Hello and help.

4989 Views 29 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Shanny, Jul 29, 2010

clover91

Discussion Starter · Jul 26, 2010

Hi guys: I am new to the forum and as of last Wednesday new to insulin. I have been type 2 for about 5 years and this insulin thing is making me crazy.
I am having wierd highs and lows in the numbers, how long before things settle down? After Friday and Saturday night waking up in the middle of the night with the shakes and horrible sweats and numbers around 70, last night was a peanut butter and jam sandwich at 9 p.m. and finally a better nights sleep. Any other fixes? I am not fond of PB & J.
Oh, I am 60 years old, and live on a horse farm here in MN, and it drives me nuts to be so housebound until things settle down.

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Joshua Shorter

· #2 · Jul 26, 2010

I usually have a 15 carb gram ice cream bar before I go to bed. I usually eat the weight watchers one that is vanilla ice cream with carmel and peanuts covered in chocolate.
You could be having weird numbers until you and your doctor figure out exactly how much insulin is required to supplement the amount you make naturally.
Do you take any oral medicines?
Welcome to the forum and please visit and contribute often.
Josh

fgummett

· #3 · Jul 26, 2010 (Edited)

Welcome!

PB & J would drive my Blood Glucose (BG) sky high... are you eating this to stop your BG from dropping due to the insulin injection? If so, I'd suggest that it is better to adjust the insulin to meet your food needs, rather than having to eat to cover the insulin... in other words you may get by with less insulin.

Unfortunately eating extra food to cover insulin can be a recipe for weight (excess fat mass) gain.

A BG around 70mg/dl is at the low end of the normal BG range... if you are feeling hypoglycaemic at that level, I wonder what BGs your body is more used to?

Shanny

· #4 · Jul 26, 2010

Hello, clover . . . thank you for joining us! Since my experience with insulin is limited, I'll confine myself to welcoming you and hoping you visit us often. Glad to meet you.

breezeonby

· #5 · Jul 26, 2010

clover91 said:
Hi guys: I am new to the forum and as of last Wednesday new to insulin. I have been type 2 for about 5 years and this insulin thing is making me crazy.
I am having wierd highs and lows in the numbers, how long before things settle down? After Friday and Saturday night waking up in the middle of the night with the shakes and horrible sweats and numbers around 70, last night was a peanut butter and jam sandwich at 9 p.m. and finally a better nights sleep. Any other fixes? I am not fond of PB & J.
Oh, I am 60 years old, and live on a horse farm here in MN, and it drives me nuts to be so housebound until things settle down.

Hello and :welcome: to the forum clover91! What type of insulin are you taking? If you are using a long acting insulin (basal) the dose may be too high since you are going low in the middle of the night. You mentioned that you are having highs as well, when do they occur and how high is your reading? You will need to get your insulin doses straightened out before things settle down. There is a great book out called "Using Insulin" by John Walsh, I would suggest that you read this book, it will help you understand insulin. As far as a snack, you will need some carbs and some protein, how are you for a cheese sandwich or a turkey sandwich? I eat dinner really late, so I usually don't need a bedtime snack. I hope you will feel comfortable here on the forum and we are here to help. Take care and hurry back!

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clover91

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 26, 2010

Joshua Shorter said:
I usually have a 15 carb gram ice cream bar before I go to bed. I usually eat the weight watchers one that is vanilla ice cream with carmel and peanuts covered in chocolate.
You could be having weird numbers until you and your doctor figure out exactly how much insulin is required to supplement the amount you make naturally.
Do you take any oral medicines?
Welcome to the forum and please visit and contribute often.
Josh

Hi Josh: I was at the max amount of oral meds, and my liver tests came back a little hinky last week, hence the insulin. I was taking Metformin, Actos and Glyburide at the max amounts. I tried going on a very strict diet and the numbers just did not move.
I have a meeting on Wednesday with my diabetes counselor, and I put a call in this morning to see if she had any suggestions, just waiting for a call back.
I will try some ice cream, but it seems like anything dairy makes my stomach upset.

