Type 2 Diabetes

Archive for the ‘Diabetes Type 2 Insulin Resistance’ Category

Hi, i am a little confused about the whole IR..

First of all, i have my blood sugars checked and they are well within the normal range i.e. 4.7, 4.8, but then my insulin levels are 45pmol. So this clearly indicates that i am insulin resistance, right?

Ok, my weight is very healthy range, i am not fat, and maybe just retain a bit of fat in my belly, but i am producing twice the amount of insulin a normal person spurges… Also my family members are diabetes type 2.

My question, can i ask the doctor to prescribe for me metformin to regulate insulin levels (im not PCOS), or am i doomed with this disease. Also i have tried everything to bring down my insulin levels, nothings worked.
My doctor has not mentioned anything about metformin, and has asked me to continue making good diet choice, but i have also read somewhere that people can take metformin for pre-diabetes which i clearly am.

Please enlighten, can i request metformin, or should be be giving me metformin anyway without me asking?

Please help, i need answers.

Also, are my insulin levels really that high for my normal glucose?

Many thanks

Shaz

Metformin works in two ways:

1) It decreases the amount of sugar that the liver produces and the intestines absorb.
2) It helps make your body more sensitive to the insulin that you produce naturally.

There are many ways to help control blood sugar levels, even if you have not been diagnosed with diabetes.

Exercise, understanding how foods affect and natural supplements are all great places to begin.

Cinnamon will help your body become more open to using the insulin keeping your blood sugar levels in a normal range.

Chromium works by making your cells more open to accepting the insulin, thus helping to feed your cells what they need to survive.

There are many other natural supplements that help your body work the way it is intended to.

Here are some links to a website that will help you understand more.

Good luck to you.

I have Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia, Type 1; from tumors in my Pancreas, I have Diabetes, Type 2. I just posted a question about why my insulin resistance has increased:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak_mVc7tJYqvWWKADt4DxJjsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080226185438AAXbyX0
I’d like to rephrase: Could it be that the Pancreatic tumors are making me more insulin resistant? Could they be affecting me so that although I have lost weight and have gone down several sizes, I am becoming more insulin resistant anyway? Could there be other tumors growing somewhere else in my body that do this? And could someone explain why these tumors in the pancreas cause diabetes?

I’m not going to freak out; I will take everything you say and run it by my doctor; and bless you from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head…

(It’s just that my doc is a little dim- he can’t figure this out on his own [Jeez, I wish I had studied medicine! I tell you, a Literature Major is no help! ] )

MEN I usually involves insulin-secreting tumors in the pancreas which would make you hypoglycemic; but occasionally can involve glucagon-secreting tumors which would make you hyperglycemic (glucagon essentially does the opposite of insulin).

It has also been observed that people with MEN I tend to have higher insulin resistance than others (Wagner et al 2005 European Journal of Internal Medicine 16(7): 507-509). This has not been explained.

On a side note, it is obviously kind of weird that you would be going down in dress size, but up in weight. You mentioned in your other question that your legs were swelling. Maybe you are losing body mass, but retaining water in your legs.

I want to hear the bad as well as the good. I am slim, no hirsutism, no diabates type 2, no insulin resistance, my ovaries just appear polycystic, and my periods are quite irregular…

Hi there
I have also been diagnosed with PCOS, I have been ttc for the past two years, but dont worry all cases are different, usually when you have PCOS, you dont ovulate that means your chances of pregnancy is very low, but your doc could recommend Clomid. There is a lady that goes to the same doctor as i do and she also was diagnosed with PCOS and she fell pregnant after 2 months, so there is hope. . .dont despair. . .

Baby Dust to you, me and all out there TTC

Hi, I found out at the beginnig of the year that i have Insulin resistance which is a little like pre-diabetes (type 2), and i have to control my sugar intake and exercise more as well as take diabetes medication to prevent it from developing into type 2 diabetes.

