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From: Julie Bove on 17 Jul 2008 23:49

"Trish" <u44880(a)uwe> wrote in message news:873f0bfa834b5(a)uwe...
> I'm a thirty six year old woman newly diagnosed with Type 1. My doctor
> has
> me on 7u of NPH at bedtime and 2 to 3 units of Humalog to cover meals.
> I've
> just been reading horror tales of NPH and wondering what on earth these
> seizures are all about!?! Also I'm very concerned with weight gain. I've
> been a steady 135 for a number of years, run 15 km a week and have always
> taken my health very seiously. I am scared that this new insulin regime
> is
> going to cause me weight gain. Are there insulins that are better for
> weight
> control than others?
> Any discussion of these facts would be very helpful.

I was told that some people gain weight with insulin and some do not. I
have gained 15 pounds in 3 months or so. It seems to all be water weight or
at any rate retained fluid. My right ankle is the worse, but my hands are
swollen too. Very painful. I don't know if it is from the insulin or not
but it started about the time I added the Novolog.


From: Trish via MedKB.com on 18 Jul 2008 00:01
Thank you very much. Your info as well as others on this page was very
helpful. I am still running and just working to get the right mix of
insulin/carbs so that I don't have to eat a bottle of glucose tablets as I
jog along.

Alan Mackenzie wrote:
>> I'm a thirty six year old woman newly diagnosed with Type 1.
>
>Sorry to hear that. Most important thing: DON'T PANIC!!! But you're not
>doing that anyway.
>
>> My doctor has me on 7u of NPH at bedtime and 2 to 3 units of Humalog
>> to cover meals.
>
>That's a very low dosage. For comparison, I'm taking about 45 units of
>insulin per day. I've been T1 for 42 years. Probably your body is
>still producing some insulin, just not enough.
>
>> I've just been reading horror tales of NPH and wondering what on earth
>> these seizures are all about!?!
>
>They're about low blood sugar, technically know as hypoglycaemia. As BS
>(the B stands for "blood" here, not "bull" ;-) sinks from the ideal
>(~100), you get to a threshold, perhaps 50, perhaps 20, where the brain
>stops working properly. Go much lower, and you can become unconscious.
>It's really not very nice. What then happens is that the liver kicks
>in, releasing massive amounts of glucose into the blood, and you wake
>up with a ghastly headache, feeling generally unwell and delicate.
>
>You really ought to get symptoms as BS drops below that critical point.
>Some people (amongst them me) don't get decent symptoms when using NPH.
>Although NPH supposedly works ~24 hours, for me it gave up after 7. The
>other problem is that it can have a massive peak effect after ~5 hours.
>I don't use NPH anymore (phew!). Apparently, though, it's fine for some
>people.
>
>You also ought to get some experience of a hypo - not an extreme one,
>just one where you perhaps "accidentally" put in more than 2 or 3
>Humalog, but in safe circumstances. You should get the symptoms and be
>able to respond by swallowing glucose or sugar in some form.
>
>> Also I'm very concerned with weight gain. I've been a steady 135 for
>> a number of years, ....
>
>What we would call 9 stone 9 pound in Britain, or 62 kg. in Germany.
>"have been" 135. Does that mean your weight's been creeping up beyond
>that in the last few days/weeks?
>
>> ,.... run 15 km a week and have always taken my health very seriously.
>
>Is that an "I have run (up till now)" or an "I (still) run"? It should
>be the latter. But know what a hypo feels like (see above) and be ready
>to handle it.
>
>> I am scared that this new insulin regime is going to cause me weight
>> gain. Are there insulins that are better for weight control than
>> others?
>
>Not really. You'll gain weight by eating more than you exercise off,
>just like anybody else. In fact, you'll probably gain weight as you
>approach middle-age, again just like anybody else. But, hey, that's a
>few years off for you yet!
>
>The trick is that you have to learn to adjust your insulin dose to fit
>your life. If you're gaining weight, that means you're eating too much,
>or exercising too little, so you'd cut your insulin dose so as to be
>able to eat less or exercise more.
>
>Sorry to say this, but your body will be giving up producing insulin
>completely in the near future (maybe within 1 or 2 years, I don't really
>know), so you'll have to inject a lot more. But you must take control
>of this - your doctor must be relegated to the role of junior partner.
>
>> Any discussion of these facts would be very helpful.
>
>Best of luck. And, DON'T PANIC!!!
>

