Too much insulin ?

Stu · 06-29-2009, 02:44

Hi guys, im 21 years old and im being told that im not taking proper care of my diabetes. Is there such thing as taking too much insulin even though you never go low ?

First of all I take 21 lantus a day. and my humalog amount varies depending when/what I eat.

I dont have a "sliding scale", or follow a meal plan. I simply check my sugar, if its below 12 I will eat first then inject a good amount of humalog usually between 6-11 units depending on how many carbs i ate.

If Im above 12, ill inject after eating around 8-16 units also depending on what im eating. My goal is simple, try to get the lowest blood sugars as possible to eliminate my risk of complications.

I never have low sugars after meals, usually im always above 10! This means to take more units with that meal, but im scared of going low in sugar...soo...

What ive started is, after 2-3 hours having injected humalog, if my blood sugar is still high I will inject another small dose ( around 2-6 ) to attempt to correct my sugar. They say taking insulin and not eating is dangerous, but ive never gotten a low blood sugar because of this reason.

I take over 6 needles sometimes within 24h, is it generally bad to take so much insulin ? Should my attempt be to eat less carbs ?

Since humalog came out, paired with lantus, so many possibilitys opened up to me, and im basically not a diabetic anymore because I eat whatever/whenever i just take extra needles.

Lets be clear on things though, I know the time humalog takes to work, and im aware of over-lapping insulins. Doctor told me not to do another insulin until 4-6 hours after the first, but Im well expierienced that after 2 hours my sugar just heads uphill from all those starches breaking down.

MY 7 day average of sugar is 14.1!!! I should take more lantus but im not comfortable doing such large doses into my injection sites because they get ruined from it. I always inject into a fresh site where the plunger empties with ease, and id like to keep it that way.

Anthill · 06-29-2009, 13:09

Hello Stu , Welcome to DF.
Just think that you are better off as I have my Total Daily Dose of 140U a day at least!!! Yes it is too much but then I have had this stupid disease for too long like 38 years. This is a progressive disease as I think that you have some pancreatic function and the normal happy medium is 6 MMOL/L
I think that your basal can do with a tweak I.E. your lantus up buy 2U and of course test. The other thing is that this will not happen for a wile and get to know your carbs.

Richard157 · 06-29-2009, 20:30

Hello Stu, welcome to our community! I don't worry about how much insulin I take. I just worry about my control and my health. After 63 years of Type 1 diabetes I am healthy so however much insulin I need to stay healthy and avoid complications, that is what I will take. Some diabetics take 100 or more units per day to stay healthy. Others need only 20 units per day. We are all different. I stay healthy by limiting my carb intake to 130g per day. That requires less insulin. The more Humalog you take the more weight you will gain. I lost 26 pounds by eating only 130 carbs and exercising every day. I eat low carb foods in small portions and I take 1 unit of Humalog for every 6 carbs I eat. So 1:6 is my insulin:carb ratio. Have you established a carb ratio? Yours might be 1:15. It might be very different from mine. It can be very useful.

You are having blood sugar that is much to high. Ideally your range should be between 4 and 7. That would give you a very good A1c. Have you had any A1c testing done? Complications are much less likely to occur if your A1c is below 6.5. You should aim at that level as your goal in order to have good control and no complications in your future!

Richard

tellmeaboutdiabetes · 07-01-2009, 19:17

try rotating sites.

You need to even out your blood glucose. Keeping that high in the long run may cause some serious problems in the future.

Stu · 10-04-2009, 02:01

Thanks for the responses. Im still on the same amount of insulin and my avg is now 13, still needs some work.....I know!

I still am searching for answers as to why too much insulin is BAD, and why lowering carb intake is even neccesary. Im well aware that lowing carb intake/having a healthy diet is healthy even for non-diabetics.

I just like the idea of being able to say that "eating a cake" is no more healthy for a non diabetic than a diabetic. Theoretically, its possible that I eat 100 carbs in sugar, and get a glucose level that is in the same playing field as 100 carbs in starches.

Richard157 · 10-04-2009, 15:16

The more carbs you eat then the more insulin you need in order to avoid high blood sugar. The more insulin you use then the more weight you might gain. I eat low carb meals and use only 36 units of insulin each day. That is how I keep my weight under control. If you do not gain weight when eating many carbs then you may be safe eating that cake. I hope you are using the carb counting technique to determine the correct insulin dosages prior to each meal.

Stu · 10-04-2009, 23:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard157

The more carbs you eat then the more insulin you need in order to avoid high blood sugar. The more insulin you use then the more weight you might gain. I eat low carb meals and use only 36 units of insulin each day. That is how I keep my weight under control. If you do not gain weight when eating many carbs then you may be safe eating that cake. I hope you are using the carb counting technique to determine the correct insulin dosages prior to each meal.

Gaining weight, is usually not a problem with type1s but it does happen! Higher glucose levels contributes to loosing weight, especially when you have ketones. I think type 1 diabetics generally run higher blood sugars than type 2 and this is why so many of us dont have weight issues.(we have other issues)

I stopped counting carbs awhile ago, it was too restricting everything I ate. When humalog came out(rapidinsulin) it made me be able to eat 2 whoppers, take 10units. If my blood sugar was high 2-3 hours later, I could correct it with another injections. So I learn the next time. I do however have a rough idea of whats needed for what.

My doctor is very against me doing extra injections, and I can see why. Its a good idea to take insulin properly once than having to correct it with a second injection. For me im a little scared of taking large doses, especially when my sugar is under 10.

Eating less carbs and healthy dieting is a thing that applies to everyone not just diabetics. Diabetics are equipped with some of the finest tools, and if we know how to use them THEN we are the same as everyone else, those high fat and high carb whoppers, are just as bad for anyone else.