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February 10, 2012

Patient Discussions: Insulin Resistance - Describe Your Experience

Question:Please describe your experience with insulin resistance.

Comment from: Vibola, 35-44 Female (Patient) Published: May 20

My Insulin resistance started out as Hypoglycemia about 25 years ago. If I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, I knew I would be in trouble in about 2 1/2 hours! I would become very irritable and fatigued. Next, I would start sweating and get weak and faintly-feeling, all because of a stupid bowl of cereal. Foods like a baked potato or one apple would set me up. After I turned 30, the weight started piling on. Exercise did not do any good. I ate low fat meals with lots of vegetables. I still put on weight. I tested negative for diabetes. After doing much online research, I diagnosed myself with Metabolic Syndrome, also known as Insulin Resistance. The only way I can lose weight, is to keep my meals under 20 net carbs. Good carbs are the same as bad carbs to my system. I hate the Nutri-System commercials telling us there is a difference between the good and bad carbs. Not for me! I found a supplement I have just ordered that is supposed to improve insulin sensitivity. I hope it works for me, I am so frustrated. The supplement is R-Fraction ALA.

Related Reading: Hypoglycemia

Comment from: Willie, 55-64 Female (Patient) Published: April 06

I am 57 years old with multiple health problems. I have systemic lupus; it has affected my, lungs, liver, thyroid, and most of my joints. I have been on chemotherapy for life threatening asthma. I currently take 28 different medications a day for heart, lung, diabetes, lupus, and graves disease. I broke my ankle in 3 places 3years ago, which has collapsed, so exercise is limited. I wear a brace to help me walk, I also have SVT and my resting pulse is usually around 120-140. I am extremely insulin resistant and currently take Actos, and Humalog insulin 3 times a day 120-130 units each time and use a sliding scale if needed. I also take Lantus 110 units 2 times a day. My insurance company is refusing to pay for more than 4 vials a day and cost will be about 1250 dollars a month, which I don't have.

Related Reading: lupus | liver | chemotherapy

Comment from: Barbee, 65-74 Female (Patient) Published: April 06

I am now 65 and have been struggling for years with low blood sugar and weight. My doctors never believe me when I tell them I AM dieting and exercising and I am not losing weight or I lose initially and then while still on the diet gain it all back. Imagine how frustrating that is. I am currently following the Atkins diet because I can no longer tolerate carbohydrates. I get lose bowels, flatulence and extreme gas pains when I eat carbs. So I've been on Atkins since May. I started losing about 1/2 lb a week. I went from 223 to 209 then suddenly without a change in the diet started gaining it all back. I'm currently 217. Almost back where I started. Later life diabetes runs in my family. My maternal grandmother had it, my father had it, and now my sister has it. I just had a fasting blood test and my reading was 110. That is very high for someone who has suffered with low blood sugar for year. I had twice taken the 6 hour glucose tolerance test and my blood sugar dropped from 100 to 45 between the 4th and 5th hour. I tell my doctor all my symptoms, but all that she tells me is to go to weight watchers because you have to burn up all the calories you eat. (Been there done that... but she doesn't believe me.) I think I need to see someone that is more familiar with this type of illness. What type of doctor would that be? I have high blood pressure and my cholesterol was high, but since on the Atkins it has gone down from 220 to about 210.

Comment from: Celiac Mama, 45-54 Female (Patient) Published: February 19

I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and if that were not bad enough I began gaining weight at a rapid pace. I exercised 6 days a week and eat only 800 to a 1000 calories a day and still I gained weight. After seeing more doctors than I would like to in a life time, it was my OBGYN that finally checked my insulin levels and to everyone's surprise I was at almost 300. In doing research I have found that Celiac disease has a role in insulin resistance and even though we (Celiacs) do not eat anything with wheat, rye, oats or barley we can still develop diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. If you have insulin resistance you might want to check and see if you have Celiac disease.

Related Reading: Celiac disease

Comment from: carniesmom, 25-34 Female (Patient) Published: February 19

I am a 34 year old female who was recently diagnosed as insulin resistant. I am a competitive tennis player and get lots of exercise. I am not really overweight, although I always feel about 10-15 pounds heavier than I need to be. I complained to my gynecologist that I always felt like I had a yeast infection. At first she blamed it on being in wet tennis clothes so often. I did everything that I could to not be in the clothes. I was treated for yeast over and over. Then I started to complain that after 50 consecutive days of yeast treatment, I felt that if I were off of the medication for a day or two symptoms were recurring. I had a history of diabetes in my family and shared this info with my doctor. Everyone who knew me well also knew that I had to eat or I would get sick and very grouchy. Finally my doctor orders a 3 hour blood glucose test that confirmed that I was insulin resistant and the blood sugar issues were causing the yeast problems. Since I already was on a whole grain diet and got lots of exercise, my doctor prescribed metformin. I have only been on it a couple of days so I can't tell you how it is working yet. I can only tell you that I am happy to have found a reason for my problems.

Related Reading: yeast infection | glucose


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