can measure out that much.
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Figure out how your body reacts to insulin. Wait until your blood sugar is a little high (to help prevent lows), and then take 1 unit of insulin. Test your blood sugar every hour, and make sure to have a sugar-filled drink handy in case it starts to drop too low. This will let you see how much 1 unit of insulin will lower your blood sugar, and it will help you to more closely calculate how much insulin to take in the suggestion above.
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There are some great books out there, and your local library probably carries some of them. I’m not an expert on type 2 books, but I am sure some of the others here can recommend some good titles.
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Hang in there! Diabetes always comes with ups and downs (and I’m not just talking about blood sugar. heh.), but things will get better once you get into a routine that works for you.
And seriously, asking somebody with pain problems to get out and exercise more? What the frick was your doctor thinking? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
LOL! to #4!!! I’ve been waking up for the past 3 or 4 days with such pain in my lower back and hips. It makes it hard to situp and get out of bed. I dont know what to think. I havent done anything strange that I know of. I finally made it up after some serious “slow” movements! walking hurts! I made it downstairs and tested at 141. I’ll do as you suggest and take 1 unit now. It is 9:41am. (yup slow morning with the time changes. One cool thing about homeschooling 
we just get up later and go a bit longer.) Anyway, my shoulders are hurting today to start with too.
I’ll let you knowhow things go today. I’ll just keep a total record right here and in my SugarStats.
MeadowLark
Meadowlark,
I’m just curious, but the number of units you are being told to take seems awfully low for an insulin resistant Type 2. I take 2-6 units at a time and I am very insulin sensitive. I know you can’t afford to go back to the doctor but I am wondering 2 things. If your numbers aren’t coming down, could it be because you are Type 2 and have insulin resistance. or if they do come down a little with insulin, perhaps you are Type 1 or 1.5? Did you say you have rheumatoid arthristis? That is an autoimmune disease and may be an indicator of Type 1. Another thought I have is that it is strange to prescribe how many units based on how high you are before eating, rather than taking into account how many carbs you are planning to eat. I have always heard that you should take “X” number of units based on an insulin unit/grams of carbs ratio, e.g 1: 10 or 1: 15, PLUS extra units to bring you down if you are higher than normal before you eat. Lastly, I believe you can buy regular insulin over the counter and it is quite cheap. You use it the same way as Humalog (it’s called Humalin) but have to inject a little earlier- 45 minutes to an hour before you eat, rather than 20 minutes to half hour. It might work better for you as it stays longer in your system and can act more like a basal and keep on bringing down those sugars.
Good luck!
Plus, you are going to rock the lesson on how the cells absorb glucose.
Libby, Mu numbers do come down with the humalog. Just slowly. Dr switched me to humalog because we knew that when insurance dropped I would not be able to afford the 5mcg Byetta Pen. ( which did great and helping me drop my numbers in to fairly good control.) We did do the C-Peptide test when we had the money. My results were that I was High. Dr says that I’m type2. My brother was diagnosed at age 54 with type1 and had numbers that stayed in the 300 + range all the time. My numbers when totally off medicine stay between an occasional low of 65 to 350. Really depends on what I eat. Riding my bike will help pull a number down about 20 points if I ride a consistant 30 minutes at 17 to 21 miles per hour with no resistance. It takes about an hour after I ride to see that number drop. ( brother died at the age of 77 with complications of cancer and heartdisease) Yes there is a huge age difference of 30 yrs. my birth mom was barely a teen.) so if I make it to my 70’s I guess I’ll be doing good.
I’ll give Walmart a call on the Humalin and see if I can get it.
Meadowlark…just called I can buy it there without a prescript! YAY!
ugh!!! is it that I just washed my hands in warm water? I just tested. I’m 140!
I dropped 1 point in one hour with 1 unit of Humalog.
Meadowlark
Sara? I dont undertand… I’m slow on some things…
11:45 am bloodsugar number 126! Yiiiippppppppeeeee!
Ok what all does this mean? the first hour with 1 unit dropped me 1 point.
Now the second hour I’ve dropped and additional 26 points.
ummm still really not hungry. I always feel like I can go until around 2 or 3 pm before I feel hungry.
( then, I have this crappy problem of emotional eating/stress eating.) Actually as I type right now… I can feel my body doing that number that says I can “feel” the drop. )
Meadowlark
ps… what is the next step in this experiment? By the way:P I found a meter for $25. dollars taht I can get 50 teststrips for $13.89! Kinda makes me feel rich.
C peptide test doesn’t prove you are not at the beginning of Type 1. I have some c peptide because I am not completely insulin dependent. But if you did not come down from one unit of insulin, it may be that you do have insulin resistance and you need higher doses. I find that 1 unit doesn’t really register. I would try 2-3 units as a better test. Maybe someone with Type 2 could jump in here but I am pretty sure that 2-6 units is what we insulin sensitve Type 1s take and if you are Type 2 you will need a LOT more than that. Could be that it is your own 2nd phase insulin that is bringing your numbers down since Humalog doesn’t work slowly. You should see a big drop in an hour on that since it is fast acting.