can’t cope anymore

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Humalog is lispro GM produced on e-coli, and Novorapid is aspart GM produced on yeast. I suppose in theory one GM production method might suit some people more than others.

Neither of them are officially insulin. They’re both analogues of insulin, manipulated to try to get a faster action. How much faster this action is depends on the individual. IMO, the speed is always ‘downgraded’. I remember when Humalog was first introduced and the whole selling point was how you could inject literally as you were about to eat, or even afterwards blah blah. Now it’s 10, 20 or even more minutes beforehand, and the earlier promo is conveniently forgotten.
 
Fingers crossed the switch to Humalog makes a big difference for you. I wonder if the allergic reaction (if that’s what you are experiencing) might take a few days/weeks to dissipate? Might be worth sticking with the Humalog for a little while to see if things improve gradually.

Just such a shame it has taken this long to get even this small simple change tried.

Let us know how you get on. Hope the switch goes smoothly BG-wise too.
 
@Whitney Queen because you are so badly affected perhaps you not in the best place to fight your cause. Speak with your local health authority to ask if you can have a ‘buddy’ to support you. I know education authorities have knowledgeable supporters, I can only think of PALS regarding medical issues but there may be others. Perhaps DUK legal advice have suggestions? Stay strong, you’re fighting your way onwards, I hope the best wishes from your new friends at DUK help you to triumph
 
Well done for being so courageous when you have been feeling so bad for so long. Your GP was out of order for laughing and your team seem to move at snail's pace, so keep on standing up for yourself and push for what you need (hard when you are feeling poorly and on the back foot, but you can do this). This is your life, it is worth living and you have the right to be treated properly. Hang onto that courage of yours, stay strong, stay calm and try some relaxation to help you focus on how to proceed. Hugs x
 
Just {{{hugs}}} from me, cos anything I could say, someone else has already.

Sadly even in this day and age, we still sometimes need to kiss an awful lot of frogs before we find our prince, but honestly - you can and you WILL.
 
trophywench said:
Sadly even in this day and age, we still sometimes need to kiss an awful lot of frogs before we find our prince,
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We've lost a lot of Princesses through them kissing frogs. And we've had to build more ponds for the extra frogs!
[Attempt at a joke 🙄]
 
Hi guys! Thanks for all your recent replies, been really bad today. Had scrambled eggs, sausages and baked beans for lunch (so pretty low carb they even told me to not inject for baked beans on the DAFNE course however they always effect my blood sugars so I inject for them anyway) and as soon as I finished I had to go straight back to bed as my entire body went weak. I am really praying that the humalog will make a difference because I really don’t think I can/want to continue like this. It’s really frustrating because every diabetic team appointment I’ve had over the years with the diabetic doctors, hba1c appointments, nurse appointments, during DAFNE etc I have mentioned this tiredness. When I completed DAFNE it was a 7 day 9-5 kind of thing at the hospital and they wanted us to eat lunch every day to see how our bloods would be effected and everyday after lunch I would just feel so weak and complain to them and it’s frustrating that only now after 4 years of complaining about these symptoms that they’re actually trying something by changing my insulin. I had to change GP recently as I was called into an appointment and I burst out crying to him and literally sat there BEGGING him for about fifteen minutes to do something like tests etc and he just opened the door and told me to leave. I’m really worried that it’s not going to be the insulin and that I’m just going to be Ill forever.
 
Olive said:
If it isnt the insulin, have you considered the condition ME ?
( Chronic fatigue syndrome) just a thought you appear to have some symptoms that relate its
just a thought might give you an idea if you google it, hope you get sorted soon xx
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Might mention this in my next appointment!
 
helli said:
I trialed Humalog as an alternative to NovoRapid.
The dose was exactly the same.
But my reaction to it was not so they are clearly different recipes. However, my reason for the trial was to see if it would act any faster than NovoRapid. It was even s-l-o-w-e-r for me.

We are all different so the reaction may be different.

