My dad is diabetic and he is taking 23ml of insulin injectable - Is that ok.?

Question

What is the recommended (mls) per day per person. . . He says that when he takes it in the morning and evening he can feel that its too much in his system. So he's been taking 23ml and i'm concerned i want to know if its safe. . . Other other people with knowledge please help

Answer 1

Your dad needs to talk to his doctor. Period!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

First we need to determine what you mean by insulin. There are two types, long acting and quick acting. That is probably why you are getting such a range of responses. I am a pump user now but I remember taking Lantus a couple years ago and I know it is much higher dosage than fast acting insulin. When we refer to insulin most people assume you mean Humalog/Novalog (fast acting) of which you usually inject a small amount after each meal. 23 ml must be referring to Lantus (long acting) in which case have him talk to his doctor about lowering the amount he is taking. As far as the whether that is "safe". Too much insulin can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) which starts out making most people feel kind of dizzy, shaky and you may sweat allot. If that is the case have him check his blood sugar and make sure it is above 90. If it gets low give him some juice or a light snack and 15 minutes or so later he should be fine.

----B.W.---- You should really hawk your snake oil somewhere else. This is diabetes talk not QVC. You say that it helps diabetes, think it would help me? I am a type 1 with no pancreatic function; will it magically make me start creating insulin again? Can I throw away my $10,000 insulin pump? You need to get educated before telling people crap like that. To the poster, talk to your doctor and ignore all the miracle drink idiots. It still amazes me that people will put the MLM pyramid schemes above people’s health and promise them hope that does not exist. Shame on you!

Answer 4

The dose the doctor prescribes is the dose that is expected to bring his blood sugar into the normal range. There is no recommended dose per day per person as each person is different and the dose and type of insulin is calibrated to the individual. When he tests his fasting blood sugar it should be about 70 - 110 on his glucometer. If it is lower than 70 let the doctor know. Sometimes, if his blood sugar has been high for a long time when a person first starts taking insulin it may 'feel' as though it is too low when it really isn't so he should check his blood sugar reading to be certain when that happens.

Answer 5

Nobody should be taking 23ml of insulin at a time. At 100 IU/ml, that is 2300 IU at a time. it's the equivalent of taking 23 full insulin syringes and injecting them all at once. He should be dead at this dose.

If you meant 23 IU, that is a little high but not unreasonable depending on diet/exercise regimen.

He needs to monitor his blood sugar regularly and adjust his dosage as needed. No doctor will do this for him.

Also pay attention to what he eats, reduce the carbs (potatoes, white bread, rice, pasta, soda pop, etc) if there are a lot of them in his diet.

It would be easier to answer this question if you stated what type of insulin he's taking (there are several types).

Answer 6

One doctor I was seeing told me to flatly take 48 units of insulin every evening. No titrating up, just inject this amount and see me in 90 days!!

Well, that was way way too much and it caused me to both gain water weight and extreme Hypos!! Too much insulin causes all glucose to stick firmly to the bod and puff it up!!

I adjusted the injections on my own, found another doctor, and now inject 24 units Lantus (the long acting) and sometimes depending on the reading, up to 2 units of Humalog per meal.

Depending on your Dad's doctor's orders, the blood tests conducted by the doctor, his fasting glucose readings, and a few other things, your Dad is doing as he should!

Insulin injections are a highly personal thing and there is absolutely NO set number of UNITS to inject daily by the manufacturers of these drugs.

Your dad must follow a sensibile food plan, a sensible exercise plan, and his doctor's recommendations.

I do have a friend who takes 45 units twice a day of Lantus. He has lost one foot, his eyesight and the feeling in his hands!! That was not caused by using too much insulin, but by too little and too high glucose levels over too many years.

Answer 7

Insulin doses (measured in units) are highly subjective. Everybody is different. Your dad needs to do his blood sugar testing. Then if the blood levels show he has too much insulin, (low blood sugars) he can ask his doctors about lowering his dosages, or changing his diet. When his blood sugars are low, he should be treated immediately with a quick acting sugar source.
Insulin comes in 10 ml bottles, or smaller tubes. 23 mls would be a lot of insulin to inject in a day.

Answer 8

Anyone commenting on this other than your doctor is exposing themselves to liability problems. All I can tell you that insulin is not a long term cure and other measures must be taken to improve his condition - starting with diet. IM me for a sound alkaline dietary strategy to combat Diabetes. I can also suggest a food matrix form of chromium and corosolic acid - which will help assimilate blood glucoseinto the cell. Look up Carbitone on the site below.

Answer 9

The best person to ask is your dad's doctor. You should go with your dad to see the doctor and ask him/her all about your doubt. It is very important that your dad & family members are clear about his treatment. The dose varies, depend on patient's condition & situation. The usual side effect of insulin is low sugar in the body, thus, patient with insulin, preferrably to have their own glucometer (machine to check sugar level in the body), so that they can monitor their sugar level at home. You can purchase this machine at most pharmacy. It is very handy and helpful. You also can surf on the internet about insulin. There are plentiful !

Answer 10

well that is between him and doctor. they should fix it and trial and error. now if he thinks too much i am wondering how he came to this? there is no way to find this out unless his sugar is low? i hope hes testing blood at least 4 times a day. hes taking this 2 x a day which is alot of insulin but sometimes its needed to keep it down. everytime the sugar is high its chances of ruing organs in the body.

Answer 11

The recommended dosage of insulin varies from person to person. My friend takes around 15-20ml of insulin per meal, and his dad (who is also diabetic) takes only 7ml. Exercise, and your diet must all be taken into account.