Can the pancreas recover full functionality?

[ChrisM]

I have had a couple of possible hypos since being diagnosed T2 in June, and both have come at meal times. The latest was this morning. At 0630 my blood glucose reading was 5.3, so was pleased with that. I injected my usual amount of insulin and because the reading was low and on such a cold morning I added a bit of extra honey to my toast. About 10 minutes after eating the last of the toast I started to feel dizzy, breathing more heavily, vision impaired slightly and started to sweat a bit. So I drank a half small bottle of lucozade (in sips) and had a few chocolate biscuits too and eventually after about a half hour started to feel normal. At 0830 my blood glucose was at 5.2, which considering I had two wedges of toast covered thick with honey AND lucozade AND chocolate biscuits was very surprising.

Has this happened to anyone else? It seems like I ate two meals of energy, one taken care of by the injected insulin and the other taken care of by perhaps body-produced insulin?

So I guess my question is this; can the pancreas recover enough to function normally without drugs? And if so does this normal functionality occur at random, or can it be nurtured to occur every meal time without drugs?

 

[Caroline]

Sorry to disapoint, but once diabetic, always a diabetic.

It may be the cold that is causing the hypos, quite a few other people have had them since it turned cold.

It may also be a honey moon period, not quite sure how this works, but the pancreas is supported by the medication we take and finds a new lease of life for a while. I'm sure some one will explain it better.

 

[Ellie Jones]

T2 is insulin residence and/or the body not being able to utilise the insulin being produced sufficiently...

If you've lost weight then it's likely that your insulin residence had lowered an the insulin your body is naturally producing is able to deal..

If you've increased your exercise this could also be helping the body to utilise the insulin being produced a lot better..

There are a couple of factors, such has have you been taking other medication such as steroids that can increase your bg, or have you been through a period of illness or stress that now has eased..

I think due to the hypo's you do need to speak to your diabetic team to decided what is your best move, as in is this a signal that you either need to reduce your insulin or actually stop taking it.. Maybe needs replacing with an oral medical..

But you do need to give your team a bell though

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

From a T1 perspective insulin requirements are rarely fixed or static. All sorts of changes - everything from weather to stress levels can mean you need more (or less) insulin to do the job it was doing a week or so ago.

It sounds very much like you could be experiencing the same sort of thing. It would be worth speaking to your Dr/clinic about assessing and adjusting doses when you get repeated patterns of hypos.

 

[Robster65]

T2 is insulin residence and/or the body not being able to utilise the insulin being produced sufficiently...

If you've lost weight then it's likely that your insulin residence had lowered an the insulin your body is naturally producing is able to deal..

If you've increased your exercise this could also be helping the body to utilise the insulin being produced a lot better..

There are a couple of factors, such has have you been taking other medication such as steroids that can increase your bg, or have you been through a period of illness or stress that now has eased..

I think due to the hypo's you do need to speak to your diabetic team to decided what is your best move, as in is this a signal that you either need to reduce your insulin or actually stop taking it.. Maybe needs replacing with an oral medical..

But you do need to give your team a bell though

Spot on IMO. 🙂

Resistance will change like a T1's sensitivity, so it's probably the way your body is responding to your pancreas, rather than the pancreas itself.

Rob