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help me on behalf of Mum

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Tourhouse

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Sorry new to this and have joined on behalf of my 79 year old mum. I may be posting using wrong thread or in wrong location. will get the hang of this asap......😱 I posted a few weeks ago. Mums levels were in to 30s! Got some great replies about possible damaged pen so asked Mum to show me her taking her insulin......You wont believe this but my Mum for years, yes years had been injecting herself with the plastic tip on the needle!!! It was completely shocking to discover and we have hit the roof with Dr and Nurse. Yes I know its 'worrying' but Mum is the full ticket and has all her faculties but she has obviously never been shown how to use the pen correctly and best case scenario neither the dr or nurse have shown any concerns about the very very high blood sugar levels and kept upping the insulin levels..!!!
Anyway, new questions for friends on here....

1. What is best time to take your blood sugar levels? Before or after breakfast?
(sorry I know you will be amazed we are asking this but Mum doesnt "get" this condition of hers)

2. If levels are low for instance - 5 - 8 would you then alter the level of insulin you then inject.....would you not inject if your levels were "ok"?


Thanks so much
 
Glad you've discovered the reason for your Mum's surprising blood glucose levels!

Best time to test - before breakfast gives a fasting reading, which gives an idea of overnight levels.

5 to 8 mmol/l are ideal, not low levels, so would indicate doses and food are right.

Without knowing which insulin regime you Mum uses (basal bolus long acting and short acting with meals or twice a day bimodal insulin) it's difficult to know what to suggest, and anyway, we're not medically qualified to advise. It would be best to go back to her medical team. While not realising that she wasn't injecting is worrying, raising insulin levels due to increasing resistance isn't so unusual, so that's probably what they assumed was happening.
 
My gooness, what a thing to discover - so glad to hear you have found it out. Your mum will feel so much better in herself now that she is able to get her levels into range. I can't add to what Copepod has said, levels of 5-8 before eating are excellent. Do you know the name or names of the insulin she is using?
 
Thank you so much Northerner and Copepod will check what insulin she is taking. Incredible about not taking the tip of the needle off I know.....it was a Eureka moment!
 
Sorry, me again....can either of you respond to my query that IF her levels are "normal" let's use 5 - 8 in this instance, would she be better NOT to administer her insulin? Another scenario is... if she wakes and is "low" 2 - 4 ish....should she administer insulin of just have a bite to eat and THEN check her levels>? Thanks again
 
Tourhouse said:
Sorry, me again....can either of you respond to my query that IF her levels are "normal" let's use 5 - 8 in this instance, would she be better NOT to administer her insulin? Another scenario is... if she wakes and is "low" 2 - 4 ish....should she administer insulin of just have a bite to eat and THEN check her levels>? Thanks again
Click to expand...

Under no circumstances give insulin if she is low (below 4) as this will only make her lower. She should be given some fast acting sugar (around 15g sugar/3 jelly babies etc.) and then tested again after 10-15 mins to make sure her levels have risen above 4.

Without knowing the insulin she is on it's hard to answer the first question, I'm afraid. How often does she inject? Once, twice a day, or with every meal?
 
.... soo to recap, if she's 5 - 8 ish, then yes take the insulin because when you eat carbohydrates (which most people do at most mealtimes) your BG will increase after eating it.

Although even if it's 'fast' insulin it will start to work after 10 or 20 minutes, this matches what your body does anyway - first mouthful goes in and Mr Pancreas says ''ere we go again then, food coming down the chute - bung a bit of insulin in, lads!" and then as the meal starts going down Mr P and Professor Brain do some more sums and work out how much more you need depending on what you ate, and Mr Pancreas gets the lads to send that along too.

If it's slower acting insulin it's MOST unlikely to floor her by injecting for the obvious reason that it just won't hit her that quick.

But more detailed explanations can be given later once we know exactly what it is.

Plus - sorry, I can't recall? - what Type is she - Type 1 or Type 2 ?
 
Tourhouse said:
Sorry, me again....can either of you respond to my query that IF her levels are "normal" let's use 5 - 8 in this instance, would she be better NOT to administer her insulin? Another scenario is... if she wakes and is "low" 2 - 4 ish....should she administer insulin of just have a bite to eat and THEN check her levels>? Thanks again
Click to expand...

If normal, then give insulin and eat as normal.

If low on waking or at any time, then treat hypo and delay giving insulin until levels are back to normal - this is especially vital if on bimodal insulin which covers next two meals.
 
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