HELP!!! I know I can't be the only diabetic out there who is frustrated by the toll that insulin takes on your ability to lose weight. Or am I alone? Since I am breastfeeding, the only way I can control my blood sugar is to take insulin, which has gotten me to an all-time weight high.
I am currently on South Beach with a heavy exercise regiment. Has anyone else out there thought of any really good ways to control blood sugar #'s while limiting the amount of insulin taken? I have discussed this with my doctor, & the only reply he had was "yeah, that is often a side effect". WHAT THE

I feel your pain!!! I am only on 15 units of Lantus but I can't seem to get the weight off. I"ve been counting calories and exercising an hour a day for 8 weeks with a 5 pound weight loss. My doctor is just as unsympathetic as yours. My sugars have actually been dipping pretty low lately so I have an appt. today to see if my oral meds are going to get cut down. She just thinks that's a side effect of the insulin, as yours does, and there's really nothing to be done.
I really don't have any great ideas. Since I have lost about 15 pounds in the last year my sugars are better and my insulin has been decreased. It seems like it's easier now that my insulin is down from 20 units (in January) to around 13-15 now. I've been trying to eat consistently throughout the day as opposed to big meals at dinner and lunch and it seems to have helped. I used to save all my calories for dinner and have a blow-out but I'm have 5-6 small meals a day now to keep my sugars consistent. You can lose weight, it's just going to be slower than most people. My husband has lost 20 pounds in the same time as I've lost 5 and he's only exericising 4 days a week for 1/2 an hour. We just have a slower road ahead. If you can keep up the good work it sounds like you are doing and lost just 10% of your body weight then you will significantly decrease your insulin resistence and possibly lower your insulin.


Good luck to you. I really don't have any good advice. Just keep exercising because that should help.

Amber

I havent been dieting at all, actually I was told NOT to diet but just eat recommended PORTIONS and amounts. I also need to exercise more then what I do. My blood sugar levels are constantly in the 200's+ no matter how much insulin I take. Im at 44 units of lantus and usually take 20-25 units of novolog at ever single meal, no matter WHAT I eat. Im hoping once I start working hard on changing my weight and getting healthier that it will help.

What do you eat on a regular basis? exercise will help but you need to eat really healthy also. That my problem, they tell me I can just take extra insulin to make up for anything high in sugar I eat so I turned eating sugary unhealthy things into a habit. Now its costing me so much for the insulin that i really need to do something! Good luck and lemme know if you find soething that works for you.

They are right about the exercise. Believe me...I didn't want to do it either. I was diagnosed in 2002 and I'm just finally doing it now. I did some exercise and weight loss last summer but of course got off track. I restarted this March 22nd and have only lost about 8 pounds BUT in the past 4 weeks I"ve gone from 20 units of Lantus to 13 and my sugars are still low so my doc told me to go down to 10. When I went on Insulin she told me I'd probably never come off. Now she says if I stay exercising and lose 10 or 15 more pounds I'll be able to come off insulin all together!!! I exercise for an hour every day (5-6 days a week). It's not my favorite thing but I'm going to do it anyway because I don't want to be on the meds. Weight loss is great but just the act of exercising will decrease your need for insulin. Exercise is essential!
Good luck!
Amber

THANK YOU, THANK YOU THANK YOU!
In mid-May I started excercising (not expecting much, I must say), doing 15 mins yoga & 15 mins tae bo & South Beach Diet. I am now up to about 25 mins with each & my blood sugar #s have consistently been around 110-150!!!!
I am so very happy & proud of myself! I want to shout from the rooftops. My #s used to be in the high 200 range & at the beginning of the year I had a blood sugar of 487 & was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis, so THIS IS HUGE!

Congratulations! I wasn't a big believer in the "you need to exercise" stuff either until I actually did it. I'm down to 10 units of Lantus and my doc says if I love 10 more pounds I can go off it completely and just be on oral meds!

You're doing great! Keep the great work up! You should be proud of yourself!
Amber