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Hello
- Thread starter Cueman
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Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome to the forum
That seems an odd question but why do you need to know. Perhaps explain a bit about how you are managing your condition, how long have you been on insulin?
OK, a brief explanation. I was diagnosed as Type 2 23 years ago and coped reasonably well with the usual medication until February this year when the annual check revealed that my meds had stopped working quite a few months previously and my HBA1c reading was 165. Last week it as 49.
A bit on the high side!
A scan and blood test later showed that my pancreas had also stopped working and no longer produced any insulin.
I started injecting both Abasaglar and Trurapi on the 7th February and now inject 4 times daily.
I noticed a very rapid weight gain although I wasn't eating any more than usual.
I have now put on 2 1/2 stone and feel bad about the way I now look.
I am approaching 70, 6' tall and very active having led a very sporting and active life. I now do a lot of gardening, play golf and do 35 - 60000 steps every day through walking around 65-85 miles each week.
Talking to the specialist diabetic nurse, she tells me that insulin is a growth hormone but my growing was done 50 years ago!
Hence the question " How many calories are there per unit of insulin!?
It's getting to the point where I am considering stopping all injections.
Thank you
Rob
harbottle
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
You can't stop injecting insulin if your pancreas is no longer producing any.
That is incredible dangerous.
Weight gain can happen with insulin, as it can make you hungry (Growth hormone effect), for example, and you eat more:
www.diabetes.org.uk
More info here:
www.diabetes.org.uk
I'm sure many of the knowledgable people on this forum who use insulin can provide more info, but you can't stop injecting.
That is incredible dangerous.
Weight gain can happen with insulin, as it can make you hungry (Growth hormone effect), for example, and you eat more:
Weight loss and diabetes
There are a lot of different ways to lose weight but there’s no one-size-fits-all diet. We’ve put together this weight loss guide to help you get started and stay motivated.
More info here:
Side effects of insulin
General side effects As with all prescribed medication, everyone reacts differently. Check the patient information leaflet supplied with your insulin to see what the side effects are. Remember, you’re unlikely to experience all of them. You should let your healthcare professional know if you...
I'm sure many of the knowledgable people on this forum who use insulin can provide more info, but you can't stop injecting.
Proud to be erratic
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 3c
- Pronouns
- He/Him
While there is a complex medical relationship between insulin and growth it is a serious stretch of vocabulary to call it a growth hormone. I'm hoping you misheard or misunderstood what your "specialist diabetic nurse" said.
It is possible that because your own insulin production had slowed or completely stalled during that period and glucose was accumulating in your blood and without insulin its transfer to your cells and thus organs had slowed or stopped. Now you are taking extraneous insulin, glucose is going into cells and you are consequently putting on weight because of that. You are already T2 so dietary control in some form would be normal. That is my tentative theory.
But as stated by @harbottle to now stop taking insulin would be incredibly dangerous to your health and potentially lead to a rapid life threatening scenario. So please dismiss that thought
This "specialist diabetic nurse" part of a formal Hospital based Endocrinology team or the nurse in a GP Surgery who has the broad overview of all those Surgery patients who have diabetes? If the latter then the chances are she is not necessarily the right qualified person to now be helping you. Who put you on your 2 insulins? The GP or a Hospital Consultant? I am not T2 so my knowledge at this point is thin. But you need a prompt referral to an Endocrinolgy Hospital Team.
It is possible that because your own insulin production had slowed or completely stalled during that period and glucose was accumulating in your blood and without insulin its transfer to your cells and thus organs had slowed or stopped. Now you are taking extraneous insulin, glucose is going into cells and you are consequently putting on weight because of that. You are already T2 so dietary control in some form would be normal. That is my tentative theory.
But as stated by @harbottle to now stop taking insulin would be incredibly dangerous to your health and potentially lead to a rapid life threatening scenario. So please dismiss that thought
This "specialist diabetic nurse" part of a formal Hospital based Endocrinology team or the nurse in a GP Surgery who has the broad overview of all those Surgery patients who have diabetes? If the latter then the chances are she is not necessarily the right qualified person to now be helping you. Who put you on your 2 insulins? The GP or a Hospital Consultant? I am not T2 so my knowledge at this point is thin. But you need a prompt referral to an Endocrinolgy Hospital Team.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sorry to hear about your weight gain, and how it is making you feel @Cueman
Insulin doesn’t have calories - but it does allow the body to access energy from carbohydrates.
It doesn’t cause weight gain in and of itself, but because it allows the body to access the energy in food it can mean that you are eating the same but now gaining weight. I had the same experience - Just before my diagnosis in my 20s I was eating like a horse, but losing a large amount of weight because my body couldn’t process the food and the glucose was staying in my bloodstream wreaking havoc and causing damage.