clover91

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 26, 2010

breezeonby said:
Hello and :welcome: to the forum clover91! What type of insulin are you taking? If you are using a long acting insulin (basal) the dose may be too high since you are going low in the middle of the night. You mentioned that you are having highs as well, when do they occur and how high is your reading? You will need to get your insulin doses straightened out before things settle down. There is a great book out called "Using Insulin" by John Walsh, I would suggest that you read this book, it will help you understand insulin. As far as a snack, you will need some carbs and some protein, how are you for a cheese sandwich or a turkey sandwich? I eat dinner really late, so I usually don't need a bedtime snack. I hope you will feel comfortable here on the forum and we are here to help. Take care and hurry back!

Howdy, and thanks for the welcome: I had a high of 257 yesterday after coming back the seeing the triage Dr. at the VA hospital. I had not taken any meds before my hour long trip to the VA, and took my meds and insulin before stopping for breakfast on my way home. I was good, and only ate 1 and a half of the eggs, 1/2 of the sausage patties, and 1 piece of toast.
They put me on a long acting insulin, and the triage Dr. suggested dropping the evening dose to 8 instead of 10 and doing it at 6 p.m. instead of the 8 p.m. I had been doing. He said this would give me time to see if it was going to make me crazy.
My morning dose of 10, got me a little dizzy about 2 hours after dosing, so I ate extra carbs in a snack, and that helped in a about 1/2 an hour.
Is this normal?

clover91

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 26, 2010

fgummett said:
Welcome!

PB & J would drive my Blood Glucose (BG) sky high... are you eating this to stop your BG from dropping due to the insulin injection? If so, I'd suggest that it is better to adjust the insulin to meet your food needs, rather than having to eat to cover the insulin... in other words you may get by with less insulin.

Unfortunately eating extra food to cover insulin can be a recipe for weight (excess fat mass) gain.

A BG around 70mg/dl is at the low end of the normal BG range... if you are feeling hypoglycaemic at that level, I wonder what BGs your body is more used to?

Hi: I am hoping they can adjust things pretty quickly. In the recent past to try and get things under control I have been forcing myself to eat every couple of hours (some protein and not a lot of carbs) to try and get the numbers down. I am very short (5'1") and have spend my whole life trying to control weight. I am a farm girl, so the 155 I weigh in at right now sounds like a lot.....but a lot of it is muscle and not a lot of fat. My other problem, I am not much of a meal eater, and just grab what I can in the middle of chores. Not being able to do farm work right now is hard to do. Hubby has made me promise to stay away from the machinery until this is better.

breezeonby

· #9 · Jul 26, 2010

clover91 said:
Howdy, and thanks for the welcome: I had a high of 257 yesterday after coming back the seeing the triage Dr. at the VA hospital. I had not taken any meds before my hour long trip to the VA, and took my meds and insulin before stopping for breakfast on my way home. I was good, and only ate 1 and a half of the eggs, 1/2 of the sausage patties, and 1 piece of toast.
They put me on a long acting insulin, and the triage Dr. suggested dropping the evening dose to 8 instead of 10 and doing it at 6 p.m. instead of the 8 p.m. I had been doing. He said this would give me time to see if it was going to make me crazy.
My morning dose of 10, got me a little dizzy about 2 hours after dosing, so I ate extra carbs in a snack, and that helped in a about 1/2 an hour.
Is this normal?

A good insulin regimen consists of a long acting insulin and a fast acting insulin to cover your carbs at meal time. Long acting insulins such as Lantus have no peak. If you are having to eat so that you won't go low, I would think that this is an indication that your current insulin dose may be to high. You might want to try and reduce your morning insulin to 8 units instead of 10. When you are feeling dizzy, test and see what your BG is and see if you are low. Keep track of this and go over it with your doctor at your next visit. Once you get your doses adjusted, you will be able to see that insulin is a great way to control your blood glucose. Hang in there!

