Introduction

[PhiliusM]

I was diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic over 10 years ago.

I have struggled to keep my blood sugar on track from day 1. I lost 2 stone no change, lost a further 8 pounds no change

Gliclazide seemed to be a big help but my doctors don't like using it. I tried a lot of medications and nothing really cracked it.

About a year ago they tried me on Humalin i. The plan was to increase the dosage, starting at 8 units until my morning blood sugar was between 6 and 7. The starting dose nearly got it right but when I increased to 10 units my blood sugar went to 3.5 to 4.0. They medics said they weren't expecting that and told me to reduce the doseage back to 8.

For the first six months everything was fine. Then I had flu and covid vaccinations, caught covid and flu one after the other. I have been struggling to get my blood sugars back on track ever since.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

About a year ago they tried me on Humalin i. The plan was to increase the dosage, starting at 8 units until my morning blood sugar was between 6 and 7. The starting dose nearly got it right but when I increased to 10 units my blood sugar went to 3.5 to 4.0. They medics said they weren't expecting that and told me to reduce the doseage back to 8.

For the first six months everything was fine. Then I had flu and covid vaccinations, caught covid and flu one after the other. I have been struggling to get my blood sugars back on track ever since.

Have they considered (and tested for) the possibility you might really be Type 1 rather than Type 2?

I'm not saying it's likely, but I think the expectation they had was that you're producing some insulin so adding in some Humulin I would do the heavy lifting allowing your natural insulin to bring you to a good morning blood sugar level, and it didn't sound like that happened. Which would be easy to understand if you're not producing insulin at all (or producing very little). (Would also happen if you were very insulin resistant, but 8 units doesn't suggest that to me.)

 

[PhiliusM]

You might very well be right, although my morning levels were a little too low when I started insulin treatment and I had to back the dosage off to 8 units. At the moment I'm on 11 units and it seems to having little effect.

The trouble is my local doctors are short staffed following most of the diabetic team leaving. The support is pretty poor at the moment and they seem reluctant to refer me.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

The trouble is my local doctors are short staffed following most of the diabetic team leaving. The support is pretty poor at the moment and they seem reluctant to refer me.

I understand they don't want to refer you, but given that about the only medication that they're willing to use that's worked has been insulin I'd have thought referral would be the logical next step. (A specialist team might decide that Gliclazide is right for you, for example.)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @PhiliusM

Sorry you are having a tricky time with hour diabetes management, and your surgery seems unable to offer all that much support

Great to hear that Humulin I worked well for a while - though it must be frustrating that you are no longer getting the in-ranfe numbers you once did.

Humulin I is an intermediate acting insulin, which is sometimes used to provide background support to your own insulin production, or can be used as a ‘background’ insulin on basal:bolus (where you have a long acting insulin and a separate faster acting mealtime insulin). But it doesn’t really have the profile to cope with big glucose rises from meals on its own. So if your home-grown insulin production is flagging a little it might be worth asking about adding a mealtime insulin into the mix?

There is a blood check called cPeptide your Dr could request, that can show how much insulin you are still producing if that would be helpful?

 

[PhiliusM]

Thanks very much for the reply. I will discuss it with the doctor.