Do you have some sign of Insulin Resistance? (Yes if one sign or more)

[pattismith]

12 Signs of Insulin Resistance | Liver Doctor

Signs and symptoms of chronically elevated insulin

• Fatty liver
• Abdominal obesity. As the waist grows larger, insulin becomes increasingly ineffective in your body, therefore levels of this hormone rise.
• Hunger and cravings for sugar or carbohydrate rich foods. People with high blood insulin are hungry and nothing will satisfy their appetite like carbs!
• Elevated blood sugar. A fasting blood sugar level greater than 97mg/dL (5.4mmol/L) indicates insulin resistance.
• Acne and large pores on the face. Insulin and its cousin insulin-like growth factor 1 promote higher levels of the male hormone testosterone and increase the sensitivity of your face to testosterone. That means you’re more likely to experience acne and greasy skin.
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Scalp hair loss in women in the male pattern (front and sides).
• Skin tags.
• Increased risk of gout. People who are insulin resistant are sensitive to fructose and convert too much of it into uric acid. Elevated uric acid can raise the risk of gout and kidney stones.
• Acanthosis nigricans - look at this picture of what this skin condition looks like
• High blood pressure
• Swollen ankles. Insulin tells your kidneys to hang on to sodium and water, therefore you will look more puffy. You can experience fluid retention anywhere on your body, such as your fingers, face and abdomen.

I wish to add myself some other IR signs:

• Headache
• Neuropathy
• Muscle Delayed Relaxation
• MPV elevation Mean Platelet Volume, a marker of platelet activation

 

[linusbert]

Signs and symptoms of chronically elevated insulin

• Fatty liver MAYBE
• Abdominal obesity. As the waist grows larger, insulin becomes increasingly ineffective in your body, therefore levels of this hormone rise. YES
• Hunger and cravings for sugar or carbohydrate rich foods. People with high blood insulin are hungry and nothing will satisfy their appetite like carbs! not at all, i have no hunger, i despise sugary food and crave fatty food instead
• Elevated blood sugar. A fasting blood sugar level greater than 97mg/dL (5.4mmol/L) indicates insulin resistance. YES
• Acne and large pores on the face. Insulin and its cousin insulin-like growth factor 1 promote higher levels of the male hormone testosterone and increase the sensitivity of your face to testosterone. That means you’re more likely to experience acne and greasy skin. not face, but on shoulders and back
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome no am male
• Scalp hair loss in women in the male pattern (front and sides). no
• Skin tags. yes
• Increased risk of gout. People who are insulin resistant are sensitive to fructose and convert too much of it into uric acid. Elevated uric acid can raise the risk of gout and kidney stones. good to know, no symptoms yet
• Acanthosis nigricans - look at this picture of what this skin condition looks like no
• High blood pressure yes
• Swollen ankles. Insulin tells your kidneys to hang on to sodium and water, therefore you will look more puffy. You can experience fluid retention anywhere on your body, such as your fingers, face and abdomen. yes

I wish to add myself some other IR signs:

• Headache no
• Neuropathy no
• Muscle Delayed Relaxation yes

my response in YELLOW.
i do have diabetes now though. A1C of 7 with insulin injections.
but i had signs of high insuline als when prediabetic and sugar bellow 100mg/dl
i also had signs of low sugar when it was indeed 100mg/dl. that was before i became diabetic.

 

[Mimicry]

Many of the signs can result from other ailments too or just be normal characteristics so I feel like the wording is a bit... Weird? I answered no, because of these "signs" I regularly have only neuropathy and headaches, and sometimes carb cravings. The pores in my cheeks are a bit enlargened and I have a greasy skin type. Those hardly indicate insulin resistance by themselves. My liver enzymes and glucose levels have always been perfect, they were last checked in July.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

There is something that makes me feel temporarily poisoned. And it happens usually when it looks like I need to eat more food, so some type of hypoglycemic thing.

