what happens if one stops taking insulin as a 9 month type II diabetic?

[demtenjeep]

since I started taking insulin I have ballooned more than 50 lbs

[dweller]

1. that's a question for your doctor to answer

and not an internet group
please do that

✌🏼

[Skittles]

2. don't do anything without consulting with a doctor

let them know about your weight concerns

[brokephibroke]

3. Your blood sugar will spike for sure

[AncientGeezer]

4. "what happens if.."...nothing good. Never stop taking meds without a Dr's ok....

Especially something like an insulin..a health maintenance script.

50lbs is better than...well, dead.

[handmade34]

5. no easy answers

and hopefully you have a good doctor to help you through it...

...my partner decided he wanted to stop all insulin and diabetic medication... he slowly weaned himself off by deliberately and carefully changing his diet… very, very strict keto keeps his AIC low (went from 10+ to 6) without medication...

but all people are different and I don't think any of it is easy...

[onecaliberal]

6. Please don't abruptly stop taking it.

Your glucose level will skyrocket. You could stroke. Make an appointment with your physician ASAP.

[applegrove]

7. People used to die of undiagnosed adult onset diabetes. Like everyone.

I have an easy time losing weight when i get off sugar and carbs. I lose like a pound every 2 days. I eat whole grain rice or whole steel cut oartmeal. I have things like frozen blueberries and frozen mangos to add as a garnish to my meals (like a tablespoon chopped). Not a whole portion. There really are so many great vegetable recipes. Just bought Jamie Olivers' vegetable cookbook. I made vegetable mac and cheese but substituted rice and quinoa macaroni. I put in leek, spinach, broccolini and thyme and garlic. Cheese too, but not too much. Really good. Just eat vegetables and a healthy carb (no bread or white rice) and a protein (not red meat). And food is really, really good. Use fresh herbs everywhere. I also put dried pumpkin seeds on everything. Also falafel is good dipped in tzaziki. You can get it gluten free at Whole Foods. Better yet make it yourself like i am planning to do. Don't buy the dried fruit cookies and such there. They have too much sugar. Buy greek yogurt that has no sugar and sweeten it with a few frozen blueberries and pumpkin seeds. Sundried tomatoes are also good taste explosion in your veggie dishes. Remember fruit as a garnish only. Cheese too. Lots if plant based food. Healthy oils like avocado or olive. No sugar. No smoothies (smoothies cause you to gain weight because the fruit is pulverized and as sweet as a large concentrated glass of punch). Get some good balsamic vinegar. Get fresh salad dressing (anything that has to be in the fridge when you buy it is going to taste good). Spaghetti squash can be a meal with a veggie based sauce. I'm just making myself hungry with all this talk. Your taste buds adjust in a week and then you don't miss the bread or sugar. Good luck to you. You can't mess with diabetes. I am not diabetic but someone in my family is. Take care of you.

[yellerpup]

8. My brother has type 2 diabetes.

He took medicine for a couple of years, then got control of his diet and now he does not need to take medication. All done under doctor's supervision. Good luck!

[Nay]

9. As others have said, don't stop taking meds without seeing your doc. However, when

you make your appt., ask for a bit of extra time because you want to discuss meds during the appt.

As a Type 2 for 10 years, I have always been on Metformin only -- so I wonder why exactly you were put straight on insulin as the first treatment. Did the doc tell you why you were put on insulin? Did he discuss any other meds with you?

What have your glucose readings been in the last month?

[Grasswire2]

12. curious about that, too.

I also wonder about Metformin and kidney damage -- my cousin had to switch off Metformin for that reason and go to Glipizide, which does not control sugar as well as the Metformin.

[shanti]

16. I'm a T2

for about the same amount of time as you. But when I was first dX'd, my GP put me on Glipizide, not Metformin. I didn't question it until I started having some scary lows (50's). Then I found out that most people are put on Met first. I tolerate it well because I'm careful to always take with a meal. So I got off the Glipizide and am only on 500mg caplets of Met. My BS is well-controlled and my medical record now states 'pre-diabetic', not diabetic. I probably could stop the Met (doctor suggested it) but plan to stay on it indefinitely, as Met has been said to have good off-label purposes re aging.

[lunasun]

10. Please see the doc for help with dietary and lifestyle changes to prevent more insulin weight gain

This is better than stopping a medication which can lead to complications
ask for help and if you don’t get it
get a second opinion for help or a dietician
Good Luck

I saw this in a relative of mine it is a common side effect of insulin I guess

[Laffy Kat]

11. You could also lose your eyesight or an extremity.

If you want to do it through diet/exercise alone, please do so under the supervision of a qualified medical professional.

[Warpy]

13. Obviously you need to buy a kitchen scale and dowload a copy

of the ADA diet. Something's wrong and you can't blame it all on the insulin. My best guess says it's a combination of portion control and perhaps eating some of the wrong foods too often. The scale helps the former and the copy of the diet gives you something to aim for with the latter.

