Proper guide to Insulin use

[ISkiMB]

Okay...in reference to j_100801`s thread, which is currently active in the anabolic discussion...I said I would post an article I came across awhile back concerning proper Insulin use. Just thought I would pass this along, as promised, with the admission that I`m really intrigued by insulin use and can honestly say that i think for competitive bodybuilders...i think it`s a must...in order to get to the top. Matter of fact...i know it is. Can`t take credit for this post but I can honestly say that if you`re considering using slin...read this...and take 2 things out of it...use the meter...and take the "log" rather than the "lin."..here it is...copied

Please note (warning): I have personally used insulin for over 8 years and can control it's effects for my personal level of development. I am not a medical doctor and therefore not fully qualified to recommend insulin use for people. What follows is my experience in 8 years of use and what I have learned. If anyone has additional information that is pertinent, please add to the thread, but do not reply from heresay, only if you are qualified to add something of value to this thread.


Insulin is one of many hormones that helps the body turn the food we eat into energy. Also, insulin helps us store energy that we can use later. After we eat, insulin works by causing sugar (glucose) to go from the blood into our body's cells to make fat, sugar, and protein. When we need more energy between meals, insulin will help us use the fat, sugar, and protein that we have stored. This occurs whether we make our own insulin in the pancreas gland or take it by injection.

8 Years ago when I first made the decision to try insulin, information was limited, the internet was not full of help like it is now and I relied on correspondance from Rich Gaspari and Tim Belknap who were extremely helpful. I started my first insulin use off season, during bulking when it's use is easiest to control. I used Humulin R, regular resonse time insulin for my first cycle. It has a release time of up to 8 hours, so blood sugar monitoring is mandatory. It has an onset of about 1/2 hour, reaching its peak in 2-5 hours and tapering off by hour 8. I used 2iu post workout with 20 grams of sugar per iu, immediately following a workout, increasing 2 iu per week until I reached a maximum of 12iu. Since it will remain active in the body for up to 8 hours, morning workouts were a must. Because I was off season, I was able to take in enough carbs every three hours to keep from going hypo.

My second cycle of insulin was Humulin type L, which is an imtermediate acting insuling; since I was bulking, I decided to try a long acting insulin to stay anabolic all day. It will remain active in the body for 16-20 hours, is active 1/2 hour after injection, reaching its peak in 3-5 hours, will re-peak at 10-12 hours and slowly taper down. You must use a glucometer for any insulin use, but especially with long term insulin. I had to consume minimum 100 grams of carbs every 3 hours during the day, I got nothing but fat off of insulin type L and do not ever recommend anyone use it. It is too hard to control.

I did many cycles of Humulin R for years, progressing from 2iu up to 20iu post workout. After many post workout only cycles of insulin, I started to experiment with insulin use on non-workout days. I again started slowly and increased dosages with monitoring by glucometer. I used only with breakfast at first and then added in an afternoon injection as well. I never went above 10iu at each meal, always checking my blood sugar every 1/2 hour. Yes your fingers will hurt like hell, but I would rather have sore fingers than live in a casket.

Finally Humalog was introduced and I first tried it in 1999. This is what bodybuilders had been waiting for, a fast acting insulin that had a quick onset, short duration and was better controlled through sugar intake. My first cycle of Humalog started with the again customary 2iu postworkout, slowly increasing to 10iu post workout. Humalog has an onset of 15-20 minutes, reaches a peak in 1 hour and will remain active up to 5 hours.

I only recommend Humalog use for anyone considering insulin. It is the easiest to control and work with. Here are my recommendations and guidelines for use:

Start with 2iu postworkout only, drinking 10 grams glucose or dextrose per unit injected. You may slowly increase the dose up to 10iu total but never exceed 10iu, even if you are experienced. You must, I repeat, must use a glucometer, don't even think of using insulin without it. Going by feel for symptoms of hypo is stupid and reckless. You want to make sure your blood sugar levels stay above 80mg/dl ideally, but never let them drop below 40.

Since humalog is active for up to 5 hours, you must make sure not to take it after evening workouts, unless you will be awake for those 5 hours. Insulin levels can crash rapidly and there are no warning signs when you are sleeping. Low levels will make you sleepy, so you just won't wake up - ever!

