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Type 2 and injecting insulin

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
pottersusan

pottersusan

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
My brother (type 2) started injecting insulin (novomix) yesterday. He doesn't do things like this forum.

Is there any advice I should be giving him (apart from losing weight!🙄)? Are there any pitfalls that can be avoided?
 
The first thing I'd say Sue is - a mixed insulin can't be adjusted in the same way as we do with MDI.

They do have a place in T2 though, some of the 'older' insulins are far better at propping up a beleaguered pancreas than they are at replacing it entirely as in T1 and your case.

The best thing you can do still, honestly IMHO - is to try and persuade your Bro to lose some weight! Curb the carbs and anything that is in excess - portion sizes!

Easier said than done, I know ......
 
I am also type 2 and started injecting 2nd Sept. I was surprised at how quickly my levels came down. I presume your brother is testing. I had 2 hypos or near hypos in the first couple of days. I now have jelly babies in each room ( 8 in a little plastic box - you can get 6 boxes for ?1 ion the pound shops). Glucose tablets on me at all times. And take my meter with me at all times. My symptoms were sweating and jelly legs (thighs) and according to my OH talking rubbish. Sit down, take reading, take remedial action and stay sitting for 10-15 minutes. I started on 10 units am and evening but this was adjusted to 8 and 12 after 4 days due to the hypos. Adjusted again to 13 in evening as morning readings still too highafter 2 weeks. Any help you and/or your brother need just post on here. It has helped me enormously and there is always someone who will know the answer.
 
trophywench said:
The first thing I'd say Sue is - a mixed insulin can't be adjusted in the same way as we do with MDI.

They do have a place in T2 though, some of the 'older' insulins are far better at propping up a beleaguered pancreas than they are at replacing it entirely as in T1 and your case.

The best thing you can do still, honestly IMHO - is to try and persuade your Bro to lose some weight! Curb the carbs and anything that is in excess - portion sizes!

Easier said than done, I know ......
Click to expand...

if you knew my brother!!! Excess is his middle name! When he was first diagnosed he was positively angelic, lost weight and managed control by diet alone. But it didn't last unfortunately, despite my sister in law's best efforts (she deserves a medal!). He's been suffering hypo symptoms in the last couple of days with a bg of 13! I've assured him they will disappear over the next few days/weeks and things will be better. What effect does alcohol have on diabetes? (I have given it up as my life is so complicated! so I don't know the answer to this)
 
pippaandben said:
I am also type 2 and started injecting 2nd Sept. I was surprised at how quickly my levels came down. I presume your brother is testing. I had 2 hypos or near hypos in the first couple of days. I now have jelly babies in each room ( 8 in a little plastic box - you can get 6 boxes for ?1 ion the pound shops). Glucose tablets on me at all times. And take my meter with me at all times. My symptoms were sweating and jelly legs (thighs) and according to my OH talking rubbish. Sit down, take reading, take remedial action and stay sitting for 10-15 minutes. I started on 10 units am and evening but this was adjusted to 8 and 12 after 4 days due to the hypos. Adjusted again to 13 in evening as morning readings still too highafter 2 weeks. Any help you and/or your brother need just post on here. It has helped me enormously and there is always someone who will know the answer.
Click to expand...
His pen only dispenses one size injection (very different to my management). Yes he's testing his blood twice daily. How much effect does the amount of carbohydrate you consume have, as you don't adjust your injections like I did (before pumping)? I think I might have to buy him a crate of jelly babies for Christmas!
This forum is so helpful and supportive. I'm not sure how I'd have coped in the early days without the willingness of people on here to share their knowledge and make suggestions. 'Talking' to people who really understand is much better than talking to doctors who know the theory but don't know what it's like at the sharp end of the needle.
 
Susan

Are you sure it's insulin he's injecting and not Byetta? I think Byetta pens come in 2 size doses, a pen that injects 5u and one that injects 10u, but I don't know of any insulin pens that only dispense one size injection.
 
I'm confused, Novomix like other insulin therapies is adjusted according to you situation and I'm not aware of a fixed dose pen😱 that sounds like a recipe for hypos. Novomix usually comes in a standard Flexpen like other Nov Nordisk insulins.
 
Vicsetter said:
I'm confused, Novomix like other insulin therapies is adjusted according to you situation and I'm not aware of a fixed dose pen😱 that sounds like a recipe for hypos. Novomix usually comes in a standard Flexpen like other Nov Nordisk insulins.
Click to expand...

I'd been given the wrong info - it's Novomix 30 and he has to take the same dose everytime at the moment, but it is a dial up flexpen. (30 I think). He's not been told anything about counting carbs which I find strange, but I don't know how different T2 is from T1.
 
As far as I understand it, Novomix is a combination of a rapid insulin and a basal insulin and it is injected prior to a meal. The basal insulin is supposed to last 24hrs. Do a google search for Novomix and you will find explanations. If your brother is still getting readings of 13 than either he is eating too much or his insulin dose needs increasing, but he should be discussing this with his GP/DSN. T1 and T2 are basically the same in that carbs convert to glucose in the blood, it's how the body deals with it that varies. T1s tend to adjust their rapid insulin to the carbs in their meal. T2s do not have that 'luxury' and should be careful about the quantity of carbs they ingest.
 
I was on Novomix for the first 9 months after diagnosis. You inject twice a day, normally before breakfast and before your evening meal. I has an intermediate acting insulin and a quick acting insulin mixed into it. You do need to eat at regular times and have the same amount of carb for the same meals each day. As Vicsetter says, T2s have the same reaction to carb that T1s do, it pushes BG up. If your brother is going to continue on this regime he'll have to eat the same amount of carbs at the same time of day, but he'll have to titrate his doses until they get him to the same level after his meals. It's nowhere near as easy as MDI, but it's certainly doable for T2s if they have a regular schedule.

I hated it as I don't! Also you often have to snack to keep the insulin satisfied in between meals. Or hypo!
 
Alcohol itself reduces BG. However if it comes with carbs (eg beer and some wines, cider etc) one can negate or partially negate the other. With Spirits then there's no carbs unless you add a non-diet mixer. However ALL alcohol is processed by the liver so that means if it sends us low, we won't get a 'liver dump' because it will be too busy processing booze to swap jobs and help us out.

So it's a bit unpredictable at best - and if you drink more, more unpredictable !
 
This is all really interesting. No one has mentioned counting carbs to him - which I've been really surprised about. I will pass on all the information in my effort to support him.
Thanks
 
Just a thought, and this might be a bit sneaky...

I have a friend who was so impressed by the effect that Slimming World has had on me that she has joined the same group. Her husband sounds remarkably similar to your brother, also T2, also unwilling to join himself or make any effort to lose weight. They have BOTH lost weight, because there is very little 'naughty' stuff in the house and everything is cooked the SW way (little or no fat). If your sister-in-law could benefit from losing a few lbs herself, her joining SW might be a way for him to eat more healthily by default. Told you it was sneaky!
 
LeeLee said:
Just a thought, and this might be a bit sneaky...

I have a friend who was so impressed by the effect that Slimming World has had on me that she has joined the same group. Her husband sounds remarkably similar to your brother, also T2, also unwilling to join himself or make any effort to lose weight. They have BOTH lost weight, because there is very little 'naughty' stuff in the house and everything is cooked the SW way (little or no fat). If your sister-in-law could benefit from losing a few lbs herself, her joining SW might be a way for him to eat more healthily by default. Told you it was sneaky!
Click to expand...

Sneaky is good. My sister-in-law and I will need to hatch a plot! i could feel sorry for my bro... but i don't think I will! :D
 
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