Gluco-toxicity & C-19 (visit with my endo)

Type 1 and LADA
#1

Just had my regular biannual endo appointment via Zoom. After the usual stuff, she brought up the subject of what I needed in order to be prepared if I get hit with the COVID stick. Do I have supplies I need if I have to be hospitalized, etc. and what to expect. Led into some deeper talk about what they’re seeing with T1s in the Covid wards. Still a LOT that is unclear, but roller-coastering BG’s seems to be part of it. Stubborn hypers that suddenly crash into severe lows. She said they’re calling it “gluco-toxicity.” So many of your systems are deranged that your body can’t process the insulin, then suddenly it does kick in and you go down like a rock because of how much you had to take to try to shift it. The Brigham, like most of 'em around here (Boston) are research/teaching hospitals so she was very adamant that I stay in touch with her if I do get hit, so she can advise and assist but also because they are hungry for more information. I’m a good subject because I have really tight control—her star patient, as she says. So I will if I do, not least because she was very helpful around my last (scheduled) hospitalization for surgery.

BUT I’M NOT GOING TO GET IT, so there’s that.

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#2

That’s interesting. I have had several unexplained lows that I thought that they were caused by mistakes in carb counting or basales. I have not been tested because I have no systems but I am 75 with high blood pressure.

#3

I’ve had similar sugar behavior with the flu. Did she indicate that they thought this was unique to Covid? I guess with the flu its more one way, high sugars with a big drop, but basically back to normal after that drop. Does Covid seem to induce a cyclic up/down/up/down?

thanks for the info!!

#4

I also got that same answer from my doctor when we chatted over emails. He told me that keeping the blood sugars as flat as possible was the best thing for anyone with diabetes and dealing with COVID 19. So the lower the standard deviation the better.
So before all this started, with my great new Tandem Control IQ I was in the low 90% in range. So I was feeling better darn good from a diabetes side.
But I work at Costco so the stress has been horrific. Everyday I worry about my members not thinking, not being smart and not knowing what 6 feet looks like. I do my deep breathing exercises during my 2 breaks and I try to avoid news while working. I also take a complete new break once a week! Just can’t take it 24/7!
But since this has started my time in range has been getting lower and lower. I am back into the mid 70% on most days. And a lot of up and down. I pre-bolus every morning and eat and than walk to work and crash. Than I have to eat some tablets and you know what happens, the high. So up and down I go. And the stress builds. And people now think since states are starting to open up, things are back to normal. We are far from back to normal but that is another topic.
So from a diabetes side, I have tried to put the pump into sleep mode 24/7. I have really never done anything that wasn’t the normal way. This pump system worked great for me running it as it was designed. But I guess because we are not in normal times, I have to try something else. I am now 4 days in and I must say, it is working. I am back into the low 90% in range. It’s just a little more work when the blood sugars start climbing. I need to mini dose when it gets to 170. But I guess what’s a little more work! That was my daily life before this new system, so it feels like I need to work a little harder. I was loving the less thinking and work before but I have to do what I have to do.
All foods are weighed and calculated. I am walking around 40,000 steps on work days and about 10,00 on off days (I literally just want to sit all day!)
So I am months into this new normal and I am still working everyday. My company would have given me 2 weeks off with pay but my thinking has always been, if I do get sick, I need that time for recovery. And what would 2 weeks do? I mean I would still have to go back to work?! And I can fine tune pump settings for work if I’m not working!
So my personal opinion here, the best you can do, is all you can do. I am going to continue to try for better time in range anyway I can get and continue my stress release valves!
Good luck to all of us! We will get through this but wow, it’s going to take a long time! Hang in there and do whatever you need to do!

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#5

My impression was that it was like the standard-flu effect but more stubborn and unpredictable to break the high, with bad lows as a consequence. @meee has C19 and his reported something similar if you check out her recent posts.

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#6

My sugars go high and are real hard to bring down when I’m sick.
I always figured illness makes my insulin resistant. Nothing else makes sense really.