Your postworkout meal should consist of minimum 10 grams sugar per iu injected plus minimum 50 grams whey protein. Your follow up meal, 1 hour after injection, when it reaches its peak, should consist of easily digested proteins and carbs. No red meat; fish, chicken or turkey are more easily digested. Carbs should be high glycemic, such as potatoes, white rice or pasta.

Your final meal during the 5 hour window can be anything you desire as long as it has a minimum of 75 grams carbs. Oatmeal, red meat etc are all acceptable, and your carbs should ideally be low glycemic to sustain your stabilizing insulin levels.

Insulin should be refridgerated at all times; though it is safe to leave at room temperature for up to 30 days, I don't recommend it.

Your injections should always be sub-q, IM injections do not allow for the regular onset times and delay onset which makes controlling carbs and monitoring sugar levels harder to do.

Ideally injections should be in the lower abdominal area, sub-q. Pinch 1 inch of skin, roll in between your fingers to remove fatty deposits and inject at a 90 degree angle crossing through the skin. This will insure an optimal sub-q injection and less chance of IM or fat injections. Both will slow absorbtion time which we are trying to eliminate.

Take a glucometer reading 1/2 hour after injection to check levels. If they are below 80mg/dl than take in more carbs immediately, take another glucometer reading after the one hour mark to check full onset and reaction. Again, if below 80mg than take in a fast acting carb with your one hour meal.

Signs of hypo include, dizziness, slow slurred speech, light-headedness, sleepiness, lethargy, numbness in the outer limbs, and blurred vision. Never take insulin unsupervised, alway let someone you know that you are injecting so they can help monitor warning signs and symptoms. Remember, the glucometer is your best friend, but someone else may notice symptoms before you do and can assist in raising blood sugar levels immediately.

You may progress to taking Humalog on non-workout days, but only after breakfast, and no more than 10iu. You must work up to the dosage and again follow the above guidelines. Your meals should consist of a mix of fast and slow acting carbs, and always include protein. Milk has fast acting carbs, oatmeal is low glycemic, etc. always use the glycemic index for carbs.

These are the general rules of taking insulin safely and sanely. Again, I do not recommend the casual lifter take insulin ever, it is better left to those who compete and have reached a superior level of development. It is best used to break plateaus, such as with GH or IGF. It is not for newbies, nor for those without minimum 5 years lifting experience with steroid use.

If there is anything I forgot, please PM me or add advice to this thread, but again only by those qualified to do so. You should have at least 5 cycles insulin use to be qualified to help others. This is very serious business and I cannot stress enough, not for the casual lifter.

This is Ski now

INSULIN USERS!!!! Read this.....read it over and over. It`s serious. You`re not talking about just doing a simple cycle of Test/EQ. Youre talking about slin..it`s effects, and how you can use it to your advantage. You should also recognise that you`re dealing with something very serious in your body. Death is a side effect. Read that statement. I hope this helps anyone using...or considering using Slin. It`s that simple. I want to...but I admit...I`m scared to.

[ISkiMB]

Without even looking to see if IS posted a profile on Insulin already....figured I`d post the one I`ve read several times and offer my apologies in advance for not posting this before that first thread on Insulin use, and also if you guys have a similar profile/thread posted somewhere already I just hope that those considering using slin......really read this over and over and think about what you`re doing. I want to....but Im scared to.

Effective dose: 5-15 IU/ day
Average Street-price: $20 for each 10 ml vial (1000 IU)
Available Doses: Humulin-R is most used, and is available without prescription at any pharmacy in 10 ml vials.

Characteristics:

Insulin is not an androgen, or a steroid for that matter. Insulin is a proteinaceous hormone that is secreted from the pancreas, mostly in response to high sugar levels. It's a polypeptide made from 51 amino acids, separated in an A and B chain by a sulfide bridge (Covalent bond). Its main use is to regulate blood sugar levels. If blood sugar levels are too high insulin is released, which stores more glucose in the cells as the polysaccharide glycogen, the prime energy source in the human body. This alone makes it a valuable hormone. But it also increases the uptake of other compounds into the cell. This includes protein. Since anabolic steroids increase protein synthesis, and we eat lots of protein, the only thing missing in that system is a way to get the amino acids to where the protein is synthesized. Insulin can do that. Its interesting to note that insulin does not have a direct negative feedback system like steroids do. When blood sugar levels drop, cells simply become more resistant to the insulin and don't receive as much of an impulse to store glycogen as they would at first. This is important, as it will have certain implications.

