Insulin does not work

[David william]

Hi, New to this site and hope someone may have experienced my problem. I have been diabetic for more than 10 years (Type 2) and have had problems injecting insulin. I have been on tablets for years but due to other illnesses have had to come off them. Doctor asked me to try insulin again, been injecting for a month and have had to stop as all injection areas are swollen, red or bruised and very painful. Bloods are normally in 20s and don't change much with or without injections. Doctors are not very helpful. I have Stage 3 chronic kidney disease. Any comments appreciated.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi David and welcome.

That sounds like a difficult and unpleasant situation. Can you tell us which insulin(s) you were using? I wonder if it might be an allergic reaction? Also, can you talk us through your injection technique?

You say that you have been diabetic for many years. Have you made any adjustments to your diet... ie reduced your carbohydrates (not just sugar). Unfortunately the NHS dietary advice 10 years is now known to be unhelpful for Type 2 diabetes and sadly, to a large extent, it hasn't changed much but there are many people here on this forum who find that significantly lowering their carb intake can mean that they no longer need medication for their diabetes and some people have even come off insulin and manage their diabetes with BG readings in the normal range, through diet alone, so it can be a very powerful means of treating diabetes. Most doctors and nurses have no idea how effective a low carbohydrate way of eating can be and once you get your head around it, it can be quite enjoyable, but you do need to put some effort into it. Well worth it for the health benefits.

Daily exercise is another important factor. A brisk walk is ideal if you are able, but there are seated exercises if mobility is an issue or swimming or cycling.

Doctors have been rather too keen to prescribe drugs to treat diabetes and this has led to people believing that if they take the tablets, it will fix the problem and so they continue to eat as they did before which means that their diabetes becomes progressive, needing more and more medication. If you ease off the carbs which are causing the raised BG levels, you need less medication and in some cases the body can cope without any medication.

If you think this diet is going to be hard work, you might be surprised to know that bacon, eggs, mushrooms and good quality (high meat content) sausages are on the menu but cereal and toast/bread is off. Cream in your morning coffee is OK but semi skimmed milk and sugar is not. Steak is fine with salad and coleslaw or a stir fry but not chips or just a very small portion. Cauliflower cheese is a staple and in fact I eat lots and lots of cheese (and surprisingly my cholesterol is continuing to reduce) but bread and pasta and rice and potatoes are significantly reduced.
It takes a lot of getting your head around but once you do and find low carb foods that you enjoy, it really is no hardship.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @David william 🙂 Your injection site issue sounds unpleasant. As @rebrascora says above, if you can tell us what insulins you’re taking and when that would help. It could also be being made worse by your pen needles. Some brands are better than others. Also, some people can react to some needles but not others.

Finally, what quantity of insulin are you injecting at a time - ie how many units?

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi David william, welcome to the forum.

So sorry to hear about the complications you're experiencing. Some great advice above, managing carb intact might be a good interim measure to try and avoid huge spikes.

I wonder if you could get a referral to a diabetic nurse or clinic if available? Given that the medication isn't doing it's job, it may be worth double checking your diagnosis and the options available to you.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear about the nasty reactions you are getting to your injections @David william

We have had members over the years who have had quite strong reactions to the lubricant on some brands of insulin pen needles - so it could be simply a question of switching needle brand.

What length of needles are you using? And has it been suggested that you gently ‘pinch up’ to slightly raise the injection site?

Have you been able to try several types of insulin? Or perhaps try Porcine insulin, rather than human / rDNA analogue?

Or perhaps one of the newer injectable non-insulin therapies?

Hope you can manage to find a solution that works for you. It sounds really unpleasant and difficult, and those high BGs must be grim to live with in themselves

 

[David william]

Hi David and welcome.

That sounds like a difficult and unpleasant situation. Can you tell us which insulin(s) you were using? I wonder if it might be an allergic reaction? Also, can you talk us through your injection technique?

You say that you have been diabetic for many years. Have you made any adjustments to your diet... ie reduced your carbohydrates (not just sugar). Unfortunately the NHS dietary advice 10 years is now known to be unhelpful for Type 2 diabetes and sadly, to a large extent, it hasn't changed much but there are many people here on this forum who find that significantly lowering their carb intake can mean that they no longer need medication for their diabetes and some people have even come off insulin and manage their diabetes with BG readings in the normal range, through diet alone, so it can be a very powerful means of treating diabetes. Most doctors and nurses have no idea how effective a low carbohydrate way of eating can be and once you get your head around it, it can be quite enjoyable, but you do need to put some effort into it. Well worth it for the health benefits.