(I am now on Fiasp and it is better for me in terms of speed but I have never experienced any reaction to any of the insulins I have tried.)
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I suggested fiasp as I thought the tiredness could be due to the rise of blood sugar after eating, and because novorapid and humalog don’t reach their peak until about an hour after injecting. However, they said that I wouldn’t be suitable for it because I have a bit of hypo anxiety. I’m thinking of asking them for a pump like the omnipod incase like the permanent release of small amounts of background insulin would help the tiredness and sore eyes etc. However, I’m very doubtful that the nhs would allow me to have a pump and especially the omnipod as I’ve heard stories about people having to wait about two/three years to get the pump and most people not even being deemed accepted. I feel like if I were to be offered a pump I’d be offered one of the ones with the tubes and which are a bit chunky however I feel like one like the omnipod would suit me better.
 
Hi Whitney queen, sorry to hear what you are going through, I have no idea about insulins but hope a change will sort it out xx
 
Hey Whitney queen, don’t rule out other pumps I used a Meditronic one with a tube and it’s no problem at all. In fact I wouldn’t want a pump stuck to me I would imagine it could be uncomfortable in bed.
Fingers crossed for you the new insulin helps your situation
 
@Whitney Queen Don’t despair. You’ll find the answer, I’m sure. It’s a tedious process of elimination, but you’re doing ok and progressing along that path of eliminating possibilities. Stay positive.

You can reduce post-meal spikes by carefully moving your bolus injection more in advance. Keeping big spikes down will help you generally feel a little better as will reducing hypos. Every little thing can help - sleeping well, eating well, getting fresh air. Those things won’t solve your problem, but they should make it more tolerable while you’re searching for an answer.
 
Hi everyone today was my first time injecting humalog! I was feeling fine until I ate (as usual) and like I predicted I got symptoms within ten minutes of finishing eating (fatigue, sore eyes, the constant yawning and desire to stretch my legs and arms) and I am once again at a loss, don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. Going to continue humalog for a month or so to see if my controls better than it was on novorapid if not I’ll just go back to novorapid. Starting to think that it’s never going to go away.
 
I second not ruling out other pumps.
I have had a tubey pump and a patch pump.
Tubey pumps have advantage of being able to move them around once attached. Many people find it relatively easy to hide their pump although I confess, being very slim this was harder for me.
My patch pump is not OmniPod because it is too expensive for my CCG. I have a cheaper Medtrum pump which is more discrete but still a bulge that can be seen with some clothes and cannot be moved without reattaching to suit my clothing for the day.

Apologies @Whitney Queen if this has already been asked but have you also considered your basal insulin? I assume you are focusing on the bolus because you have the reaction after food but I would not rule that out.

If bolus is the problem, a pump could be an issue because the fast acting insulin is used for basal. Whereas if basal is the issue, you will not have slow acting insulin.
 
Whitney Queen said:
Hi everyone today was my first time injecting humalog! I was feeling fine until I ate (as usual) and like I predicted I got symptoms within ten minutes of finishing eating (fatigue, sore eyes, the constant yawning and desire to stretch my legs and arms) and I am once again at a loss, don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. Going to continue humalog for a month or so to see if my controls better than it was on novorapid if not I’ll just go back to novorapid. Starting to think that it’s never going to go away.
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Have you been checked out for any food intolerances at all?

Reading your symptoms, they are relatively similar to my reaction to gluten.

I was advised to adopt a gluten-free diet by my Endo, whilst trying to in down the cause of a dire temperature dysregulation problem. I didn't feel I had an issue with gluten, but thought I'd nothing to lose. Now if I consume any gluten, it's like I've just taken a knock-out blow, with a headache for good measure.

I could just slump on the sofa and fight off sleep, except I don't then sleep. I become bloated and have joint pains. After 4-5days my tummy gets very upset, then I'm on the mend. It takes me 2-3 weeks to get over gluten these days.

Whilst your symptoms and mine aren't totally mirrored, the deep, bone deep fatigue is similar.

The test for Coeliac disease is a simple blood test, although they usually add on a couple of extra auto-immune condition tests at the same time.

When did you last have a broad blood panel done, including vitamins and minerals?
 
AndBreathe said:
Have you been checked out for any food intolerances at all?

Reading your symptoms, they are relatively similar to my reaction to gluten.

