July 10, 2002
Insulin
Question from Zagreb, Croatia:
I am 30 years old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was nine, and I have just recently found out about the adverse effects of human insulin. The first night I was switched to it, I went into severe hypoglycemia which left one half of my body paralyzed (which s returned to normal afterwards), and that was just the onset of many of such hypoglycemic episodes, each of which was worse than the previous one.
After putting the puzzle pieces together, I realized that this was the same time my estrogen levels started going crazy, and I started having extremely irregular periods. I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome two years ago, but I hadn’t received a proper treatment. Of course, my condition deteriorated severely. I never had any problems before with acne (not even during puberty), and now my ovaries are enlarged, I have no periods, and my face is full of acne. Finally, I started taking oral contraceptives, which of course make my sugar levels skyrocket.
Is there any research on the connection between type 1 diabetes, PCOS and human insulin? I know women diagnosed with PCOS can get type 2 diabetes, but is there a proven connection between type 1 and PCOS? Can human insulin lead to estrogen and androgen flying off the handle?
Answer:
You are correct that there is a relationship between Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and type 2 diabetes. It sounds like you really needed to be put on the oral contraceptive for control of the hyperandrogenism. It should also be noted that weight loss (if you are overweight) is also very helpful. It is true that oral contraceptives can make blood sugars worse as a result of increasing insulin resistance. In clinical practice, this usually results in a minor increase in your insulin dose. Human insulin does not have an association with the development of PCOS.
JTL
