Weight gain on insulin?

[Hazel]

Hello again

Well, you may remember as I type 2 with high raeadings, my blood glucose was out of control and I was prescribed Lantus.

I has spent the afternoon at the hospital, with the dietician and the DSN. Along with the 60 units on Lantus (at night) and 2 x 500 slow release Metformin (with evening meal) I have now been prescribed 3 doses, before meals of Novaropid (?) as well. I go back in 2 weeks for a review,

The dietician reviewed my food diaries and told my I am being TOO strict with myself - that being the case, why have I put on 5 kgs in the last 8 weeks? He told me to UP the carbs in my diet..............

They said insulin can put weight on - which as an already morbidly obese person, I did not need to put on weight. Has anyone else put on weight as a result of insulin?

I should be pleased overall, as reading have come down from mid 20s to 7 or 8 in the mornings and around 10 in the evening.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts

Many thanks
Hazel

 

[MarcLister]

Yeah I've definitely put weight on since starting on insulin last November. Was losing a lot of weight before I was diagnosed and now put it back on. Need to start shifting it.

 

[laura____]

Hey, I was diagnosed with diabetes in january this year.
Due to the fact i had ketoacidosis, i had lost alot of weight, and expected to put some weight back on.
But since been on insulin, i've put on whayy more weight than i thought. i now weight more than i've ever weighed before, even though it's a pretty average weight, i think!
I'm on Novo rapid 3 times a day and lantus on an evening, and i would say the insulin's definately made me pile on the pounds!
I no theres people who stop taking insulin to loose weight, so is it true that it does make you weigh more!?!?!?


xxx

 

[debndave]

Hi Laura, You don't say how old you are, but my daughter is now 14 & was diagnosed when she was 4, she gained alot of weight, but is having glucophage which is also used to treat type 2, this suppresses her appetite & her overall control is much better. Yes she is losing weight. By the way Hayley is on the same regime as you are. Talk to your nurse about your doses as well. Please don't stop taking your insulin as you will feel really poorly.

Regards

Debbie & hayley Smith

 

[laura____]

hey, thanks for the reply 🙂
I'm 15, and i spoke to my diabetes nurse about my weight increase, and she said i looked fine, but if i carried on next time i see then (June) my dietitians will speak to me about how to avoid it.
I've started jogging every night for about an hour or 2, which has seen a few pounds lose, but i've found exercise is increasing my blood readings at night, whcih are up to nearly 16. Doing exercise is just making me even more hungry!
Any ideas anyone...?

x

 

[Adrienne]

hey, thanks for the reply 🙂
I'm 15, and i spoke to my diabetes nurse about my weight increase, and she said i looked fine, but if i carried on next time i see then (June) my dietitians will speak to me about how to avoid it.
I've started jogging every night for about an hour or 2, which has seen a few pounds lose, but i've found exercise is increasing my blood readings at night, whcih are up to nearly 16. Doing exercise is just making me even more hungry!
Any ideas anyone...?

x

Hi Laura

If your levels are over 14.0 before you exercise you will go up without doubt. You need to have insulin on board in your cells before exercising otherwise levels go up due to adrenaline and no insulin.

 

[laura____]

My levels before exercise are always usually between 6 and 8...
should i increase insulin before i go to do exercise? I havent been taught how to change my doses yet, so i'm confused as to what to do!
I have 6 units before my evening meal...

 

[diagonall]

Lantus is known to increase weight. It's well documented.
So well worth asking for an alternative.
Also you do need to be aware of what sort of carbs you are eating as well as how many.
Look at the Glycemic Index and the Glycemic load of carbs and that will help with blood sugar and weight control as well.

 

[Adrienne]

My levels before exercise are always usually between 6 and 8...
should i increase insulin before i go to do exercise? I havent been taught how to change my doses yet, so i'm confused as to what to do!
I have 6 units before my evening meal...

No no not at all Laura. You need to speak to your DSN before you do anything especially as you are very new to all this, it is all very complicated and you will get there eventually.

Starting levels of 6 to 8 before exercise should be a lovely level to start at.
🙂

 

[laura____]

Thankyou 🙂 I'll have to ask about changing my lantus... Is there a reason why they gave me lantus if they knew it would increase my weight...?!?!?
Sorry, so many questions!

 

[laura____]

Thankyouu Adrienne.
Well im there in june, so i'm going to ask if they can actually start teaching my Carbo-Counting and things. Apparently it should get better.... Some time in the future.
Apparently my pancreas is still in its honeymoon period and is still producing insulin. Does that mean i dont have to inject as much and my pancreas will make it ??

 

[insulinaddict09]

insulin weight gain!!!

yes ive gained 5 stone since i started taking insulin last feb. i was admitted to hospital with DKA, so had lost alot of weight but now am bigger than i have ever been! i have just started low carb diet today and its killing me! i am starving!! i will let you all know how its going, if i dont give up and carb out later, ha ha. I am a carboholic but i have noticed today that my sugars have not been above 6 today, since cutting down on the carbs. they were 26 yesterday- no more toast for me!!!

 

[aymes]

A lot of people do gain weight when put on insulin, I know I did. In my case it was partly down to the fact that I lost so much weight pre-diagnosis (I became scarily skinny, I can hardly bear to look a photos of back then) that I had a lot to put back on to get to 'normal' again. Also when I was first on insulin I was put on the mixed insulin which meant I had to start 'feeding' the insulin to avoid hypos. Much less of a problem now that I'm on a basal bolus system but that freedom does mean I need to be more disciplined myself!
I'm sure there are other reasons why insulin can make you gain weight but that is my experience.

 

[aymes]

My levels before exercise are always usually between 6 and 8...
should i increase insulin before i go to do exercise? I havent been taught how to change my doses yet, so i'm confused as to what to do!
I have 6 units before my evening meal...

I'd agree, that sounds like a good starting level for exercise, you may find you need to take on board some extra carbs to stop you going low however, it may be that you need some carbs and then some insulin (but less than you would normally take for that amount) so that you have some insulin available for the exercise. The trick I found was to take things slowly and build up gradually to assess it affects you. However, if you've not been taught to adjust your own doses then you do need to speak with your DSN before making any changes for exercise. You should be able to give them a call before your next appointment for advice.

Thankyouu Adrienne.
Well im there in june, so i'm going to ask if they can actually start teaching my Carbo-Counting and things. Apparently it should get better.... Some time in the future.
Apparently my pancreas is still in its honeymoon period and is still producing insulin. Does that mean i dont have to inject as much and my pancreas will make it ??

If you're honeymooning it means that your pancreas is still producing some insulin so that you have to inject less. This can be quite a tricky time as the amount it produces can be quite erratic at times. When the honeymoon comes to an end and the pancreas stops giving out its own insulin the amount you have to inject will increase.

 

[sofaraway]

I think that some people prefer levemir because it is meant to be better for weight gain than lantus, but really even the Novo rep admitted that int he main study people on levemir did put on weight just not as much as those on lantus.

hazel have they considered byetta for you? it's an injectable drug but not insulin. Some people have fanatstic results, both weight loss and improved control.