Insulin was designed for diabetics, a disease marked by one characteristic : too much blood sugar due to an insulin deficiency. There are two types of diabetics, but this is irrelevant to the discussion at hand. As with anabolic androgenic steroids, taking endogenous insulin will shut down natural pancreatic secretion action. This is not as easily solved as with steroids, where production eventually bounces back. Warning number 1 : Insulin use can, and in the long run will, make you a life-time diabetic. Keep that in mind before you decide that insulin might be for you. On the one hand this is a good way to get a discount maybe, on the other hand, injecting daily for the rest of your life is not a pleasant outlook. On second thought scratch that, there is no positive side as insulin is available freely without prescription at a fairly low cost. This is because when a diabetic does not get his insulin in time it may be fatal. When a diabetic goes into seizure you don't want to waste time going to a doctor to quickly obtain a prescription. By then its too late.

There are three types of non-prescription insulin. Fast-acting, which is mostly used, known as Humulin-R. Then there is an intermediate form (Humulin-N or Humulin-L) which can last almost three times as long, which means up to a day. And lastly there is the Humulin-U, which stays active for longer. Particularly useful for diabetics who may forget their shots, as it stays active longer than a day. There is also a really fast-acting form called Humalog, but this is only available via prescription since it's the most easily abused and the Humulin-R suffices for most diabetics. Humulin-R is the compound most used by the way because it's the shortest acting form. Yes, that's a good thing. In fact it's a very good thing. When administering supra-physiological doses of insulin, more glucose is stored as glycogen resulting in a lower blood sugar level. When your blood sugar level is too low, its called hypoglycemia and it can cause you to go into shock and die. Warning number 2 : If proper protocol for using insulin is not followed, you can die. This has two definite implications. First of all it explains why you want the short-acting form. Blood sugar levels need to be monitored over the active time, so you obviously don't want it to stay active for 24 hours or longer. The second implication is that obviously sugar has to be taken with the insulin to prevent hypoglycemia and sugar needs to be kept on hand for the entire duration of activity, which is 6-8 hours. If dizziness or weakness occurs, more sugar has to be taken. This will be discussed in the how to use section.

Initially, doses of insulin will make you leaner as you store more carbs that would otherwise be stored as fat. But as people will tell you, it eventually has a tendency to make you fat. As indicated earlier, there is no negative feedback, but cells develop a resistance to insulin, in which case circulating excess carbs will be processed as adipose tissue. And if you know what's good for you, you will have circulating extra carbs.

Stacking and Use:

Insulin is obviously best stacked with some form of anabolic androgenic steroid. Its mostly added to stacks including the extremely expensive human growth hormone.

Its proper use entails a single shot once a day of a short-acting compound. Usually Humulin-R, unless Humalog can be obtained. Its best used after a training session, when the body already has a tendency to store more carbs and protein. Although some people prefer other times of day. The standard protocol suggests the use of 1 IU per 20 pounds of bodyweight, but you would do best to start out at a lower dose like 2-4 IU and then work your way up a bit, until you feel you are taking enough. As doses increase, so does the amount of sugar that is ingested with them. Again a standard of 10 grams per IU is given, but I would recommend a dose of 150 grams regardless of the amount as long as it is below 15 IU's, if it is higher then add 10 grams for every IU. Since the compound stays active for 6-8 hours, hypoglycemia can occur at any moment during this time span. So consuming carbs during this time is advised, and at the very least keep a large amount of them handy, so you can act quickly. Dizziness, weakness and feeling sleepy are all pretty indicative of the onset of hypoglycemia and a good sign that you should take another good dose of sugar.

The carb source suggested here should be glucose (dextrose). This is basically blood sugar and will absorb the fastest, minimizing the risk as opposed to other carbs. Mix 150 grams in water and consume within 20 minutes of the injection and keep a glass with another 150 grams handy. If you finish the glass, immediately prepare another until the insulin has cleared the blood.

Again a reminder of the high risk involved with insulin. It can make you a life-long diabetic and in the worst case, it can kill you. I strongly advise against the use of insulin compounds. Should you not heed my warning, follow the protocol to the letter. One slip could mean your life.

[Adam F]

Very nice post. More people need to be educated on insulin use. I have seen newbies in the past thinking it was alright to use insulin with no prior knowledge to AAS.

[access]

That's a good read Iski. I guess I'll never say never to anything but insulin is one thing I doubt I would try.