D-Insulin
The 411 on Insulin!
“I told a friend of mine that my BS numbers were not improving and that I would have to start injecting insulin. She immediately told me that’s not good. I asked why isn’t it good? It will help my body to manage glucose levels better and not struggle.”—Chrystal
Most Type 2 diabetes have a healthy fear of Insulin Therapy. There are reports that suggest Type 2 diabetics should start insulin therapy at the time of diagnosis. Insulin therapy for Type 2′s can be given combination with oral medications. Some people have to go on Insulin therapy because the oral meds may not be working or causing side effects.
Some of the fears revolve around insulin are:
- forever being dependent on Insulin for the rest of your life.
- being frightened by the doctor about being on insulin
- feeling that they are fighting a loosing battle with diabetes
- may feel they are failure for not trying harder to maintain glucose levels
- scared of the needles and new supplies
- daily injections
- scared of having to learn about a new therapy
- weight gain
- more responsibility
- a skin reaction at the site of the injection
- skin thickening or pitting at the site of the injection.
If you have these fears please discuss them with your Endocrinologist! I can stress this enough. Ask questions of your doctor to put your mind at ease. In the end, it about getting healthy and making diabetes more manageable. There is no such thing as failure if you should go on insulin. Failure is when you are on your deathbed wishing you could have done everything (including insulin therapy) to help yourself. When diabetes is being managed you will be able to enjoy activities much better. All humans are all ready dependent on insulin. No body can live with out insulin. So in essence, we as humans (diabetic and non diabetic) are already insulin dependent. If you body can not make enough insulin to why let it struggle. Help you and your body!
Do not accept what other people suggest or say about your situation. Most folks are not knowledgeable about diabetes and can only offer myths or misinformation. Be your own health advocate and research what people say and definitely contact your doctor about your concerns. I have only heard this fear of insulin from people (especially non diabetics). Some how we as diabetics just believe this silliness. No medical or scientific institution has stated that going on insulin is a failure or it is because your body is breaking down.
Go online to one of the varies diabetic community websites and talk to an Insulin dependent Type 2 diabetic and ask their opinion. If a person has to become dependent on insulin it is to help make them healthy. Let make lemonade out of lemons.
What is Insulin?
Insulin is a hormone that your body produces to help convert the food you eat into energy. People with diabetes might need insulin injections either because they don’t produce enough insulin in their bodies or they can’t properly use the insulin that they do produce or both.
How is Insulin administered and used?
Insulin usually is given as an injection into the tissues under the skin (subcutaneous). It can also be given through an insulin pump, an insulin pen, or jet injector, a device that sprays the medicine into the skin. Some insulins can be given through a vein (only in a hospital).
Insulin lets sugar (glucose) in the blood enter cells, where it is used for energy. Without insulin, the blood sugar level rises above what is safe for the body. Your body uses insulin in different ways. Sometimes you need insulin to work quickly to reduce blood sugar. Your body also needs insulin on a regular basis to keep your blood sugar within a target range.
Types of Insulin
Although people sometimes think of insulin as being a single medication, there are actually many different types of insulin. Different types of insulin are used in different ways and for different situations. Many people need to take more than one type of insulin. Talk to your doctor about type(s) of insulin would be applicable for your therapy. Most therapies have to be tweaked at one time or another. Different types of insulin are dosed differently this should be discussed with your doctor.
- NPH insulin (Humulin® N, Novolin® N)
- Insulin glargine (Lantus®)
- Insulin detemir (Levemir®).
- Insulin lispro protamine/insulin lispro (Humalog®Mix50/50, Humalog® Mix75/25)
- Insulin aspart protamine/insulin aspart (NovoLog® Mix 50/50, NovoLog® Mix 70/30)
Intermediate-acting plus short-acting:
- NPH insulin/regular insulin (Humulin® 70/30, Novolin® 70/30).
What is Basal and Bolus Insulin?
Can Insulin make you gain weight?
Weight gain is one of the unfair side effects of insulin. While many people gain weight while taking insulin, there are ways to help prevent or reduce the weight gain. Probably, the most significant reason is that insulin reduces the removal of glucose (sugar) through the urine. With uncontrolled diabetes, the body cannot use (or store) glucose properly, and glucose is lost through the urine. This means that you can consume more calories than you need, and your body cannot use it or store it as fat as well as normal. As soon as you correct the situation with insulin, all of a sudden, your body can access the glucose in the blood. Any excess glucose is not lost through the urine; it is stored as fat. In this sense, insulin is not really causing the weight gain; it is simply correcting the problem (high diabetes) that once allowed you to eat more than you needed.
Taking insulin does not automatically mean you will gain weight. An appropriate diet, combined with regular exercise can help you avoid the weight gain that is so common among insulin users. It can be difficult to accept, but you may not be able to eat as much as you once did before your diabetes was under control.
