Insulin weight gain, advice needed please :)

[Roisin]

Hello everyone, just a quick question about insulin and weight gain, please help! I was initially (mistakenly) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and as such put a lot of effort in to losing weight (over the two years I'd lost almost half of my weight at the time of diagnosis). Recently discovered I have type 1 diabetes and as such have started to take insulin. I've gained 1.5kg in a week which is fine but I'm worried that it will continue at that rate until I'm back to square one again aside from having to buy a whole new wardrobe it means a lot to me that I'd achieved the weight I did, and I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced the same, and if so did your weight gain plateau out in the end? I'm not eating to excess so can't understand why I'm gaining weight so quickly. Any help would be much appreciated x

 

[Robin]

Hi Roisin. When I was first diagnosed, I did put a bit of weight on ( around half a stone) when I finally got onto insulin ( like you, I was misdiagnosed as a Type 2 at first). I think in my case there were a couple of reasons. Firstly, I had been losing weight so fast, I'd actually gone below what was a comfortable weight for me ( everyone had said how scrawny I was looking). Secondly, because my blood sugars were so high, I was getting rid of them in the usual way for undiagnosed or uncontrolled diabetes - peeing them out. Therefore I was dehydrated the whole time, so I think a good few pounds of what I put on was just my body replenishing its water stocks. As I settled into a routine again, my weight stabilised, and I've been around the same weight (give or take a few pounds seasonal variation) for the last nine years.

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

Initially I lost a lot as well, but am creeping up again, despite eating better 🙄

 

[Roisin]

Thanks Robin, your explanation makes a lot of sense. I was very dehydrated at diagnosis too and my family have been worried about my weight (also getting a lot of the scrawny comments). Half a stone would be fine, reassuring to know it does settle down x

 

[Roisin]

Initially I lost a lot as well, but am creeping up again, despite eating better 🙄

Hi Lucy, thanks for your reply. Did you find you gained weight fairly quickly once you started insulin or just more recently? I think I probably need to put on a bit of weight, like you I lost a lot but I thought it was down to my hard graft and not diabetes 😱 bit disappointing x

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

More recently, but unlike you I really don't need to put anymore on 🙄.
I was diagnosed after suffering a DKA, so part of that was rapid weight loss over a short period of time.

 

[trophywench]

I was in two minds about the weight I lost pre diagnosis - oh yes I liked being 'naturally' slim under 8st for a change of course - but I felt so rotten with it - in retrospect it really wasn't worth it! Think it took all of approx. 6 weeks to regain it - and ever since the end of September 1972 - it's always been just as hard work to keep it off as it was between 1965 and 1972!

I really must stop eating so much again now - I'm outgrowing all the fat things in my wardrobe and I don't currently have anywhere near the choice of different stuff to wear that I like to have.