Can someone explain something to me r.e insulin for type 2s.

[Steff]

Now I know a diet controlled type 2 and a one also on metformin dont suffer hypos or in rare cases they might but anyway.........
My confusion lies here, if a type 2 is started on insulin is that where the regularity of a type 1 having a hypo starts? like say if i was moved from victoza which causes me no hypos and put on insulin is it the insulin that triggers hypos because your more seseptical.?

Hope and pray that makes sense to someone out there 🙂

Cheers

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Now I know a diet controlled type 2 and a one also on metformin dont suffer hypos or in rare cases they might but anyway.........
My confusion lies here, if a type 2 is started on insulin is that where the regularity of a type 1 having a hypo starts? like say if i was moved from victoza which causes me no hypos and put on insulin is it the insulin that triggers hypos because your more seseptical.?

Hope and pray that makes sense to someone out there 🙂

Cheers

Hi Steff,
Yes to much insulin will and does cause hypos. It's a balancing act between carbs/insulin/exercise/well/unwellness/hormones oh and a tempremental body that decides it doesn't want to play at being hypo free.

 

[Catwoman76]

Now I know a diet controlled type 2 and a one also on metformin dont suffer hypos or in rare cases they might but anyway.........
My confusion lies here, if a type 2 is started on insulin is that where the regularity of a type 1 having a hypo starts? like say if i was moved from victoza which causes me no hypos and put on insulin is it the insulin that triggers hypos because your more seseptical.?

Hope and pray that makes sense to someone out there 🙂

Cheers

Hi steff I am not type 2, but as a type 1, one of the reasons of having a hypo is too much insulin for the amount of carb intake. Also exercise can cause a hypo if it is in the low to middle range to start with.

I am insulin sensitive, so I have to be careful about how much insulin to take. Even if I need to correct because it is a bit high side, I only take a small amount because that 'extra' dose can give me hypo's throughout the day sometimes. I hope I have worded this properly for you😛 but I'm sure others will be along with more answers. Sheena x

 

[AndyS]

Hi Steff

I have been on insulin a couple of years now (I'm type 2) and only had about 4 hypos. Every one of them I have been able to sort myself out.

The first one was a bit scary but I was quite lucky, the nurse at the hospital spent hours and hours with me and warned me what the signs and symptoms of a hypo are 🙂

Hope your keeping okay

Andy

 

[Northerner]

A lot of Type 2s go onto just a slow-acting insulin, like levemir or lantus and I think you are less likely to hypo on this than if you are also injecting fast-acting - probably because the slow acting is intended to match the liver's glucose output which is generally more predictable than trying to match FA to food 🙂

 

[Vicsetter]

Hi Steff, remember me? i'm on insulin AND victoza. However to answer your worries, I don't think you should worry too much about insulin as long as it's a basal one like Levemir. I've only had 3 small hypos in about as many years (all above 3mmol and all at 3 am). It has more effect on your driving licence!

I think that the use of rapid insulin and carb counting to adjust the dosage is probably more the cause of hypos.

Are you not getting on with Victoza or is it just not working?

 

[Robster65]

Not sure if this is what you meant but I'll come at it from a different angle.

As far as I know, metformin is meant to lower your insulin resistance, ie. make it easier for your own insulin to enter cells and do its job. It also stimulates the pancreas to produce a bit more insulin when needed (I may be wrong on that). I'm not sure if victoza does much the same.

Injecting insulin, on the other hand, is basically like squirting the stuff dorectly in, hopefully in the right amounts, but if you overinject, you end up with too much circulatign and can't do anything about it other than eat.

The difference being that the metformin/victoza can only use what your pancreas produces, which shouldn't be enough to send you too low but the injected insulin can and will drop your BG to dangerous levels if you have too much.

Hope I've not got the wrong end of the stick, but it passes a couple of minutes either way !

Rob

 

[Steff]

Thanks everyone,

@Vicsetter it was curiosity that was all x

@Rob thats a fine explanation thank you very much.

@AndyS im doing well thank you, I hope you are too

I never stop learning about diabetes thats for sure

 

[Mark T]

...It also stimulates the pancreas to produce a bit more insulin when needed (I may be wrong on that)...

Since no-one picked up on this yet 🙂 I believe that statement to be incorrect.

Metformin reduces insulin resistance. It also slows down the livers secretion of glucose into the blood stream. Metformin doesn't cause insulin secretion, which is why it doesn't cause hypo's (normally at least).

Sulfonylureas do cause insulin secretion, which is why they can cause hypos. Byette and Victoza also can cause insulin secretion, but I believe it's better matched to the bodies actual need and thus doesn't usually cause hypos.

 

[Northerner]

Since no-one picked up on this yet 🙂 I believe that statement to be incorrect.

Metformin reduces insulin resistance. It also slows down the livers secretion of glucose into the blood stream. Metformin doesn't cause insulin secretion, which is why it doesn't cause hypo's (normally at least).

Sulfonylureas do cause insulin secretion, which is why they can cause hypos. Byette and Victoza also can cause insulin secretion, but I believe it's better matched to the bodies actual need and thus doesn't usually cause hypos.

Thanks for the clarification Mark 🙂

 

[Steff]

Since no-one picked up on this yet 🙂 I believe that statement to be incorrect.

Metformin reduces insulin resistance. It also slows down the livers secretion of glucose into the blood stream. Metformin doesn't cause insulin secretion, which is why it doesn't cause hypo's (normally at least).

Sulfonylureas do cause insulin secretion, which is why they can cause hypos. Byette and Victoza also can cause insulin secretion, but I believe it's better matched to the bodies actual need and thus doesn't usually cause hypos.

Thanks Mark.🙂