[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

BlackEdelweiss · 11-06-2011 7:52pm

I had my lowest recorded reading today of 2.1, I was just wondering how low other people have actually gone and when does it get really dangerous? I think i have probably been lower as I had a few bad hypos in work around christmas but never had my monitor with me but they did feel worse than this.

irishh_bob · 11-06-2011 8:17pm

forgive my ignorance on the subject but what are the symptoms of diabietes

i myself need to drink several litres of water per day , i am always thirsty , ive been this way for three or four years now , i should point out though , i suffer from chronic pain and have been on painkiller for nearly four years now so perhaps that is what is causing the thirst

tbh · 11-06-2011 8:30pm

irishh_bob wrote: »

forgive my ignorance on the subject but what are the symptoms of diabietes

i myself need to drink several litres of water per day , i am always thirsty , ive been this way for three or four years now , i should point out though , i suffer from chronic pain and have been on painkiller for nearly four years now so perhaps that is what is causing the thirst

Classic symptoms: Unbearable thirst, constant need to pee, extreme tiredness, bad breath, blurry vision and eventually, collapse and coma.

you'd have to go to your doc to get checked bob. I will say that I couldn't have coped with the thirst (and the urination) for several years, and if your blood sugar is climbing constantly for several years I don't think you'd last, but if the thirst is that bad that it's affecting your quality of life, then get it checked out.

tbh · 11-06-2011 8:31pm

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I had my lowest recorded reading today of 2.1, I was just wondering how low other people have actually gone and when does it get really dangerous? I think i have probably been lower as I had a few bad hypos in work around christmas but never had my monitor with me but they did feel worse than this.

I was 1.9 last night. In my brain-addled state, I actually read the meter and proceeded to take 15 units of novorapid

luckily I copped on immediately - still don't know why I thought I had to take a shot, especially one so big! - and a couple of bowls of cereal sorted me out. terrible headache this morning tho

irishh_bob · 11-06-2011 8:34pm

tbh wrote: »

Classic symptoms: Unbearable thirst, constant need to pee, extreme tiredness, bad breath, blurry vision and eventually, collapse and coma.

you'd have to go to your doc to get checked bob. I will say that I couldn't have coped with the thirst (and the urination) for several years, and if your blood sugar is climbing constantly for several years I don't think you'd last, but if the thirst is that bad that it's affecting your quality of life, then get it checked out.

my doc is the kind of guy who thinks your a hypocondriac if you raise the question of having anything , he once told me that no one at my age ( was 28 at the time ) could have high blood presure , turned out i did , was suffering stress due to pain after accident , anyway , i bring a pint of water to bed every night and wake up at least twice for a drink , as for the need to visit the lavatory , around once per hour but i put that down to all the drinking , as for blurry vision , well the painkillers im on are very strong and dizziness and blurry vision is a side effect

btw , what does the test involve ?

tbh · 11-06-2011 8:38pm

irishh_bob wrote: »

my doc is the kind of guy who thinks your a hypocondriac if you raise the question of having anything , he once told me that no one at my age ( was 28 at the time ) could have high blood presure , turned out i did , was suffering stress due to pain after accident , anyway , i bring a pint of water to bed every night and wake up at least twice for a drink , as for the need to visit the lavatory , around once per hour but i put that down to all the drinking , as for blurry vision , well the painkillers im on are very strong and dizziness and blurry vision is a side effect

btw , what does the test involve ?

it's a simple blood test. In the old (really old!) days, you would pee into a bowl and the doc would drink it

but thankfully it's quicker and more efficient these days.

irishh_bob · 11-06-2011 9:02pm

tbh wrote: »

it's a simple blood test. In the old (really old!) days, you would pee into a bowl and the doc would drink it but thankfully it's quicker and more efficient these days.

how long does it take for results to come back

tbh · 11-06-2011 9:03pm

It depends on wherhere they do a finger prick test (immediate) or draw blood (about a week).

