Re: Insulin Side Effects?

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@Jackhound Mom wrote:
@Trinity11 Dear one,

Thank you for your always kind offers!!! I tried to answer this morning but couldn't get this to work, sorry.

Lantus was my first try. Awful taste never felt good one day of the almost year that I used it. Started with 10 units. Bleeding, blood blisters, bruises, insulin blisters, leaking so mostly pen problems.

Levimer, probably spelled wrong. Never felt good one day of about 8 months of use. Starving morning until night, mad cravings, bad taste & smell that got worce as the months went by. Dry now thin hair, dry feet and skin, breakout complection, of course weight gain.

Honestly I'd rather have a fasting blood sugar of 160-200 and feel good and have my hair and skin back and energy to work out than feeling rotton every single day.

I read somewhere on here that a new treatment regarding the lining of the colon had a positive effect. How can that organ be involved?

There must be another answer for us. Alos I looked up how insulin us made. It comes from bacteria, that can't be good. I thought it came from cows and pigs.

Cathy

10 units is a minuscule dose of Lantus @Jackhound Mom. I am dumbfounded about why you had side effects. Yes, insulin can cause cravings if used in excess but so can high blood sugars. Have you been checked for hypo-thyroidism? The dry hair and skin is more indicative of that but hyperglycemia can also be connected with dry hair and skin due to the dehydration from high blood sugars.

Weight gain is usually from needing to bolus a lot of extra insulin because of carbohydrate intake. Since you only use basal insulin, I am stumped. Are you using insulin at every meal in addition to the Levemir at night?

The bruises usually come from injecting in the same place. Try rotation of sites. Make sure you use a new needle for each injection. The leaking is quite frequent. I have always kept the needle in 10 seconds after an injection. That usually stops the leaking. Also try 4mm needles....I find them much less invasive and less painful than 5mm. Using insulin, though, can still cause some bleeding. I inject up to 6 times a day. Even a cup of coffee I need to bolus with Novolog. It sometimes feels like a full time job...

Running 200 blood sugars fasting could be dangerous if you are not using rapid acting insulin to bring them down before breakfast. You would be leaving yourself open to dangerous complications.

Are you you using a relatively low carbohydrate diet? That would probably bring down your blood sugars. Diet plays as much of a role as the medications.

Hope you feel better soon. Diabetes is an ever-changing illness. You can do everything right one day, do the same the next day and get completely different results. One other huge factor is stress. My blood glucose can rise 100 points during stress without eating a thing...

Jackhound Mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Trinity11 Thank you! I will answer in detail after breakfast. You are so well informed and thoughtful. I am amazed that you and others would care enough to take the time to write!!!

Blessings to all,

Cathy

Jackhound Mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Trinity11 wrote:
@Jackhound Mom wrote:
@Trinity11 Dear one,

Thank you for your always kind offers!!! I tried to answer this morning but couldn't get this to work, sorry.

Lantus was my first try. Awful taste never felt good one day of the almost year that I used it. Started with 10 units. Bleeding, blood blisters, bruises, insulin blisters, leaking so mostly pen problems.

Levimer, probably spelled wrong. Never felt good one day of about 8 months of use. Starving morning until night, mad cravings, bad taste & smell that got worce as the months went by. Dry now thin hair, dry feet and skin, breakout complection, of course weight gain.

Honestly I'd rather have a fasting blood sugar of 160-200 and feel good and have my hair and skin back and energy to work out than feeling rotton every single day.

I read somewhere on here that a new treatment regarding the lining of the colon had a positive effect. How can that organ be involved?

There must be another answer for us. Alos I looked up how insulin us made. It comes from bacteria, that can't be good. I thought it came from cows and pigs.

Cathy
10 units is a minuscule dose of Lantus @Jackhound Mom. I am dumbfounded about why you had side effects. Yes, insulin can cause cravings if used in excess but so can high blood sugars. Have you been checked for hypo-thyroidism? The dry hair and skin is more indicative of that but hyperglycemia can also be connected with dry hair and skin due to the dehydration from high blood sugars.

Weight gain is usually from needing to bolus a lot of extra insulin because of carbohydrate intake. Since you only use basal insulin, I am stumped. Are you using insulin at every meal in addition to the Levemir at night?

The bruises usually come from injecting in the same place. Try rotation of sites. Make sure you use a new needle for each injection. The leaking is quite frequent. I have always kept the needle in 10 seconds after an injection. That usually stops the leaking. Also try 4mm needles....I find them much less invasive and less painful than 5mm. Using insulin, though, can still cause some bleeding. I inject up to 6 times a day. Even a cup of coffee I need to bolus with Novolog. It sometimes feels like a full time job...

Running 200 blood sugars fasting could be dangerous if you are not using rapid acting insulin to bring them down before breakfast. You would be leaving yourself open to dangerous complications.

Are you you using a relatively low carbohydrate diet? That would probably bring down your blood sugars. Diet plays as much of a role as the medications.

Hope you feel better soon. Diabetes is an ever-changing illness. You can do everything right one day, do the same the next day and get completely different results. One other huge factor is stress. My blood glucose can rise 100 points during stress without eating a thing...

Hello again @Trinity11

Here goes. The only other medicine I have taken for 2+decades is RX pain med because of a disk problem in my neck and a nerve injury in my face. The side effect from this RX is constipation and Mirilax takes care of that.

I am and have been terrified of insulin sense high school because Rita R. took an overdose of her mother's and is still in a pathetic vegitave state in a nurcing home back in my hometown in MI. I saw her when I applied for a job there and it broke my heart. I mention this only because I'm sure it has a bearing on my attitude.

