[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

Eurovisionmad

In hospital now, they're lowering my blood sugars as we speak, I've meet my consultant and they're going to show me how to inject myself in the morning so all is fine :-)

robinph

That's great. You should be feeling better already.

calfmuscle

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

In hospital now, they're lowering my blood sugars as we speak, I've meet my consultant and they're going to show me how to inject myself in the morning so all is fine :-)

Oh no, Im so sorry for you!! Which hospital are you in?

Please try not to worry too much, you will be absolutely fine.

Feel free to pm me and Im sure the other's as well if you have any questions etc.

Oh and I know how bloody sore those arterial blood gasses are but they are for a good reason!

good luck we are thinking of you!

BlackEdelweiss

Welcome to the club. I'm a relative newcomer to it myself with just 2 1/2 years behind me but as I said before, it was the best thing that happened to me. I know it is different for people who were diagnosed when they were younger and it was a lot to deal with as a kid or teenager but I suppose I was lucky I dident get it till I was 35 and had done my partying, sweet eating not giving a sh1t about anything. But the main point now is that you have diabetes and there is nothing you can do to change that, you will have to change your whole life to accommodate it but it is there for the long haul. I describe it like a travelling companion, sometimes you get on well other times they annoy the sh1t out of you and you want to tell them to fcuk off but then things cool down again and you get back on your journey.
My diabetes has stopped me eating so much crap, my jean size has gone from a 36 to a nice 32, I exercise semi regularly, not as much as I should but more than I did and I look and feel 10 years younger. I honestly believe that I will live longer with diabetes than I would have without it if I can manage to get my diet straight and my exercise sorted out.
I know I sound all happy about it but it was not all plain sailing to get to this point, I went through a good year of close to depression and wondering why me and wishing I could go back to my old life but it took another more serious health scare to make me realise that having diabetes is not the end of the world, most people could do without it but take a look around the long term illness forum and you will see people who would trade their illness with your diabetes any day. I made a promise to myself that if I got the all clear on the other issue I would never complain about my diabetes again. I might have given the odd grumble but I have never complained about it. I know there may be complications around the corner, I have a few minor nerve ending things already but I will deal with those as they come and try to make the most of my life between now and then.

As calfmuscle said feel free to pm anyone on here or just post on the forum, a supporting answer is never far away.

Special Agent Oso

Im diabetic just over 6 years now and when i was first diagnosed my blood sugar reading was 24 - that was taken by my gp and when i had gotten to the hospital later that evening my reading was up to 28. Diabetes is in my family so i knew the signs but didnt face up to it as quickly as i could have. The thirst was a big one for me as well and running to the toilet in the middle of the night but i also lost a load of weight - which 3 months before my wedding didnt hurt the ol' photos one bit ha - but also my energy levels dropped something serious. That was probably my worst problem tbh. I was working on the building sites at the time and by the time 3/4pm came i was out on my feet every single day. Diabetes is more than managable and you can easily have a normal life without to much trouble but you do need to look after yourself and watch what you eat and when you eat it, i usually have my meals every 4/5 hours or so depending on what my day holds for me. With all the different illness' out there, diabetes isn't the worst. We can live without having chocolate morning, noon and night. Best of luck.

Eurovisionmad

I was lucky enough to get into the Bons so I was seen to very quickly, I'm still in ICU, it was hoped I'd have moved to a normal ward by now but my keytones remain stubbornly high (over 3) and none of the diabetic nurses were working today so I'm certainly still in here until tomorrow!

cynder

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

I was lucky enough to get into the Bons so I was seen to very quickly, I'm still in ICU, it was hoped I'd have moved to a normal ward by now but my keytones remain stubbornly high (over 3) and none of the diabetic nurses were working today so I'm certainly still in here until tomorrow!

Jeez, my lady was diagnosed age 7 and was going into a coma, her bloods were 46 and ketones were high she was in ketoacidosis, they kept her in resus for 8 hours and then transferred her to the ward, it was a Sunday and they had to call in the consultant as ketoacidosis is considered a medical emergency. She was on insulin, saline and glucose drips. Wires everywhere took 3 days go bring the ketones down. She was on the insulin drip for 3 days. She had lost nearly 2 stone in weight... Had symptoms from the Christmas.

