Blood sugars all over the place

[Rybing]

Good evening all,

Newly diagnosed T1D. 43 yrs old. Got out of hospital last week. I was quite ill with blood sugars at 42 and keytones at 4.3. Was in for 6 days on drip etc.

Anyway i now take 10 units of novarapid insulin 3 times daily and 24 of high strength before bed and 3 500mg of metformin.

A couple of questions if no one minds.....

1. My blood sugar is about 22.3 in the morning and ranges from 16.5 to 31.3 throughout the day. Will this settle down? And is 16.5 still high?
2. Is my insulin dose typical? I suppose im trying to see how "bad" my diabetes is.

Sorry for any typos my eyes very blurry today.

Best wishes and thanks in advance

Ryan

 

[Paulbreen]

Hi Ryan
As you have just got out of hospital after diagnosis your going to be a bit all over the place but those numbers appear a bit high all the same. If they continue like that even for a day you need to talk to someone urgently, I would hazard a guess your still eating a lot of carbs so try and reduce your carb intake until things settle down a bit, bread, pasta, potatoes stuff like that.
As you go along and you learn to carb count you will be able to adjust your insulin to match your food intake, more carbs=more insulin. I have never as far as I can remember had a fixed amount 3 times a day, it varies on what I eat. Don’t worry you will learn all of that stuff but for now if you have those high 20’s-30’s numbers call your clinic or nhs helpline

 

[Paulbreen]

Good evening all,

Newly diagnosed T1D. 43 yrs old. Got out of hospital last week. I was quite ill with blood sugars at 42 and keytones at 4.3. Was in for 6 days on drip etc.

Anyway i now take 10 units of novarapid insulin 3 times daily and 24 of high strength before bed and 3 500mg of metformin.

A couple of questions if no one minds.....

1. My blood sugar is about 22.3 in the morning and ranges from 16.5 to 31.3 throughout the day. Will this settle down? And is 16.5 still high?
2. Is my insulin dose typical? I suppose im trying to see how "bad" my diabetes is.

Sorry for any typos my eyes very blurry today.

Best wishes and thanks in advance

Ryan

16.5 is pretty high, 4.5-7 would be a normal number, I think that as your diagnosed T1 it’s as bad as it gets but you’ll be glad to know it gets much easier to work with in the next weeks, months an years

 

[Rybing]

Thanks for the replies and words of hope. Im not eating carbs really and trying to follow the recipies on the site. Feel rotten tbh so will prob give the nurse a call tomorrow.

Thanks again

Ryan

 

[SB2015]

Hi @Rybing And welcome to the forum, that no one wants to need to join.

It is no surprise that you feel so unwell. High glucose levels make me feel awful.
Your team will have made an initial decision about doses and will want to bring your levels down gradually to start with, but as @Paulbreen has said you need to contact them and let them know the levels you have at present.

They will work with you to enable you to make your own adjustments to your doses to match the amount of carbs you choose to eat. I know when I was diagnosed I knew absolutely nothing about carbs, but you soon learn, and it definitely does get easier. I am amazed at how many carb values I remember now.

Let us know how you get on after contacting the specialist nurse tomorrow.
Also fire away with any questions that you have. I have learnt so much from others on here, picking up tips about managing my diabetes that just make life easier. Just ask.

 

[Inka]

Thanks for the replies and words of hope. Im not eating carbs really and trying to follow the recipies on the site. Feel rotten tbh so will prob give the nurse a call tomorrow.

Thanks again

Ryan

You should be able to eat carbs fine once your insulin is sorted. Type 1s don’t have to avoid carbs. We just need to ‘be our own pancreas’ and adjust our meal-time insulin appropriately.

It’s true your numbers need to come down gradually, but those are still very high numbers. I would think your insulin will be increased. Please do phone your nurse tomorrow and test for ketones regularly too.

When you say you’re taking “high strength” insulin in the evening, what do you mean? What’s the name of that insulin? Is it one of the concentrated ones? With the Metformin too that suggests you have some insulin resistance?

 

[Rybing]

Hello all,

Thanks for the kind words and very helpful information.

I called the nurse who increased my novarapid to 12 to 14 units 3 times daily.

I refer to my nightime shot as "high strength" only because it says that on the purple bag it came in to keep it seperate from the novarapid. Anyway, its called toujeo insulin and i take 24 units in the evening.

Despite all that and really watching everything i eat my bloods are about 19 to 24 before bed, av 16 to 18 in the morning and about 19 after i eat. I did get 3 readings below 10 in the past few days though.

Ive got the consultant on Friday so maybe they can shed some light on things.

Still feel rotten and worried about my eyes as i was undiagnosed for a while and they all blurry with floating things etc. Is this common? I have a eye exam sunday but just wondered if anyone else had anything like this and will it go away?
Thanks again

Ryan

 

[Ljc]

Hi . Welcome to the forum.
Sadly you will feel rotten for a while. They really need to bring your BG (blood glucose) levels down gradually as to fast a drop can cause some unpleasant symptoms.

