# Weight loss struggle



## D Moore (Mar 15, 2016)

Hi, since I've been on insulin I have really struggled to lose weight. 
Has anybody else experienced this? 
Any tips would be greatly received. 
Thank you


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## Northerner (Mar 15, 2016)

Hi, welcome to the forum  Have you been diagnosed long? I think weight gain/loss is one of those things that can vary so much from person to person. What are your blood sugar levels like? Are you able to exercise regularly? A lot of people find that, rather than fat intake, it is the carbs that need to be watched - often reducing the carbs can really help with weight loss. Do you know how much carb you have per day, on average?


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## D Moore (Mar 15, 2016)

Thank you for replying. I was Diagnosed nearly two years now but been on insulin for 8 months now. Sugar levels are pretty good now to what they used to be. Am a single parent so the only exercise I do is walking to and from school and on my feet all day at work. Year or so before I was diagnosed I was losing a steady 2lbs a week with a slimming group. Before I started insulin my weight dropped off and it all went back on when I started, now I'm finding it a real struggle to get back in the momentum of losing weight


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## Northerner (Mar 15, 2016)

D Moore said:


> Thank you for replying. I was Diagnosed nearly two years now but been on insulin for 8 months now. Sugar levels are pretty good now to what they used to be. Am a single parent so the only exercise I do is walking to and from school and on my feet all day at work. Year or so before I was diagnosed I was losing a steady 2lbs a week with a slimming group. Before I started insulin my weight dropped off and it all went back on when I started, now I'm finding it a real struggle to get back in the momentum of losing weight


It's possible that before, when your levels weren't so good, you were losing weight because you were actually peeing away a lot of the glucose that your body is now able to use - your body has returned to a more 'natural' weight where your energy intake is being closely matched with your energy expenditure, making it difficult to actually lose weight. I was losing weight for about 18 months prior to diagnosis but thought it was due to my running - turns out it's probably more to do with my lack of insulin and poor blood sugar levels! I've now been pretty stable for a few years, needing to lose a few pounds but it is a slow process! 

What was your original diagnosis, and how did you come to be diagnosed? What insulin are you on?


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## D Moore (Mar 15, 2016)

I had always had diabetes checks and the last check 6 months before I was diagnosed actual came back normal, I work in a pharmacy and after about 3 days on constant peeing and thirst I asked to have my sugars checked they came back as 17.3. I've been told I'm type 1 because how fast it all happened.  From diagnosis to Last April I was taking metormin and vildagiptin, my symptoms went away and weight loss was still steady and 1-2lbs a week. April onwards had high readings back in the teens, buried my head In the sand started to lose 4+lbs a week constant peeing, thirst and tiredness came back wasn't until late June I plucked up the courage to see the nurse. Started on lantus and still taking metformin off the vildgliptin, then novorapid. December was taken off lantus and put on levamir. Also waiting to get the go ahead on trying for a baby my last hba1c was 54. Seeing a consultant next week hoping my tests show I'm under 50 now. Since being on insulin I have felt "normal" again, was scared and unsure at first about insulin but I'm glad I'm on it now


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## Northerner (Mar 15, 2016)

D Moore said:


> I had always had diabetes checks and the last check 6 months before I was diagnosed actual came back normal, I work in a pharmacy and after about 3 days on constant peeing and thirst I asked to have my sugars checked they came back as 17.3. I've been told I'm type 1 because how fast it all happened.  From diagnosis to Last April I was taking metormin and vildagiptin, my symptoms went away and weight loss was still steady and 1-2lbs a week. April onwards had high readings back in the teens, buried my head In the sand started to lose 4+lbs a week constant peeing, thirst and tiredness came back wasn't until late June I plucked up the courage to see the nurse. Started on lantus and still taking metformin off the vildgliptin, then novorapid. December was taken off lantus and put on levamir. Also waiting to get the go ahead on trying for a baby my last hba1c was 54. Seeing a consultant next week hoping my tests show I'm under 50 now. Since being on insulin I have felt "normal" again, was scared and unsure at first about insulin but I'm glad I'm on it now


That's a fairly common pattern for Type 1 onset in adults - often called Type 1.5 or LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood) it can often be treated with oral medication in the early stages - the meds you were on would encourage your pancreas to produce more insulin, but eventually as it failed to respond the meds stopped working so you needed to start injecting. Weight loss is very common when you are experiencing a decline in insulin production. 

Hope you manage to get under 50 with your HbA1c and can start trying for your baby!


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## D Moore (Mar 15, 2016)

I've never heard of that term before, I was sent originally sent to consultant because the nurse didn't know which type I had. Yeah the weight loss was worrying, I think it was the fear of the unknown that made me wait so long to see someone about it. 
Thank you it's been a very stressful journey up until now so I'm hoping to hear good news 
Thank you for replying to me ☺


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## Northerner (Mar 15, 2016)

D Moore said:


> I've never heard of that term before, I was sent originally sent to consultant because the nurse didn't know which type I had. Yeah the weight loss was worrying, I think it was the fear of the unknown that made me wait so long to see someone about it.
> Thank you it's been a very stressful journey up until now so I'm hoping to hear good news
> Thank you for replying to me ☺


There's unfortunately quite a lack of knowledge and many GPs and nurses think you can only get type 1 if you are a child, but you can get it at any age! It's good that they sent you on to a consultant though, often people have a really hard time being treated as though they were Type 2 and given the wrong medication which doesn't work 

Is your weight actually increasing, or are you just finding it difficult to lose it? Do you have much to lose?


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## D Moore (Mar 15, 2016)

I've put on 1.5 stone since starting insulin, I can lose a couple of pounds one week, stay the same another and put on another. It's really frustrating it's like my body is stuck or is happy at this weight I keep going back to


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