Joshua Shorter

· #10 · Jul 26, 2010

Well I am definetely sorry that this is being such a pain, but I have high hopes with your obvious determination that you will get it under control.
Insulin and carb reactions are a highly individualized thing. What works for me will most probably not work for you. Same as everyone on here. Unfortunately, the only way to make it right is by trial and error for the most part. But it seems pretty obvious that you are not getting the right amount of insulin. Probably too high.

onaughmae

· #11 · Jul 26, 2010

Hi clover and welcome! You have already gotten some good advice...I only have one thing to add. When I first started taking insulin, I had been on the max amount of oral meds for years and was out of control. I was walking around with blood sugars 350-450 range all the time. Once I started taking insulin and my blood sugars came down, I felt very hypoglycemic at a number that people dont normally feel that way. I am in great control now...and I still feel it when I get into the 70's even though that is considered normal. When I first started getting myself normal again I would low, shaky, sweating, etc even around 110. Your body will adjust to a lower, more normal blood sugar in time. They might need to adjust your insulin to bring you into a "normal" range a little slower if you are having symptoms. Sometimes when we walk around high for a long period of time, your body sort of gets used to it. As long as you are seeing a slow and steady decrease to normal you are on the right track. You should not have to eat to make yourself not feel sick. The only time you *really* should have to cover a low is below 70. When you got dizzy 2 hours after your morning insulin and ate a snack, what was your blood sugar at that time?

You are on the right track...just keep being careful of your carb intake and your body will adjust. Did they send you to see a diabetes educator or dietician? Since you are taking insulin you need to be mindful of your carb intake. Your insulin coverage and carb intake are very closely related and are the key to managing your blood sugar.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

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clover91

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 26, 2010

Joshua Shorter said:
Well I am definetely sorry that this is being such a pain, but I have high hopes with your obvious determination that you will get it under control.
Insulin and carb reactions are a highly individualized thing. What works for me will most probably not work for you. Same as everyone on here. Unfortunately, the only way to make it right is by trial and error for the most part. But it seems pretty obvious that you are not getting the right amount of insulin. Probably too high.

Thanks: I just talked to the counselor at the VA, and she thought maybe the Dr. was being a little agressive at putting me at 10 twice a day too. She was going to talk to her and see if maybe 1 dose a day might make things better. Or, possibly cutting back or eleminating more of my oral meds.

breezeonby

· #13 · Jul 26, 2010

Are you still taking all of your oral meds in max doses and the insulin? If you are taking the Glyburide, it can cause low blood sugar especially when used with insulin.

clover91

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 27, 2010

breezeonby said:
Are you still taking all of your oral meds in max doses and the insulin? If you are taking the Glyburide, it can cause low blood sugar especially when used with insulin.

My counselor called yesterday afternoon, and the latest method we are trying......drop the dose to 8 twice a day (the evening dose at 6 p.m.), and to no longer take the Glyburide, and to stay on the 45 mg Actos split into half in the morning and half with the rest of my other medication at 8 p.m.
I still had a lot of swings yesterday, with a low of 110 just before bed. I ate a little peanut butter on the new low carb round bread Hubby found for me and some cheese. The number went up to 180 at bedtime, and was at 190 when I got up. Still trying to get a moderate reading without all the wild ups and downs. Trial and error I guess?

onaughmae

· #15 · Jul 27, 2010

clover91 said:
My counselor called yesterday afternoon, and the latest method we are trying......drop the dose to 8 twice a day (the evening dose at 6 p.m.), and to no longer take the Glyburide, and to stay on the 45 mg Actos split into half in the morning and half with the rest of my other medication at 8 p.m.
I still had a lot of swings yesterday, with a low of 110 just before bed. I ate a little peanut butter on the new low carb round bread Hubby found for me and some cheese. The number went up to 180 at bedtime, and was at 190 when I got up. Still trying to get a moderate reading without all the wild ups and downs. Trial and error I guess?

