So i have been diabetic for over 4 years now. I dont want anyones pitty just help and advice. I just recently got out of the hospital with dka reason being i was sick with the flu that i just could not get my blood sugar down. I was on my death bed litterly. So what i am asking i need to know what the best way to get my blood sugar down to normal i am checking 8 times a day and taking a lot of insulin. I am eating healthy and etc. I need help to figure out the best way to relax and get this done. So any opinions are needed.
You don't say too much about your management, Samantha, so I'll just throw out some general ideas. The best way to get your blood sugar down is to try and prevent it from going too far up in the first place! Once you get up into the stratosphere it's harder to get it down. But should you have a high, moderate or extreme the best ways to manage are to take corrections, being aware of the insulin on board so you don't stack. If you are very high (over 250) drinking a lot of water helps as well.
Having said that, I don't know if you know the basics and have a good regimen. I see you are on a pump. Do you have the book Pumping Insulin by John Walsh. It's very useful. Have you tested your basals to make sure all your rates are correct for the various times of day? Basal needs to be right first before you look at bolus. Then ae you confident of your I:C ratios? If you are running high 2 hours after your meals most of the time than your ratios need tweaking. Many of us have different ratios for different times of day. Do you know how to accurately carb count? You say you are "taking a lot of insulin". What is important is to take the right amount of insulin for your needs.. You also say you are eating healthy, but what does that mean to you? When I was diagnosed I told the cde that "I eat healthy. I'm a vegetarian, eat fresh foods and haven't eaten sugar for years." But I ate a lot of pasta, rice and cereal for breakfast and it was way too many carbs to manage successfully.
Relaxing is important too, you are absolutely right. So while you are working to get your numbers under control, do the things you enjoy so your life isn't just about Type 1!
I'm glad you're okay now. I've never experienced DKA but it sounds awful!
Enjoying life right now is kinda hard when you feel crapy. I need to understand when my sugars are not coming down and i really need to focus on this and it is very hard when i dont have the energy to do so. I am not longer on the pump. Reason being is i can not afford the supplies for it.
I am pretty much at my wits end with this. I just want to feel better .
Hi Samantha that's the name of my little niece!
I think the best way is to keep you glucose in a range for example 80-150. Diabetes is diferente for any one, some people take more insuline daily than others and carbs act different too in aeach person. Another way to keep your glucose as normal as posible is being aware of the consecuence of a bad control. Keep informed about the bad control cause in your retines and kidneys, because there are no way to go back to normal. Be alert of your sintomes when your glucose is high or low to take accion. If you control the carbs of what you eat you can be relax for 3 to 4 hours because you always will have to check yourself before and 2-3hrs after meals.
More info please. For example your settings on the pump: the basal profile, your I:C ratios, your insulin sensitivity, the type of insulin you use and last but not least do you count carbs?
The stress, and just being ill can cause havoc on our control. You just got out of the hospital from DKA, and have the flu. It is bad enough that you don't feel well, now your bg is causing you worry. Keep testing, and using however much insulin you need. It is good that you are able to eat! I hope you get well soon, your bg will follow when you do.
i am not using the pump any longer.
That is too bad. A pump is fantastic in these situations--just set a temporary basal rate to cover the effects of the illness. Probably would have helped avoid this.
Sometimes when you are sick and running high BGs, it is just necessary to take more insulin--a lot more than normal and it scares us. You have to play and find what works for you.
I'd say, for the next 24-48 hours: drink water and drink something to replace your electrolytes. Try a high protein, very low carb diet for a few days. Don't eat as much as you normally would, and rest, sleep as much as you can.
Not sure of I should tell you this (because it has about 14 grams sugar in it) but a drink made by gatorade, called G2 Recovery really helps me, but no more than one bottle a day and only for the next two days, drink half bottle at a time.
I am on MDI too. The questions remain:
-type of insulin for basal and bolus?
-application pattern for basal insulin?
-I:C ratio?
-insulin sensitivity?
-do you count carbs?
I know i sound like a major hypocondraic but here are a few things that i am feeling right now and let me know if this is normal or if anyone has felt this way.
so i have major back and upper rib cage pain from gas.
My mouth feels funny under my tongue and really annoying feeling.
has anyone else felt this or is this normal from high blood sugars so i can put my mind at ease
I think you have gotten some good advice, but I am going to give you my secret weapon. Intramuscular (IM) injections. That's right. Right into the muscle. Bernstein recommends it for corrections. I use my quads. An IM injection has a very fast onset and a shorter duration of action, exactly the thing you want if you are correcting. You certainly don't want to overdo it, if you do an IM injection and overbolus, you will have a bad hypo. But when you are sick or you just basically have a very high blood sugar, it just makes no sense to correct and have to wait 3 hours to figure out if you got the dose right. Use an IM injection when you correct and you should see most of the insulin action within an hour. Here is a video by Dr. B on how to do IM injection.
Good advice. I just wonder: is her BG high because after switching from pump to MDI the dosage is not right? You can not fight an insufficient coverage with basal insulin just with corrections. After all it is the basal that should keep you at safe BG levels.
Back, chest and jaw pains are symptoms of a heart attack. Heart attacks are often mistaken for indigestion or gas, too.
I would call your doctor's office and at least speak to his/her R.N. about it. You may need a trip to urgent care to evaluate what's going on with your body. Take care.
You don't sound like a hypocondriac (I think many of us wonder that, diabetes can make you feel really WIERD sometimes, eh?).
When I've been DKA I felt like an elephant was crushing my back. Had the mouth thing too, know exactly what you mean, freaked me out, still have no idea what it was, it can dissapear "overnight." Can you take some antacid for the heartburn? I hope someone is helping care for you right now. It sucks to be alone when you feel so sick and frightened and can add to your anxiousness.
Having said that... you didn't say how recently you got out of the hospital, maybe they didn't get you stable enough to be discharged. If you think you need to go back to the ER, do it. Especially if you start throwing up. For now, put a cool wet rag on your forehead, try to stay calm, and get some sleep if you can.
i got out of the hospital on saturday. when i was in there my blood sugar would be 400 then it would go down to 129 then right back up up and down up and down.
What is your BG right now?
this morning when i work up it was 450 then i took my lantis 22 units and 13 units novolog. Well i came to work and a hour later it was 351 but took more novolog and it went down to 132 but it keeps going right back up. omg this is so frustrating. i can not go to the hospital again because i can not miss any work. i am at work right now. i felt great monday and tuesday now i feel the way i did when i went into the hospital.
hmmm. Well, those swings and highs will certainly make you feel terrible. If your body is still "sick" (it takes time to get over the flue) its not suprising you can't control your BG. And working on top of it. I completely understand not being able to miss work, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get well too. You are between a rock and hard place. Maybe once you get home (hopefully you are off work already or soon off) you can see if you can get things under control, and then if not, well...you know.