BlackEdelweiss · 11-06-2011 9:13pm

I've had a splitting headache all day too, my wife and kids took the opportunity to have some fun at my expense by piling every bit of crap they could find in the sitting room on top of me and taking pictures as I lay on the couch waiting for my lucozade tablets to kick in. Apparently it was great craic!

tbh wrote: »

I was 1.9 last night. In my brain-addled state, I actually read the meter and proceeded to take 15 units of novorapid luckily I copped on immediately - still don't know why I thought I had to take a shot, especially one so big! - and a couple of bowls of cereal sorted me out. terrible headache this morning tho

eilo1 · 11-06-2011 10:49pm

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I had my lowest recorded reading today of 2.1, I was just wondering how low other people have actually gone and when does it get really dangerous? I think i have probably been lower as I had a few bad hypos in work around christmas but never had my monitor with me but they did feel worse than this.

I remember getting a reading of 1.9 before I felt awful, really sweaty and confused and couldnt keep a straight train of thought at all!

Iv never lost control but have hit myself in the face with a sweeping brush before.

CramCycle · 12-06-2011 9:18pm

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I had my lowest recorded reading today of 2.1, I was just wondering how low other people have actually gone and when does it get really dangerous? I think i have probably been lower as I had a few bad hypos in work around christmas but never had my monitor with me but they did feel worse than this.

I have went under one and in my youth often got LO as a reading (meaning too low to read). When it gets dangerous is different person to person, event to event. I have been 1.0 and in complete control (sometimes you think you are and your not so beware of that) but other times I have been 3.0 and unable to walk or talk coherently

tbh wrote: »

it's a simple blood test. In the old (really old!) days, you would pee into a bowl and the doc would drink it but thankfully it's quicker and more efficient these days.

The classic taste test :P

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I've had a splitting headache all day too, my wife and kids took the opportunity to have some fun at my expense by piling every bit of crap they could find in the sitting room on top of me and taking pictures as I lay on the couch waiting for my lucozade tablets to kick in. Apparently it was great craic!

My flatmate couldn't tell people what was wrong with me in the shop because he was laughing so hard, I eventually got to the fridge for a lucozade while doing the walk/dance from the beginning of Forest Gump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMW1YF1yLP0

robinph · 12-06-2011 10:29pm

CramCycle wrote: »

I have went under one and in my youth often got LO as a reading (meaning too low to read). When it gets dangerous is different person to person, event to event. I have been 1.0 and in complete control (sometimes you think you are and your not so beware of that) but other times I have been 3.0 and unable to walk or talk coherently

Have had a few LO reading previously.

The meters are not that accurate though and just because it says 1.9 does not mean it's 1.9. I've done some comparisons between a couple of meters and found then giving near quite different readings, and not always different in the same direction either. Some ends of the range one would be higher, other end the other meter would be higher.

CramCycle · 12-06-2011 10:49pm

robinph wrote: »

Have had a few LO reading previously.

The meters are not that accurate though and just because it says 1.9 does not mean it's 1.9. I've done some comparisons between a couple of meters and found then giving near quite different readings, and not always different in the same direction either. Some ends of the range one would be higher, other end the other meter would be higher.

I know, even the same machine seconds apart can give incredibly different readings, its a combination of many factors from the inaccuracy of the technology(best that can be got at that scale/cost/size etc), poor circulation in the finger tips(milking the fingers supposedly helps but I haven't bothered in years), non sterile conditions (use alcohol wipes and let them dry) and then some etc.

5live · 13-06-2011 11:22am

tbh wrote: »

Classic symptoms: Unbearable thirst, constant need to pee, extreme tiredness, bad breath, blurry vision and eventually, collapse and coma.

you'd have to go to your doc to get checked bob. I will say that I couldn't have coped with the thirst (and the urination) for several years, and if your blood sugar is climbing constantly for several years I don't think you'd last, but if the thirst is that bad that it's affecting your quality of life, then get it checked out.