I only used 1 10 unit shot and did rotate stomach areas after dinner and my numbers were normal in AM test. I saw on a video to leave the needle in 10 seconds after, great advice!

I eat a basic diet, always been a healthy eater. You are 100% correct about stress. If I checked after a problem the numbers were always much higher.

All my answers are honest and I have a doctor at our nearest Army post. He did send me to a specialist one time in Tucson (a 7 hour round trip for us) and all she did is switch me to the newer insulin. I will say that their pen works so much better than Lantus.

Blessings to you again for answering everyone who has a question!!!

Cathy

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@Jackhound Mom wrote:
@Trinity11 wrote:
@Jackhound Mom wrote:
@Trinity11 Dear one,

Thank you for your always kind offers!!! I tried to answer this morning but couldn't get this to work, sorry.

Lantus was my first try. Awful taste never felt good one day of the almost year that I used it. Started with 10 units. Bleeding, blood blisters, bruises, insulin blisters, leaking so mostly pen problems.

Levimer, probably spelled wrong. Never felt good one day of about 8 months of use. Starving morning until night, mad cravings, bad taste & smell that got worce as the months went by. Dry now thin hair, dry feet and skin, breakout complection, of course weight gain.

Honestly I'd rather have a fasting blood sugar of 160-200 and feel good and have my hair and skin back and energy to work out than feeling rotton every single day.

I read somewhere on here that a new treatment regarding the lining of the colon had a positive effect. How can that organ be involved?

There must be another answer for us. Alos I looked up how insulin us made. It comes from bacteria, that can't be good. I thought it came from cows and pigs.

Cathy
10 units is a minuscule dose of Lantus @Jackhound Mom. I am dumbfounded about why you had side effects. Yes, insulin can cause cravings if used in excess but so can high blood sugars. Have you been checked for hypo-thyroidism? The dry hair and skin is more indicative of that but hyperglycemia can also be connected with dry hair and skin due to the dehydration from high blood sugars.

Weight gain is usually from needing to bolus a lot of extra insulin because of carbohydrate intake. Since you only use basal insulin, I am stumped. Are you using insulin at every meal in addition to the Levemir at night?

The bruises usually come from injecting in the same place. Try rotation of sites. Make sure you use a new needle for each injection. The leaking is quite frequent. I have always kept the needle in 10 seconds after an injection. That usually stops the leaking. Also try 4mm needles....I find them much less invasive and less painful than 5mm. Using insulin, though, can still cause some bleeding. I inject up to 6 times a day. Even a cup of coffee I need to bolus with Novolog. It sometimes feels like a full time job...

Running 200 blood sugars fasting could be dangerous if you are not using rapid acting insulin to bring them down before breakfast. You would be leaving yourself open to dangerous complications.

Are you you using a relatively low carbohydrate diet? That would probably bring down your blood sugars. Diet plays as much of a role as the medications.

Hope you feel better soon. Diabetes is an ever-changing illness. You can do everything right one day, do the same the next day and get completely different results. One other huge factor is stress. My blood glucose can rise 100 points during stress without eating a thing...
Hello again @Trinity11

Here goes. The only other medicine I have taken for 2+decades is RX pain med because of a disk problem in my neck and a nerve injury in my face. The side effect from this RX is constipation and Mirilax takes care of that.

I am and have been terrified of insulin sense high school because Rita R. took an overdose of her mother's and is still in a pathetic vegitave state in a nurcing home back in my hometown in MI. I saw her when I applied for a job there and it broke my heart. I mention this only because I'm sure it has a bearing on my attitude.

I only used 1 10 unit shot and did rotate stomach areas after dinner and my numbers were normal in AM test. I saw on a video to leave the needle in 10 seconds after, great advice!

I eat a basic diet, always been a healthy eater. You are 100% correct about stress. If I checked after a problem the numbers were always much higher.

All my answers are honest and I have a doctor at our nearest Army post. He did send me to a specialist one time in Tucson (a 7 hour round trip for us) and all she did is switch me to the newer insulin. I will say that their pen works so much better than Lantus.

Blessings to you again for answering everyone who has a question!!!

Cathy

@Jackhound Mom Reading your response it sounds like you have very mild diabetes. Using only 10 units of basal insulin without having to bolus throughout the day, you could probably use an oral med. What is your A1C? How are your 2 hour after meal blood sugars?

As far as your fear of insulin...the old insulins were much less targeted resulting in unpredictable results. Patients had more hypoglycemia. Levemir is known for its profile of causing the least hypoglycemia. In addition, are you testing a few times a day? If you test a lot, lows are rare unless you skip meals.

If you are using a doctor that is not an endocrinologist it will put a lot more on your shoulders as far as care. 99% of the doctors I have seen over the years know little about diabetes except my endocrinologist. Prescribing medications and knowing a lot about the differences in a Type 2 diabetic's insulin resistance, is necessary. Insulin is life-saving but not always the answer when a patient is still producing their own insulin. Have you had a C-peptide test to determine exactly how much insulin you are producing? Adding extraneous insulin could cause weight gain if it really isn't completely necessary.

Hope my post will give you food for thought. Any questions just let me know. After nearly 50 years of dealing with diabetes, I still am learning...

Jackhound Mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Trinity11 Thank you for more thoughtful suggestions! Wow, you have experience! I plan to talk with my doctor again in a week. I know not everyone that has/does benifit from your posts writes to you but from the ones that do we can see that you have helped many! Blessings to you and to all who take the time to write to another who has questions, concerns or may just be lonley os struggling in some way. You are a shining example here on the boards and I think it would be great to know you in person.

Cathy