4 month mark - Questions and stuff.

Hell Yea! Pat on the head nothing, Snoopy 5% club dance! 17 to 5.5 that's great! I know it's
different for a T1, but you've affected a change and you realise that to avoid complications you
need to keep that A1c in range.

--
--

t2_lurking geabbottATabbottandabbottDOTcom Do not mail to t2_lurking (auto-delete)
============================
Well, i dreamed i saw the silver Space ships flying In the yellow haze of the sun -- Neil Young --

"Pollywog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share a
little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, so I was expecting that I'd eventually
end up type 2, and was already trying the whole diet and exercise route as a "pre-diabetic".
Imagine my surprise...

Anyway, I'll spare you all the sob story and get to the gritty.

1. I got out of ICU with an a1c of 17%. I am happy to report that at the 4 month mark, my a1c has
been reduced to 5.5%. Yay for me!

2. Through no fault of my own, my morning sugars have gotten better. I was struggling to keep them
at 150 and they magically started coming in under 125 all of a sudden. It's like I'm not
getting the giant sugar dump in the wee hours anymore. I'm still getting one, I guess. I go to
bed with my Lantus and about a 70 BG. Any ideas why it's getting smaller?

And now the questions:

1. When I first got out, my dosages were 15 Lantus, and about 10,13,13 Humalog, but I was only
eating about 1200 calories a day. I'd been hitting the gym and losing nothing so I increased
that to about 1800-2200 a day. Over the months, I lost 4 lbs and had to boost my insulin to
what it is now. about 45 Lantus, and 30, 35, 40 Humalog per day.

Any idea how those climbing TDD numbers may relate to my decreasing a1c? Or possibly to thyroid?
(I was hypothyroid before diagnosis, normal at the point of bad ketoacidosis, and feeling more
sluggish as time goes by.) At my last blood test, my t4 was 1.1 and my tsh was
5.9. Not too far from normal, I guess. (I'll post the same questions over in the thyroid group.)

2. You type 1's out there; Do you find that low carb works better for you, or the actual "diabetic
food pyramid". I saw a lot of diabetics trashing the pyramid, but I've found that I'm a lot
more stable and low when I follow it.

3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much? I've been careful with my insulin, and had
consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through Humalog like candy these days).

Ideas? Advice? Pat on the head?

thanks,

Pollywog

"Pollywog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share a
little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, so I was expecting that I'd eventually
end up type 2, and was already trying the whole diet and exercise route as a "pre-diabetic".
Imagine my surprise...

how overweight are you exactly?

Quoted message said:

Anyway, I'll spare you all the sob story and get to the gritty.

1. I got out of ICU with an a1c of 17%. I am happy to report that at the 4 month mark, my a1c has
been reduced to 5.5%. Yay for me!

good for you!.. congrats...

Quoted message said:

2. Through no fault of my own, my morning sugars have gotten better. I was struggling to keep them
at 150 and they magically started coming in under 125 all of a sudden. It's like I'm not
getting the giant sugar dump in the wee hours anymore. I'm still getting one, I guess. I go to
bed with my Lantus and about a 70 BG. Any ideas why it's getting smaller?

And now the questions:

1. When I first got out, my dosages were 15 Lantus, and about 10,13,13 Humalog, but I was only
eating about 1200 calories a day. I'd been hitting the gym and losing nothing so I increased
that to about 1800-2200 a day. Over the months, I lost 4 lbs and had to boost my insulin to
what it is now. about 45 Lantus, and 30, 35, 40 Humalog per day.

DAMN! are you positive you're a T1? has the doctor ran any kind of antibodies tests on you? Thats a
hell of alot of insulin to be taking so newly diagnosed.. most have a honeymoon, for which many only
take a few units. you're taking the barrel compared to a honeymooner.

I'm 3yrs in and only take a max of 33u per day... and eat 120-160gm a day in carbs... and i'm
overweight!

Quoted message said:

Any idea how those climbing TDD numbers may relate to my decreasing a1c? Or possibly to thyroid?
(I was hypothyroid before diagnosis, normal at the point of bad ketoacidosis, and feeling more
sluggish as time goes by.) At my last blood test, my t4 was 1.1 and my tsh was
5.9. Not too far from normal, I guess. (I'll post the same questions over in the thyroid group.)

yeah, more insulin decreases often your bg, therefore lower a1c in the end. does the doc have you on
hypoT drugs? If anything, they rising tsh would increase your bg's more. not sure about a resistance
though. i've not heard of one.