Its truly awful. (that poisoned feeling) and sometimes it happens for 3 seconds, other times for twenty minutes.

I assume thats my insulin is all messed up.

 

[Zebra]

Hi, @pattismith

I responded no (across the board), but my sister, who has EDS and ME/CFS, could answer yes to all but one of the conditions on your list. Yikes!

Would you be willing to recommend some blood tests for her? If so, I sure would appreciate it.

 

[pattismith]

my response in YELLOW.
i do have diabetes now though. A1C of 7 with insulin injections.
but i had signs of high insuline als when prediabetic and sugar bellow 100mg/dl
i also had signs of low sugar when it was indeed 100mg/dl. that was before i became diabetic.

As you see, Insulin resistance signs can happen long before becoming diabetic.
This is the reason why I am convince many people are insulin resistant and do not even realize it.

Hi, @pattismith

I responded no (across the board), but my sister, who has EDS and ME/CFS, could answer yes to all but one of the conditions on your list. Yikes!

Would you be willing to recommend some blood tests for her? If so, I sure would appreciate it.

Hi @Zebra , I'm not a doctor, so can't answer. But I feel sorry for your sister, is she diabetic?

 

[linusbert]

As you see, Insulin resistance signs can happen long before becoming diabetic.
This is the reason why I am convince many people are insulin resistant and do not even realize it.

for me that was true. i also was really lightweight like 185cm and 65kg.
when i did a fructose malabsorption test we also did a OGTT at the same time. despite my sugar beeing below 100mg/dl and my A1C beeing like 5 , the OGTT was bad and suggested prediabetes.
after 2 hours my sugar should have cleared back to 100mg/dl... but it was above 150mg/dl.
even with this clear results the MDs just dismissed the findings because i was to leightweight to be diabetic.

 

[Zebra]

Hi @Zebra , I'm not a doctor, so can't answer. But I feel sorry for your sister, is she diabetic?

Thank you. I feel sorry for my sister, too. And no, she is not a diabetic.

I know you are not a doctor, but with all the research you are currently doing and sharing on PR, I thought you might have an idea of what blood tests could be run to assess someone for insulin resistance.

 

[pattismith]

Thank you. I feel sorry for my sister, too. And no, she is not a diabetic.

I know you are not a doctor, but with all the research you are currently doing and sharing on PR, I thought you might have an idea of what blood tests could be run to assess someone for insulin resistance.

with the little knowledge I have, I would say that fasting glucose is not a very sensitive test to detect insulin resistance. This means it can be fine and you can still have insulin resistance.

RANTES test and glycated end products test (hba1c = glycated Hemoglobin) are more informative about your body exposure to sugar.

The problem with this test is it can be closely correlated to your current diet. This mean that if you do a very low carb diet, you may have normal test but still have insulin resistance.

Oral Glucose Test seems more interesting than fasting glucose alone and still informative whatever your current diet I think.

..............................................................................What is an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test? | Penlan Healthcare

The test used in article research is mostly the HOMA-IR:

(fasting Glucose x fasting Insulin)/405

Spoiler: some other index I found

Calculation of Insulin Resistance and Secretion | Download Table (researchgate.net)

 

[linusbert]

Oral Glucose Test seems more interesting than fasting glucose alone and still informative whatever your current diet I think.

very good information.
Also the OGTT can be done at home.

 

[pattismith]

I added one more insulin resistance Sign : high Mean Platelet Volume (a marker for platelet activation).

 

[Marylib]

My blood sugar has been messed up for a long time - but I don't have access to those tests now. I did the all day glucose tolerance test when I was young and healthy and all the doc said was 'it's messed up. get lots of exercise to avoid type 2 diabetes.' It's always 'normal' on the standard tests. I want to try metformin. It's one of those things they are looking at through Simmaron Research. But no one will be allowed to prescribe it for me unless I want to endure the hell of that all day test again. It was miserable. You drink a huge amount carbonated sugar, basically - then they take your blood and urine all day long while you feel like holy hell if indeed you have a problem. Since I can't exercise, I don't get the blood sugar drops I used to get when I did exercise - the ones where you keel over. I was getting those plus nausea when trying to eat in the mornings. It was a cycle.

