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Blood monitoring

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Wanda62

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My introduction to diabetes was a very very scary DKA with ketone=6 and spending 5 days in hospital. Turns out my immunotherapy treatment for melanoma has caused my immune system to destroy my pancreas cells and I no longer produce insulin. Went into the cancer treatment knowing there could be side effects (chances of diabetes is <1%), but you never think it will be you. I'm now a Type 1 diabetic and absolutely devastated to be honest. I know things will get easier but I'm struggling big time with all of this. The up side is that I am 61, no longer work and have an incredibly supportive husband who is helping me as I am very fatigued from the cancer treatment, the diabetes and also the hospital recovery.

I will have questions as we get to grips with all of this but one thing I would love to know now is how to go about getting a monitor/patches so I can feel a little more reassured with my sugar levels throughout the day. I am paranoid about not getting to DKA again (or hypo) and I'm currently obsessing. Yes I know that will ease off but I would like to get a monitor sooner rather than later if possible. I need to understand if the fatigue is just general tiredness or if my sugar is way off and I need to take action. I'm happy to do finger prick test before my meals etc .. it's just to be able to check at a glance more regularly. I'm currently on 3 fast acting shots and 1 long acting shot before bed.
 
You should be prescibed a cgm (continous glucose monitor) if you live in england...speak to your diabetes care team..i'm surprised they haven't told you this.
Oh, and it does get easier!
 
Tdm said:
You should be prescibed a cgm (continous glucose monitor) if you live in england...speak to your diabetes care team..i'm surprised they haven't told you this.
Click to expand...
I think it's now at around 99% of people in England with Type 1 diabetes who are prescribed a CGM.
 
Hi and welcome.

Really sorry to hear you have had such a rough start to your diabetes journey, but hopefully you are over the worst now and whilst it is really overwhelming at first, it really does get easier and you will learn a lot from people on this forum who are available to answer questions and reassure you every day, so do make use of the support here because it is second to none and based on practical, personal experience.

Your GP can prescribe Libre 2 or Decom One Constant Glucose Monitoring systems but might be difficult until they get advice from your diabetes clinic. So definitely ask your GP to prescribe it and if they are hesitant, be prepared to push them and say that you are entitled to it on prescription under NICE guidelines. If they are still resistant, get on to a DSN (Diabetes Specialist Nurse) at the diabetes clinic to sort it with the GP.
In the meantime, you can apply to Abbott who make Libre, for a free 14 day trial (one Libre 2 sensor) provided that you have a suitable smartphone which will download and operate the app which picks up and displays the readings from the sensor. If you do an internet search for Freestyle Libre 2 you will find the website and there will be details of the 14 day free trial as well as lots of information on how to use it. I believe there is a "Libre Academy" that you can sign up to and work your way through the modules. You should be able to get that sorted in a matter of a few days and that will give you a bit of leeway timewise, to get it sorted on prescription.

Good luck and if you have any difficulties get back to us and we will find links to whatever you need to help you get it sorted.
 
Welcome to the forum @Wanda62

Goodness what rotten luck for you being the one in a hundred :(

Sounds like you are actively trying to manage your diabetes, and are keen to have a good flow of information on which to base your decisions.

These are both great attributes, and should really help going towards. Great to hear you have the support of your husband too.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on trying to get your sensors supplied 🙂
 
@Tdm @Bruce Stephens @rebrascora @everydayupsanddowns thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. Due to the DKA admission being at the hospital where my oncology team are based, I am in the process of being transferred to a diabetes team at my local hospital a bit closer to home. As soon as I hear from them, I will ask for a CGM (I know the term now .. thank you). Another hypo last night so the sooner the better. My levels are still all over the place due to me being in the "honeymoon period" and complicating things. Gonna be googling Libre today.
Thank you again x
 
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