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Hallo

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Silent Sands

Silent Sands

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
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He/Him
Hallo, I'm a disabled man who's been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes some 15 years ago. Recently I've been put on insulin as well as tablets to control the diabetes. I have several other diagnosis's for varied array of maladies spanning some thirty five years.
 
Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear that you have a number of heath issues to contend with and that your diabetes is now requiring insulin, but hopefully it will improve your BG levels and allow you to feel better as a result.

Balancing insulin can be a bit tricky, but hopefully they will start cautiously and find the right dose for you. Do make sure to have hypo treatment (Dextrose tablets, jelly babies, small boxes of orange juice or small cans of full sugar drinks etc) readily accessible in all rooms in the house so that you can get to them quickly and easily if you need them, particularly the bedside table and the bathroom as those are places where, with limited mobility, you could perhaps get stuck and a hot bath or shower can sometimes drop your levels quite fast. Also when you are hypo you sometimes don't think straight or lose coordination so having a hypo treatment that you can just reach out and take is important.

If there is anything you are unsure about please feel free to ask, but reading other posts on the forum should broaden your knowledge. Have you been given a BG meter to test your blood? Hopefully so. It is important to use that, particularly if you feel "funny" or unwell, so keep that to hand all the timetoo. A hypo is a reading below 4 and we are recommended to treat it with 15g carbs which is 3 dextrose tablets or 3 jelly babies or a small box can juice/pop and then test again in 15 mins to make sure your levels have come back up. It is the 15 rule... 15g carbs and test again in 15 mins. If you have still not come up above 4 repeat as necessary. Hopefully you won't need that advice but it is really important to be prepared.
 
Yes, mixed, Getting used to it all. Just adjusting the diet at the mo and having regular meals - something new to me.
 
Thanks rebrascora for your information, made a note although my GB is still on the high side atm.
 
Silent Sands said:
Yes, mixed, Getting used to it all. Just adjusting the diet at the mo and having regular meals - something new to me.
Click to expand...

Although regular meals can feel a bit strict, it will help your control a lot. Don’t worry too much about your blood sugar being a little high at the moment. That’s quite usual as people new to insulin often start on a lower dose then carefully adjust it as needed to get your blood sugar in range.
 
Talking of Hypo's, I've just experienced my first one. Perspiring like mad, light-headed I took my BG at 3.7, took three sweets that I had, and 15 mins later they were 5.3. Thanks for all your support. My insulin had just been increased to 35 Units for my evening dose.
 
Hi Silent Sands, welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about the medical issues you're dealing with at the moment. Hypo's can be alarming when you first encounter them but hopefully things will settle down as you adjust to your medication.

We've got a wealth of info on the site so do take a look around and let us know if there's anything we an help with.
 
Silent Sands said:
Talking of Hypo's, I've just experienced my first one. Perspiring like mad, light-headed I took my BG at 3.7, took three sweets that I had, and 15 mins later they were 5.3. Thanks for all your support. My insulin had just been increased to 35 Units for my evening dose.
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Have you had some longer acting carbs too @Silent Sands ? The recommendation is to have your quick-acting carbs, which you did, then follow with approx 15g slower carbs eg a slice of bread, one and a half digestive biscuits, etc.

You say your evening dose has been put up. Watch carefully in case you go low again. Test extra. Put hypo treatments and longer acting snacks by your bed, along with your glucose meter. If you’re anxious about going low overnight, set an alarm to wake up and test. I do that when I feel I need to. The reassurance is worth it. You can then eat a little extra if needed.
 
I have a BG Meter in our bedroom with extra lancets etc as well as fast-acting sweets, just in case. Going to take another reading in about an hour prior to going to bed.
I'll wake up around two-three a.m. and take another BG reading, just in case.

The hypo was unpleasant but I know some of the symptoms now, I'll be reading up on them come daylight.
The funny thing about the hypo was it came on just after I'd had my evening meal, and so didn't expect it at all! Just goes to show - you never can second guess these things.
 
Inka said:
Have you had some longer acting carbs too @Silent Sands ? The recommendation is to have your quick-acting carbs, which you did, then follow with approx 15g slower carbs eg a slice of bread, one and a half digestive biscuits, etc.

You say your evening dose has been put up. Watch carefully in case you go low again. Test extra. Put hypo treatments and longer acting snacks by your bed, along with your glucose meter. If you’re anxious about going low overnight, set an alarm to wake up and test. I do that when I feel I need to. The reassurance is worth it. You can then eat a little extra if needed.
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Thanks for your input on this matter, I'll have a pack of digestives by the bed for future use.
 