I know that's not what you wanted to read, but honestly, diabetes does so much damage to your body when it is uncontrolled that going off insulin is unthinkable. Don't do it.

You are absolutely going to hate this and you get to complain every step of the way. Just think of it as insurance that you will still be with the rest of us to vote that orange shithead out of office.

The alternative is metabolic syndrome leading to congestive heart failure, blindness, kidney disease and ulcers on your feet and legs that can lead to amputation. Diabetes is nothing to fool around with, not even Type II, where you're still making some of your own insulin.

(Wally's has a really nice digitial scale for $8.25, so it doesn't have to break the bank. The ADA diet guidelines are online)

[Phoenix61]

14. I don't know if you're near a hospital but

if you are see if they have a diabetes class. I helped a neighbor who had type II diabetes get off all his meds. The first step was him learning not all carbs are equal and adjusting his diet. Then we started exercising, a 45 minute bicycle ride every day. Plus he started taking a multi vitamin with chromium. But as others have said, talk to your doctor first. High blood sugar is nothing to play around with.

[Rollo]

15. Yes, talk directly to a doctor....

However as a Type 2 diabetic for the past 20 years, I have some experience with it. The oral meds all appear to have side effects. So that needs to be taken into consideration. At various times I've been on Glypizide, Actos, Metformin, but after a few years when I started experiencing some side effects, my doctor told me that most patients eventually have to start taking insulin, even Type 2 patients. So I said, "Just put me on insulin now", and he obliged. Yes, I did gain some weight, but not 50 lbs. Last summer I decided to try the Keto approach, and lost about 25 to 30 lbs. It's a very difficult diet to stick with, though, and I sort of slacked off after a few months and gained 5-10 lbs back. I also started up glypizide again but am concerned about effects on liver. So I'm going back to the keto approach, as well as getting more exercise.

I also measure my blood sugar 3-4 times a day and use insulin to fine tune it - as much as possible.

Diabetes is no fun, but it can be managed up to a point.

[projectiboga]

17. insulin for type 2 has a goal of being temporary

Insulin for type 2 is a stopgap for you to get going with meds like metformin, getting a handle on improving your diet and increasing your physical activity.

Personal advice, start taking melationin and trace minerals. Melatonin reduces inflammation, and it up regulates the individual insulin receptors making each of them more efficient. I know several folks who got of the meds eventually, just with melatonin, diet, exercise, and keeping track of their blood sugar along with frequent doctor visits.

Metformin should be your first try for meds, as it is an anti cancer med that was re-purposed to this use, and has shown to be associated with slightly lower cancer rates in people who take it.

I'm type 1 but I gained 10% body weight first 30 days on Lantus, and gained another 10% over a few more months, then stabilized 20% higher. Truvia, and Basagular both can do that too, and the Truvia has some other kind of hormones, or weird biotech chemicals in it. Type 1 is a separate thing, but it is managed similarly and has similar health risks.

Type 2 is an inflammatory overload on your body, melatonin is the body's main antioxident, but it declines throughout life starting at puberty, and gets below the load in your 20s. You can't reverse time, but you can restore your body to less inflammation and up regulate your body's use of what insulin it can produce.

Also eating less animal products and more plant based foods can lower the risks of complications, and has been shown to reverse the condition through switching to more nutritious foods.

If you want to come off insulin, you will have to track your blood sugar, to be able to diagnose when your running low, and slowly adjust your dose down making sure you stay under 160 post meal and between 75 & 120 before meals.

[projectiboga]

18. all the above advice is important too

All the above advice is also correct. Work with your doctor, tell him you have a goal to try and control, with diet, Metformin, Melatonin, and blood testing. Dr shouldn't care too much as long as you keep seeing him.

Ask to try Metformin on top of your insulin, and get cheep blood strips. I use GenUltimate which is a clone of Onetouch. and is used with their meters.
TrueMetrix is another cheep one, and walmart has cheep ones under their relion brand. Trick with walmart is there are many types of strips under Relion and each uses a different meter. In my opinion, better to by cheaper ones cash, than to pay co pays, for possibly less total tests.

Melatonin is FDA approved to treat jet lag, which is caused by the trace radiation that planes pick up being up in thin air for so long, and the insulin effects were discovered later, as it is a metabolite of Serotonin. Also noteworthy it basically doesn't have a lethal dose, they can only kill lab animals with a saturated solution in their blood using a dialysis machine. If you drink you might be low in b vitamins, and melatonin often but not always has b-6 to boost absorption and it can cause night mares in drinkers. so just a fyi, to start with a multi vitamin, b4 starting melatonin.

Get a book with info about diet, simple carbs, complex carbs, and increasing your consumption of unsaturated fats. Olive oil, and plant fats.

Good luck, I hope you see this and get to just pills, good nutrition and checking your blood sugar from time to time and keeping up with your doctor.