Hello Type 2 put on insulin

[Mereli]

Hello
My name is Mereli. I have type 2 Diabetes for 5 years
It has been poorly controlled. I have been unwell and have lost 3 stone
I have now been put on Insulin and everyone i have spoken to says the weight will pile on
Is this true and please any advice
Thank you

 

[Deleted member 25429]

No it’s not true , I’m type 1 but by following a low carb diet adjusting insulin accordingly I have lost three stone since July . I know I can inject insulin to cover whatever I want to eat, but by eating low carbs the weight is easy to loose , and I never feel hungry . Good luck

 

[Ljc]

Hello @Mereli . Welcome to the forum. No it is not true. I have been on insulin since 2016 and my weight has not gone up .

What insulin’s are you on.

 

[Toucan]

Hello Mereli, welcome to the forum.
Freddie and Lin have already answered your question, so I hope you feel re-assured by this.
It must be very difficult, dealing with diabetes control on top of other health problems.
Is possible to start to take more control of your diabetes now?
Most of us find that adjusting our eating habits has a considerable good effects. More exercise is good as well, if this is an option for you.
There are several options on eating plans, but many of us on the forum find that a low-carb diet works well for us. There is a useful description of this on the Maggie Davey's letter.
If you want to see an actual meal plan there is one on the main website. Here is a link
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/meal-plans-/low-carb
Very best wishes, and we would love to know how it goes for you.
There are plenty of us here that can try and answer any questions.

 

[SB2015]

Hello
My name is Mereli. I have type 2 Diabetes for 5 years
It has been poorly controlled. I have been unwell and have lost 3 stone
I have now been put on Insulin and everyone i have spoken to says the weight will pile on
Is this true and please any advice
Thank you

Hi Mereli
Welcome to the forum.

As others have said there is no reason to put on weight just because you are using insulin.
It must be difficult managing a variety of conditions at the same time, and hard to focus on your Diabetes.
With your recent weight loss you may find that you are able to start to improve your management of your glucose levels, and that the insulin will help you with this.

 

[Mereli]

No it’s not true , I’m type 1 but by following a low carb diet adjusting insulin accordingly I have lost three stone since July . I know I can inject insulin to cover whatever I want to eat, but by eating low carbs the weight is easy to loose , and I never feel hungry . Good luck

 

[Mereli]

Thank you Freddie for your lovely reply
Good to know. I have been on Metformin for 5 years so going onto insulin is scary
Keep well

 

[Mereli]

Hi Mereli
Welcome to the forum.

As others have said there is no reason to put on weight just because you are using insulin.
It must be difficult managing a variety of conditions at the same time, and hard to focus on your Diabetes.
With your recent weight loss you may find that you are able to start to improve your management of your glucose levels, and that the insulin will help you with this.

 

[Mereli]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
I have been on Metformin but Consultant said Insulin only option at minute
I am 9st now having lost 3 stone due to poorly controlled Diabetes so maybe half a stone would be ok but i really want to continue to weigh less in a bid to improve my Diabetes
Low carb diet research it is I think
Thank you again and continue to keep well
Mereli

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Mereli and welcome from me too.
It is unusual for weight loss not to be accompanied by improvement in control, particularly when you are also on Metformin. Did you find the weight difficult to lose or was it easier than you expected or started to drop off quickly? The latter night suggest that you are not Type 2 but another version of diabetes.
Can you give us an idea of what your average daily food intake looks like? Ie what you usually have for breakfast, lunch and tea?.... and do you snack much in between?
We might be able to make suggestions for low carb swaps which would help you, but you would need to take any dietary changes slowly and carefully if you have already been started on insulin otherwise your BG levels could drop too low.
If you are already eat a reasonably low carb diet, then I would suggest you ask the consultant if you might be (LADA) Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults or sometimes referred to as Type 1.5. There is testing which can be done to clarify you Type diagnosis. This often exhibits like Type 2 in the early stages but the patient will eventually need insulin as their own insulin production slows down due to antibodies attacking their pancreas. This is a very different situation to your average Type 2 who often tends to produce too much insulin but be resistant to it. Getting the right diagnosis enables you to have access to different support and equipment to help you manage your diabetes. so I would ask about testing.
As regards putting the weight back on when using insulin, this tends to happen with people who have not changed their diet and lifestyle. I also worried about it last year when I started on insulin. I continued to eat a low carb, higher fat diet which I enjoy and my weight is stable despite having cream in my coffee instead of sugar, eating lots of cheese and nuts and avocados and using lots of olive oil and butter to cook veg with and fatty meat.... I just don't eat sweet stuff or bread/pasta/potatoes/rice anymore to keep my insulin requirements low and I try to be more active.

 

[Deleted member 25429]

Thank you Freddie for your lovely reply
Good to know. I have been on Metformin for 5 years so going onto insulin is scary
Keep well

I was diagnosed type 1 last June at the age of 52 . I know how scary it is being on insulin , but with time and regular testing it does get easier . Each day is a small step forward . Good luck and look after yourself

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Mereli

Hope you adjust to starting insulin smoothly.

We have experienced insulin users of all types here to compare notes with. Do you know which Insulin(s) you are being prescribed?