Silent Sands said:
My insulin had just been increased to 35 Units for my evening dose.
Click to expand...
Hi @Silent Sands , and welcome 🙂 You said you are on mixed insulin - but is that just once a day? Although I'm not familiar with insulin for T2, as T1 I was originally on 2 doses of intermediate insulin, before going on to MDI (multiple daily injections) around 20 years ago. Last year, my slow basal was changed to a different insulin just once a day instead of twice, and the fast acting at mealtimes I'm just trying out Fiasp, which works faster than the Novorapid. My gut reaction, without knowing your history or the reasons behind that dose is so dependent on how it actually works - how fast the onset, and the duration - but If it is once a day, it is not too different from my daily total (currentlt 13 basal and somewhere around rapid 10 with each meal). Maybe it also depends on what time, especially if it is just once ... the fast component just before bed would tend to take your levels down! If it is mornings, then it would just be slow overnight. Or split over 2 or more doses would also respond differently.

I hope you can find the optimum way to deal with both the insulin, and any hypo treatment you need - but it sounds like you are doing all the right stuff 🙂
 
Well done. It sounds like you managed it very well. If it happened just after your evening meal then there is probably no need to take the longer acting carbs at that time because the carbs in your evening meal would be kicking in soon anyway.
It is a very good idea to set an alarm and do a test through the night as you mention, particularly as your dose has been increased, so it sounds like you are pretty much on top of what you need to do and look out for and having that first one now at a reasonably sociable hour, whilst unpleasant, has hopefully given you confidence to detect and treat any in the future. It is all part of the learning curve.
 
Squirrel768 said:
Hi @Silent Sands , and welcome 🙂 You said you are on mixed insulin - but is that just once a day? Although I'm not familiar with insulin for T2, as T1 I was originally on 2 doses of intermediate insulin, before going on to MDI (multiple daily injections) around 20 years ago. Last year, my slow basal was changed to a different insulin just once a day instead of twice, and the fast acting at mealtimes I'm just trying out Fiasp, which works faster than the Novorapid. My gut reaction, without knowing your history or the reasons behind that dose is so dependent on how it actually works - how fast the onset, and the duration - but If it is once a day, it is not too different from my daily total (currentlt 13 basal and somewhere around rapid 10 with each meal). Maybe it also depends on what time, especially if it is just once ... the fast component just before bed would tend to take your levels down! If it is mornings, then it would just be slow overnight. Or split over 2 or more doses would also respond differently.

I hope you can find the optimum way to deal with both the insulin, and any hypo treatment you need - but it sounds like you are doing all the right stuff 🙂
Click to expand...
I am taking Humulin Mixed Insulin twice a day (eight hours between doses) a half-hour before a meal backed up by 2g Metformin once a day if that helps any...?
I don't know if my current diet will put me into remission in the future - I sincerely hope it will. but even so, it's something new to learn about myself and the relationship between self, and food (carbs/time/BG).
 
Took my BG about a quarter of an hour ago, they were 8.6, well within the range that my Diabetic Nurse wanted.
 
What parameters have you been advised it's best to try to keep your BG within?
 
trophywench said:
What parameters have you been advised it's best to try to keep your BG within?
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Between 6 and 10 before the evening meal and in the morning. They went a little haywire during the night as this morning they were 14.9!
 
Probably didn't go haywire whatever! A characteristic of a human's BG is that it drops to its lowest in the early hours of the morning (about 2.30am- ish) when it can quite normally drop below 4 (with no ill effects cos you're asleep) and then stay fairly low until just before the body commences to stir its stumps and start waking up, whereupon the brain sends helpful messages to the liver and other bits to chuck some glucose into the bloodstream so body has enough energy to go forth to hunt and gather to feed the tribe. This influx of glucose is termed 'Dawn Phenomenon' and is a primaeval instnct we've retained. Not sure if Neanderthals had it or not (I admit being old - but never met one!) or even if primates do. Anyway - it's natural.

So how often have you been asked to test your BG, and what are you going to learn from the testing?
 
... I have found there is a connection between late-night eating and high BG in the morning. The low-end readings have been where I've fasted for at least twelve hours prior to the mornings' reading.

But the information is well received and I'll keep it in mind for the future.

I've been asked for reading twice a day, before breakfast and before the evening meal.
 
Silent Sands said:
... I have found there is a connection between late-night eating and high BG in the morning. The low-end readings have been where I've fasted for at least twelve hours prior to the mornings' reading.

But the information is well received and I'll keep it in mind for the future.

I've been asked for reading twice a day, before breakfast and before the evening meal.
Click to expand...
For me it's proteins and time of day - the neogenesis-wotsit by the liver seems to be anywhere from 4-12 hours - so eating a steak after 8pm? Boom. Higher BG at 8am. It then tumbles later in the morning.

Protein for breakfast at 8 = higher BG at 4-8pm timeframe. Get a lovely low reading at lunch, mind.
 
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