Hi, I have been taking Actos for years and now the doctors have started insulin as a coverage...it's on a sliding scale when needed.

My question is, if you take insulin regularly, does your pancreas stop producing properly. I'm afraid to take it thinking that my body will stop making it's own for a period of time after I stop.

This used to be a problem with Bovine, cow, insulin. I havent heard anything about synthetic human insulin having any affect on the pancreas.

Sad thing is, that your pancreas is already not covering your needs to the point that you need to inject insulin. Once you start injecting, the amount really doesnt matter as a shot is a shot. KWIM?

A recent study has found that in T2 diabetic, taking insulin at the onset of the illness can actually delay the needs for medication. And it has long been known that T2 is a progressive illness and that the total insulin production of a T2 diabetic decreases over time.

So, if you DON'T take insulin, your pancreas will probably wear out faster. That's because your islet cells are not producing properly anyway, causing your blood glucose to elevate, which in turn signals the pancreas to try to produce more insulin, which in turn wears the cells out faster.

Ruth

That helps alot. Thanks. I guess I'll have to follow the orders even if I don't like the needles.

Jim,
The needles are really small and a very fine gauge. In fact, if you don't watch someone give you your first shot, you might not even feel it!

Ruth

I've been doing my own shots now for a month or so. Some don't hurt at all but others sting like crazy for atleast 15 minutes. I figure I'm probably doing something wrong seeing how I'm useing the short needle.

I've been doing my own shots now for a month or so. Some don't hurt at all but others sting like crazy for atleast 15 minutes. I figure I'm probably doing something wrong seeing how I'm useing the short needle.
I use to have that problem. I even use to drop blood with giving my shots. Make sure the insulin is room tempature, and that there are no bubbles in the syringe.

Jim - If you're doing something wrong to cause the "*******s", then I'm doing it too. It seems totally unpredictable. I'd say it is a 80/20 percent ratio. Most often I hardly feel the *******s at all. Then about 20 percent of the time it stings like crazy! Especially when I use my stomach. There even is two types of these *******s. One just stings like crazy for a short time during/after the *******s. But there are other, once in a while, that continue to sting for, as you said, 15 minutes or more. I'll sit there and press on it, or rub it as I'm eating or talking to someone, finding it hard to "not" think about it as opposed to paying attention to the conversation. God Bless. Push through Jim. WoodRunner.

Thanks for hte encouragement. I am now taking between larger doses to meet the ratios. I guess in time I will get used to this. to think, not too many years ago I passed out at the site of a needle.

My doc said to keep teh insulin refrigerated, can I let it sit out in the syringe prior to giving the shot in order for it to warm?

Jim-
Unless you live in an extreme high-heat climate and don't have air-conditioning, you can leave the bottle of insulin that you are currently using out of the refrigerator. You will, however, have to discard it about 30 days after opening (maybe 45 days...you can tell it's going bad if your numbers start to creep up). It's a lot more comfortable taking a shot with room-temperature insulin.

Any UNOPENED bottles should absolutely stay in the refrigerator.

Ruth

I live in Florida with no Air :blob_fire it can get rather hot in the house.

In that case, Jim, you're probably better off keeping it in the fridge. Too bad, because I've heard it tends to sting a bit more when cold.

There is one other thing you could do. There's an insulin storage system called Frio...you can google Frio and find their website. They make packs that keep the insulin cool for up to 48 hours. The packs contain some kind of gel crystals that you activate by soaking the pack in water for a few minutes. I used a Frio when I was on vacation last year in California, when my insulin was going to be in a hot car for hours on end. They worked quite well. But the main reason I'm mentioning them is this...the insulin doesn't stay ICE cold, but just a bit cooler than normal room temperature (like around 65 degrees, maybe). You could use the Frio for the open bottle that you're working on, and it would be more like room-temperature insulin than ice-cold refrigerated insulin. The small Frio pack is fairly inexpensive, too.

Ruth

That's a good reccomendation. Thank you

Jim -
I just saw the Frio advertised in Diabetes Forecast. It's $25.95 for the "small", which will hold two bottles of insulin. (There's an even smaller version for insulin pens...if you order, I think you want what they call "small", but it's actually the middle-size one.)

Ruth

Thank you. I'll look into it.

My ten year old son gives himself needles all the time... YOu can do it too!!!!! It also gives you a little bit of freedom to eat the foods you like to a certain degree.. good luck toyou