Switching Insulin Again; An Update
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Dec 27, 2007
Back on November 6th, I wrote on this blog that I was going on insulin for the first time due to diabetes. I was thinking it was time for an update; trust me, things just never go properly with me.
I started Levemir on that night, and didn't have any problems. Two nights later, I had my first painful injection; not really sure what happened. The second night I started feeling pain, pulled the needle out, stuck my thumb, changed the needle, and did it fine the second time around. I figure I was just panicking some, and resolved to relax and pay better attention.
After ten days, I had my first bleeding session. I admit that was scary, and though I'm really not sure what caused that, I learned from some other diabetics that it can happen. It bled a lot, which is why it was scary, but nothing that dramatic has happened again.
But, within a couple of days, the rash started, and it got worse over the next couple of weeks. After my wife kept pestering me, I finally called the diabetes clinic, and the doctor said he was going to switch me to something called Lantus, saying the additives in the Levemir might be causing the distress.
So, I started a new medication, and I started it at the point I'd left the original medication, which was at 24 units, up from the 10 I'd started at, but still having no change. I increased it the next two weeks from 28 to 32 units, and finally started seeing some results. But the rash didn't go away, and big welts were developing. I called the clinic again and got my nurse educator, and she asked me to inject myself someplace other than in my stomach, to see if it's a new reaction or if I just wasn't healing from before. Within three days, it was confirmed that I was allergic to the second medication also, as welts developed on my legs immediately, which was too bad because I didn't feel anything in my legs; way more muscular than my stomach.
Tonight, I'll be starting insulin number three, Humulin N, and supposedly it's made way differently than the other two. I guess we'll see how it goes, but I was told to go back to the original 10 units as a just in case measure. Everyone's worried about it having this drastic effect on my glucose level; neither of the other two did. However, because of the allergic reaction, and some of the other things I learned about how allergic reactions could actually affect the body in other ways, including closing the airway and impeding breathing, I'm listening this time around and going back to the low number.
However, the best thing overall is that, with the workouts, my levels have been coming down anyway, so maybe the treatments have been working the way they were supposed to. My doctor had originally told me I'd have to be on the insulin until my morning glucose readings were better, and, as I haven't been able to inject anything the last couple of days, and my glucose readings have been pretty good, I'm hoping that this is a positive sign for me.
I believe it's important to share this information with others, because it's hard to find places where people are telling how they're reacting to things. Diabetes is a growing problem in America, but most people don't want to talk about it. That was me for 9 years; I guess it's time for me to share now.