Just wanting to hear from anyone else who has the same thing…
How do you manage to cut out sugar?
Is it affecting your life?
Any tips…?

Also people with type 2 diabetes are welcome to comment.
- Reply to: gerald/heather h
Yeah i know i need to worry about carbs too, dont forget there are a lot of carbs in pasta!
And its also not good to not eat for a while because when you do eat again, your sugar levels shoot right up! Its best for people with IR to eat a lot of little (healthy) snacks.
Reply to "Bolt":

Okay, just to get this straight > IR, pre-diabetes, and diabetes type 2 ARE ALL DIFFERENT THINGS.

"The diabetes cycle"
1st stage – Insulin resistance (may last 5 to 20 years
2nd Stage – Pre diabetes (may last 5 to 10 years)
3rd stage – Type 2 diabetes, non insulin requiring
4th stage – type 2 diabetes, insulin requiring.

Consult any good textbook and you will find it. People are so often mistaken…

Contrary to what "your good textbook" reads, you are a type 2 diabetic.

Anyone with consistent elevated blood sugars is diabetic…The term pre-diabetes or border line diabetes is just a nice way of saying… get your glucose levels down.

90-95% of all diabetics are type 2 and the vast, vast majority of them are insulin resistant, why do you think you were put on oral meds?

As for cutting back on sugar? …….Just say no to the foods that will cause your blood sugars to elevate and stay elevated or suffer the consequences.

It requires a permanent life style change to do this, not easy but it has to be done along with exercise

Everybody in my family parents,siblings,now me.Did my pancreas sputter out ? Is it insulin resistance ? I am 46 6′1 275 lbs w/ hypertension also . Have yet to see a primary physician since hospital tests.It’s alway’s 200-300 glucose,since I started to monitor it,and as you can guess, I have no chance of eating properly,with all those yummies out there.Guess I’m doomed.Why me?

you’re right-you’re doomed. everytime you stuff one of those yummies in your mouth, consider this…uncontrolled diabetes leads to vision loss,decreased circulation (leading to amputation of your leg or legs) , kidney failure(but that 3-4 hours on a dialysis machine 3 times a week will give you some time to reflect on your sorry situation) and cardiac problems(with your weight and hypertension, it’s a given) plus a hundred other health probs r/t diabetes. contact the american diabetic assoc today.

When I was 18, I had to take a glucose test as part of diagnosis for my PCOS.
It was determined I have insulin resistance.
My grandmother was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes recently and that got me thinking…

Will I develop diabetes?
Is there something I can do now to prevent it?

I also read a study that large breasted women are more likely to have diabetes… all the women in my family are very blessed, if you know what I mean, including me.

Am I doomed?

I’m kind of scared..

Your chances are 100%

Insulin Resistance IS diabetes. The FULL name is Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 / Insulin Resistant. [There is also Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 / Insulin Deficient, which indicates an over-worked pancreas. And then, there is Diabetes Type 1, which indicates a completely FAILED pancreas. Type 1 Diabetes requires insulin injections to stay alive]

The good news is that, finding out this early you can begin treatment BEFORE the symptoms get serious, and if you follow doctors order exactly (watch your diet, increase your exercise, control your weight, take medications as needed) you will possibly eliminate the symptoms all together.

In other words, if you are fully cooperative with your doctor, you may NEVER suffer from diabetes complications. You will live a completely normal life, including schooling, career, dating, marriage, and children of your own.

But, battling diabetes is a LIFETIME challenge. you MUST understand the seriousness of the disease that you ALREADY HAVE, and take steps to change your life and lifestyle NOW, before the disease becomes deadly.

As for being large breasted — breasts are almost totally fat. being large breasted indicates that your body has a tendency to store fat. You may already be overweight, and being overweight causes insulin resistance and diabetes. Work HARD to maintain a weight that your doctor considers "normal" for you.