I got diagnosed at a medical for a job. I was home for the weekend and was working on the farm. Bacon and cabbage for dinner(:D) and out for a few pints. Woke up with a thirst and put it down to a hangover. On monday i put it down to the bacon being salty but drinking huge ammounts of water and going to the loo every 2 hours. On wednesday i had the medical and they wouldnt let me leave the office to put a parking ticket on the car, just rushed off to hospital straight away in an ambulance.

But i had 2 or 3 glucose tolerance tests in the years before as i had symptoms of tiredness and getting up to go to the toilet but in about 4 month cycles. Of course i only went to the doc when the symptoms were clearing:rolleyes: and my glucose metabolism recovered before the GTT

So i suppose i was diabetic for less than a week before being diagnosed so i missed all those symptoms:)

CathyMoran · 15-06-2011 10:07am

Accidentally gave myself double dose of lantus last night - I always tell my husband when I am giving my lantus but there was a mix up last night - had a bad low. Ended up crying over my mother as I was coming round who is recieving hospice care at the moment - our 2 week old daugher heard me being ill. As I was waking up more my first words were how is Helen (our daugher). Still a bit shaken up by the bad low.

Caros · 15-06-2011 2:02pm

CathyMoran wrote: »

Accidentally gave myself double dose of lantus last night - I always tell my husband when I am giving my lantus but there was a mix up last night - had a bad low. Ended up crying over my mother as I was coming round who is recieving hospice care at the moment - our 2 week old daugher heard me being ill. As I was waking up more my first words were how is Helen (our daugher). Still a bit shaken up by the bad low.

Hey Cathy, congrats on the baby! Hope all went well!

kowloon · 15-06-2011 3:43pm

I always hear about peoples reactions to a low and feel very lucky. I get very very hungry, so no matter how low and confused I get I always end up sitting on the kitchen floor eating jam with a spoon.

eilo1 · 15-06-2011 6:56pm

Congradulations on your baby girl Cathy!

CathyMoran · 15-06-2011 7:45pm

This sounds like an odd one - I am expressing milk for at least one feed a day for our son but am finding that it is affecing my blood sugars - how did any other diabeic mummies cope? I would like to get up to feeding her fully by myself by the time she gets to 6 weeks (she is on premie milk for her other feeds at the moment but she is feeding and growing great, she was just over 5lb when she was born and has passed that in two weeks).

kowloon · 15-06-2011 11:49pm

A friend of mine told me the babies of type 1 parents are often heavier than average, any truth to this?

CramCycle · 16-06-2011 2:15am

kowloon wrote: »

A friend of mine told me the babies of type 1 parents are often heavier than average, any truth to this?

There are a few studies that indicate but don't show with great significance that this may be the case, so far the general consensus is glucose control in the first trimester or pre-pregnancy that is the biggest indicative factor than control during the later stages of pregnancy itself.

All the sample studies do show a slight gain over the average population but nothing to be concerned about and as many people will tell you, statistics only tell the story the scientist wanted you to hear in the first place.

Several theories offered up but it would take an age to go through them.

CathyMoran · 16-06-2011 8:38am

kowloon wrote: »

A friend of mine told me the babies of type 1 parents are often heavier than average, any truth to this?

I am a type 1 and both of my children have been on the small side - my son was only 4lb 11oz and his sister was 5lb 3oz, both very small babies. Both were plannned and I kept my blood sugars low (5.8) preconception. Will be wierd not having to keep them as low though it is hard to break out of it - during the pregnancies I was keeping my blood sugars at 4.8, it was a lot of work.

graflynn · 16-06-2011 10:20am

CathyMoran wrote: »

Accidentally gave myself double dose of lantus last night - I always tell my husband when I am giving my lantus but there was a mix up last night - had a bad low. Ended up crying over my mother as I was coming round who is recieving hospice care at the moment - our 2 week old daugher heard me being ill. As I was waking up more my first words were how is Helen (our daugher). Still a bit shaken up by the bad low.

