Insulin resistance

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Lottieb2613

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
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Hi everyone,

i was wondering if anyone has experience with insulin resistance? Ive been on the same insulin for 15 years and im starting to think my high hba1c, high insulin use and inability to lose weight might be linked. I use such a high amount and its driving me mad. Ive tried every diet and i go the gym 3x a week but i still cannot seem to get where the docs want me. I was advised it may be my insulin but im not sure. Has anyone else experienced this??
 
Hi @Lottieb2613, thanks for sharing what's going on for you. 15 years on the same insulin is a long time and it might be that a change is needed because it's not working as effectively for you anymore. Which insulins do you use at the moment?

Tagging a few people who might be able to offer further support:
@Inka, @rebrascora, @trophywench, @DianeD, @everydayupsanddowns :thankyou:
 
Hi @Lottieb2613 🙂 Are you using a pump? Which insulin are you using? How much basal do you take per day, and what are your meal ratios?

I’ve used the same insulin for more than 20 years and it’s still working ok. When did this all start? Was it gradually or quite sudden?

Certainly if you’re overweight, that can potentially contribute to insulin resistance, and then it becomes a bit of a vicious circle in that insulin resistance makes it trickier to lose weight.
 
Inka said:
Hi @Lottieb2613 🙂 Are you using a pump? Which insulin are you using? How much basal do you take per day, and what are your meal ratios?

I’ve used the same insulin for more than 20 years and it’s still working ok. When did this all start? Was it gradually or quite sudden?

Certainly if you’re overweight, that can potentially contribute to insulin resistance, and then it becomes a bit of a vicious circle in that insulin resistance makes it trickier to lose weight.
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Lottieb2613 said:
Hi everyone,

i was wondering if anyone has experience with insulin resistance? Ive been on the same insulin for 15 years and im starting to think my high hba1c, high insulin use and inability to lose weight might be linked. I use such a high amount and its driving me mad. Ive tried every diet and i go the gym 3x a week but i still cannot seem to get where the docs want me. I was advised it may be my insulin but im not sure. Has anyone else experienced this??
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My daughter’s best friend who’s type one, after getting covid, had terrible problems with insulin resistance (injected) and very high blood sugars and was put on metformin to stabilise it
 
Hi Lottie,
Just want to clarify something.
Insulin resistance, also known as impaired insulin sensitivity, happens when cells in your muscles, fat and liver don't respond as they should to insulin, a hormone your pancreas makes that's essential for life and regulating blood glucose (sugar) levels.
So “ insulin resistance” is about how the body changes in its response to insulin and not anything about changes in the “ insulin” itself in the way you may become resistant to a particular drug through continued use such as with AMR(Antimicrobial Resistance ) and Antibiotics.
 
Lottieb2613 said:
Hi everyone,

i was wondering if anyone has experience with insulin resistance? Ive been on the same insulin for 15 years and im starting to think my high hba1c, high insulin use and inability to lose weight might be linked. I use such a high amount and its driving me mad. Ive tried every diet and i go the gym 3x a week but i still cannot seem to get where the docs want me. I was advised it may be my insulin but im not sure. Has anyone else experienced this??
Click to expand...
Hi. You say you have tried every diet when for most people you need to reduce the Carbs in your diet and not follow a 'Diet' as such. I have to do that to avoid very large amounts of insulin and potential weight gain and high BS.
 
Hi everyone,

Thank you for your replies. I am currently on the omnipod and this has been happening since i was a teen so a good 10 years or so. I dont usually eat more than 80g of carbs a day and was on metformin for a while but the doctors agreed they didnt see it help much so took me off. My basal is around 60units and my ratios vary throughout the day from 1;1 to 1;3. i bring up the insulin resistance as one of my nurses commented how long i have been on the novorapid insulin as i have never changed it and said she found it very odd i hadnt been swapped with my issues i am having especially after using it for long. Im at a loss and its getting a bit demoralising....
 
Two thoughts. Eating low carb can cause insulin resistance. It did for me. The solution was eating more carbs, my ratio changed very quickly.

Second though, your skin may need some time to recover...have you tried putting the pod onto a site you don't normally use?
 
Used novorapid for good 20 years without issue, only changed to fiasp as its slightly faster acting & doesn't hang around as long as novorapid, so this suits me fine using pump.

