insulins and weight

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Ritchie on October 25, 2008 at 7:23am

Its a vicious cycle; insulin makes you hungry - you eat, you gain weight, you need more insulin. I was involved in a clinical research trial for inhaled insulin and I lost weight like crazy while I was taking it. Unfortunately it required ALOT of insulin and the delivery method made it so impractical to take that much. Once I went back on injected humalog/lantus I gained most of the weight back. I don't think it ever made it to market.
High blood sugars do make you lose weight (via ketoacidosis) which is SOOOO BAD AND UNHEALTHY!!!! Best to try to stay within normal ranges and fight the urge to eat. Exercise consistently, stick with healthy diet (veggies, high fiber fruit, whole grains) just like anyone else trying to lose weight.

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Permalink Reply by Iphigenia (Hayaa) on May 2, 2009 at 9:44pm

Must Read : Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution... the concept is wrong...
You need to lower your carbs ( not more than 45 per day ). Like this you will lower your insulin consumption.
Insulin is a Fat Building Hormone ; which converts carbs into Fat.
The less carbs you eat ; the less insulin you need. and the more you loose weight & achieve better BS.
Exercise is a must for everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Cathy on January 17, 2009 at 8:32pm

I take Lantus a 160 units a day. I also take Novolog R and Byetta. I have been gaining weight like you wouldn't believe. I have gained on every insulin but nothing like when I went on Lantus. I don't know if it is the med. or the amount of the med. but I can't get the weight back off. I feel kinda desperate to get the weight off.

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Permalink Reply by AndyRozman on January 18, 2009 at 2:11am

Hi !

Talk to your doctor about changing insulin... It might help. Levemir is known to help you lose weight (or at least not gain it)... As for amount, it is quite big... I have diabetes for 17 years now, and I am still on around the same amount I started (38), it was smaller before, but now its at its highest... Maybe there is some underlaying problem which causes you to take so much insulin.

Take care
Andy

BTW. How much Novolog R do you take a day?

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Permalink Reply by Iphigenia (Hayaa) on January 28, 2009 at 12:36am

Hi ;

I just switched from Lantus to Levemir and I hope that it will make me loose some weight beside improving my BG & HBA1C.

I am now injecting 10 Units / 10 Units morning & evenings.
I am planing to switch from Humalog to Apidra... does anyone know something about that ?

I totally agree that insulin makes you gain weight ; maybe not immediately but for sure over long term.

I am eating like a rabit going to the gym 6 days per week and cant loose my 10 kgs!

I am really frustrated.

May someone finally come up with some new invention!

Hayaa

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Permalink Reply by AndyRozman on January 28, 2009 at 1:39am

Hi !

I switched both. Lantus to Levemir, and Humalog to Apidra... I have no problems with any of them... as for lossing weight.... none so far, but I didn't expect to happen so soon. I gained weight in 6 months, so it will take at least 12 to get it down...

Andy

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Permalink Reply by Felicia Marohn on March 30, 2009 at 10:27pm

Hi Hayaa,

I try to keep my BG under tight control. I switched from Humalog to Apidra because I heard that it might decrease lows after eating; it peaks earlier than Humalog and leaves your blood stream faster. I didn't like it at all, because it actually left me with too many highs 2 hours after eating. I usually eat around 30g of carbs for each main meal (less for dinner). I switched back to Humalog.

Unfortunately, it seems the weight gain issue has finally caught up with me as well. I never used to have weight problems until maybe 2 years after I got diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1.5 in 2004. But I'm also approaching 40, which might contribute to the physical changes. I work out every other day.

If your doctor is flexible and your insurance covers it, why don't you give the Apidra a try. It seems to work well for Andy.

Good luck,
Felice

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Permalink Reply by myriam josette joga on June 2, 2009 at 7:38am

that seems like a lot of insulin a day. but don't rush to blame urself for taking in too many carbs. my brother and I, type 1's, have a high resistance to insulin which causes us to use more. kind of like type 2. you might wanna talk to ur doctor about it, but also, exercise will help reduce the insulin u need to take. which should help with weight. me and my dr. are working on a plan so i can use less insulin too.

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Permalink Reply by Iphigenia (Hayaa) on January 28, 2009 at 12:37am

Try to find out something about APIDRA insulin ; they say it is much better than Humalog ...

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Permalink Reply by Ray on February 17, 2009 at 12:07pm

My endo was telling me about control and weight loss: basically, the calories burned > calories consumed theory of weight loss still remains, but with tighter control and proper insulin therapy, diabetics will "keep" all of the calories they consume, rather than pee calories out when your BG runs high.

Meaning, that when you get hungry due to the insulin, or when you're correcting lows, it's probably better to chew on glucose tabs (15 calories a piece) rather than peanut butter crackers, juice, etc.

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Permalink Reply by myriam josette joga on June 2, 2009 at 7:41am

it's funny, cuz i know that this is true but when your sugar is low I feel so overcome with hunger it's like you can't think straight. I struggle with trying not to eat the whole kitchen! and then i rebound. tablets are so sweet it feels gross to me to eat like more than two. i was in the hospital once and they made me eat the pure glucose gel and it was so disgusting! ok, i've vented now. good discussion!

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Permalink Reply by Jill Hartley on February 17, 2009 at 12:30pm

Better self control doesn't necessarily = weight gain, If you eat well and balance at least 30 minutes of exercise everyday that will give you self control without the insulin gain. However weight gain usually comes with the control of taking too much insulin. say you are not exercising and just taking insulin to cover food, then you gain weight. If we balance our recommended dose of insulin with good food and exercise we will not have to take as much insulin, therefor you will have good control

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