In the 11 years that I have been a diabetic, I have NEVER been sick....well this year I am making up for lost time, got a flu shot, but nobody said anything about stomach flu. So for the last three days, I have felt like garbage and vomiting with every thought of ingesting anything. I have been drinking lots of clear liquids,,,,bud didn't take my meds yesterday, because the day before I threw them all up.
So my questions are about being sick and what to do about meds if you can't keep them down,. What is the advised protocol for diabetics being sick, what do you do, how much do you do as far as meds and eating is concerned. ON advice from my doc's nurse, she told me not to let my bgs go over 200; not drink lots of clear fluids, broths, etc.,..and take my meds as I can tolerate them. Even if I have to drink something that has sugar in it, little as possible, but don't get dehydrated,
So what do you experts do when you are sick that helps keep you in check, and doesn't tax your system?
Since being on the pump, I have been lucky and the intestinal stuff has been a "single event", so I just monitor sugars, adjust basal, and bolus very little. When I was MDI, I would cut insulin back by at times 50% or more - depending on what I was able to keep down and what my sugars were running. I never stopped taking insulin. As a note, by bro-in-law (I think he is LADA more than T2, on insulin and oral I think), anyway he got hit with bad stomach bug and stopped taking all meds, wound up in intensive care secondary to DKA. The eating/drinking is whatever I can keep down long enough to either add carbs/sugar as needed or to prevent dehydration - diet/real sprite, graham crackers, saltines, etc. And some oral meds are absorbed pretty quickly - you can check w/your pharmacist if able as to what would be recommended there. Hope you are feeling better today and continue to recover quickly!
I probably should add that I take medications in pill form, not insulin injections, Makes it a little harder to keep things down when you have to swallow them in the first place.
That does make it harder for sure. I would suggest if you are still having trouble with keeping stuff down to double check with your doctor before the weekend gets here just in case your sugars become to high. I tend to run high when ill anyway, so I tend to go with the no carb type liquids to prevent dehydration until I am able to keep stuff down. Hope you are feeling better!
make sure to check for ketones regularly... you don't want a surprise attack from DKA. If you can get some low-carb Gatorade and try to sip that, that might help you keep from dehydrating. I take insulin via pump so I don't have to worry about keeping meds down, but ginger (ale, tea) and mint (tea, gum) can be good herbal remedies for nausea, so you might want to try sipping any of those fluids or chewing gum to ease your stomach upset.
I’m just recovering from a gastrointestinal bug (out both ends at once–yippee for me!) that my kids gratuitously gave me. Love those guys!
The main danger is dehydration, so do what you can to keep fluids in. Once my system was purged and my fever broke I started with a bit of water and low cal Gatorade mix. I also check my BG hourly, with a meter, and treat accordingly.
For treating your highs, Since you aren’t on a pump but rather meds, you might consider looking into having some quick acting insulin on hand just in case. Then you could treat your highs and not have to worry about them as much, as dehydration and high blood sugar are a ticket to the ER.
As for your lows, much harder when you are on meds. Be sure and have a glucagon shot available in case you get way too low. The one time I gave myself a large bolus before eating and then couldn’t eat and couldn’t keep anything down, I ended up chugging down a coke, threw it all up, then did it again. I figured it was more important to get some sugar in my even if for a short time. Not fun or pretty, and really scary.
