Help Needed

[tartchops]

Hi Everyone.

I am new to this but not to diabetes! I will try to be brief!!

I am nearly 39 and I was diagnosed type II about 7 years ago. Initially tried diet control. Went on to tablets but I could not tolerate Meformin and then went on to try every tablet on the market. Then in January 2011, was put onto Liraglutide (Victoza) - this worked great for about 4 months, then my glucose levels started to rise and rise and rise. Ignored the situation for months. However in January this year, I became very unwell. My sugars were sitting at high 20's, low 30's constantly. Very tired all the time, blurred vision, states of confusion etc. Anyway after a visit to my GP (I also work in a Dr's surgery!) I was found to be severely dehydrated with HbA1c of 14! And deranged liver function. I was started on Insulin immediately. I had lost a lot of weight also.

I have now been on Humalog 50/50 for 8 months now and feel absolutely great! HbA1c is now around 7 and LFT's have returned to normal. I have only the one problem - I have put on a huge amount of weight and it is still creeping up.

I have never been a little girl to say the least and in January I was 105kg (still not little I know) and I am now 130kg with no sign of it slowing down. Now I do not seem to be eating any more and I haven't changed my diet. I drink no sugar and diet drinks and avoid sugary foods. I eat 3 meals a day and do not tend to snack. I have increased my exercise by walking, swimming and doing Bokwa and yet I am still putting on weight. And yes whilst I feel much much better and healthy, it is really getting me down that I am putting weight on.

I went to see my specialist nurse who said its the insulin and whilst I understand that it does put on weight, I can not afford to put the weight on.

Up until now I haven't had to increase my insulin intake. However my bloods for the past week are starting to creep up to double figures again and whilst this is still a huge improvement on the early on in the years figures, I really do not want to be hitting 10's! This will result in an increase in my insulin which I really do not want to do as I am sure that it is my weight increase that is making my bloods higher than they were!

I really need to lose weight but I am really unsure how to go about this. Can anyone please help me. I really can not afford to put weight on! Many thanks for reading my epic diabetic life story! 😛 Kath

 

[slipper]

Hi tartchops, I just love that name. Cant help with the weight gain as insulin is involved, but welcome to the forum. I am sure others on here will have more knowledge and be able to help.

 

[Mark T]

I'm not a Doctor (medical or otherwise), but If I was in your position I would be considering basal/bolus instead of mixed insulins.

That way you could match your insulin to your meals such that you can reduce your calorie intake.

I guess if you dropped your calories right now you would hypo.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Kath, welcome to the forum 🙂 I agree with Mark - ask your doctor about changing to a basal/bolus regime (also called MDI = Multiple Daily Injections). This involves one or maybe two injections of a slow-acting insulin, like levemir or lantus, and an injection of a fast-acting insulin, like novorapid, with each meal - you tailor the amount of novorapid to the amount of carbohydrate in your meal, a method known as 'carb-counting'. The advantage of this is that, because you are only having insulin to match your food, you will more than likely need less than on a mixed insulin. On fixed doses of mixed insulin you HAVE to eat a certain amount of carbs (remember, it is ALL carbs, not just sugary things you need to be careful about) to match your insulin. As insulin is a growth hormone, this encourages weight gain as unused glucose is converted to fat. By reducing the amount of insulin you need you therefore stand a much better chance of reducing your weight.

I would start with a food diary. Record everything you eat, making note in particular of the amount of carbohydrate in your meals. This will then give you a guide to where you might be able to reduce carbs by substituting other items e.g. more green veg instead of potatoes. Some people have found great success by, for example, cutting right back on the maount of bread they eat.

So, your task for today is to start that diary! 🙂 A book like Collins Gem - Carb Counter or Carbs & Cals & Protein & Fat: A Visual Guide to Carbohydrate, Protein, Fat & Calorie Counting for Healthy Eating can help you determine the various constituents in your meals. Let us know how things go, or if you have any more questions!