She was released on day 5. The consultant was paid extra by VHI for being called in on a Sunday and he was also paid extra because she was a medical emergency...

She is 12 now. Had her 5 year anniversary in february.

Every time my daughter has gone into a and e for diabetes related problem. she has been taken immediately. No waiting.


You will have good days and bad days, take it each day at a time...

cynder

She is back at the clinic tomorrow, hope they have located her file....

Dreading the hba1c. It was 11%. The last day... Tbh I dont think it has improved much . ...


Hoping they don't keep her in!

robinph

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

I was lucky enough to get into the Bons so I was seen to very quickly, I'm still in ICU, it was hoped I'd have moved to a normal ward by now but my keytones remain stubbornly high (over 3) and none of the diabetic nurses were working today so I'm certainly still in here until tomorrow!

Great to hear that you are getting sorted now.

Royal Legend

Can someone settle a debate between me and my better half.
She claims that when you get diabetes you lose weight due to the meds?
I have lost weight and I claim its to do with not eating cr ap.
I am type two and on 2 x 500mg tablets per day, do these help you lose weight?

tbh

Royal Legend wrote: »

Can someone settle a debate between me and my better half.
She claims that when you get diabetes you lose weight due to the meds?
I have lost weight and I claim its to do with not eating cr ap.
I am type two and on 2 x 500mg tablets per day, do these help you lose weight?

On the contrary - you tend to gain weight due to the meds.

Enjoy the victory

BlackEdelweiss

I lost loads of weight before I got diagnosed and continued to loose it while on tablets as I had stopped eating crap almost altogether. I started putting the weight back on when I started on insulin, I put on a stone in a few weeks as I was eating so much more. The result is I now have loads of size 30 jeans and tops that are way too tight for me that I dont think I will ever fit into again.

cynder

Just back from limerick clinic, her hab1c was 10.4. Down .6. They said she has put on 4 kg which indicates she is getting better control of her diabetes. If her bloods were running high she wouldn't gain weight...

They have added 2 more units to am insulin and phone them back in a week and they might up the pm insulins

BlackEdelweiss

I was in the clinic yesterday to see my new consultant, Mr Khamis I think. My 4th in 2 and a half years. He was quite nice and seemed to take an interest in each persons case, this meant a long wait but I was glad to see somebody actually trying to get to the bottom of my strange type of diabetes. I am very sensitive to insulin but I still have to take enough for my body to use it properly, hence the hundred of hypos over the 2 years. He said I have what is known as brittle diabetes and the only solution for me is a pump at some stage which I am not too keen on. My Hba1c is 8.4 which is up a bit from the last time but I expected that as my blood has been all over the place this last month. I was on 3 injections a day as the last consultant took me off my morning jag to stop my regular 11am hypo. This guy put me back on the morning jag but decreased my dinner dose and changed my night time insulin from Lantus to Levemir which is meant to be less harsh regarding hypos.

ScouseMouse

Im still on the assessment trail. Dont have much information. Not at a clinic yet. My GP is still trying to control it. Started at glucose 18, two months ago 6.4, yesterday 7.4

Hb1ac is at 68.

Cholesterol at 3.7

On Janumet morning and evening, distaglyc in the morning.

How does that sound? Dont know what half of this stuff means !

BlackEdelweiss

I have some insulin pens that were not stored in the fridge for about a month or so, they are unopened but unrefrigerated. Can I still use them or should I dispose of them?

calfmuscle

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I have some insulin pens that were not stored in the fridge for about a month or so, they are unopened but unrefrigerated. Can I still use them or should I dispose of them?

Dispose of them.

tbh

yeah - why take the chance?

omega42

Im a type 2 and am currently on Glucophage 850mg 3 times a day went to doc's few wks ago cause they weren't keeping blood sugar down, i was getting readings of 15-20 on my meter, got my hba1c done and was reading over 9 (cant remember exact number).

