I am 27 years old, and have been a diagnosed diabetic since age 11. I have been controlled by diet and oral medication until last week when my doctor recommended I begin Insulin. My sugars on the oral medication were never above 12, so I my body must be capable of producing some Insulin (even if it is with help). ?
My worry is this: now that I am taking injections, will my body stop making the insulin it is capable of? Might that limit any future treatment(s) that would use my body’s own insulin? I have not been given any tests to see if my body makes insulin since I was a child (at which point it did), and we have only tried one type of pill, he never suggested that another may work better (or changing doses). Is it possible to use both oral medications and injections?

Dr. Joshua’s Answer

From your history it is evident that you have type II diabetes. Therefore your problem is not the lack of insulin production, but insulin resistance. Your body is producing insulin, but the hormone is “banging its head on the wall” in your body because there is insulin resistance.

Follow your doctor’s recommendation. Starting insulin does not make your body produce significantly less insulin, but it will complement your own insulin thus decreasing your blood sugar levels.

This is good in itself, but starting insulin treatment has additional benefits: When your blood sugar levels normalize, your insulin resistance will decrease, so you get a double benefit.

Occasionally some type II diabetics are concurrently on both oral medication and insulin, but I this is the exception rather than the rule.

Always ask your own doctor when you are in doubt about your diabetes treatment. Optimal treatment of diabetes and strictly keeping your bloog sugar levels normal are vital to your health and help you avoid the serious, life-threatening complications of diabetes.