Alright here we go. I have never been overweight or even border line, but now I am creeping ever so slightly over the line. I started taking Novolog (instead of Apidra) at the end of December 2010. Since then I have gained an additional 12 pounds. Now I exercise (cardio and strength), and have a pretty consistent food intake of about 1200-1500 calories a day/45 carbs per meal with a 15 carb snack in between meals. What's the deal?! I remember when I initially started taking Apidra I gained about 15 to 20 pounds, but that is pretty much gone now. I don't have a thyroid problem and I am at my wits end with all this weight gain. Please help! Is there a way to take care of myself without having to worry with all this weight gain. Also, a certain part of my female anatomy keeps getting bigger...is that normal??
I don't know about the rest of it but if you're gaining weight and a lot of it is going to your chest that's totally normal. That area's mostly fat tissue.
My doctor told me that insulin doesn't make you gain weight. But there are conflicting opinions on that. I definately gained weight on Novolog but that's because it was the insulin I started out on and a lot of that weight gain was just having energy go back into my muscles.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Are your blood sugars better since you've been gaining weight? If so, that means your body is actually absorbing all the calories that it used you flush out when blood sugar was high.
Sometimes people also overlook the calories they eat to treat lows. Try to avoid them if you can.
Take care.
T1 since 1977 Minimed pump since 2002
In the 1990s I started using Humalog. I gained 57 pounds by the end of the decade. I had never been more than 5 pounds overweight prior to that. there was no difference in my diet or exercise. I gained so much weight that I was diagnosed with insulin resistance, and had to start taking a type 2 med along with my insulin. I gradually lowered my carb intake to 130g per day and increased my exercise. I lost most of the weight gain, and am now only 11 pounds overweight. I feel good, but I will always have the insulin resistance. A type 1 diabetic with insulin resistance is called a double diabetic. It is manageable, and I am still very healthy after 65 years of type 1. No big deal, just one more pill each day. Lol!
Diagnosed in 1945, when I was 6. Pumping with the MM 522. A1c = 5.5
See my profile for information about my book.
Finally I think I may of found a reason for my weight gain. Over the last 8 months since I've been on novolog, I've gained about 15 pounds. It has made me sooooo depressed. I'm not overweight, but I'm only 5"3'' so it's harder to "hide" that little extra. Before my dx, I was in great shape. I had the ideal body weight for my height. Then after I got dxed, I started to notice a slight weight gain. Lol I come from a family where a lean body is a good body, so I started to panic a little. The weird thing is that I hadn't changed the way I ate and worked out, I may even of gotten better with it. So when I started to gain instead of lose, I was so confused as to why. I blamed some things for it- high sugars, having to eat sugary foods a lot because I was always low, too much insulin. Now I think it very well could be my novolog- just going by what I've seen since I've been on it. I'm going to see my D doc tomorrow so I'll definitely talk to her and ask her if she can help! Maybe I'll just need to cut back on my carb intake.
I think that it's probably not the novalog itself, but one of the other reasons discussed in this thread such as eating more for lows, etc. I used to use humalog, but switched to novalog several years ago. I did not gain any weight at that time.
I can't comment for overall weight gain, however insulin such as Humalog and Novalog do promote fat cell growth wherever you inject the insulin into.