When I started on insulin, I was able to access the food energy again, my glucose levels returned to normal, and my weight increased rapidly to make up what I had lost.
But I’m still roughly the same weight now 30+ years later. Insulin hasn’t made me gain extra weight independent of my diet. My weight has gone down a bit, and come back up a bit over the years, but this is always been because I have been eating more, or been eating less.
Not taking your insulin would be very damaging. You just need to find a balance between your insulin doses and a daily intake of carbohydrates and calories that gets your weight where you want it. 🙂
Insulin doesn’t have calories - but it does allow the body to access energy from carbohydrates.
It doesn’t cause weight gain in and of itself, but because it allows the body to access the energy in food it can mean that you are eating the same but now gaining weight. I had the same experience - Just before my diagnosis in my 20s I was eating like a horse, but losing a large amount of weight because my body couldn’t process the food and the glucose was staying in my bloodstream wreaking havoc and causing damage.
When I started on insulin, I was able to access the food energy again, my glucose levels returned to normal, and my weight increased rapidly to make up what I had lost.
But I’m still roughly the same weight now 30+ years later. Insulin hasn’t made me gain extra weight independent of my diet. My weight has gone down a bit, and come back up a bit over the years, but this is always been because I have been eating more, or been eating less.
Not taking your insulin would be very damaging. You just need to find a balance between your insulin doses and a daily intake of carbohydrates and calories that gets your weight where you want it. 🙂
My grateful thanks to all who have contributed so far. Your comments have been very insightful.
I see the specialist nurse and dietician in a couple of weeks for a face to face meeting. Both are part of the County hospital team with many years experience so have to believe what they tell me, namely that insulin is a growth hormone and that is why I am now a "porky person"!
I also have varied complex eye issues which rule out help with weight loss ie Wegovy or Ozempic as these drugs would lead to blindness.
As a member of Capt. Mainwaring's Home Guard was fond of saying, "Doomed, we're doomed"!
But onwards and upwards......🙂Rob
I see the specialist nurse and dietician in a couple of weeks for a face to face meeting. Both are part of the County hospital team with many years experience so have to believe what they tell me, namely that insulin is a growth hormone and that is why I am now a "porky person"!
I also have varied complex eye issues which rule out help with weight loss ie Wegovy or Ozempic as these drugs would lead to blindness.
As a member of Capt. Mainwaring's Home Guard was fond of saying, "Doomed, we're doomed"!
But onwards and upwards......🙂Rob
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Cueman - being born has fatal consequences!!
When we were 50ish, my mother in law (lovely woman, late 70s, with terminal bowel cancer being treated) told us 2 quite sharply that 'Old age doesn't come on its own y'know!' and I burst into giggles and responded, 'Sti-i-ill mum - its always staying cheerful about it that keeps you going, isn't it?'
Fact is mate like it or not - as our bodies age (even when our brains don't acknowledge this fact) our body changes and things it used to simply do, it no longer does or it ruddy hurts when we ask it to. So - your body's changed and hence what you used to do and always worked excellently now doesn't work - so change what you do!
EXACTLY what do you eat and when do you eat it?
Less/more fat? Less/more protein? Less/more carbs? Less/more/different exercise? Different time(s)?
When we were 50ish, my mother in law (lovely woman, late 70s, with terminal bowel cancer being treated) told us 2 quite sharply that 'Old age doesn't come on its own y'know!' and I burst into giggles and responded, 'Sti-i-ill mum - its always staying cheerful about it that keeps you going, isn't it?'
Fact is mate like it or not - as our bodies age (even when our brains don't acknowledge this fact) our body changes and things it used to simply do, it no longer does or it ruddy hurts when we ask it to. So - your body's changed and hence what you used to do and always worked excellently now doesn't work - so change what you do!
EXACTLY what do you eat and when do you eat it?
Less/more fat? Less/more protein? Less/more carbs? Less/more/different exercise? Different time(s)?
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I am not sure what a growth hormone has to do with being fat otherwise all children would be fat. Are you getting taller or building more muscle? If you are just getting fatter then it is surplus glucose being converted to fat and stored in the cells of your body. This is not growth, it is just getting fat.
Insulin just enables the food you eat to make you fat, so you need to exercise more or eat less or both which will mean you then gradually need to reduce your insulin doses otherwise you will hypo and need to eat more carbs to treat the hypos and that will counteract any dietary of exercise adjustments.
Everyone in the world either produces insulin or injects it and many animals too and they are not all fat.
Insulin just enables the food you eat to make you fat, so you need to exercise more or eat less or both which will mean you then gradually need to reduce your insulin doses otherwise you will hypo and need to eat more carbs to treat the hypos and that will counteract any dietary of exercise adjustments.
Everyone in the world either produces insulin or injects it and many animals too and they are not all fat.
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