It’s OK. Most people who are not already taking insulin are terrified of insulin. 😰
I help people give themselves their first insulin shot, and even the manliest of men can shake like a leaf.
And I tell them, it makes sense, no?
OUR BRAINS KNOW IT’S A BAD IDEA TO STAB OURSELVES! 🛑
It screams at us: “DON’T DO IT! DON’T DO IT! DON’T DO IT!”
No wonder we are freaking out. It’s actually disconcerting if it doesn’t worry you at all to drive a needle into your body without hesitation.😆
However, it’s not just the idea of an injection that makes most people object to starting insulin. It’s the social stigma around what starting insulin means for your future.
“People who take insulin are REALLY sick.”
“If you take insulin, you’re going to be on it for the rest of your life.”
“It’s all downhill after you start insulin.”
Many people associate insulin with people who pass out from low blood sugar, have amputations, depend on dialysis, or are very sick and can’t take care of themselves.
And lots of people know that insulin makes you gain weight. Even though lots of my patients have never been told that insulin is a fat storage hormone.🤦
And insulin can be VERY expensive. I just read an article in my favorite pharmacist publication today talking about how “one in four patients with diabetes will ration or even stop their insulin due to skyrocketing costs…sometimes leading to death.”
It seriously breaks my heart.💔
I see so many people in my clinic on Medicare who are paying OUTRAGEOUS co-pays for their insulin. Like, if they can’t get their insulin, they will DIE. These are people who are on social security or disability. They are on a FIXED INCOME. They do not have $300 a month to pay for their Lantus. Duh!
I usually end up finding a way for them to get their insulin, because I am a superhero in that way.
What I am showing you here is that their are many legitimate reasons why people fear starting insulin.
But the MOST important reason to avoid insulin that I want to focus on that probably NO ONE you see in your doctor’s office is talking about is:
INSULIN MAKES YOUR TYPE 2 DIABETES WORSE NOT BETTER.
🤯Say what?
Yeah, let me explain.
You may need to go back to my past post for a more detailed explanation, but here is the summary:
- Type 2 Diabetes (and a bunch of other diseases such as obesity) is caused by TOO MUCH INSULIN.
- Constantly high levels of insulin lead to insulin resistance, the defining characteristic of Type 2 Diabetes. Your body adapts to high insulin levels by learning to ignore it.
- When you become resistant, you have to make MORE insulin for it to work in spite of the resistance.
- You make more insulin to overcome resistance, so your levels become even higher, which makes your resistance even worse. INSULIN RESISTANCE DRIVES ITSELF.
So why would injecting insulin be a good idea? 🤔 Because it will effectively bring your blood sugars down; although, usually you end up requiring more and more over time to have the same effect. Because you become more resistant to it.
So, if you have always thought taking insulin was the last thing you wanted to do, I am showing you ALL the reasons why your intuition was right.
This is why I am very passionate about offering people who are looking at the inevitability of starting insulin injections another option–addressing the cause of their insulin resistance.
What drives high levels of insulin? The short answer is WHEN and WHAT you eat. When you eat food in a way that is constantly asking your pancreas to release insulin, you create the opportunity for insulin resistance.
Instead of injecting insulin, you could just eat in a way so you NEED LESS INSULIN.
And by doing that, you would actually be addressing the cause, the driving force, behind your Type 2 Diabetes.
Because let’s face it: your diabetes is not going to just magically get better. You have been moving in this direction for years if not decades, and the direction is maybe not the way you want to go.
So if you’re being faced with a prescription for insulin, or you are afraid every time you go for your diabetes checkup that insulin is going to on the table for discussion, EMBRACE this decision point.
This is the best time (aside from receiving a new diagnosis) to find your motivation, to get focused, to commit to figuring it out.
And if you’re already on insulin injections, and you want to know: “Can I get off of insulin?” The answer is probably. It depends on how much insulin you are taking, how functional your pancreas is, and how serious you are willing to get with your dietary changes. But I can tell you one thing for sure: you can need LESS of it and you can halt the progression of needing more.
Are you worrying about your diabetes all alone? So many of my people feel like no one understands and no one can help them. This breaks my heart. I want to hear from you. I want to talk with you. I offer a FREE consult where I show people how to get started on taking back control of their lives and their health.
Reach out to me here and I will send you some times to chat.