I was advised to adopt a gluten-free diet by my Endo, whilst trying to in down the cause of a dire temperature dysregulation problem. I didn't feel I had an issue with gluten, but thought I'd nothing to lose. Now if I consume any gluten, it's like I've just taken a knock-out blow, with a headache for good measure.

I could just slump on the sofa and fight off sleep, except I don't then sleep. I become bloated and have joint pains. After 4-5days my tummy gets very upset, then I'm on the mend. It takes me 2-3 weeks to get over gluten these days.

Whilst your symptoms and mine aren't totally mirrored, the deep, bone deep fatigue is similar.

The test for Coeliac disease is a simple blood test, although they usually add on a couple of extra auto-immune condition tests at the same time.

When did you last have a broad blood panel done, including vitamins and minerals?
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Had my coeliac disease and various other things like thyroid checked a few months ago maybe 6 months ago now and nothing came up. I actually tried having a week off gluten however I still felt exactly the same after eating things like gluten free bread etc so I gave up and just started eating it again. In terms of vitamins I’m predicting they were checked in the same test. It’s just horrible how I’ve been feeling this awful for four years and I’m no closer to finding out what’s wrong. The symptoms only started 4 years ago as soon as I left hospital after being In ketoacidosis / first diagnosed. As soon as I got home and started eating for myself and injecting I was experiencing them, every year I see the diabetic doctor and I say the same thing when he asks how my diabetes is going “I feel ill everyday so much so that I can’t work” it would be weird how a food intolerance suddenly started as well as diabetes? I asked about food intolerances and they said it wasn’t simple to test and I’ve had no advice from anyone on how to go about trying to figure it out.
 
helli said:
I second not ruling out other pumps.
I have had a tubey pump and a patch pump.
Tubey pumps have advantage of being able to move them around once attached. Many people find it relatively easy to hide their pump although I confess, being very slim this was harder for me.
My patch pump is not OmniPod because it is too expensive for my CCG. I have a cheaper Medtrum pump which is more discrete but still a bulge that can be seen with some clothes and cannot be moved without reattaching to suit my clothing for the day.

Apologies @Whitney Queen if this has already been asked but have you also considered your basal insulin? I assume you are focusing on the bolus because you have the reaction after food but I would not rule that out.

If bolus is the problem, a pump could be an issue because the fast acting insulin is used for basal. Whereas if basal is the issue, you will not have slow acting insulin.
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Hello there! Thanks for the reply, my next appointment with the diabetic doctor is in March I believe (it was supposed to be last March but it got cancelled because of Covid and it’s probably going to get cancelled again this year too) I’m planning on mentioning a pump, I like the idea of one without the wires more as I’m quite squeamish in terms of those types of things but we shall see what they say, I googled it and it said that there were essentially rules you have to meet in order to get it and I don’t really fit the criteria. In terms of my long acting insulin I used to be on Lantus all the time & would hypo like no tomorrow (still with the same symptoms I have now) and I switched to tresiba last year and I still feel awful. They say I’m on the right amount as I try to only eat once a day to avoid symptoms and the bloods stay in range / don’t go high or low whilst fasting so they say the background is fine. However, I may need more if I actually eat, it’s probably just staying ok because I have to starve myself to avoid feeling ill.
 
Whitney Queen said:
Hi everyone today was my first time injecting humalog! I was feeling fine until I ate (as usual) and like I predicted I got symptoms within ten minutes of finishing eating (fatigue, sore eyes, the constant yawning and desire to stretch my legs and arms) and I am once again at a loss, don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. Going to continue humalog for a month or so to see if my controls better than it was on novorapid if not I’ll just go back to novorapid. Starting to think that it’s never going to go away.
Click to expand...

Don’t give up @Whitney Queen TBH, the Humalog wouldn’t have been my choice because it’s still an analogue, but I understood it was a small first change and good to rule out just in case it worked.

If you want to rule out an insulin type intolerance, then you’d be better trying animal insulin or a normal human insulin (ie not analogue). You’ll find a lot of eye-rolling and patronising if you ask, but just stand firm. You are entitled to have an insulin type that works for you.

When you eat and get these symptoms, do you test your blood sugar (I’m just wondering what it is in case it’s relevant in any way)?
 
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