Quoted message said:

2. You type 1's out there; Do you find that low carb works better for you, or the actual "diabetic
food pyramid". I saw a lot of diabetics trashing the pyramid, but I've found that I'm a lot
more stable and low when I follow it.

yep... I tend to stay away from the "low carb fad" diets, they aren't made for anyone imho... brain
needs glucose as a source of fuel.. can't get it on a fad diet.. gotta learn to make your own.. what
works for "you". just experiment with foods till you get a good combo.

Quoted message said:

3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much? I've been careful with my insulin, and had
consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through Humalog like candy these days).

might be the thyroid, but many on the IP list have hypoT as well and don't take as much insulin as
you do.. again.. I'd bet money more it's the being overweight and you're highly resistant.

Quoted message said:

Ideas? Advice? Pat on the head?

gave a few Ideas.. some advice.. lol and a big Pat on the Head!

--
RK - t1, pumper In tribute to the United States of America and the State of Israel, two bastions of
strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism.

Quoted message said:

thanks,

Pollywog

"Pollywog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share a
little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, so I was expecting that I'd eventually
end up type 2, and was already trying the whole diet and exercise route as a "pre-diabetic".
Imagine my surprise...

Anyway, I'll spare you all the sob story and get to the gritty.

1. I got out of ICU with an a1c of 17%. I am happy to report that at the 4 month mark, my a1c has
been reduced to 5.5%. Yay for me!

2. Through no fault of my own, my morning sugars have gotten better. I was struggling to keep them
at 150 and they magically started coming in under 125 all of a sudden. It's like I'm not
getting the giant sugar dump in the wee hours anymore. I'm still getting one, I guess. I go to
bed with my Lantus and about a 70 BG. Any ideas why it's getting smaller?

Just one:-) It appears you're in your "honeymoon" phase where the result of you going onto insulin
has taken the load off your own pancreas, and this allows it to work a little more efficiently
(for a short time anyway). Of course this also results in the need to inject being reduced (but
again, only for a short time). Keep testing and be ready for when your honeymoon period ends, and
you'll be fine.

Quoted message said:

And now the questions:

1. When I first got out, my dosages were 15 Lantus, and about 10,13,13 Humalog, but I was only
eating about 1200 calories a day. I'd been hitting the gym and losing nothing so I increased
that to about 1800-2200 a day. Over the months, I lost 4 lbs and had to boost my insulin to
what it is now. about 45 Lantus, and 30, 35, 40 Humalog per day.

Any idea how those climbing TDD numbers may relate to my decreasing a1c? Or possibly to thyroid?
(I was hypothyroid before diagnosis, normal at the point of bad ketoacidosis, and feeling more
sluggish as time goes by.)

I wouldn't think yur thyroid has a lot to do with your BG's, but the exercise and the honeymoon
period both will.

At my last blood test, my t4 was 1.1 and my tsh was

Quoted message said:

5.9. Not too far from normal, I guess. (I'll post the same questions over in the thyroid group.)

2. You type 1's out there; Do you find that low carb works better for you, or the actual "diabetic
food pyramid". I saw a lot of diabetics trashing the pyramid, but I've found that I'm a lot
more stable and low when I follow it.

As with everything, "YMMV", but of course lots of T1's do well on a low(ER) carb diet. Some do well
on a REAL low carb diet, but my own preference is for a good balance where none of the foods in the
pyramid are eaten in excess or in low quantities. A TRY for a 33/33/33 spit between fats, protiens
and carbs, but if I can't manage that, I like to keep the carbs lower than I did when I wasn't
diabetic. I don't subscribe to the low ANYTHING, just a good balance. Your exercise will allow you
to have more carbs than someone who sits around on their [censored] all day doing nothing too, so the
exercise not only helps as exercise does, it also gives you a lot more flexibility regarding what
you can and can't eat.

Quoted message said:

3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much?

I'm surprised it is, given that your BG's ahve dropped to normal levels. Maybe yu shoud try cutting
back on the insulin IN SMALL INCREMENTS!!!!. Drop by no more than 4 unit's per day and raise it by
no more that TWO.

I've been

Quoted message said:

careful with my insulin, and had consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through
Humalog like candy these days).

Ideas? Advice? Pat on the head?

A pat on the head indeed, but also a warning to watch that insulin usage. I've said it on here
before, but it stands being said again, so here goes.

A little of what you need does you good, but a "lottle" will have you on your face if you're not
very careful.

Beav

Pollywog wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share a
little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, . . . .(snip).

. .

Quoted message said:

. . . . .
3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much? I've been careful with my insulin, and had
consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through Humalog like candy these days).

Ideas? Advice? Pat on the head?

thanks,

Pollywog

1. T1 diabetics go through a honeymoon, the time between First Symptom and "Beta cells about
totally destroyed". The T1 honeymoon about corresponds to a period between "Beta cells about
80% destroyed" and "Beta cells about X% destroyed". X varies with your carb intake and
exercise level. You can really drag it out if you go low carb and exercise madly.