Congratulations and best wishes! They grow up so fast - make sure you get all the cuddles you can

graflynn · 16-06-2011 10:26am

CathyMoran wrote: »

This sounds like an odd one - I am expressing milk for at least one feed a day for our son but am finding that it is affecing my blood sugars - how did any other diabeic mummies cope? I would like to get up to feeding her fully by myself by the time she gets to 6 weeks (she is on premie milk for her other feeds at the moment but she is feeding and growing great, she was just over 5lb when she was born and has passed that in two weeks).

I had my first in the US and the diabetes educators always made sure that I knew to have a fast acting carb & a snack beside me when I was nursing because it does bring your sugars down and can do quiet quickly.

I don't know if I was told that again with my second but I knew it anyway. Oh lord - I think I'm getting broody:eek:

CathyMoran · 16-06-2011 10:32am

grafynn - thanks about that, it does tend to mess up my blood sugars a bit but it is worth it her getting food from me. I am broody too but my husband and I have agreed that she is our final child - chidren are amazing!

CramCycle · 16-06-2011 11:13am

CathyMoran wrote: »

grafynn - thanks about that, it does tend to mess up my blood sugars a bit but it is worth it her getting food from me. I am broody too but my husband and I have agreed that she is our final child - chidren are amazing!

Congtrats on the (final) baby, agree with you on the breast feeding, I was bottle fed and remind my mother thats probably why I'm a Diabetic :pac:

Hope the bloods smooth out soon, sorry to hear about the LO the other day, still freaks me out pretty bad whenever that happens to me.

robinph · 17-06-2011 11:24am

Last repeat prescription came through with a stamp on it by the receptionist, or whoever processes them, saying I needed to see the GP. So today I went along to the GP, sat down, he looked at me quizzically and asked what he could do for me, I looked at him quizzically and asked what he wanted to see me for.

He had a look through his system and made an exasperated sound about me having been called in for an appointment just because I'd ordered a Beconase which I'd not ordered from that GP surgery before so it was flagged to the people who process the repeats to call me in. So he was then very apologetic about having wasted my time.

He changed a few flags on the repeats system so that I'd not get called back for those items until something like 2015 I think, and I managed to get him to up how many test strips I can get at a time.

We then ended up talking about running and marathon and I think I may have upset him a little bit when I said I'd got an automatic entry for London next year as his best ever time was 30 seconds outside that cut off time.

I've no problem getting called in to see the GP as I don't have to pay him for it, sorry, but it made me feel even better about the wasted time from seeing the look on his face when talking about the times I've done.

graflynn · 17-06-2011 5:07pm

CathyMoran wrote: »

my husband and I have agreed that she is our final child

That's what I said too...

mike65 · 18-06-2011 2:24pm

Was just browsing p.ie (as one does in a quiet desperate moment) and I spotted http://www.politics.ie/4023127-post12.html anyone know if there is any truth in this?

5live · 18-06-2011 8:50pm

mike65 wrote: »

Was just browsing p.ie (as one does in a quiet desperate moment) and I spotted http://www.politics.ie/4023127-post12.html anyone know if there is any truth in this?

:eek::eek:. Thanks Mike65. I must order on monday as getting a bit low but will get 2 months supply now.

I'd imagine it will get sorted out quickly though

CathyMoran · 19-06-2011 6:34pm

Had a bad low blood sugar this morning again, got the news that my mother had died last night so my emotions have been all over the place, will reduce my lantus tonight though, it is going to be a tough few days. Has anyone else found that extreme emotions can cause big fluctuations in blood sugars, as you can imagine I am not having an easy time of things right now.

tbh · 19-06-2011 7:27pm

Sorry to hear about your mum Cathy. RIP

eilo1 · 19-06-2011 9:01pm

Sorry to hear about your mum Cathy.

mike65 · 19-06-2011 9:43pm

CathyMoran wrote: »

Had a bad low blood sugar this morning again, got the news that my mother had died last night so my emotions have been all over the place, will reduce my lantus tonight though, it is going to be a tough few days. Has anyone else found that extreme emotions can cause big fluctuations in blood sugars, as you can imagine I am not having an easy time of things right now.

First my commiserations on your mothers passing.