She has put me on diamicron started off at 30mg but now up to 90 and still not working

12 hour fasting on my meter is reading over 12.

The doc said when i last saw her that its possible that i may have to go on insulin.

Anybody know what that entails? will it be like type1 whereby control of the diabetes will be fully controlled by by insulin or will I still be taking the 7 tablets a day and just use insulin as a topup?

Any info would help, not looking for medical opinion just peoples experience

Thanks All

Omega

calfmuscle

Just a thought - would it be wise to split the diabetes thread into a type one and a type two thread?
I only say this as 2 resent posters are asking about type 2 and to be honest they are such different conditions it may be better to a dedicated thread for them?

tbh

calfmuscle wrote: »

Just a thought - would it be wise to split the diabetes thread into a type one and a type two thread?
I only say this as 2 resent posters are asking about type 2 and to be honest they are such different conditions it may be better to a dedicated thread for them?

I've no problem with that in theory - what do people think?

robinph

Makes sense to me.

Create a couple of new threads, both with a link back here. I'm not offering to go through and actually figure out which posts belong in which thread though. :eek:

BlackEdelweiss

calfmuscle wrote: »

Just a thought - would it be wise to split the diabetes thread into a type one and a type two thread?
I only say this as 2 resent posters are asking about type 2 and to be honest they are such different conditions it may be better to a dedicated thread for them?

This would be fine if there were no link between the two types. For most diabetics this is true but for people like myself and possibly Omega42 there is a progression from one type to the other. I have LADA, Type 1.5 whatever you want to call it. I started my treatment as a Type 2 diabetic however, similarly to Omega42 the medication stopped working after a certain time and I began being treated as a Type 1 diabetic. I can sympathise with and possibly offer advice to both types.
It is easy to skip a post if it means nothing to you and most of the posts on here are about Type 1 issues, I think the Type 2 forum could be a lonely place at times.

My advice to omega 42 is to go on insulin, it will change your life, tablets are crap and restricting. I tried in vain with the tablets, I was so scared about going on insulin and becoming insulin dependent I put it off for ages. My quality of life has gone up so much in the last year and I'm not burning the stomach out of myseld swallowing loads of tablets every day.

graflynn

omega42 wrote: »

Im a type 2 and am currently on Glucophage 850mg 3 times a day went to doc's few wks ago cause they weren't keeping blood sugar down, i was getting readings of 15-20 on my meter, got my hba1c done and was reading over 9 (cant remember exact number).

She has put me on diamicron started off at 30mg but now up to 90 and still not working

12 hour fasting on my meter is reading over 12.

The doc said when i last saw her that its possible that i may have to go on insulin.

Anybody know what that entails? will it be like type1 whereby control of the diabetes will be fully controlled by by insulin or will I still be taking the 7 tablets a day and just use insulin as a topup?

Any info would help, not looking for medical opinion just peoples experience

Thanks All

Omega

Hello Omega,

This website might give you more information about using insulin http://www.itsmyinsulin.ie/ But a lot of the information is very general. It will depend on what type of insulin regieme the doc puts you on. Mostly they start T2's on a long acting which is one shot a day and see how they get on from there.

I'm just wondering if you have ever done a CODE, DESMOND or X-PERT course? These courses are run by both the HSE and Diabetes Ireland, are free and can be very beneficial in learning more about how to manage your diabetes.

graflynn

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

This would be fine if there were no link between the two types. For most diabetics this is true but for people like myself and possibly Omega42 there is a progression from one type to the other. I have LADA, Type 1.5 whatever you want to call it. I started my treatment as a Type 2 diabetic however, similarly to Omega42 the medication stopped working after a certain time and I began being treated as a Type 1 diabetic. I can sympathise with and possibly offer advice to both types.
It is easy to skip a post if it means nothing to you and most of the posts on here are about Type 1 issues, I think the Type 2 forum could be a lonely place at times.

My advice to omega 42 is to go on insulin, it will change your life, tablets are crap and restricting. I tried in vain with the tablets, I was so scared about going on insulin and becoming insulin dependent I put it off for ages. My quality of life has gone up so much in the last year and I'm not burning the stomach out of myseld swallowing loads of tablets every day.