Glad to hear of the changes. Hopefully that will help. 110 before bed isnt really a low...I would have been happy with it and not treated it. You got a pretty big rise from your snack. How many carbs total was your snack? If I am treating a bedtime low usually 15grams is more than enough.

clover91

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jul 27, 2010

onaughmae said:
Glad to hear of the changes. Hopefully that will help. 110 before bed isnt really a low...I would have been happy with it and not treated it. You got a pretty big rise from your snack. How many carbs total was your snack? If I am treating a bedtime low usually 15grams is more than enough.

I think because I was so high for so long, that 110 I was already starting to get a little shaky.
There really were only about 30 carbs with the snack, but it went up a lot higher than I wanted. The other night I was at 155 at bedtime and 2 hours later at 70 and shaking so badly and sweating, I had to hurry and eat 2 yoghurts and some fruit cocktail before it would stop. I think it will just take time for things to settle down and 110 will not bother me anymore.

MinisMom

· #17 · Jul 27, 2010

Hi and welcome.

Beware; when I started insulin my doctor took me off of my Glyburide and my numbers skyrocketed. I never realized how much the Glyburide affected my readings.

If my readings get below 120 I start to feel disconnected and muzzy (muffled and fuzzy). I have NEVER had a reading below 90 and I thought I was dying then.

What medications and doses are you currently taking? The wonderful people on this forum are really good at helping spot problems, so post away....

onaughmae

· #18 · Jul 27, 2010

clover91 said:
I think because I was so high for so long, that 110 I was already starting to get a little shaky.
There really were only about 30 carbs with the snack, but it went up a lot higher than I wanted. The other night I was at 155 at bedtime and 2 hours later at 70 and shaking so badly and sweating, I had to hurry and eat 2 yoghurts and some fruit cocktail before it would stop. I think it will just take time for things to settle down and 110 will not bother me anymore.

Be careful when correcting. I know it feels scary, especially when you are not used to that low blood sugar feeling. Even though it feels bad, and needs to be treated, you are not in danger of fainting really until it is much lower than that. I have been as low as in the 30's...I didnt feel too great..but I was no where near passing out. 30 grams is too much for a correction. 15 grams is good to start with. Have 15 grams, wait 20 minutes and you should feel better. If you are concerned that it isnt going up fast enough, its better to drink your carbs than eat them. Have 1/2 cup of orange juice or even 1/2 can of soda...maybe 1 cup of milk. These are all about 15 grams of carbs. 2 yogurts and some fruit cocktail is an over correction. You have to give it time to go up. By the time you ate all of that it was just starting to increase. If you want to treat a low feeling more quickly, go with liquid carbs instead. I would suggest getting some glucose tablets or those little liquid glucose drinks that are available at any pharmacy to keep with you when you go out.

If you find yourself around 100 or below at bedtime, have a snack (around 15-20 grams) with some protein in it. That should keep you even until morning. Something like peanut butter with a couple of crackers is an example.

Keep your chin up...it gets easier...I promise

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clover91

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jul 27, 2010

MinisMom said:
Hi and welcome. Beware; when I started insulin my doctor took me off of my Glyburide and my numbers skyrocketed. I never realized how much the Glyburide affected my readings.

If my readings get below 120 I start to feel disconnected and muzzy (muffled and fuzzy). I have NEVER had a reading below 90 and I thought I was dying then.

What medications and doses are you currently taking? The wonderful people on this forum are really good at helping spot problems, so post away....

Right now insulin 8 in the morning and p.m.
Actos 45 mg split in half twice a day
She took me off the metformin a couple of days ago, and glyburide yesterday.
for other problems:
Nifedipine 90 1X
Omeprozole 20 mg 1X
Triamterine 37.5 1X
Lipitor 80 1X
Then we have my muscle problems......for some unknown reason my body will not retain potassium, or calcium and my whole body locked up a couple of times.
Calcium 500 mg 2X
Magnesium 1000 mg 2X
Klor-con (potassium) 20 mg 2X
Since it's only been a week on insulin, I sure hope things settle down fairly quickly.

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onaughmae

· #20 · Jul 27, 2010

Any particular reason she took you off metformin? Metformin works to decrease your insulin resistance, it doesnt stimulate the pancreas. I take insulin and take my metformin everyday.

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