Off insulin, do you think I should tell DVLA?

[zoombapup]

I recently had to get my license updated and they've given me a 3 yearly one back.

I was just wondering, they did that due to the requirement for insulin, which I no longer take (at least right now). So does that mean I should notify them again to that effect? Seems a bit redundant, but I suppose it would at least update their records?

 

[emmgeo]

I told DVLA as soon as I was off insulin, and filled out a new DIAB1 form and they sent me my 10 year licence back instead of the three year licence.
My main reason for telling them was that I wasn't sure if the two hour rule still applied if I was on a three year medical licence.

 

[Annette&Bert]

I didn’t know typ 2 took insulin, can someone tell me under what circumstances would your doctor put you on insulin?

 

[Andy HB]

I didn’t know typ 2 took insulin, can someone tell me under what circumstances would your doctor put you on insulin?

This happens when the pancreas no longer produces sufficient insulin.

One simplistic reason being that the pancreas wore out because it had been working hard to overcome the body's insulin resistance for too long.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Well, DVAL have rules for those at risk of hypo. That includes people on insulin. Not being on it anymore, I guess those rules won't apply.
If you tell DVAL, then you can make sure you're under the right rules.

 

[Sally71]

I didn’t know typ 2 took insulin, can someone tell me under what circumstances would your doctor put you on insulin?

Basically if every other possible method of controlling type 2 has been tried and you still can't get your blood sugars down then you might need to top up the insulin your body is producing with injections. As Andy said, your pancreas is working extra hard churning out insulin to overcome the resistance, and could wear out completely. That doesn't mean that every type 2 will eventually have to go onto insulin, some people are lucky and can control it perfectly by diet and exercise alone, others find a particular medication or combination of medications works really well for them, others are not so lucky. I guess some people are more insulin resistant than others, we are all different and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another unfortunately.

 

[Annette&Bert]

Thanks for the replies, so I need to stop having treats so often because I know when i was rigidly sticking to low carb my BG was excellent compared to when i was not on low carb. I just dread the thought of insulin!

 

[PhoebeC]

Hi, I would tell DVLA as per others comments above.

 

[trophywench]

It's no help 'dreading' insulin if it happens to be the ONLY way of making your body to keep you alive Annette ! When I was diagnosed in 1972 they immediately admitted you to hospital and the lady in the next bed commented through the curtain between the beds - I'd die if I had to do that! And I replied back (without even thinking about it) Well Brenda - I'd die if I didn't! and laughed.

However when I thought about it a bit later that morning - I realised it was true so had to go off to the loo and have a cry. Did me good that actually - made me accept it since obviously I absolutely had no alternative.

 

[Annette&Bert]

Hi Jenny, I know what you say is right. If I eventually have to do that, it will be done. My brother is 10 years younger than me and although I was diagnosed type 2 in 2016, he was diagnosed type2 about 15 years before me. I haven’t seen him in ages, but I believe he has been on insulin for the past year!

 

[zoombapup]

I didn’t know typ 2 took insulin, can someone tell me under what circumstances would your doctor put you on insulin?

My circumstances were pretty unusual I think. I'd been skirting the edge of pre-diabetic for a long while, but moved jobs to a new area just over a year and a half back. I must have changed diets quite a lot in that time, because I was eating a lot of fruit like grapes. I was also eating other high carb foods because I was busy with the new job. Anyway, about 12 weeks ago I was having dizzy spells and went to the doctor about it. They did a few blood tests and the day after they got the results, the GP phoned me and asked me to go in. A few hours later I was in hospital and on an insulin drip as apparently I had diabetic keto acidosis, which can kill you and/or put you in a coma. So from "ok" a year ago, I'd gone to this "you're really in trouble" stage.

At the time they started the insulin IV, my bloods were like 25+ I think. My graph here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Qg/pubchart?oid=1123067073&format=interactive is starting about a week after going into hospital. You can imagine how high the left hand peak was at the height. Since then I've learnt about carbs and have been doing the usual 2 low carb meals + intermittent fasting thing and my bloods are relatively stable. So the doctor took me off the basal insulin they were using to bring my blood glucose down overall.

So the insulin in my case was sort of an emergency measure. Both in hospital and outside of it. Thankfully though, that insulin has taught me a lot in terms of how I feel. Taking the insulin has really revitalized my metabolism, so before I was feeling dizzy and weak if I walked just normally. Now it's actually fun again to do exercise. I didn't even understand that my body had been shutting down until the insulin. Bit like the boiling frog thing, it just slowly deteriorated and I thought it was normal for me.

I must admit, somehow the injections of insulin didn't bother me, even though I've got a phobia for needles. I just treated it as a mechanical process I "had to do" and that made it easier. It really isn't that drastic once you get a routine, although to be honest the initial motivation was having a hellish experience in the hospital, I was sooooo glad to be out of there I'd have sawn my own arm off and been glad. Having an injection just didn't seem that hard in comparison.

Hope that sheds a bit of light. Its really fine even if you eventually end up having to do the insulin injection. Bit like nobody wants to finger prick, but we do that because its what we have to right?

 

[zoombapup]

Thanks for the info RE the DVLA by the way, much appreciated.

 

[Ljc]

@Annette&Bertie . Please don’t ever fear going on Insulin, the injections don’t hurt, the needles are tiny and the benefits of insulin far outweigh the cons.

When I was put on MDI ,that’s using a background insulin and a fast acting insulin for meals , as I got BG my levels down to near normal I felt oh so much better, to be honest prior to going on insulin, I didn’t realise just how rough I was feeling.

 

[trophywench]

I felt oh so much better, to be honest prior to going on insulin, I didn’t realise just how rough I was feeling.

You've hit the nail on the head there Lin. Frankly if they'd told me they'd have to amputate something (an arm or leg I mean) in order to make me feel better - I'd have said Do it, do it now please! When they said it was T1 it was quite a relief whatever you had to do and I actually started feeling better within literally a few minutes of my first jab.

 

[zoombapup]

You've hit the nail on the head there Lin. Frankly if they'd told me they'd have to amputate something (an arm or leg I mean) in order to make me feel better - I'd have said Do it, do it now please! When they said it was T1 it was quite a relief whatever you had to do and I actually started feeling better within literally a few minutes of my first jab.

Just to agree with what's been said. Once I was done with the initial insulin and my BG levels returned to somewhat normal, I literally felt amazing, because I'd slowly deteriorated and hadn't really understood why, it felt "normal" but clearly once I had better BG I realized it definitely wasn't. So don't be scared of insulin because it can really change your life for the better.