I went to my ENDO last week and was down a pound in 2 weeks. Have been on insulin only a month now.

He was very happy that I lost a pound because he said being put on insulin is usually a five pound gain..

Has anybody heard this before?

Levemir 32 bedtime
Novo rapid before meals---sliding scale.
Dawn phenomenon

Yes, I've often heard that starting on insulin can cause weight gain. I understand that part of it is because when blood sugars are running high, your body can't use glucose and burns fat instead, which causes weight loss; thus starting insulin which enables your body to use glucose properly can actually cause some weight gain.

I think there are some other mechanisms at work, too, insofar as weight gain and insulin are concerned, but I don't understand them that well...perhaps Rick, Cora or Blondy can jump in here and explain it better.

Of course, not everyone gains weight when they first start on insulin. I guess it would depend on just how bad your numbers were running before.

Ruth

Ruth has stated some good reasons, but there is one other reason why people gain weight when they go on insulin. Before the insulin, most people have blood sugars running higher than normal. So basically, a significant amount of what you are eating circulates in your blood as excess sugar and then is filtered out by the kidneys. So basically you are eating more than you should, but it is not "sticking" to you. Once you go on insulin, all the carbs that you were eating that were not getting into the cells of your body, now have the opportunity to do so.

Unfortunately, many people end up eating more than they should because they can get away with it. Once they begin taking insulin, they can't.

Cora

Thank you for your replys. I did not realize this was the case. Never asked my DR and he didn't tell me why. Next visit I will tho. I wish I was as informed as you people are. Thankyou.