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Permalink Reply by Nell on October 29, 2011 at 6:50am

I am surprised that no one else has replied to this. I think it used to be more of a problem than now but it may still be common. The insulin intake leads to hunger which leads to eating which leads to the need for more insulin. It is tricky to get the right balance of insulin to meet the body's needs and try not to "eat to the insulin." I don't think it has anything to do with the type of insulin.
I was never a fan of pre-mixed insulins because it seems to me each person has a need for a different mix of proportions. I used to, in earlier days, mix Ultralente and Regular but I did the mixing according to what I thought I needed for each.
I have often wondered how well the premix insulin works for the person using it. In terms of BG levels and A1c.

Oh, and I am still overweight from those days of chasing insulin with food but I have not gained in 4 years and am trying to gradually go the other direction with weight.
You might look at your mix and see if that is the proper mix for you or take them separately so you can tailor each type of insulin to your needs.

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Permalink Reply by Marie B on October 29, 2011 at 10:21am

we've had many discussions on this. I clicked on "Forum" and then searched for "losing weight" and I think over 1000 discussions resulted. here's one with 38 replies, many good ideas

http://www.tudiabetes.org/forum/topics/583967:Topic:108128?id=58396...

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Permalink Reply by MegaMinxX on October 29, 2011 at 10:27am

Since you are doing shots, you are most likely 'feeding the insulin', as Nell suggested. You said you exercise alot, which is great, but wondering if you adjust your 'basal' insulin on days you exercise ? If not, you most likely eat more when you exercise, just to keep your BG up. If your basal can be reduced, you won't need any or as much food for the exercise.

I use a Minimed insulin pump, and when I exercise, I can set the basal to 30-50%, and not have to compensate with extra food. Is getting a pump an option for you ?

You might also want to read the book 'Using Insulin' by John Walsh for a great understanding of how insulin, food and exercise can be adjusted and maintain stable blood sugars.

Also curious why you switched from lantus. Is the mix25 a 'premixed' insulin of both basal (long acting) and short acting ?
How many injections do you take per day ?

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on October 29, 2011 at 12:41pm

I googled Humalin Mix 25 and it say Humalog mix 25? It looks like a "mixed" insulin with both novolog and some sort of longer acting stuff mixed in? I think this might cause more challenges than it's worth. I always did the shots separately, although I was using R and N instead of the "fancier" new insulins. I think that it's pretty challenging to balance food and activity with the mixed insulins and that might might the case with the mix 25.

I have lost weight since maybe 2006 pretty much watching carbs. For me, I get my insulin set to where the BG is flat, then sort of review the carbs and cut out what I can and see what happens. So far, at each stage, I've done stuff like going from sandwich + chips@ lunch to sandwich to 1/2 sandwich and, each time I've cut out carbs, it seems as if some weight comes off. It's important to me to try to keep the BG relatively flat.

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Permalink Reply by Rye on October 29, 2011 at 5:19pm

Hi Rebecca,

Its funny you said you were on Lantus because I had the extact same issue when I was on Lantus. For 3 years I was gaining weight and I tried everything to lose it. But it wasnt until a few months ago where I thought about changing my Lantus to Levemir. I heard so many people on hear speaking positive about the switch so I decided to do the same and I noticed a change instantly. Although the weight loss is still very slow, I do not retain water and get bloated like I use to. That was the worst, I felt like the Michelin Man. I told 4 different doctors about the water retention and weight gain and they had nothing to tell me, I literally mean nothing. Doctors make it seem like gaining weight is not a side effect of insulin mainly because some people do not gain. Or they will say its what your eating and yet some people can eat more, no gain. Or your taking too much insulin but you just take enough to cover regular low carb meals so how is it too much? They say all these things as if all insulin is created equally and no one could possibly have different reaction to it. You have to listen to your body to figure out whats working best for you...Thats all I have to offer :)

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Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on October 30, 2011 at 10:48am

Hi Rebecca,

You don't look heavy in any of your pictures and you seem to maintain remarkable A1c. One approach to your weight issues might be to worry less about them :-)

I had a different problem when I was first diagnosed as I couldn't keep weight on despite having good A1cs. Going on a pump helped a lot. Just having a more flexible insulin solution might help you as well.

Maurie

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on October 30, 2011 at 11:36am

My opinion, insulin choices can make a difference. The best way to lost fat? Walk around all day with a fasting number that is normal (80-90 mg/dl) and have low levels of insulin. That is really, really hard with a mix.

But let me also say that lots of people struggle with self perceptions about weight. It has nothing to do with diabetes. To me, you look like a healthy young woman at an normal weight.

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on October 30, 2011 at 3:37pm

I am *constantly* fussing at myself about my weight! It's a hobby in itself...

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