--
Message posted via http://www.medkb.com

From: Trish via MedKB.com on 18 Jul 2008 00:08
Another question.....I've been experiencing a lot of dizziness since I've
been injecting insulin. Even though my sugars are not too low. It feels a
little like riding a rollar coaster...that feeling of the bottom dropping out
under you. Is this just what to expect from fluxuating sugars?

Trish wrote:
>I'm a thirty six year old woman newly diagnosed with Type 1. My doctor has
>me on 7u of NPH at bedtime and 2 to 3 units of Humalog to cover meals. I've
>just been reading horror tales of NPH and wondering what on earth these
>seizures are all about!?! Also I'm very concerned with weight gain. I've
>been a steady 135 for a number of years, run 15 km a week and have always
>taken my health very seiously. I am scared that this new insulin regime is
>going to cause me weight gain. Are there insulins that are better for weight
>control than others?
>Any discussion of these facts would be very helpful.

--
Message posted via http://www.medkb.com

From: Robert Miles on 18 Jul 2008 06:31

"Julie Bove" <juliebove(a)verizon.net> wrote in message
news:g5p3s1$29j$1(a)aioe.org...
>
> "Trish" <u44880(a)uwe> wrote in message news:873f0bfa834b5(a)uwe...
>> I'm a thirty six year old woman newly diagnosed with Type 1. My doctor
>> has
>> me on 7u of NPH at bedtime and 2 to 3 units of Humalog to cover meals.
>> I've
>> just been reading horror tales of NPH and wondering what on earth these
>> seizures are all about!?! Also I'm very concerned with weight gain.
>> I've
>> been a steady 135 for a number of years, run 15 km a week and have always
>> taken my health very seiously. I am scared that this new insulin regime
>> is
>> going to cause me weight gain. Are there insulins that are better for
>> weight
>> control than others?
>> Any discussion of these facts would be very helpful.
>
> I was told that some people gain weight with insulin and some do not. I
> have gained 15 pounds in 3 months or so. It seems to all be water weight
> or at any rate retained fluid. My right ankle is the worse, but my hands
> are swollen too. Very painful. I don't know if it is from the insulin or
> not but it started about the time I added the Novolog.
Julie, do your medicines happen to include Actos (pioglitazone)? If they
do,
tell your doctor about the swellings, since this could lead to congestive
heart failure if left as it is too long.


From: Alan Mackenzie on 18 Jul 2008 09:07
Julie Bove <juliebove(a)verizon.net> wrote:

> "Trish" <u44880(a)uwe> wrote in message news:873f0bfa834b5(a)uwe...
>> I'm a thirty six year old woman newly diagnosed with Type 1. My
>> doctor has me on 7u of NPH at bedtime and 2 to 3 units of Humalog to
>> cover meals.

>> I've just been reading horror tales of NPH and wondering what on
>> earth these seizures are all about!?! Also I'm very concerned with
>> weight gain. I've been a steady 135 for a number of years, run 15 km
>> a week and have always taken my health very seiously. I am scared
>> that this new insulin regime is going to cause me weight gain. Are
>> there insulins that are better for weight control than others?

>> Any discussion of these facts would be very helpful.

> I was told that some people gain weight with insulin and some do not.
> I have gained 15 pounds in 3 months or so. It seems to all be water
> weight or at any rate retained fluid. My right ankle is the worse,
> but my hands are swollen too. Very painful. I don't know if it is
> from the insulin or not but it started about the time I added the
> Novolog.

Julie, you are a type 2, are you not? It is a different disease from
type 1, as Trish now has. Trish isn't overweight (unless she's _very_
short ;-). I think what you've just described are exclusively T2
problems, the problems of insulin resistance.

The main effect of insulin for a T1 is staying alive.

--
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).

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