Glucose Toxicity

[Spoon]

Has anyone been treated for Glucose Toxicity?
I finally got to see the community diabetic nurses this week and ended up seeing a consultant. I went through my history and she concluded it was likely I had glucose toxicity and needed insulin to give my pancreas a break, with the aim of getting sugars down. Longer term aim is to then manage T2 on tablets . I had a CPeptide test and it was out of range (very high) but perhaps not surprising as I’d had gliclizide that morning. I also have PCOS and am insulin resistant shown by that test I presume as despite my own pancreas being forced to pump out the insulin my latest HBA1C was 93. I now have Humalin M3 starting off with 8 units morning and night and need to adjust it until I’m in range. Feel a bit unconfident about this part but will persevere. Anyone else out there have this experience?

 

[trophywench]

We may not share your actual range of problems but I should think every Type 1 at the very least, shares the part about feeling unconfident at adjusting insulin - it is a lifelong juggling task for us, we don't have the option of stopping using it. We get blase about doing this all the while after years and years but heck!! it was a bit scary to begin with for all of us - and sometimes still can be.

The most important thing you have at the moment to guide you with this, is your BG meter and strips - so test, test, test - and I've always found that you shouldn't react instantly to a high BG at X o'clock out of the blue - wait till you see if it's a pattern at that time of day and if so, then adjust the dose. If the hospital say something different then obviously be guided by them and ignore my non expert thoughts.

None of us T1s should be using Humulin M3 because it is an intermediate action insulin not ideally suited to the best way of treating T1 but it is considered to be a 'gentler' insulin - plus it doesn't involve so many jabs every day - so probably a bit easier to get your head round coping with.

 

[Spoon]

Just to report back - I am now taking the maximum dose of Humulin M3 twice a day (the pen won't go any higher) and from a recent Endocrinologist appointment, they're going to also put me on Jardiance to treat the insulin resistance. I have tried this before and it didn't work (and gave me thrush) but the alternative was another injection like Lyxumia, which I didn't have a very good experience with before, so I figured thrush was better than incapacitation so went with the Jardiance! Blood glucose is still out of range, but is in the teens rather than the 20s and I've even seen the occasional 6.9, so don't feel totally hopeless!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for the update @Spoon

Glad that your levels are beginning to come down a little.

With your doses being so high, I wonder whether it might be worth asking about a more concentrated insulin. It’s not commonly used, but standard insulin is u100, and u200 or u500 varieties are available (u100 is 100 units per ml). It means you can get a higher dose with a smaller volume of fluid.