Daily exercise is another important factor. A brisk walk is ideal if you are able, but there are seated exercises if mobility is an issue or swimming or cycling.

Doctors have been rather too keen to prescribe drugs to treat diabetes and this has led to people believing that if they take the tablets, it will fix the problem and so they continue to eat as they did before which means that their diabetes becomes progressive, needing more and more medication. If you ease off the carbs which are causing the raised BG levels, you need less medication and in some cases the body can cope without any medication.

If you think this diet is going to be hard work, you might be surprised to know that bacon, eggs, mushrooms and good quality (high meat content) sausages are on the menu but cereal and toast/bread is off. Cream in your morning coffee is OK but semi skimmed milk and sugar is not. Steak is fine with salad and coleslaw or a stir fry but not chips or just a very small portion. Cauliflower cheese is a staple and in fact I eat lots and lots of cheese (and surprisingly my cholesterol is continuing to reduce) but bread and pasta and rice and potatoes are significantly reduced.
It takes a lot of getting your head around but once you do and find low carb foods that you enjoy, it really is no hardship.

Good Morning,

thank you for your reply. I am on Novorapid 23 units three times a day and Humulin I 33 units at night, I have tried moving injection sites around, started on stomach then arm and then legs. It is hard to find an area that is not swollen or painful. My body seems to go very hard with injections, this happened some years ago and was told to stop injecting. This time I agreed to give it a try again, sadly same thing has happened.

My wife has put me on a low carb diet which is hard for me as i am not over fond of food and limited to what I will actually eat, I am trying though.

Exercise is very difficult for me, I suffer from various illnesses, gout, polymyalgia arthritica and rheumatoid arthritis. My foot and leg oedema is severe, also in my hands. Some days I can hardly walk around the house.

I am not sure what will happen next as the reason for the oedema has not been found, foot and legs obviously come under my diabetic care team. They say the rest is something else. I have stage 3 kidney disease and a waiting for heart echo.

I have tried many things over the years to relieve the pain and nothing works, not even morphine, I think my body is a bit odd in that it doesn't like medication.

What next, I don't know.

I am considering a weekly injection at the moment but don't know much about it, i have an appointment on Monday.

 

[David william]

Welcome @David william 🙂 Your injection site issue sounds unpleasant. As @rebrascora says above, if you can tell us what insulins you’re taking and when that would help. It could also be being made worse by your pen needles. Some brands are better than others. Also, some people can react to some needles but not others.

Finally, what quantity of insulin are you injecting at a time - ie how many units?

Interesting re pen needles, see reply above for more info, thank you for your reply

 

[David william]

Sorry to hear about the nasty reactions you are getting to your injections @David william

We have had members over the years who have had quite strong reactions to the lubricant on some brands of insulin pen needles - so it could be simply a question of switching needle brand.

What length of needles are you using? And has it been suggested that you gently ‘pinch up’ to slightly raise the injection site?

Have you been able to try several types of insulin? Or perhaps try Porcine insulin, rather than human / rDNA analogue?

Or perhaps one of the newer injectable non-insulin therapies?

Hope you can manage to find a solution that works for you. It sounds really unpleasant and difficult, and those high BGs must be grim to live with in themselves

Thank you, yes i have tried porcine insulin, same bad reaction. I am using carepoint 5mm pen needles. It has become difficult to pinch as my body has become really hard. I am seeing doctor on Monday and hope to try a weekly injection, dont know anything about this though.

 

[Inka]

A change of needle would be worth a try @David william I use BD Microfine and find them very good. I use 5mm length but many people use 4mm. It sounds a tiny thing but the right needles can really make a difference for some people.

There also used to be a cannula that you inserted for 3 days and simply injected into. @everydayupsanddowns probably remembers the name but I’ve forgotten (is it iPort?? Do they still make it?)

However, your reaction sounds really nasty and it might be you need a whole rethink. I really hope you get it sorted.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

I wonder how you would react to a pump. It may be worth asking for a couple of cannulas to try and see if you get a reaction or not before actually getting a pump. I wonder if some anti allergy or anti inflammatory meds may help but your doctor would be the best person to ask given your various medical issues and medications. I hope you can find something that works for you.