Type 2 diabetes: will I gain weight if I switch to insulin?

If a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, this means that their beta cells can no longer cope with their task – the production of insulin. Every year these cells become less and less. For this reason, the treatment of diabetes gradually becomes more intense, and at a certain stage, insulin appears. Patients who delay this moment for a long time lose the fight for their health. After all, the real danger for us is high blood sugar (SC), and not insulin at all. Timely insulin therapy helps to bring diabetes under control and avoid complications.

Is insulin therapy necessary for type 2 diabetes?

International diabetes organizations such as the ADA (American Diabetes Association) and EASD (European Association for the Study of Diabetes Mellitus) strongly recommend insulin treatment for people with type 2 diabetes. According to their experts, insulin should be administered already in the second phase of the pharmacological treatment of diabetes, immediately after treatment with metformin .

Prior to this, insulin was recommended in Europe only after type 2 diabetes had been unsuccessfully treated with various groups of oral hypoglycemic drugs (tablets). The type of pills was periodically changed, their doses were increased – until they became completely ineffective. Usually, insulin was started 10-15 years after the diagnosis of diabetes. This approach has led to years of uncontrolled or poorly controlled hyperglycemia. And as a result, a large number of complications, including loss of vision, amputation of limbs, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Unfortunately, this approach is still practiced in Ukraine.

Many people with type 2 diabetes are afraid of insulin therapy due to injections and delay starting it. In fact, now the introduction of insulin is no longer a painful procedure, thanks to the finest needles for syringe pens and special syringes for insulin. Properly selected and timely started insulin therapy helps to maintain health and continue to lead an active lifestyle. many patients note that after the start of insulin administration, their life and well-being improved markedly.

Does insulin lead to weight gain?

Only the calories that we ate and did not waste lead to weight gain. Insulin is needed by the body so that its cells get enough glucose. Modern long-acting insulins (analogues) ( Lantus , Levemir , Tresiba , etc. ) and ultrashort-acting insulins ( Novorapid , Epidra , Fiasp , etc. ) do not lead to weight gain and even contribute to its reduction.

Insulin analogues have many advantages over human insulins ( Protafan , Actrapid , Framasulin , Insuman , etc. ). People who switched from human insulin to analogues note that they have:

  • hypoglycemia occurs less frequently
  • a flexible approach to diet, number of meals,
  • there is no need to make “snacks” between main meals,
  • the feeling of “wild hunger” and severe hypoglycemia (during which people with diabetes usually uncontrollably gorge themselves, trying to stop the hypo as soon as possible ) are gone.

If your doctor suggests you insulin therapy, be sure to discuss with him the possibility of starting it with insulin analogues.

And, of course, do not forget that the combination of insulin therapy with the intake of hypoglycemic pills, proper nutrition and regular exercise also contribute to maintaining body weight. Even daily 30-minute walks not only help to reduce the amount of adipose tissue, but also increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *