Patient/caregiver was instructed upon side-effects of insulin administration as follows:
Lipodystrophy
- Insulin is administered into the less sensitive layer of fatty tissue, just underneath the skin (subcutaneous fat). Injecting insulin into the fat layer beneath the skin can help absorption of insulin into the blood stream at a desired and consistent rate.
- Administering insulin over and over again in the same subcutaneous site can lead to development of scar tissue from serious damage to the subcutaneous fat or lead to development of hardened lumps in the subcutaneous fat with thick rubbery consistency. This alteration of the fatty tissue beneath the skin is called lipodystrophy.
- Lipodystrophy inhibits fair absorption of insulin administered into the subcutaneous fatty tissue. This results in poor blood sugar control, continued elevated blood sugar numbers, poor glucose transport from the blood into the tissues, compromised tissue metabolism, and poor control of diabetes symptoms.
- Poor control of blood sugar numbers and diabetes symptoms over time can necessitate your clinician to increase your dose on insulin intake, to help your blood sugar numbers fall in place and thus obtain improved relief from diabetes symptoms.
- To prevent lipodystrophy of the subcutaneous fatty tissue, avoid insulin administration into the same site over and over again. Frequent changing of the insulin administration site can offer the previous injection site a chance to heal. Observing compliance with guidelines on insulin injection site rotation can help prevent development of lipodystrophy.
Hypokalemia
- Apart from blood sugar control, insulin plays an important role in shifting the potassium from the blood into the cells, thus lowering the potassium levels in the blood.
- Potassium levels in the blood should be maintained in a close range. Too high (hyperkalemia) or too low (hypokalemia) levels of blood potassium, in comparison to normal, can be seriously detrimental to the function of heart.
- Insulin administration in individuals inherently at risk hypokalemia or administering excess insulin to recommended dose can result in insulin increasingly shifting the potassium from the blood into the cells, thus lowering the blood potassium levels to dangerous levels. This can invite risk for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias.
- Observing strict compliance with ADA dietary recommendations and intake of recommended insulin dose can help with preventing hypokalemic episodes. Individuals taking insulin must observe compliance with periodical labs ordered, which can provide an input on potassium levels in the blood.