The Tougeo insulin is a long acting insulin , their are several, you will often see them referred on here as Basal insulin.
Blurry vision can be caused by high blood glucose levels or when your levels drop too quickly ,
It’s important to tell the Optician that you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes and the problems you are having with your eyes.
They should not try to sell you new glasses atm , if they do don’t buy .
It can take a while for sight to settle down, in the meantime if you drive or ride, please don’t

Please keep in contact with your DSN on a regular basis or if you’re having problems , you see atm though they have a formula to go by , it takes time for them to find out how much insulin of both types that you need, so their will be much tweaking of doses .

 

[Deleted member 25429]

N

Thanks for the replies and words of hope. Im not eating carbs really and trying to follow the recipies on the site. Feel rotten tbh so will prob give the nurse a call tomorrow.

Thanks again

Ryan

Not at all surprised that you feel rotten with those sugar levels. Everyone’s insulin usage is different as someone said to me you need what you need . I too hard blurry vision when I was first diagnosed. It does all settle down with time. If you have a specialist diabetic nurse speak to them as my experience is that they are exceptionally good at supporting and guiding you through the first few months , and giving you the confidence to make the daily choices you need to make with your insulin. Good luck stick with it because it does get easier with time

 

[trophywench]

Sounds daft I know - but when we get symptoms of diabetes happening and the higher blood glucose events are not immediately corrected, our eyes start to change shape which we haven't got a clue about and happens so gradually, we don't have any symptoms or trouble with our eyesight - then suddenly we get diagnosed and start reducing the blood sugar so the shape of our eyes begin getting back to normal again and we DO notice cos everything's blurry and we can't focus properly - aaagh. Took mine approx 5 weeks and I was bored as hell by the time I could see decently again - couldn't read, knit, sew, watch telly for long (it was only on at night then anyway, and I couldn't go to work even - and actually being able to go back was a relief!)

 

[Rybing]

Thank you everyone. Just another question if its ok. I had a bad night last night bloods at 19.6 to 23 during the night and i cant stop being sick and feel awful. Keytones at 0.9. I have a consultants appt at 4pm today. Should i wait to see him or call the nurse as i feel really awful

Thanks in advance

 

[Paulbreen]

Thank you everyone. Just another question if its ok. I had a bad night last night bloods at 19.6 to 23 during the night and i cant stop being sick and feel awful. Keytones at 0.9. I have a consultants appt at 4pm today. Should i wait to see him or call the nurse as i feel really awful

Thanks in advance

Hey @Rybing you should be fine, it gets critical when your BG hits the mid 20‘s for an extended time, did you take an insulin correction this morning, we’re all different but I would give myself a little correction dose of insulin to help bring the BG down a little, I‘d use about 4-5 units myself. But all that said if you feel worried please do contact your nurse and don’t rely on a forum answer too much

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hope the chat with the consultant filled in some of the blanks for you @Rybing

Not sure how long you were in hospital, but it sounds like they let you out before your doses were settled to gradually bring your levels down. Of course it’s tricky, because you may have had a few days where they were heading in the right direction, and as others say it’s important not to go all guns blazing early on, because it’s easier in the fine blood vessels to reduce high average BGs gently.

Hope the abdominal pain and vomiting have settled down now - did you mention them to the consultant?

Lots of water to flush out the ketones, and some carbs in your diet will help.

 

[Rybing]

Evening all

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to respond. It is very kind.

I wont lie im quite upset about all this but dont like making a big deal of things and always feel a bit silly like im over reacting.

Anyway i actually saw the nurse today for a good 20 mins and she upped my doses and had alot of useful information. The consultant is on 29th April.

I just need maximum effort and get my head screwed on with all this and im sure i will be fine.

Thanks again for your kind and helpful words

 

[Deleted member 25429]

Hello all,

Thanks for the kind words and very helpful information.

I called the nurse who increased my novarapid to 12 to 14 units 3 times daily.

I refer to my nightime shot as "high strength" only because it says that on the purple bag it came in to keep it seperate from the novarapid. Anyway, its called toujeo insulin and i take 24 units in the evening.

Despite all that and really watching everything i eat my bloods are about 19 to 24 before bed, av 16 to 18 in the morning and about 19 after i eat. I did get 3 readings below 10 in the past few days though.

Ive got the consultant on Friday so maybe they can shed some light on things.

Still feel rotten and worried about my eyes as i was undiagnosed for a while and they all blurry with floating things etc. Is this common? I have a eye exam sunday but just wondered if anyone else had anything like this and will it go away?
Thanks again

Ryan

Yes I had exactly the same . The eyes do improve but it may take a few weeks as you gradually adjust your insulin to match your needs. I was diagnosed 2 years ago at the age of 52 . It does get easier as you start to gain knowledge and confidence . With sugar levels like yours it will make you feel rotten but remember once your insulin is sufficient for your needs and your levels stabilise you will feel normal again .