When mine died 4 years ago my readings went up a lot and its not like I was eating more as I was eating less for a few days. Stress definitely pushes my the blood sugars up by a few points average easily.

Caros · 19-06-2011 10:32pm

Sorry to hear about your Mum Cathy.

5live · 22-06-2011 11:59am

CathyMoran wrote: »

Had a bad low blood sugar this morning again, got the news that my mother had died last night so my emotions have been all over the place, will reduce my lantus tonight though, it is going to be a tough few days. Has anyone else found that extreme emotions can cause big fluctuations in blood sugars, as you can imagine I am not having an easy time of things right now.

Sorry to hear of your loss cathy. My sympathies to you and shane and the family

CramCycle · 22-06-2011 12:18pm

Condolences Cathy, hope your holding together OK.

CathyMoran wrote: »

Has anyone else found that extreme emotions can cause big fluctuations in blood sugars, as you can imagine I am not having an easy time of things right now.

I have found that if I get very emotional I suffer extreme hypos which as you can imagine makes dealing with whatever the issue/emotion at the time quite difficult.

CramCycle · 23-06-2011 1:24pm

A quick question on insulin sensitivity for the ART posters on the thread. I do quite a bit of cycling and always find improved insulin sensitivity for the day (I only need Lantus for the day on a long spin) but obviously as my fitness levels slowly grow the effects don't last as long afterwards due to the fact that overall I am on less Insulin or that the effect is becoming semi permanent.

This week I went for my first run in a long long time as a joking bet, legs are still sore but it is know a couple of days after and i am still feeling the effects. I presume its because of different muscle groups improving their sensitivity but I was wondering does this happen to others and for how long. Getting very paranoid at work about having a hypo, freaking out a little even, that said my hypo notice seems to have shot through the roof anyway.

BlackEdelweiss · 23-06-2011 8:54pm

Yesterday was my only day off work this week. I woke at 7.00am with a reading of 4.1 which I would class as the beginning of a hypo, took a bit of corrective action with lucozade tablets. Dident feel too great after that start to the day. Went into town and at about 12.00pm started feeling really low, got a bun in M&S, dident do the trick, had to stop at a shop and got a can of lucozade which brought me round. Had to lye on the couch for a while feeling tired and crap. Felt a bit strange at about 5.00pm, checked my blood, 4.1 again, took a lucozade tablet, still felt a bit strange, checked my blood again 2.4, took 2 more tablets, felt really shaky and dizzy, checked my blood again, 1.3, my lowest ever reading, 2 more tablets and it started to rise. Felt like complete **** all evening and went to bed exhausted. Up this morning feeling fine and off to work again!!!

CramCycle · 23-06-2011 9:47pm

^^^ any ideas what happened, double dosing on the long term?

eilo1 · 23-06-2011 10:22pm

CramCycle wrote: »

^^^ any ideas what happened, double dosing on the long term?

Sounds like it to me, other than that could you have been hungover, or are you doing lots of exercise at the min and becoming more insulin sensitive??

mike65 · 23-06-2011 11:03pm

Sounds like it could be, I double dosed once back in the day when I was on Monotard, I woke on a low obviously confused went down to breakfast and my next memory was coming round in hospital!

The best solution to low sugar isn't glucose tablets in my experience, its proper food. BlackEdelweiss made it sound like he had no breakfast and a bun for lunch is not a lunch.

eilo1 · 23-06-2011 11:32pm

mike65 wrote: »

Sounds like it could be, I double dosed once back in the day when I was on Monotard, I woke on a low obviously confused went down to breakfast and my next memory was coming round in hospital!

The best solution to low sugar isn't glucose tablets in my experience, its proper food. BlackEdelweiss made it sound like he had no breakfast and a bun for lunch is not a lunch.

I normally need 4-6 tablets to bring me around I dont find 2 very helpful. On a related note those little boxes of orange juice that kids use for lunches are a perfect dose for me. :P

MUSEIST · 23-06-2011 11:35pm

I always found those glucose tablets pretty useless. I was told to take 3 when low, bollix, I needed most of the packet to have any affect.

