What happens when a diabetic no longer responds to insulin?

Question

My mother is on insulin and she has been haivng trouble getting her blood sugar down and asked if there is another treatment for a diabetic when the insulin no longer works

Answer 1

^ Speak to her endocrinologist, she may need pills and/or a change in insulin.

If your mother is injecting her insulin, speak to her doctor about an insulin pump, since I'm on a pump I have had much better control.

Your mother should be seeing a diabetics teacher and a nutritionist if she isn't already doing so. She should keep a diary of what she is eating.

I don't know how old your mother is, but she could be in perimenopause or in menopause, it could be her hormones.

Answer 2

I think its ALL BS.....I am having these same issues. NOT All diabetes or insulin is weight or exercise related. Right now it seems the more insulin I take the higher my sugar goes and I bout cut out all my carbs this weekend just to see What the CRAPOLLA is going on. Doctors don't have a clue about hormones or endocrine fatigue....which is what I have. So if insulin is all you got...im in deep doo doo. Cause its not working AT ALL. The long quite working a while back and we tried some new..and its not working at all and now the short has quit helping me any. When you go years without sleeping for 8 hours (due to special needs child) sometimes your endocrine system is so stressed out cause it never gets to rest that it won't use the insulin. INSULIN dont just get in your body and take the sugar down. You beta cells have to shove that mess in your cells to help. So if your body is tired your insulin may not work....but so far no one has a decent solution. NO ONE has mentioned what to do if your insulin is not working AT ALL. So no solution means my sugar will be 250 - 350 till someone figures this problem out. I also feel like doctors are standing by to watch me die. My diabetes is hormone related and fatigue related. BET you won't hear any one tell you about that. :P

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

There's little else you can do because insulin is the required hormone for pulling glucose from the blood stream. Because insulin is a hormone it is possible that a "variation" of it can be prescribed but basically you're dealing with the same thing.

There is a new condition being observed that doesn't have a name yet. It's being called "Type III" and "Type 1.5" and it's where a Type I diabetic develops insulin resistance (which is Type II). One report I read quoted someone from the CDC who described it as "chilling."

Answer 5

There is never a point at which a diabetic no longer responds to insulin. This assumes that the diabetic is taking the insulin correctly and is taking what I refer to as the modern insulins. Examples would be basal insulins such as glargine/Lantus or detemir/Levemir and rapid acting insulins such as lispro/Humalog and aspart/Novolog. Out of date insulins include the 'basal' insulins such as NPH, Lente, and Ultralente and the 'not so rapid' acting Regular insulin.

Answer 6

Different insulins will be tried, but ultimately the blood sugar will get out of control and the person will go into a coma and die.

Answer 7

Insulin never gives up completely. Take her to an endocrinologist.

Answer 8

she might have to switch to something else or get some kind of shot for her body to start responding to the insulin again

Answer 9

They die.
Too much insulin causes hypoglycemia, too little sugar, the cells stop working, acidosis occurs from the burning of fat for energy. If untreated, you die.
Too little insulin, blood sugar goes up, increasing urine out put causing dehydration and hypo-tension. Also burning of fat occurs. condition called hyperosmolar coma develops, you die.

Answer 10

They will go into diabetic coma.