• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

After advise please

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.

Craigyboy1969

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Morning all, not diabetic myself and I'm asking for advice on the following..

My wife was Diagnosed type 1 in 2012 and in the whole manages the condition pretty good, however the past few months she has been struggling keeping her bloods controlled through the night, often waking 3 sometimes 4 times to use the loo and then waking with a headache and blood counts first thing can be anything from 11 upto low 20,s. Yesterday we had an appointment with the diabetes consultant at the local hospital but was told upon arrival that the appointment had been cancelled earlier in the day ( great) anyway after insisting we eventually got to see a consultant who made it pretty clear from the off that medication would not be changed for the nighttime and that my wife should experiment a little by increasing the dosage of night time insulin by 2 clicks and monitor from that, my wife explained that she had done this on numerous occasions and it had resulted in lows been had,got the feeling at this point that we were wasting our time,anyway I'm sat here at work thinking as I usually do as to what I can do or try and sort out going forward as I feel that because my wife manages her type 1 pretty well that she's getting fobbed off,We have gone back to our Dr and asked to be put with a community diabetic nurse to see if we can get her treatment changed, I've even thought of contacting our local MP as 2 appointments since January this year have been cancelled last minute which to me isn't acceptable due to the diabetes been a serious condition, I've also wondered how we go on about getting her private treatment, has anyone on here gone down the private route?? Sorry if this goes a bit wayward,I'm typing this while at work on my break, which is another worry as I'm a permanent night worker and often worry about kerry while I'm here etc...

Cheers craig
 
Hi Craig - a warm welcome to our forum - sorry to read your wife and yourself are struggling - I'm sorry as I'm type 2 I'm unable to help you but there are other members who will be along who will come to your aid - but I have to say i think your wife hasn't been treated very well at all as far as her appointments are concerned - in fact pretty appallingly. The forum will start to come to life fairly soon I expect so please hang on in there, take care.
WL

Dx Type 2 April 2016
Metformin withdrawn
Diet control and exercise only
 
Morning, hope your good...
it's been a shambles from first diagnosis to be honest,and I honestly think because kerry exercises regular and keeps on top of her diet that the consultants just leave her to get on with it, well now there's an issue which needs sorting..

Craig
 
Last edited:
tQUOTE="Craigyboy1969, post: 717018, member: 18573"]Morning all, not diabetic myself and I'm asking for advice on the following..

My wife was Diagnosed type 1 in 2012 and in the whole manages the condition pretty good, however the past few months she has been struggling keeping her bloods controlled through the night, often waking 3 sometimes 4 times to use the loo and then waking with a headache and blood counts first thing can be anything from 11 upto low 20,s. Yesterday we had an appointment with the diabetes consultant at the local hospital but was told upon arrival that the appointment had been cancelled earlier in the day ( great) anyway after insisting we eventually got to see a consultant who made it pretty clear from the off that medication would not be changed for the nighttime and that my wife should experiment a little by increasing the dosage of night time insulin by 2 clicks and monitor from that, my wife explained that she had done this on numerous occasions and it had resulted in lows been had,got the feeling at this point that we were wasting our time,anyway I'm sat here at work thinking as I usually do as to what I can do or try and sort out going forward as I feel that because my wife manages her type 1 pretty well that she's getting fobbed off,We have gone back to our Dr and asked to be put with a community diabetic nurse to see if we can get her treatment changed, I've even thought of contacting our local MP as 2 appointments since January this year have been cancelled last minute which to me isn't acceptable due to the diabetes been a serious condition, I've also wondered how we go on about getting her private treatment, has anyone on here gone down the private route?? Sorry if this goes a bit wayward,I'm typing this while at work on my break, which is another worry as I'm a permanent night worker and often worry about kerry while I'm here etc...

