What Causes Severe Allergic Reaction When On Insulin Injections?

Posted on Fri, 16 May 2014

Question: I am a type II diabetic and my doctor just took me off all pills and suggested I inject myself three times a day, with insulin, since my blood sugar was still high. I told her I have had a severe allergic reaction to something, I know not what. I am broken out all over, especially my middle where I inject the insulin. I saw her yesterday and told her about and showed her my allergic reaction. I am a vegetarian of over 42 years and had never taken medications before and am sensitive to animals products and fish at times. Is insulin made from animals or grown on eggs as penicillin? I am getting worse, the allergy is spreading. I thought I was eliminating the toxins from glyburide and metformin, I even tried benedryl for five days. What do you suggest? Is there a test for insulin sensitivity? Not sure what to do except put myself in a hospital to get tested, if that's a possibility.

Answered by Dr. M. Vamsi Krishna (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Dear madam I understand your concern

Detailed Answer:
Dear madam I understand your concern.Dear madam first of all i am very sorry for your condition,let me explain you first how insulin is prepared.
In olden days insulin is prepared from pancreas of dead animals like cows and pigs.
In this modern era insulin is prepared from genetic engineering techniques this process is called rDNA(recombinant DNA technology).
The insulin what you are using is a human insulin.
But the problem lies in the preservatives use in insulin,some times there are many case reports showing people having allergies towards this preservatives.

I guess you are not having any kidney related problems.
kindly discuss with your doctor why she stopped metformin,because metformin is a very good drug and prevents your weight gain and there is some research showing that it can prevent cancer also in elderly.usually metformin is stopped in kidney related problems.

There is a solution for your problem of allergy,This method is called ''Insulin Sensitisation''.
your doctor will dilute the insulin in normal saline and give to you in multiple shots by that slowly your body will get sensitised for insulin.try discussing this issue with your doc
I suppose I have given the desired response if you have any other query please write back.
Otherwise please accept & rate my answer. I will appreciate your review about my answer.
Best Regards.
Dr Vamsi Krishna
Consultant Diabetologist

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj