[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

Brilliant, we can post here when we're having hypos, it'll be like drunk posting for diabetics :pac:

CathyMoran wrote: »

Am lucky that I have my husband for hypos at night, he was in hospital for a few days recently and I was setting an alarm for every hour - my bloods are that unstable.

Hope your feeling a little more relaxed now he's back, I've had stages over my life where I have been similar (with control, not pregnancy ). It's an incredible stress that no one needs. I remember doing the alarm thing, thinking as I fall asleep I might not wake up, it's a horrible feeling.

Caros wrote: »

Hi guys, I've been type 2 diabetic for the last few years and on glucophage and diamicron. My last hba1c's were 12.4 (!) in January, and my gp said she'd refer me to see an endicrinologist about going on insulin - still waiting. Blood sugar levels are all over the place, 17.2 at 9.30p.m. last night, 11.4 this a.m. I feel at this stage if I eat a lettuce leaf my bloods are going up.
I don't have medical insurance or a medical card, but I do have a long term illness card. Can anyone tell me if I go privately to see the endicrinologist would it get me in quicker?

Are you attending a Diabetic Clinic in any hospital yet? It sounds like your not but I could be wrong, get yourself signed up to one ASAP, they will have nurses and doctors dedicated to the diabetes as well as be able to give reasonably quick referrals to other specialists inside the hospital.

Caros wrote: »

Thank you Cramcycle, no I'm not attending a diabetic linic, moved counties (Cork to Kerry) a year and half ago, and moved GP's also. I was attending a diabetic clinic in Cork. Does the referral for the Diabetic clinic have to come from GP?
I'm getting quite worried now with my levels.

It may be awkward but I would ring up your old clinic and try and arrange an appointment ASAP, if you can get down to them that is. Not sure if you need a referral from a GP or not if you want to move to another clinic, your old clinic might be able to arrange the transfer.

robinph wrote: »

Stupid GP.

Three weeks ago picked up a prescription of 1 vial as it was needed quickly to get me started on the pump a couple of days later. Realised pretty quickly that 1 vial was only going to last just over a week so ordered some more, still not sure entirely so had only ordered another 2 as I figured that would do for now.

They only give me another 1, pharmacist thinks it's daft and says to order 10 at a time. Order 10.

Today they give me another 1 vial. So go in and explain to the receptionist yet again that 10 does not equal 1.

If they are trying to save money on what they prescribe then I've already done that by now having far more kit signed off by the hospital. I'm sure the price for a vial of insulin is less than it was for two different types of prefilled pens and the two different types of needles to then fit them.

Will the Pharmacist not just add onto your name on the computer in the Pharmacy? Normallly ( I am guessing) since its something you will continually use you would get a script to stick into your LTI book and get your local health board to stamp it. Any pharmacist I have ever met is happy to honour the script even before the HSE has stamped it off.

My pharmacist also always gives me the number I ask for for anything rather than the number listed on the script/LTI book to save me coming in every few days.

IrishLady wrote: »

My young brother was diagnosed last year with type 1 and his insulin is going to be changed from novamix to novarapid and lantus because his sugar level is high alot lately(even though he excercises and eats healthy... meaning i will have to inject him 5 times a day instead of twice daily .. Anyone else on this insulin just wondering is it any use?? Im starting him 2morrow im nervous for him but hopefully it goes well.

As Cathy says, seems to be far better for control than the novomix. As far as I knew (well thought I knew) they had stopped prescribing that awhile ago unless you had good control with it already, as most people find it difficult to get good control or adapt their regime/lifestyle to suit the dosage or the lifestyle.

xxshebeexx wrote: »

How does everyone work their pens, those who inject? Do you put on a fresh needle every time, taking it off after? Or use it a few times?

I used to use a needle two or three times, until they were blunt and started being hard to push into my skin. I very rarely got bruises or pain when injecting.

Recently though, I've started putting a new needle on nearly every time because injecting has starting hurting horribly. I inject around the tummy area, but I always rotate the site, after all the scary warnings from the doctors. But I still end up with lots of bruises. Most of them are small, but a few times a month I get bigger ones and once I had one that covered about a quarter of my abdominal area.. it was huge and black and very painful.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I'm rotating, using fresh needles (the smallest size that fit on the Novarapid and Levemir pens) and taking my time with it. I asked my doctor and he said that I was probably hitting nerves and just to move the needle over ever so slightly to a new site. Whenever I go to the clinic, I don't have bruises to show - of course!!!

Has this happened to anyone else? I just don't understand how I went from re-using needles and being grand, to using fresh needles and drawing blood most times I inject My poor tummy is getting fed up with me poking it like a pin cushion!

Do you use any other sites other than your stomach? It sounds like you are just rotating round there. You could try moving to your arms(tricep area)/legs(outer/inner thigh)/ass(top off).

Not rotating sites enough can lead to problems such as loss of feeling in the area due to nerve damage, can lower your absorption rates or make the rates irregular due to damage to fatty tissue under the skin. Personally i got Lipoatrophy where the fat wasted away on my inner thighs as a child because I never rotated the sites. It took almost 10 years for the hollows to disappear completely. This is unusual and most people will get lipohypertrophy where the building up of fat under the skin causes it to harden and more difficult to inject.

I have had bad bruising before but not often. The bruising is usually just from hitting an unusually large blood vessel near the skin which doesn't clot immediately and is usually pretty rare and not harmful. The pain could also be from aggrevating a nerve directly (so my doc told me) again rare enough, usually happens to me once a week.

Having a bad week this week, no real reason but it did give me a hypo symptom I haven't had in several years and it is by far the worst I know off. Does everyone get fairly varied symptoms or do you repeat the same ones each time? I think I know all of mine but they are tremendously varied. I prefer the physical symptoms as the mental symptoms are often borderline traumatic (some are enjoyable but not enough to make it worth it).

Do people get just one symptom or multiple?

tbh wrote: »

I get multiple, but always the same ones. The one that annoys me mist is that I get a line of a song that just repeats relentlessly in my head - hate that!

Thats a hypo symptom? Oh crap

Guinness in my local and then whatever is going well wherever I am. Developed quite a fondness for Belfast Black over the last few months.

Like Robinph, I wouldn't drink Bulmers on principle but I wouldn't turn down a nice cider if it was put in front of me

While we are on the topic of drink, just interested what were the recommendations by your doctors/nurses?

I was recommended to drink Pilsner and the like or Guinness (lucky me as I like both) and to stay away from lager and alcopops. Spirits were recommended to me above lager.

Is this typical or has it even come up in conversation with your nurse/doctor at all?

BC wrote: »

I had a dentist tell me that i needed extra checkups because of all the extra sugar i'd be eating due to my diabetes :rolleyes:

I'm actually more surprised by that than the doctors comments. I have several friends (2) who are dentists and they are given very specific training on warning Diabetics about blood sugar levels and the increased risk of gum disease

eilo1 wrote: »

Im really suprised by the doctors comments!! I would definetly change gp's!

Quick question for everyone, do you all measure your blood sugars in mmol? So your readings are 5.5, 17.5, 8.3 etc?

I just ask because we are having a lecture in Diabetes next week in college and I had a look a the notes his morning. The lecturer has put all readings in the american format of 110, 70, 140 etc.

Is there some move to change the irish numbers to match the american ones?

I was under the impression that there was a move to change the american ones to mmol/L in the future as they are the only ones who use it. Knowing lecturers, he probably pulled the notes of someone else and never edited them, regardless in Ireland we use mmol/L and there is no move to change this system, your lecturer should be doing the same. You should ask him is there a reason, at least he'll know your paying attention