Side Effects Of Insulin

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CATMAC

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Since taking insulin i have noticed that i have patches of dry skin on my arm does anyone know if this is due to the insulin or is it just a coincidence
 
Ive noticed it! ive got really dry hands, dry skin on my arms and my face :(
 
I think dry skin is a problem with diabetes, not insulin per se. High sugars can cause dry skin:( I have dry skin on my face, I use E45 to moisturise.
 
The first thing I would do is take a look at the patient information leaflet that comes with your insulin.

There are different kinds and each has potentially different associated reactions.

If that does not say anything, mention it to your doctor or DSN.

Personally, I suffer from dry skin, but that is associated with poor control in my case. When I am well controlled, the dry skin goes away.
 
Thanks. Will try the e45 cream its about the only one i have not tried so far and mention it to my DSN when speaking to them later this week.
 
I have problems with dry skin, particulary on my hands so get through alot of hand cream.
Not sure if it's diabetes related or because i wash my hands so many times in a day.
 
sofaraway said:
Not sure if it's diabetes related or because i wash my hands so many times in a day.
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Guess why I went to the doctor and got a blood test that diagnosed me with Diabetes? :D

Was going to the toilet so often, I was drying my hands on the towels and the skin was getting drier and drier. :(

A little better now I don't need the loo so often. 😉
 
so other than dry skin (which it seems we all suffer with) does anyone have any other side effects??
 
Ive noticed my skin is alot drier than usual past few months. I also went to hairdressers yesterday and had to have a deep conditioning treatment and had lots of breakage at my roots. Ive never had this before. My hair has always been in really good condition.
I had put my skin down to high sugars and with being newly diagnosed. Hoped it would settle down when everything else did.
Guess its just another thing to put up with!!
 
My skin is very dry, it itches so much it drives me mad. My son suffers too.
 
another diabetic i know complains a lot about being flatulent. he said its due to his insulin and at first i dint know what to make of it, but since i have met a few other who also suffer from this. is it common?? lol
 
Has anyone else had hair loss? I experienced some patchy hair loss and was told by the dermatologist it was down to poor diabetes control - my hba1c was 9.1% at the time. Also is there any realism in the theory that taking lots of insulin makes you hungry? I didn't even consider this untill the past two days when my sugars have been really high and ketones and I've been taking insulin like crazy and seem to want to snack and pick at bits of food between meals a lot more despite not being hypo and my mother said that she seemed to remember the consultant I saw when I was first diagnosed.
 
yeah it cause you to feel hungry. i normally feel my hungriest when im having to take higher doses of insulin, but i have always been a good eater lol
 
wow. its a bit of a shocker and a bit of a bad thing isnt it that to be honest, your taking lots of extra to bring your sugars down but you just wanna eat loads lol.
 
lol yeah it can be. but also it can be a good thing as it means you can get to a very healthy weight 😉
 
When I was in hospital I was prescribed a massive tub of E45 coz of dry skin and the others women on my ward said they swore by the stuff since they were diagnosed 20/30 years ago - so guess it comes with the territory so to speak lol
 
eyeko said:
Has anyone else had hair loss? I experienced some patchy hair loss and was told by the dermatologist it was down to poor diabetes control - my hba1c was 9.1% at the time. Also is there any realism in the theory that taking lots of insulin makes you hungry? I didn't even consider this untill the past two days when my sugars have been really high and ketones and I've been taking insulin like crazy and seem to want to snack and pick at bits of food between meals a lot more despite not being hypo and my mother said that she seemed to remember the consultant I saw when I was first diagnosed.
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Eyeko, the hunger feeling is due to your very high numbers. Not the extra insulin you are taking.
Have you done any basal testing?
 
i find my hunger is nothing to do with the relation of my bg levels as i feel hungriest when im in normal ranges. my diet is fine and my dn and dietician have both siad that i dont eat to much and i eat the right stuff to. i think that is the key to being able to keep a steady weight and to also combat your hunger.
 
mikep1979 said:
i find my hunger is nothing to do with the relation of my bg levels as i feel hungriest when im in normal ranges. my diet is fine and my dn and dietician have both siad that i dont eat to much and i eat the right stuff to. i think that is the key to being able to keep a steady weight and to also combat your hunger.
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Mike Eyeko had ketones/DKA her body is in effect starving.
Have a read of this hopefuly it will explain things to you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetic_ketoacidosis
I have copied the relevent bit regarding Eyeko

Ketone body production
Under low-insulin conditions, regardless of circulating plasma glucose concentration, the liver acts as though the body is starving and produces another form of fuel, known as ketone bodies. This is an aspect of fat metabolism (beginning with lipolysis) that makes ketone bodies as intermediate products in the fatty acid-processing metabolic sequence. Two of the ketone bodies beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate enter the blood and can be used as fuel by some organs such as the brain, though the brain still requires a large amount of glucose to function. If large amounts of ketone bodies are produced, the metabolism is in the state termed ketosis; this condition is itself not necessarily harmful, and is normal during times of relatively low carbohydrate availablility (as, for instance, between meals). However, if produced in very large quantities, unprocessed ketone bodies will cause the blood pH to drop, leading to ketoacidosis.
 
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