Once on Insulin, Always on Insulin?
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I think so, but my experience with insulin is scant. When my mom was diagnosed years ago, she was hospitalized and they stabilized her with insulin, but I'm pretty sure her doc, knowing his stubborn Irish patient very well, agreed to give her room to control it with diet/exercise/oral meds, and when she said she could do it, she did it.
Shalynne? Are you on basal & bolus insulin, or a mixed concoction?
Shalynne? Are you on basal & bolus insulin, or a mixed concoction?
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Hmmm ... don't know the terms "basal" and "bolus" in regard to insulin. I'm on NPH 2x/day plus Regular on a sliding scale according to what the meter reads.
The Dr. said he might be able to take me off insulin at some time in the future, but given how I was put on insulin on Day One, I wonder if that was just feel-good talk, or a real (if remote) possibility.
I have known people who were put on insulin right away and as there bgs improved and their diet and exercise regime changed, they were able to wean them off of it slowly . Then they went to oral meds to maintain lower bgs. I think a lot of it depends on how high your HbA1c is. If you can get the HbA1c down to 6 or below you may be able to switch off and on to meds.
sorry you are here, but your doctor made a GREAT choice.
Insulin during the first 6 mos post-diagnosis (were you in DKA, by the way?) rests your beta cells and therefore preserves function!
No, insulin is not forever, and a good goal for you would be to get off it, gradually tapering the dosages (per your doctor) as your blood sugars permit!
I wish my endo had done that. I got insulin for 2 days, then was sent home with oral meds only.
Insulin during the first 6 mos post-diagnosis (were you in DKA, by the way?) rests your beta cells and therefore preserves function!
No, insulin is not forever, and a good goal for you would be to get off it, gradually tapering the dosages (per your doctor) as your blood sugars permit!
I wish my endo had done that. I got insulin for 2 days, then was sent home with oral meds only.
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Thank you, all!
Foxl ... I totally agree that insulin's the way to go for now. Yes, I was in (non-symptomatic) DKA when the hospital dragged me in.
Clinical care has been beyond excellent. They are soooo not in the habit of dragging reluctant patients into their beds. So when they called, I took it seriously. After a good deal of talking-to.
Diet and lifestyle education, however ... not so much. Unfortunate, but not their fault. Less-than-adequate staffing and, I'm learning, ADA guidelines, get the "credit" here.
It's great to know I have one more achievable goal to strive for.
Foxl ... I totally agree that insulin's the way to go for now. Yes, I was in (non-symptomatic) DKA when the hospital dragged me in.
Clinical care has been beyond excellent. They are soooo not in the habit of dragging reluctant patients into their beds. So when they called, I took it seriously. After a good deal of talking-to.
Diet and lifestyle education, however ... not so much. Unfortunate, but not their fault. Less-than-adequate staffing and, I'm learning, ADA guidelines, get the "credit" here.
It's great to know I have one more achievable goal to strive for.
I got wheeled from my doctor's office over to the hospital, for admission! My only symptoms were peeing and drinking, and craving sugar.It was weird how much really dark pee they got out of me after the IV was run!
Education comes later. I probably was safer going home without insulin, given the fool CME who was telling me how to use it ... and I was already overwhelmed by DX, of course ...
NPH is your basal and regular is your bolus. I was put on levemir(basal) 2 weeks after being diagnosed and then humalog 2 weeks after that. It took me several months to get good control but after that I was able to just take humalog when I ate a large amount of carbs. I usually eat less than 80 carbs in a day. My endo says I'm in a honeymoon stage and will probably have to use more insulin down the road. I just take it one day at a time.Shalynne said:
I was put on insulin immediately due to my digestive problems. Most meds evidently tend to plug you up???? So I was given 3 shots per day of Novolog and one 1 shot per day of Lantus. Being in the hospital and eating right or should I say not eating I was taken off of the Novolog but was to take the prescription home with me. A month later I was taken off of the Lantus. I am assuming as I get older my chances of going back on are pretty high. My A1C has gone from somewhere in the 7's down to 5.3.
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
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Exercise is making a huge difference for me. A month and a half ago, I was taking 90 units of Lantus everyday, and then Humalog throughout the day, that is when I started exercising daily. Right now, I am taking 55 units of Lantus a day, and my Humalog shots are usually all under 5 units, if I need them at all. Still working on figuring out my insulin-to-carb ratio... and still working on cutting down my daily carb intake (right now I am eating approximately 100g of carbs a day or less)... but my numbers are improving, and I'm hoping that my insulin doses will continue to drop too. Saw my doc yesterday, and he liked the numbers I brought to him this time. Still some bad spikes here and there, but even those are lower than they used to be. It's an ongoing process and I am determined to figure it all out!
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Sounds like we've traveled along a similar path!
It was weird how much really dark pee they got out of me after the IV was run!
Education comes later. I probably was safer going home without insulin, given the fool CME who was telling me how to use it ... and I was already overwhelmed by DX, of course ...
I was very fortunate to have a great instructor on the equipment end. That, plus I already pretty much knew how to draw and inject insulin (for a diabetic dog -- that technique is a little less refined, but the principle's the same).
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