Am not over weight but i was as a child and i have the symptoms for both of these conditions except i dont have irregular periods, do you have to have irregular periods to have PCOS? and can you be diabetic type 2 and not know it?
Can you have both of these conditions?
PCOS is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. And no actually i hardly drink or go the bathroom.. usually really dehydrated.

Yes you can have type 2 diabetes and not know it are you exceptionally and constantly thirsty and do you wee alot if so I would go to the Doctor he will do a blood test on you to find out. As for PCOS I’m sorry but I don’t know what that means.

I was diagnosed with PCOS/Insulin Resisitance in Feb of this year after trying to get pregnant for almost 3yrs. Thankfully I got pregnant that same month due to going on the low carb/sugar diet and 1500mg of Metformin…I now have a healthy and beautiful 1 month old daughter.

I’m not trying to get pregnant obviously, but am concerned about the insulin resistance. My OBGYN said I dont need the diet or the Metformin unless I’m trying to get pregnant. But if I have insulin resistance, I was told that it can lead to type 2 diabetes if I dont continue the diet or meds. My dr wont prescribe the Met again until I’m trying to get pregnant. Should I be worried?? Should I be back on the medication??

You really should treat your PCOS even when you are not ttc. You are right. I recommend seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. It doesn’t have to be metformin (although really it’s the best in most cases), but some sort of insulin sensitizing drug. Stick to a low carb or basic Diabetic Diet and exercise.

Type 2 diabetes is not the only problem if you let your PCOS go untreated. Women with PCOS have a higher risk of several things: certain kinds of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clots, and heart problems. If the PCOS is treated then those risks go down.

I don’t intend to scare you, because these things are not an immediate risk and it’s OK to not treat your metformin some of the time…but over the long haul…it should be treated.

Here’s a great site for general info about PCOS: http://pcos.itgo.com/. I think it’s got great overall info about PCOS.

I also recommend visiting http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-bhpcos?redirCnt=1. It’s a great message board where you can ask all your PCOS questions. Good luck and Congratulations on your new baby girl!

Type 1 Diabetes is associated with an autoimmune disease that destroys the beta islet cells of the pancreas and thus effects the loss of insulin production. In contrast Type 2 Diabetes is associated with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. This suggests the following:

1. The insulin receptors are mutated.
2. Post insulin receptor molecules are inactive or mutated.
3. There is an increase in insulin/insulin receptor endocytosis that is greater than that observed in normal tissue.
4. One or more of the above.

I’ve scoured my lecture notes and can’t find anything on this. Can you help?

The insulin elevation is being driven by a constant slightly higher than normal blood sugar. Most likely secondary to the insulin resistance.
There is no known cure, although, metformin does help alot. Metformin does have potential side effects and it is recommended that your kidney function be checked while being on metformin regularly.

I have found an Herbal product called "Glucose Factors" which has helped bring down HgA1C levels and C-peptide levels (cheap insulin level check) in my patients.

Depending on your health care philosophy, you have two choices here to try.
Exercise 30 min. 3-4- times a week and weight loss if needed are important as well.

Hope this helps.

I mean, there seems to be a lot of confusion out there. Type one requires insulin injections, type two does not (at least in the early stages). Many folks seem to be confused as to which is which.

Type one is an autoimmune disease where the beta cells in the pancreas no longer produce insulin.

Type two is insulin resistance where the body’s cells ignore the signal of the insulin to allow glucose to enter the cell.

Both result in high blood sugar but, other than that, they’re entirely different diseases requiring entirely different treatments.

Yes, I know that some type twos end up on insulin, but that has more to do with having been prescribed sulfonylureas, and many other variables. Many do just fine with just proper diet and exercise.

When I mention my diabetes I always mention it as "Type 1" and never just as diabetes. I do not like the term juvenile diabetes. Juveniles becomes adults and their is nothing juvenile about diabetes. Does it go away the person turns 18? No.

Type 1 and Type 2 make sense to me. The public must be educated.