Cheers craig[/QUOTE]
Craig like @wirralas unable to give you any advice on your wife's insulin dosage...type 2 myself...however the response from the health care team who should be assisting is not acceptable...hopefully you are diarising the cancelled appointments...when cancelled...how much notice you've been given...disappointing to hear how you've both been treated...although not surprised...whether you consider private treatment or not...believe you need to resolve the issues you face with the lack of commitment from your GP practice...and the hospital diabetes team...had so many difficulties with my own GP practice...their DSN...had to be persistent...each time an issue arose...I wrote to them...that way who said what to whom is documented...cannot be any misunderstanding...unless you are persistent...there is unlikely to be any change...I would try the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) for the problems with consultant appointments...secondly write to your GP practice...detailing the problems experienced...they are obliged to respond...part of the problem is.. the lack of complaint when we are treated badly...persistence is absolutely necessary...knowing where to complain...how to complain...getting them to sit up and take notice is the key...any action you do take can be copied to your MP...local councillor...no doubt other members will be along shortly to offer advice/suggestions on adjusting insulin doses...managing those low/high BG levels...keep us updated...good luck.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forum Craigyboy1969.
Waking to pee several times a night definitely means something has to change. Blood glucose levels can also be raised by a urinary tract infection, which can also cause more peeing, but not just at night. So, worth checking with GP.
As your wife sounds reluctant to follow consultant's advice to increase basal dose, due to previous low levels, it would be wise to get more support eg phone contact to diabetes specialist nurse. DSN could discuss entire picture to try to identify what caused lows when doss was increased previously. Basal doses don't stay constant for ever, and need reviewing as life changes eg long term physical activity, diet, bodyweight, stress etc.
Frustrating when appointments are changed at very short notice. Definitely worth bringing to attention of candidates during election campaign, then MP after election.
 
One more suggestion, which would help Kerry to manage exercise etc - www.runsweet.com This website has lots of information about physiology of activity and sport with type 1 diabetes, case studies, how to adjust insulin and food amounts and timings etc. If she is scared of increasing insulin because of previous hypos, it's important to establish the circumstances of those hypos, which might have been not eating right before, during and after exercise and / or not adjusting short and / or long acting insulins around exercise.
 
Hi Craig and welcome. Can you give us a bit more information about your wife's diabetes and its treatment? - it might help us to help.
How are your wife's readings during the day? - has she started having lots of lows or highs at other times, or are the problems just happening at night?
What insulin is she on? - mixed (two injections a day) or MDI (4 injections a day)?
Which insulin/s does she have, and what are her current doses (how many units)?
If she is getting such high readings first thing then something definitely needs to be changed, but I don't think any of us will be able to tell whether it is to put the night-time insulin up, or to put it down (sometimes high readings first thing do mean it needs to go down!), or to change it to a different insulin, or maybe to a pump, without a bit more information.
Hopefully someone here will be able to help though, and I think it would be a good idea if your wife could get to talk to a DSN as well - in my experience diabetes nurses are much more understanding than consultants.
 
Type of basal (night-time) insulin (Lantus, Levemir, or what?) and TIMING of taking it are two things I'd like to know for starters, please Craig.

None of the 'long acting' insulins have a flat profile despite the blurb - and if the lows caused by insulin peaking at smack on the time when anyone's body reaches it's inbuilt lowest daily level (usually around 2.30 to 3.30 am - AKA the 'suicide hour' to staff in A&E for obvious reasons) - it always leads to hypos. There are definitely ways of warding this off. Is your wife aware that the effects of exercise on the BG continue for about 48 hours after the exercise too - and if all 3 things (insulin peak, body's lowest natural BG, effects of exercise) coincide - then it's a disaster!

She's had rubbish treatment I can see - but I was where she was after being T1 for 30 years and after 2 whole years had passed without managing to see either a consultant or proper DSN - I turned to the internet too - before this forum was even invented. And another D forum's members managed to solve quite a lot of my BG problems by asking the right questions - so please answer our questions - and we'll try and help your wife!
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top