What Happens If You Have
High Levels of Insulin?

Insulin is a hormone that's produced by the pancreas to transport the glucose from the blood to the cells. It helps in maintaining the normal levels of your blood sugar.

When you have type 1 diabetes in Vacaville, your insulin levels are below normal value. But if you have type 2 diabetes, your insulin levels spike to overpower the insulin resistance. Diabetes is a major concern in today's population and for the high sugar levels in the blood to be managed, insulin levels need to be increased either through direct injections or by using drugs to promote its production. Also, when you're pregnant or have pancreatic tumors, your insulin levels become high.

The long-term use of insulin and its excess production can result in unwanted effects in your system. Take a look at these effects brought by hyperinsulinemia and how you could manage it.

What should the healthy numbers be?

Insulin can be measured in either mcU/ml or mIU/ml (microunits per milliliter). The normal insulin levels in the blood of a healthy individual can vary with and without food.

• The fasting value is <25 mIU/L
• After 30 minutes of eating foods, the value is 30 to 230 mIU/L
• After 1 hour of eating foods, the value is 18 to 276 mIU/L
• After 2 hours of eating foods, the value is 16 to 166 mIU/L

If ever the insulin levels are beyond the values mentioned, then it can be considered as hyperinsulinemia.

Risk factors of elevated insulin in Vacaville CA

These are the factors that have the possibility to mae you have increased insulin levels in the blood:

• Early puberty - girls who reached their puberty earlier are found to have increased insulin levels.
• If you're lacking from sleep on a regular basis, you will build up insulin resistance over time thus leading to excess insulin production.
• The stress hormone known as cortisol can make insulin resistance as one of its side effects. It blocks the insulin receptor that indirectly leads to excess insulin production.
• Metabolic syndrome - a combination of hypertension, obesity, and high blood cholesterol levels - can lead to hyperinsulinemia.

Signs that you have hyperinsulinemia

If you have high insulin levels in your blood, these are the symptoms that are commonly experienced:

• Fatigue
• Anxiety and panic
• Excess sugar cravings
• Frequent and intensive hunger
• Lack of focus or motivation
• Weight gain, especially in the waist, that forms an apple shape

Adverse effects of high insulin levels

If you've been using external insulin for too long or you have high levels in the blood, it can create side effects on your different body parts which are as follows:

• Weight gain - A sudden restoration of control over the blood glucose levels among diabetic patients that uses insulin can cause weight gain. The reason is due to the increased use of calories or glucose.
• Blood flow - Hyperinsulinemia can cause a decrease in blood volume and increase its viscosity. It can predispose the patient to a low peripheral perfusion.
• Hypoglycemia - This is a major side effect of having high insulin levels. It can happen to nearly 16% of type 1 diabetic patients and 10% among type 2 diabetic patients. If you're hypoglycemia becomes severe, it can cause confusion, coma, sweating, tachycardia, seizures, and even death. So, it's important to monitor the glucose levels of patients who are using insulin therapy.
• Hypersensitivity reactions - This happens in 1% of patients taking either biosynthetic human insulin or pork insulin. The reactions include heat, swelling, local erythema, or nodule formation. Patients who have a true allergy to insulin can use desensitization kits for their cases.
• Metabolic side effects - Patients who are treated for diabetic ketoacidosis may experience low levels of magnesium, potassium, and phosphates in their blood.
• Cardiovascular consequences - Insulin can cause hypertension by making the nervous system retain sodium. It can even create an imbalance in the blood fats. If hypoglycemia has not yet occurred, then insulin can increase the heart rate of a patient.
• Kidney functioning - Hypoglycemia brought upon by hyperinsulinemia can decrease the blood flow to the kidneys which will result in a reduction of the filtration rate. It can even increase the production of urinary albumin. But if hypoglycemia is managed, these changes can be reversed.
• Lung - The structure and function of the lungs can become affected by having high insulin levels. This is a major concern in nations who have the lowest lung function globally.

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