Worth changing insulin to see if it helps, if it doesn't then you need to look for another cause if there is one.
 
Lottieb2613 said:
My basal is around 60units and my ratios vary throughout the day from 1;1 to 1;3. i bring up the insulin resistance as one of my nurses commented how long i have been on the novorapid insulin as i have never changed it and said she found it very odd i hadnt been swapped with my issues i am having especially after using it for long. Im at a loss and its getting a bit demoralising....
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I’m a bit surprised about the idea of people needing to swap insulins. I’ve been on NovoRapid for probably more than 25 years, and it is still working just the same for me - a bit sluggish but reliable.

I’ve had a few years on Humalog and a brief (unsatisfactory) Fiasp experiment for 3 months. But apart from that and a couple of years on mixed, and a brief spell on ActRapid it’s been NovoRapid all the way. And no Dr has ever suggested that I’ve been on it too long and need to swap?

I think it might help to experiment with a higher carb menu. Perhaps, like @Tdm you might find that counter-intuitively more carbs may actually result in lower doses?

Weight loss and increases in activity are also often mentioned alongside Metformin for reducing insulin resistance - though it sounds like Met didn’t do much for you?
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I’m a bit surprised about the idea of people needing to swap insulins. I’ve been on NovoRapid for probably more than 25 years, and it is still working just the same for me - a bit sluggish but reliable.

I’ve had a few years on Humalog and a brief (unsatisfactory) Fiasp experiment for 3 months. But apart from that and a couple of years on mixed, and a brief spell on ActRapid it’s been NovoRapid all the way. And no Dr has ever suggested that I’ve been on it too long and need to swap?

I think it might help to experiment with a higher carb menu. Perhaps, like @Tdm you might find that counter-intuitively more carbs may actually result in lower doses?

Weight loss and increases in activity are also often mentioned alongside Metformin for reducing insulin resistance - though it sounds like Met didn’t do much for you?
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i was on Met for a while and my sugars and weight stayed the same, all it seemed to do was make me sick which is a shame. I will have a look into the more carbs lower dose thing for sure as anything is helpful at the moment.
 
Inka said:
Are you eating a particularly high fat diet? And has PCOS been ruled out @Lottieb2613 ?
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I was tested for PCOS when i was younger but they where hesistant to do a full diagnosis as i was only 15. Unfortuately where i am doesnt test for it unless i am actively trying to have a baby so im a little stuck. I use my pods on both legs, both arms and my stomach. Im not sure where else to try. Ive had these issues since i was a teen so nearly 10 years.
 
See, that makes PCOS a possible suspect in my mind @Lottieb2613 Could you push for further investigation? I know you’ve said they don’t usually do it, but you have a reason to ask. Have they ruled out other things like thyroid issues and similar?

A very low fat diet can help insulin resistance as can exercise. I have very good insulin sensitivity, but I trialled a very low fat diet and it improved my sensitivity despite it being already very good. The gym is great but try walking too. That can help insulin resistance.
 
Inka said:
See, that makes PCOS a possible suspect in my mind @Lottieb2613 Could you push for further investigation? I know you’ve said they don’t usually do it, but you have a reason to ask. Have they ruled out other things like thyroid issues and similar?

A very low fat diet can help insulin resistance as can exercise. I have very good insulin sensitivity, but I trialled a very low fat diet and it improved my sensitivity despite it being already very good. The gym is great but try walking too. That can help insulin resistance.
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i have tried but the hospital arent budging and the gp doesnt do it so all referrals have to go through the hospital. I might try to be referred to a different hospital to see if i can get anywhere with that. I have started a low fat diet but have to be careful what i cut out due to being ceoliac and already having a lower ability to absorb nutrients which makes most of my bloods for the vits and minerals on the low/borderline side. I walk often and am trying to get back into the gym in a way that wont compromise my joint issues so finger crossed! thank you for all the suggestions. Any help is very much appreciated as its so confusing when my care is split between local and hospital x
 
Ah, well in that case I’d pursue the PCOS tests as you already have dietary issues to balance and I know how tricky that can be. It must be very frustrating for you. Type 1 is enough of a nuisance without insulin resistance too.
 
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