CramCycle · 23-06-2011 11:48pm

eilo1 wrote: »

Sounds like it to me, other than that could you have been hungover, or are you doing lots of exercise at the min and becoming more insulin sensitive??

Its either one or the other for me on a daily basis :P

MUSEIST wrote: »

I always found those glucose tablets pretty useless. I was told to take 3 when low, bollix, I needed most of the packet to have any affect.

Same here, minimum of a packet on a serious LO

Hal Emmerich · 28-06-2011 5:10pm

Artificial Pancreas anyone?

5live · 29-06-2011 10:23pm

A quick question for those with pumps. Can you play contact sports with a pump or is there a risk of the needles/tubes being pulled out

robinph · 29-06-2011 11:03pm

Was just about to report on my incident with the pump last night on the pump thread, but seeing as you asked here will do.

I don't do contact sports, but last night was doing a 5km race. It's usually 80 ish people along a narrow'ish path with no problem. Because of a special event for the race last night there was over 200 of us running. Resulted in a lot of congestion at the start and me getting tripped up by someone clipping my ankle after only about 150meters into the race. I went flying, and rolled over on the tarmac a couple of times, then had to assume the position like you see jockeys do when they come off in hurdle events as 200 pairs of legs then tried to get past me on the about 1.5 m wide path.

Result was me with bad grazes on knee, elbow and shoulder along with various other bits of bruising. Then having to do a walk of shame back to the start with the crowd there watching me.

The pump has taken a few scrapes and the screen cover has a couple of knicks in it now, but it all works perfectly fine. The pump was on my opposite hip from the one that took the main impact but it survived the impacts it took when I rolled perfectly fine apart from cosmetic damage.

I suspect that I would have come off far worse if I'd landed on the side I was wearing it on, but that the pump itself would have been fine.

Running isn't really contact sport usually though, but I would be cautious around the start of races of peoples stray arms getting caught in the cable. For full contact sport you'd probably have to remove it for the duration. Although soccer could probably be suitably taped out of the way, rugby probably not.

NHL Ice Hockey is fine though as shown by Toby Petersen, he does wear a load of pads over the top though.

eilo1 · 29-06-2011 11:27pm

The closest to contact sport I play at the minute is tag rugby and this has got me thinking that I would like to try ladies rugby. If any pumpers out there have played I would love to know how they coped.

At the min I was just thinking of disconnecting the pump, after a one unit bolus per half.
But I have no idea if this would work.

5live · 04-07-2011 3:14pm

I had a really bad hypo on saturday night. I was up early, around 6, to milk before silage cutting and had to separate cattle that mixed the night before and then one tractor had a puncture and the other wouldnt start so had to walk for the cattle (and 2 bulls too:() so i was fairly stressed before 7. I spent the day running to sort out the usual small problems before covering the silage pit with tires and then milking. My bloods were around 6 all day when i checked and finally ate a bite at 10.30 with bloods at 7.

Had a glass of wine with the OH and did my night shots at 11 with blood at 6.5.

I woke up on the couch at 6.45 and i was in bits. Pain all over and bloods at 2.3. Ate breakfast and ate a bar of choc before going milking as i was still feeling low even after halving my novorapid to 6. So i came back in to ,as they say in the films, picture but no sound. I was trying to figure out what i had done but nothing came to mind.

Turned out that i had gone to put the dogs in their house and gone to check the silage pit. When i hadnt come in after an hour, my OH went looking for me and there i was on the silage pit in the dark with only a hand torch moving car tires and generally doing what i should have done the following morning but at 12.30 at night. It took an hour to convince me to stop and go home and eat a bite. She also locked the doors and got up at 6 to check i was still asleep and put the keys back.

Today i feel like crap but bloody frightened about getting another hypo. My bloods are around 5 and having halved all my shots only now hitting 6. I wasnt working very hard and was eating plenty but my levels dropped like a stone for 48 hours now.

Just when you get a bit relaxed about it, hypos strike and give you a good kick up the ass:(

[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

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