As the honeymoon progresses, your insulin needs should gradually increase. Young folks have short
honeymoons measured in weeks or months. Older folks have longer honeymoons measured in years. At
your age, the typical description is "weeks and months".

When the honeymoon is over, young, fit T1 approach a daily insulin need of about 0.5 units per day
per kg body weight.

Non-fit, over-weight (and therefore somewhat Insulin Resistant) T1 approach a daily insulin need of
somewhere around 0.7 units per day per kg body weight.

Get to be an Old F*rt, and it can go as high as the Type 2 need for 1.0 units per day per kg
body weight.

If you have a lot of T2. (and thus a genetic predisposition for high Insulin Resistance) in your
family, it can end up us as high as 2.2 units per day per kg body weight

2. More than most folks want to know about daily insulin requirements can be found at:

medscape.com436291Open ↗

3. You're using modern, powerful insulins (actually insulin analogs) and, with an HbA1c below 6.0%,
you're using them well.

Note that as the last of your self-generated insulin supply slowly disappears, bG control will get
harder and harder. You may need more shots, more tweaks per day to maintain that control. Be alert,
and don't be afraid of adding more shots to your daily routine.

You may meet some other T1 who are struggling with the older insulins, i.e. Regular and NPH, and not
matching your control. Brag about that control then mention that the more powerful modern insulin
analogues such as Humalog, Novolog, Lantus and Levemir make the whole thing a lot easier.

Regards Old Al How much insulin do I shoot each day? As much as I need that day. How many shots of
insulin do I shoot each day? As many as I need that day.

On 5 Dec 2003 18:16:27 -0800, [email hidden]

(Pollywog) said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share a
little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, so I was expecting that I'd eventually
end up type 2, and was already trying the whole diet and exercise route as a "pre-diabetic".
Imagine my surprise...

Anyway, I'll spare you all the sob story and get to the gritty.

1. I got out of ICU with an a1c of 17%. I am happy to report that at the 4 month mark, my a1c has
been reduced to 5.5%. Yay for me!

2. Through no fault of my own, my morning sugars have gotten better. I was struggling to keep them
at 150 and they magically started coming in under 125 all of a sudden. It's like I'm not getting
the giant sugar dump in the wee hours anymore. I'm still getting one, I guess. I go to bed with
my Lantus and about a 70 BG. Any ideas why it's getting smaller?

And now the questions:

1. When I first got out, my dosages were 15 Lantus, and about 10,13,13 Humalog, but I was only
eating about 1200 calories a day. I'd been hitting the gym and losing nothing so I increased
that to about 1800-2200 a day. Over the months, I lost 4 lbs and had to boost my insulin to what
it is now. about 45 Lantus, and 30, 35, 40 Humalog per day.

Any idea how those climbing TDD numbers may relate to my decreasing a1c? Or possibly to thyroid? (I
was hypothyroid before diagnosis, normal at the point of bad ketoacidosis, and feeling more
sluggish as time goes by.) At my last blood test, my t4 was 1.1 and my tsh was
5.9. Not too far from normal, I guess. (I'll post the same questions over in the thyroid group.)

2. You type 1's out there; Do you find that low carb works better for you, or the actual "diabetic
food pyramid". I saw a lot of diabetics trashing the pyramid, but I've found that I'm a lot more
stable and low when I follow it.

For me (a 31 year-old male triathlete also diagnosed with type 1 in July), I find the best diet to
be something in between the extremes of the "food pyramid" and the low-carb Bernstein and Atkins
diets. If I eat too little carbs, my swimming suffers terribly. If I eat too much, I end up with
more highs and lows due to my overestimating or underestimating the amount of food or due or a
mismatch in timing between the food and insulin. For example, when I eat salads and vegetable stir-
fry, and other stuff with mostly "slow" carbs, I have found that I should always use regular insulin
(Novolin-R or Humilin-R) instead of the fast-acting ones. My general strategy for carb loading is to
simply eat a bit more than usual for meals immediately following exercise. This is a time when a
small amount of insulin goes a long way.

Quoted message said:

3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much? I've been careful with my insulin, and had
consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through Humalog like candy these days).

Not sure. Have you been sick with anything lately? If so, that could be the cause.

I started on 8 units of Lantus, went as high as 12 when I got sick, but then dropped back down to 8
again. I have had to increase my bolus a bit, though. I started out a 1 unit insulin per 30 g carbs
and now I'm at 1 unit per 25 g of carbs.

