Help please. Type 2 diabetics and insulin usage.

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drae
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Help please. Type 2 diabetics and insulin usage.

Post by drae »

I believe I have read previously that type 2 diabetics are generally better off to keep their need for insulin under control, as much as reasonable, because a rising use of insulin over time creates other problems. I realize insulin is a lifesaver for those who need it.

Is it possible to be too free with the insulin shots before meals (so that you can eat more carbs)?

I am not talking about using enough insulin to bring on a low. More like, is unnecessarily high insulin usage over time with the sole purpose of getting away with eating more simple carbs damaging?

My concern is for a relative; fortunately I do not need insulin. He has gotten the idea that he can inject a little extra insulin (more than his personal chart recommends) so that he can eat the high carb meals he wants. I am not talking about on annual holidays but pretty much daily. Is there a downside?

Thanks in advance for your help. I did search but have not been finding anything that talks about this.
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Stavia
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Re: Help please. Type 2 diabetics and insulin usage.

Post by Stavia »

yes its absolutely not a good idea. High insulin by itself is damaging in many ways, irrespective of how high or low the glucose is.

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progranulindefect
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Re: Help please. Type 2 diabetics and insulin usage.

Post by progranulindefect »

my understanding is that it is very difficult to calculate the correct amount of insulin. if you inject too much and it kicks in at the wrong time, you could get dangerously low blood sugars. so dr. richard k. bernstein advocates a very low carb diet so that the minimum amount of insulin is needed. his idea is that "small numbers lead to small mistakes", meaning if you don't eat a lot of carb, you won't need a lot of insulin, and so you won't be injecting a lot which could potentially drive insulin down into the life-threatening hypoglycemic range. he has his own youtube channel which i think is called diabetes university. have your friend try sleeping in his bedroom with nothing plugged into the outlets in that room and in any other rooms that share a wall with his bedroom. it may sound kooky, but just doing that dropped my blood sugar big time.
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