increasing insulin with no reduction in blood sugars
Posted , 6 users are following.
67 year old male diabetic type 2 for 15 years. on insulin & 6 x 500 metformin. 6 months ago sugar levels started to rise hba1c 10.1 . finger prick 5 times per day. readings between 16 & 27. stradily increasing insulin. was 26 units morning and 24 units evening. Now 38 morning and 36 evening. no change in sugar levels. Help !!
1 like, 9 replies
pamela27602 likeman
Posted
I'm 64 and a type one. I have a couple of questions. How many times a day do you eat? Are you eating a lot of carbohydrates?
This info may help me understand what is going on. My sugar is pretty stable now but I know if I eat a lot of carbs I need to use more insulin.
Cheers
Pam
likeman
Posted
marilyn_92910 likeman
Posted
glyn186 likeman
Posted
I am interested to see that quite a few people on this forum take quite large amounts of metformin I am on 4 x 500mg per day and my nurse has told me that that is the max that any doctor would prescribe but that doesn't seem right if others are obviously taking more. I do have trouble with control and have a very unhelpful clinic so I talked to my pharmacist and he has advised I change doctors. I also have insulin and take the tabs 2 in the morning and 2 at night so I am going to try 1 x 4 times a day and see if that helps. .
Guest glyn186
Posted
I am on 2000 a day taken twice a day.
You mention control. If you testing in the morning you should fast for 12 hours. Testing in the day is directly related to what you have eaten. You will need to change your diet and loose the triggers for blood sugar spikes.
For me I can have potatoes, or french fries. Can not eat white bread or white rice both of those are a guaranteed 200 point spike. I can tolerate Rye Bread.
I do not understand your comment on the insulin.
Guest likeman
Posted
3000 mg of Metformin exceeds the manufacture dosing guidelines.
http://www.drugs.com/dosage/metformin.html#Usual_Adult_Dose_for_Diabetes_Type_2.
I have had periods of increasing A1C numbers. I have always managed to get the companion undercontrol again by changing my diet and adding more excersise. 80 units a day is not a lot to me. I take 120 per day of just Lantus.
Consider increasing the number of injections and see if that helps. ie morning noon and nite. For me I take 55 units in the morning and 65 units at night. Helps get the morning number in the 100's (~5.6 for you) I also take 25 units three times a day of Novolog.
Check your diet and identify any triggers for your increase.
We are about the same age as I am a 64 year old male.
glyn186 likeman
Posted
Guest glyn186
Posted
What I do is not neccessarliy what you should do.
Everyone must find their own triggers and tolerances. I can eat potatoes as much as I want. But no white rice or flour. Giving up bread and sugar was a tussle for a long time. Then Splenda came about and I have learned how to make Rhubarb pies with splenda that the neighbors think is wonderful. Just wish it was in season here longer and a lot less expensive. Last I bought was $6.00 a pound.
My view from Arizona
tony09890 likeman
Posted
I have a small book that lists the number of carbs in every food, I count the total number of carbs in each meal and divide that by six this gives me the number of units to inject. With this method I found I can control my diabetes extremely well. You also need to work out your bolus intake, for me if my level is say 6.5 before a meal I will take one extra unit on top. So lets say my level is 6.5 before a meal and I have one piece of bread (14carbs), and one banana (10 carbs) for a total of 24 carbs, I divide 24 by six and add 1 unit for my bolus, that gives me 5 units of insulin, two hours later my level is 5.5, subject to activity levels of course. The dividing number ( mine is six) will vary from person to person as will your bolus number and your activity level. This system works brilliantly for me my hba1c is always between 6.4 and 6.8 It is also a good idea to set a carb limit for each meal.