I am a type 2 too and my A1c has been in the 7's.  My Endo. does not want me
on insulin because he says insulin will make me gain weight.  I am still
overweight although I have lost some.  He does not want me gaining any more
weight.  I can't explain the various insulins since I've never used them,
but I do think there is more to keep in mind than just your BG.  I think too
much insulin can also cause heart problems.  But I could be wrong.

And I am not going to help you here either.
If you are too silly to do some basic searches about the different types
on insulin, then I'm not stupid enough to help you.

I am amazed that you can get insulin without a prescription. It can be quite
deadly when used by someone unfamilliar with it, or who hasn't had it
explained to him by a doctor. In Australia even a doctor cannor prescribe
insulin - it has to be a diabetic specialist. I would urge you to see a
diabetic specialist.

the problem with insulin is that there are many factors to consider before
determining the correct dose, such as the food you eat, the exercise you do
and other factors. the consequences of taking an excessive dose versus
exercise versus food, could be a life-threatening hypo (when your blood
glucose goes down to dangerous levels).

My HbA1c was in the high 6s, and I wanted to be put on insulin, having done
a lot of research on it, and obtained some useful advice from folks on mhd
and asd newsgroups. I had to find a diabetic specialist to prescribe it
though.

If you do want to do some researching beforehand, go to the manufacturers'
sites. It's a good starting point. As part of your research, I would
recommend you read up on hypos (hypoglycemia).

Henry Mydlarz.

Goodness.

As one of those who took some time in composing a reply over
there, and having read the other responses, may I suggest
that you are heading for some major difficulties in your
diabetes management.

You have already made up your mind as to what you want to do
and how you want to do it, regardless of several experienced
people taking the time to suggest that your proposed path is
fraught with many dangers and that there may be other
avenues worth exploring either first or in parallel.

Henry's advice here is excellent; but your comment here and
your answers there show a basic misunderstanding of the
relationship between your menu, testing and blood glucose
management and the dangers involved in insulin use.

That was the polite response. I'll defer the impolite one
until you are brave enough to return to asd.

Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com
Latest: Motivation, Likes and Dislikes

Simple solution - change docs.

This is essential 70% Insultard (N for Americans), 30% Actrapid (R for
Americans). It gives a relatively 'flat' effect for about 6-8 hours.

50/50 mix Actrapid/Insultard, about 6-8 hour run time, heavily front
loaded from the large Actrapid

An insulin with a 6-8 hour, perhaps a little longer, run time, with a
pronounced peak in the 4-6 hour range.

None of these products are exactly long lasting. For a long lasting
insulin, you are looking for either Ultra Lente (U), or Lantus.

In general the very long acting insulins will not do a good job of
controlling blood sugars in the 2-3 hours after a  meal, so a long
acting insulin for Basal coverage is almost always match up with a
short acting insulin such as Actrapid, or the more recent analog,
Novorapid (Novolog), or Humalog... which are even faster acting than
R, with shorter run times.

i gather you're either in Germany or close?

if you're going to use insulin, you're going
to have to bite the bullet, and do some
additional testing

yes, Accucheck and Ultra strips are expensive

but there are much less alternatives that
imo are just as good.  i currently use
Control strips that cost about 1/2 of Ultra

since you read/write English well, check out
www.hocks.com for price comparison, and there
are several web sites for good info of what's
going on with meters

re insulin, and since price seems to be an
issue with you, why don't you simple go with
10 ml vials of Actrapid?

i.e. and not worry about slower "background" insulin

you're a t2 and you appear to still have enough
endogenous insulin of your own, which makes
use of slow insulin an option for you

for what it's worth, i know of several type-1
who only use Actrapid (via syringe shots).
i call it "pseudo pumping"

similarly, there are something like 1-to-2
million type-1 who pump, with fast meal insulin
(either lispro, aspart, or Actrapid)

get some *good* syringes (i suggest BD because
the points are good and the plunger is a tight fit;
either 30 unit size or 50 unit size)

pre-load the syringes half way (so that they'll
fit in your shirt pocket)

if you take a single sheet of 8.5"x11" paper,
fold in half, then 3 ways, you'll be able
to conveniently carry/hide up to 4 syringes

it's ok to use the syringe several times
(until it's empty)

when you carry/use a syringe like this,
do NOT refill the syringe when it's empty

bill t1 since '57