Quoted message said:

Ideas? Advice? Pat on the head?

thanks,

Pollywog

Quoted message said:

"Pollywog" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share
a little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, so I was expecting that I'd
eventually end up type 2, and was already trying the whole diet and exercise route as a "pre-
diabetic". Imagine my surprise...

how overweight are you exactly?

about 280lbs total weight in a size 42 waist. So pretty damn overweight, but also a little dense.
I've been a weightlifter, but I also pack plenty of spare tire.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And now the questions:

1. When I first got out, my dosages were 15 Lantus, and about 10,13,13 Humalog, but I was only
eating about 1200 calories a day. I'd been hitting the gym and losing nothing so I increased
that to about 1800-2200 a day. Over the months, I lost 4 lbs and had to boost my insulin to
what it is now. about 45 Lantus, and 30, 35, 40 Humalog per day.

DAMN! are you positive you're a T1? has the doctor ran any kind of antibodies tests on you? Thats
a hell of alot of insulin to be taking so newly diagnosed.. most have a honeymoon, for which many
only take a few units. you're taking the barrel compared to a honeymooner.

My c-peptides are .05% of normal human. not 5%, .05%. So their pretty sure about the type-1 thing.
The first three months out of the hospital, my TTD was about 30Hum + 13 lantus and it worked just as
well as my dose now, I've been climbing up the dose ladder to maintain the same levels.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much? I've been careful with my insulin, and had
consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through Humalog like candy these
days).

might be the thyroid, but many on the IP list have hypoT as well and don't take as much insulin as
you do.. again.. I'd bet money more it's the being overweight and you're highly resistant.

Any idea where to find studies that may mention type-1's with significant insulin resistance and
possible methods for treatment other than blasting away with the syringes?

Thanks,

Pollywog

Pollywog said:

<snip> Any idea where to find studies that may mention type-1's with significant insulin
resistance and possible methods for treatment other than blasting away with the syringes?

No idea of the studies but to paraphrase another poster.

Lose fat pounds, increase lean muscle mass.

Cindy Wells (this may force you to do a combination of aerobic and weight training exercise patterns
- and this tends to work better than just the diet and insulin changes)

Quoted message said:

Thanks,

Pollywog

WOW, a great drop! as for the lantus i was on 45 units till i lost 40lbs .

am now pumping.

case

the case, minus a few cans!

Reading about your weight and insulin TDD climb, here's a thought: It is possible for a type 1 to
become also insulin resistence.

There is an insulin resistence test, where they feed you glucose through one vein, insulin through
another (simultaneously) and check your BG all the time. It takes an endo to do it.

Pollywog said:

Hello again. I was here with a few questions a number of months back. Figured I'd stop in, share a
little, and ask a few more questions.

I was diagnosed type 1 back in July. I'm 23 and overweight, so I was expecting that I'd eventually
end up type 2, and was already trying the whole diet and exercise route as a "pre-diabetic".
Imagine my surprise...

Anyway, I'll spare you all the sob story and get to the gritty.

1. I got out of ICU with an a1c of 17%. I am happy to report that at the 4 month mark, my a1c has
been reduced to 5.5%. Yay for me!

2. Through no fault of my own, my morning sugars have gotten better. I was struggling to keep them
at 150 and they magically started coming in under 125 all of a sudden. It's like I'm not
getting the giant sugar dump in the wee hours anymore. I'm still getting one, I guess. I go to
bed with my Lantus and about a 70 BG. Any ideas why it's getting smaller?

And now the questions:

1. When I first got out, my dosages were 15 Lantus, and about 10,13,13 Humalog, but I was only
eating about 1200 calories a day. I'd been hitting the gym and losing nothing so I increased
that to about 1800-2200 a day. Over the months, I lost 4 lbs and had to boost my insulin to
what it is now. about 45 Lantus, and 30, 35, 40 Humalog per day.

Any idea how those climbing TDD numbers may relate to my decreasing a1c? Or possibly to thyroid?
(I was hypothyroid before diagnosis, normal at the point of bad ketoacidosis, and feeling more
sluggish as time goes by.) At my last blood test, my t4 was 1.1 and my tsh was
5.9. Not too far from normal, I guess. (I'll post the same questions over in the thyroid group.)

2. You type 1's out there; Do you find that low carb works better for you, or the actual "diabetic
food pyramid". I saw a lot of diabetics trashing the pyramid, but I've found that I'm a lot
more stable and low when I follow it.

3. Any idea why my basal / bolus has climbed so much? I've been careful with my insulin, and had
consistent results over many bottles. (And I'm tearing through Humalog like candy these days).

Ideas? Advice? Pat on the head?

thanks,

Pollywog

--
Meir Pann "Management reorganizes the company whenever they need to create the illusion of
progress."