 

[Mereli]

Hi Mereli and welcome from me too.
It is unusual for weight loss not to be accompanied by improvement in control, particularly when you are also on Metformin. Did you find the weight difficult to lose or was it easier than you expected or started to drop off quickly? The latter night suggest that you are not Type 2 but another version of diabetes.
Can you give us an idea of what your average daily food intake looks like? Ie what you usually have for breakfast, lunch and tea?.... and do you snack much in between?
We might be able to make suggestions for low carb swaps which would help you, but you would need to take any dietary changes slowly and carefully if you have already been started on insulin otherwise your BG levels could drop too low.
If you are already eat a reasonably low carb diet, then I would suggest you ask the consultant if you might be (LADA) Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults or sometimes referred to as Type 1.5. There is testing which can be done to clarify you Type diagnosis. This often exhibits like Type 2 in the early stages but the patient will eventually need insulin as their own insulin production slows down due to antibodies attacking their pancreas. This is a very different situation to your average Type 2 who often tends to produce too much insulin but be resistant to it. Getting the right diagnosis enables you to have access to different support and equipment to help you manage your diabetes. so I would ask about testing.
As regards putting the weight back on when using insulin, this tends to happen with people who have not changed their diet and lifestyle. I also worried about it last year when I started on insulin. I continued to eat a low carb, higher fat diet which I enjoy and my weight is stable despite having cream in my coffee instead of sugar, eating lots of cheese and nuts and avocados and using lots of olive oil and butter to cook veg with and fatty meat.... I just don't eat sweet stuff or bread/pasta/potatoes/rice anymore to keep my insulin requirements low and I try to be more active.

 

[Mereli]

Hello Barbara
Thank you so much for your extremely detailed reply
I was diagnosed 5 years ago and saw a Diabetic nurse 4 times. The GP insisted Metformin slow release was the answer twice daily
I am careful about what I eat. I don't eat red meat as i also have Chrohns and it doesn't last long in my system
I kept going to the GP complaining of low energy recurrent thrush and generally feeling unwell
My weight went from 11 stone 3 to 8 stone 4
The GP sent me on an urgent 2 week referral for scans and nothing except diverticulitis and my Chrohns found
I attended my local walk in around 5 weeks ago generally feeling really poorly
The Doctor I saw there took my blood sugar levels and they were 31. She increased my Metformin and put in a request for me to be urgently seen at the Diabetic outpatients
I had never been given a machine to test my levels and knew nothing about how to deal with my Diabetes type 2
The Consultant there took my levels and they were 28
He stated insulin 12mg breakfast and dinner and Metformin 1 tablet breakfast and 1 teatime
I have now got a testing machine and my insulin pens
When they took my weight there I was just under 9st.
I was told I will put weight on with the insulin and even though half a stone may make me look less craggy I don't want to pile it on
I am so confused but at least now I am under the care of a Specialist team
Its just so confusing do I eat few carbs more fat or what
I did see the Dietician for the first time ever at the clinic very briefly but she just showed me the plate re portion sizes
Any help is so appreciated. My moods are low and I am so confused
Thank you
Mereli x

 

[trophywench]

Your mood will be high if your blood glucose is high - or low - it affects us mentally when it's out of kilter with what it's supposed to be, either way. Yeast infections are also VERY common when too high for too long.

Never mind - hopefully the insulin will do the job for you, along with avoiding the mega high carb stuff. The body couldn't care less whether a carb comes from sugar itself, or what colour it happens to be - it will turn the carbs in lettuce and those in cake to glucose anyway! But for the same number of carbs we can eat one helluva lot more green veg than Swiss roll! Hence I treat it like carbs are money - so green veg are cheap and Xmas cake is far too expensive to contemplate buying.

 

[rebrascora]

Meat will not impact your diabetes and is actually one of the things we can eat without concern because it is mostly protein and water with no carbohydrates. I appreciate that red meat might be a problem for your other condition but chicken and fish and eggs are usually all great for us and full fat dairy, like butter, cheese, whole milk and creamy natural yoghurt. (Avoid low fat products as they almost always have added sugar). The body can break down a small percentage of protein and fat into glucose but it is much harder to do so it creates a slow steady trickle of energy rather than the fast metabolism of carbs into glucose, so protein and fat keeps you fuller for longer and keeps yu ticking over but prevents BG spikes. Fat is also calorie dense, so if you reduce carbohydrates from your diet which are usually our biggest source of calories, we need to find an alternative source of energy, particularly if you do not want to lose any more weight. The reason people put weight on when they start using insulin is that they do not modify their diet. If you continue to eat lots of carbs and inject enough insulin to utilise it, where before you were unable to use it (hence losing weight), then the weight will go back on.

Since you have already started on insulin then, if you decide to eat less carbohydrates, you need to make slow steady changes to your diet and adjust your insulin to match because otherwise your BG could dip too low and make you hypo, which is something we all try to avoid as it can be dangerous.
Of course, you can continue to eat your normal diet and just inject as much insulin as you need for that keeping in mind that high carb foods are more difficult to balance due to the insulin we inject being considerably slower to act than natural insulin the body produces, so they will usually spike your glucose levels pretty high before the insulin can bring them down, which can make you feel pretty unwell, so best to avoid those really high carb items.
I really do think that it is important to press your health care professionals for appropriate testing to identify the correct Type of diabetes you have and I am reasonably sure it is unlikely to be Type 2 which is really only identified by an HbA1c reading of 48 or more, when no other more specific testing has been performed.