Comment by elbs on May 22, 2012 at 5:54pm

im thinking about switching my insulin to Levemir i gained alot of weight when i began Lantus but my doctor did tell me it would have that affect. Symlin is what i believe u might have been inquiring about. I just started it a few weeks ago but i havent seen any changes yet. My endo also gave me the same speech about calories in vs calories which was such b.s lol i just recently switched endo. I did hear of ppl losing weight when switching from lantus to Levemir. I think doctors dont believe we know our own bodies. Maybe after mentioning symlin he will give it some thought.

Comment by acidrock23 on May 22, 2012 at 7:17pm

I agree w/ elbs that Symlin is likely what you're thinking of? I would think that a doc would have been able to guess that. I don't take any of the other meds (besides insulin, and booze, of course...) that are out there but there's not that many of them to recognize?

Comment by Gerri on May 22, 2012 at 11:03pm

Hard to believe an endo isn't aware of Symlin. At least he admitted he didn't know, which is preferable to doctors who wing it because they can't own up to not knowing. Maybe he was confused because you gave the wrong name.

Is so frustrating! They don't get it.
Just FYI. Symlin delays stomach empyting, hence the feeling of fullness. So, if you already have slow digestion, or gastroparesis, Symlin isn't recommended.
..

Comment by Frankie Sloane on May 23, 2012 at 12:36am

It is frustrating, isn't it? I remember when I was diagnosed, the ER doctor said "you shouldn't gain weight with insulin therapy, that would only happen if you began eating more food." I was relieved to hear that, and then depressed when I began to gain 2-3 pounds a week on Lantus. When I switched to Levemir, not only was my control better, but my weight stabilized. However, I can literally feel/see the difference of taking 4-6 more units of Novolog a day than usual (I am just coming out of my honey moon phase, so my numbers and needs are changing). As in, I can see the weight gain! I swear I am not crazy! Grr. Why aren't more studies being done on the connection between insulin and weight gain, and why some of us experience it and others don't?

Comment by acidrock23 on May 23, 2012 at 5:13am

re the why aren't they studying the connection(s) between insulin and weight gain question, there's a few answers? 1) food studies are hard to do. We, perhaps more than anyone else, know how much "fun" logging is (i.e. none...) and a lot of people are not inclined to be 100% compliant which, if you are doing a study, can affect the data? 2) In my experience, doctors will refer me to a dietitian if I want to talk about food. I think it's a huge mistake for endos to do this, as to me, food is right up there w/ insulin in terms of it's effect on my BG, as if it were medicine. I may joke about bacon cheeseburgers but food affects BG just as much as insulin but I don't need an Rx to get it. Doctors sort of take food as a "given" but, given all of the posts about it, it's a pretty big issue for a lot of us and I think that doctors should be considering it more directly. 3) doctors seem sort of distant from weight gain? They will tell you you need to "fix that" but, without talking about food, and with diabetes, the balance between insulin and food, it is very difficult to make progress. I have lost weight, but when I started just winging it, my A1C went up 1-2 points before I got it straightened out.

Comment by Doris D on May 23, 2012 at 8:56am

Ok I'll just say so. IDK about that! My thoughts are that any dr would know about Symulin.

Comment by Scott Wilkins on May 23, 2012 at 11:11am

Insulin's main side effect = hunger. Diabetics usually take more insulin than needed as some is not used by the body due to resistance or having too much at once from a shot or bolus. This overage does cause more hunger in a diabetic than in a normal person. End result is a higher possiblity of weight gain. Stinks doesn't it? This does not mean that you WILL gain weight, just that it's much more likely. And the more control you are in, the harder it is not to gain.

That doesn't mean you will gain, and doesn't mean you can keep from gaining or even lose weight if you want to. Best thing I can recommend is Weight Watchers. They are fabulous with diabetics! I was on their routine a while back, and lost 30 lbs. I've "fallen off the wagon" since and gained some back. But plan to try again now that I've recently switched to using an insulin pump and have a bit more time to devote to the effort.

I recomend Weight Watchers for many reasons though. I'm a 40 year Type 1. Diagnosed when I was almost 7 years old. At the time, many doctors would tell those who became diabetic that there was a high chance of not surviving. My parents were not going to give up so easily. One thing they noticed right away that the Weight Watchers diet they both were on at the time closely resembled the diet the doctors were wanting me to follow. This simlified both my life and my parents help in controlling my diabetes when I was young. So, in a nutshell I kind of give Weight Watchers a bit of credit for me being alive today.

Comment by KCCO on May 23, 2012 at 11:38am

You tell 'em!
I'm a big believer in food as medicine....too bad that entire concept would put a lot of doctor's out of business. THAT'S why they don't "get" the food issue with us diabetics. THEY still have student loans to pay off from med school!

(No offense intended if you're a doc who has paid off their student loans or actually does CARE about their patients!)

Comment by Scott Wilkins on May 23, 2012 at 11:52am

On the "food as medicine" thought, I always found it strange that most pharmacies seem to carry a lot of junk food and candy. Seemed anti-productive toward wellness to me. But, then again maybe they are trying to get more customers?

Comment by Rye on May 23, 2012 at 11:33pm

I didn't get the name wrong he claimed to never have heard of it....crazy I know

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