 

[Marylib]

Wow - only two hours these days for the Oral Glucose Test? It was maybe 6 hours when I did it back in the 1980's. That is less time to suffer for sure. The trick is swallowing that much sugar without throwing it up. Maybe they have improved that too. I got the size of an old coca cola bottle - it was orange and I wanted to throw up after one sip but the nurse said to try to keep it down, so I managed.

Oral Glucose Test seems more interesting than fasting glucose alone and still informative whatever your current diet I think.

 

[linusbert]

I want to try metformin. It's one of those things they are looking at through Simmaron Research. But no one will be allowed to prescribe it for me unless I want to endure the hell of that all day test again.

tried Berberine? it works basically the same way metformin does, dose equivalent, some people suggest it has less side effects especially regarding GI discomfort and B12/folate deficiencies metformin might cause.
for me i got the same side effects, so metformin and berberine are not for me. for me pioglitazone worked wonders for 3 month.
you might also want to try high dose B1/benfothiamine/allithiamine with a b-complex and multi mineral.

got the size of an old coca cola bottle

urks. i got like a 0,3 bottle and it had some fructose mixture in it. i actually did a fructose malabsorption test, the ogtt was just done because we could do it as well when i was already drinking it.

 

[sb4]

@Marylib If you wanted to try Metformin you could always use an online pharmacy with no prescription.

@linusbert You had the same reaction to berberine as metformin? I had GI upset with berberine but have been considering trialing metformin.

 

[linusbert]

@linusbert You had the same reaction to berberine as metformin? I had GI upset with berberine but have been considering trialing metformin.

yes, my reaction was worsening of my diabetes and muscle problems got slightly worse.
i took it after meal, i did not have GI upset.

 

[IThinkImTurningJapanese]

I've been practicing intermittent fasting which has lead to really healthy insulin sensitivity. It's also great for energy when I have day of activity, my liver readily engages in gluconeogenesis and prevents me from having blood sugar crashes or even hunger.

My triglycerides recently tested at 35mg/dl. I'm not an elite athlete though.

Peter Attia - What if we're wrong about diabetes?
Please watch till the end.

 

[Marylib]

@Marylib If you wanted to try Metformin you could always use an online pharmacy with no prescription.

@linusbert You had the same reaction to berberine as metformin? I had GI upset with berberine but have been considering trialing metformin.

Which will be seized at the border - not worth spending the money.

 

[Marylib]

tried Berberine? it works basically the same way metformin does, dose equivalent, some people suggest it has less side effects especially regarding GI discomfort and B12/folate deficiencies metformin might cause.
for me i got the same side effects, so metformin and berberine are not for me. for me pioglitazone worked wonders for 3 month.
you might also want to try high dose B1/benfothiamine/allithiamine with a b-complex and multi mineral.


urks. i got like a 0,3 bottle and it had some fructose mixture in it. i actually did a fructose malabsorption test, the ogtt was just done because we could do it as well when i was already drinking it.

Been there done that - thanks.

 

[Linaria]

This is a great list of signs!
I had no idea skin tags were a sign of poor insulin/glucose regulation. Had many as a kid/teen.
I currently have 10 of these on the list. The male pattern hair loss is a real drag.

Intermittent fasting helped me in the past when I was doing better. Had a huge crash since having covid, I couldn’t handle fasting for about a year. Here’s my sign to try IF again!
These days, what has seemingly helped: high fiber, low sugar, low fat (APOE4), moderate protein (overmethylator), consistent meal/snack times, LED red light therapy, B1 (benfo), B2, and manganese.

I’ve started taking more walks recently, and I think that’s helping too.