Plus, a lot of the community health services are the same for both types of diabetes.

CramCycle

I am a type 1 but my main area of research is type 2 and like talking about both (in case you hadn't noticed). While fundamentally different, there are enough overlapping areas in my opinion to make a split a lot of work for the mods with little or no rewards for the posters (IMO, not necessarily true). I am also very interested in hearing on different types, causes, issues etc., I have learned a lot since I started posting here and would regret a split as I think it would make it likely to miss something of interest, so basically, in the interests of self centred me, I vote NO.

omega42

Yea, ive done the DESMOND course to help manage it but its still not working

graflynn wrote: »

Hello Omega,

This website might give you more information about using insulin http://www.itsmyinsulin.ie/ But a lot of the information is very general. It will depend on what type of insulin regieme the doc puts you on. Mostly they start T2's on a long acting which is one shot a day and see how they get on from there.

I'm just wondering if you have ever done a CODE, DESMOND or X-PERT course? These courses are run by both the HSE and Diabetes Ireland, are free and can be very beneficial in learning more about how to manage your diabetes.

calfmuscle

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

This would be fine if there were no link between the two types. For most diabetics this is true but for people like myself and possibly Omega42 there is a progression from one type to the other. I have LADA, Type 1.5 whatever you want to call it. I started my treatment as a Type 2 diabetic however, similarly to Omega42 the medication stopped working after a certain time and I began being treated as a Type 1 diabetic. I can sympathise with and possibly offer advice to both types.
It is easy to skip a post if it means nothing to you and most of the posts on here are about Type 1 issues, I think the Type 2 forum could be a lonely place at times.

My advice to omega 42 is to go on insulin, it will change your life, tablets are crap and restricting. I tried in vain with the tablets, I was so scared about going on insulin and becoming insulin dependent I put it off for ages. My quality of life has gone up so much in the last year and I'm not burning the stomach out of myseld swallowing loads of tablets every day.

I can see your point of view, please don't feel that just because there could be two thread's that you cannot post in both. I just thought you may get better information if there was a type 2 thread. Most types 1's will not know the medications a type 2 is on and will not be able to advise you on them. Also the diet and exercise advise is different for the two. There are very few type 2's in this thread which is a bit weird as the prevalence of type 2 is higher, which made me think perhaps they aren't comfortable posting here.

I realise you are 1.5 so eventually we may be able to help you with your insulin regime and exercise/diet issues.

tbh

calfmuscle wrote: »

I can see your point of view, please don't feel that just because there could be two thread's that you cannot post in both. I just thought you may get better information if there was a type 2 thread. Most types 1's will not know the medications a type 2 is on and will not be able to advise you on them. Also the diet and exercise advise is different for the two. There are very few type 2's in this thread which is a bit weird as the prevalence of type 2 is higher, which made me think perhaps they aren't comfortable posting here.

I realise you are 1.5 so eventually we may be able to help you with your insulin regime and exercise/diet issues.

no decision made yet, but in the meantime there's no reason you couldn't start a Type 2 thread if you wish? As Rob said, that's what'll happen anyway, we'd just be closing this thread. So maybe the best test would be to give both options - a specific type 1 and type 2 thread, and a general one, and see which one people prefer?

I have sympathies with both sides of the argument, tbh, so I'm happy to go with the flow on this one.

BlackEdelweiss

Cramcycle, have you heard much about brittle diabetes in your research? I never heard of it until Tuesday, it is a name given to hard to control diabetes from what I can see. I also read that it is rare, 1% of insulin dependent diabetics get it, mostly overweight women in the 15 to 35 age group. I am a 37 year old, 11 stone man??? If it wasent odd, I wouldent have it. I have a strange inside to my body, I had my appendix out when I was 21 and the doctors said it was one of the strangest cases they had seen, in a&e the night I got diagnosed the doctor couldent find my pulse under my wrist, he eventually found it on the top of my wrist. Even the diabetic nurses laugh about my condition now, they say they havent got a clue what is happening with me.