Any advice? How to reduce blood sugar after chemo

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They have started me on the insulin, just 4 on the pen, each evening, while continuing with the glicklizide and the metformin. It does seem to have brought the BG figures down a bit. I'm getting used to the injections. Does everone do them in the stomach? I don't really have any fat there, but was advised to inject in the stomach anyway rather than the thigh. I'm told to get some jelly babies on standby in case the BG goes down to 4. What does anyone reading this keep on standby? Would 3 teaspoons full of honey do it?
 
I inject my long acting (basal) insulin into my buttocks in the morning and if I need any on a night then I use my thighs and I keep my stomach for my meal time (bolus) insulin.

As regards hypo treatments it is important to keep them near at all times and it probably isn't always convenient to take a jar of honey and a spoon out with you for a walk or a jog. I find jelly babies really fit the bill for me. I have a jam jar on the bedside table containing them and I have little packs of 2 of them in every coat pocket/handbag/car/up at my stables at my partner's house etc and even in the bathroom as a hot shower after exercise can plummet my levels. You can guarantee that a hypo will catch you out when you are least prepared., so do your best to be well prepared. Being caught out without any can be downright scary. U think when I was first diagnosed that I naively thought that hypos might only happen only once of twice a year if I was unlucky. My experience has been that I average nearly one (mostly mild ones) a day. It very much depends on your body and metabolism and the insulin you use. Some people use orange juice at home of full sugar small cans of Coke, but these are not always convenient to carry either. There are also Glucose tablets like Lift or Dextrose tablets and some people use little packs of Haribo sweets. Whatever works for you with your lifestyle and digestive response. It will likely be a case of trial and improvement as to what works best for you.
 
I tend to inject in thighs or abdomen.
My hypo reverser is a 150ml can of Coca Cola: 16 g of carbs followed by Warburtons whole meal bread/toast if needed or a banana or an apple
 
Pookie said:
They have started me on the insulin, just 4 on the pen, each evening, while continuing with the glicklizide and the metformin. It does seem to have brought the BG figures down a bit. I'm getting used to the injections. Does everone do them in the stomach? I don't really have any fat there, but was advised to inject in the stomach anyway rather than the thigh. I'm told to get some jelly babies on standby in case the BG goes down to 4. What does anyone reading this keep on standby? Would 3 teaspoons full of honey do it?
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I’m very slim so don’t use my tummy as there’s very little fat there. I use my thigh.

For hypos (low blood sugar), I use Dextro tablets as they’re widely available and last well. I also use the little 150ml cans of regular sugary Coke or Appletiser, or jelly babies. I find honey slower to work than Dextrose or sugary Coke.
 
Glad you’ve had some helpful support and reassurance from the forum during this tricky period of treatment.

It can be such a help to have shared experiences and encouragement from others who heve lived experience of the challenges you are facing.

Just for clarity for anyone else browsing the thread, one type of diabetes doesn’t turn into another type as a result of having a different treatment (eg insulin). You can be a T2 who moves onto insulin, but you are still T2.

The types are defined mostly by their cause. A metabolic imbalance for T2 (often involving high BP, cholesterol, and insulin resistance), and an autoimmune attack on the pancreas in T1 where the immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells.

Diabetes can be fickle, and wily, and there are some rarer niche types which are harder to spot, but where types change it is because over time the reason for the diabetes becomes clearer / confirmed. The initial classification of T2 may need changing in some people, but that’s only because it was never T2 to begin with 🙂
 
Thank you everyone for the advice and reassurance you given me. I am now injecting insulin every evening in a thigh and the BG is much more in range - probably a lot because the steroids have worked their way out of my system . But I have a question please about the injecting. I was told to count to ten with the needle in me before withdrawing it but is that while still depressing the end of the pen? After the count of about 5 it does sting. It is leaving red spots behind. Is this normal? Any tricks to make it any better?
The good news I think is that the diabetes dept of the hospital is monitoring the Libre2 they gave me and are also in contact with the oncologist to discuss whether they should modify the steroids at all.
 
rebrascora said:
Really, I can assure you it is nothing in comparison to what you expect. The needles are really, really tiny.... less than a quarter of an inch long and only slightly wider than a human hair and the pens are so easy to use and the forum is here to support you if you have any questions. So pleased that you are getting insulin because getting those high levels down will help your body fight the cancer more effectively as well as making you feel better physically and emotionally. You don't realise how rough you feel with high BG until they come down. Hopefully they will start you off with conservative doses and gradually increase them as needed. Finding the right dose for each person is trial and improvement, so it will take a few weeks to bring you slowly and steadily down into range.... or at least I hope so. Sudden drops in BG are not good for the body either.

Do you know which insulin(s) you are getting? And will you be getting a Constant Glucose Monitor, usually a Libre. If it hasn't been mentioned, do ask as it will make monitoring your levels easier. If they don't prescribe them, you can apply for a free 14 day trial from the manufacturer, so ask and we will post a link.
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Also get a blood testing machine as well as Libre from Doctors as I have said you need the Blood testing machine as Libre 2 not always accurate and can be wrong. This is fact so best to have both. Abbotts have said to have both. Doctors should give you both and they should put on prescription. You should not to have to buy if you have type 2 Diabetes, and the Sensor needs changing every 14 days or sometimes earlier if Sensor fails.
 
Pookie said:
But I have a question please about the injecting. I was told to count to ten with the needle in me before withdrawing it but is that while still depressing the end of the pen? After the count of about 5 it does sting. It is leaving red spots behind. Is this normal? Any tricks to make it any better?
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If it’s Lantus that’s normal to sting and little dots left should heal quickly. I leave my thumb on the button whilst counting but not sure if there’s a rule
 
I squeeze skin between thumb and finger then inject into the mound created. I count to ten and keep finger on button on pen. Sometimes it hurts sometimes it doesn’t. Any marks/dots usually disappear quickly but remember to rotate injection sites .
I suspect the steroid dose will remain the same , you have to adjust glucose control with your insulin.
Good to hear diabetes team are now involved: don’t hesitate to ask them for advice, they are usually excellent.
Good luck.
 
@Pookie it sounds like you have made progress. I love this forum. Look at all the support you have been given. It's wonderful.

Any sweets will do for hypos, I also like the little boxes of raisins or a small banana will do.

When I injected I would change sites, arms, belly, legs. Whenever you have flesh you can reach, or someone can help you with, that's easier for arms.

Lantus normally stung me, someone mentioned that, not sure if that's what you are on.
 
I don't actually believe you should keep the plunger specifically depressed - not with any pressure on it though, and defo don't fiddle with the plunger - I hold an insulin pen between my RH index and middle fingers and depress the plunger with my thumb. Then relax my thumb. Then withdraw needle and sort it and me out.
 
Martyn P said:
Also get a blood testing machine as well as Libre from Doctors as I have said you need the Blood testing machine as Libre 2 not always accurate and can be wrong. This is fact so best to have both. Abbotts have said to have both. Doctors should give you both and they should put on prescription. You should not to have to buy if you have type 2 Diabetes, and the Sensor needs changing every 14 days or sometimes earlier if Sensor fails.
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O thank you for that. I didn't know I could get on prescription. Certainly so much easier to keep a track of than all the finger pricking.
 
PhoebeC said:
@Pookie it sounds like you have made progress. I love this forum. Look at all the support you have been given. It's wonderful.

Any sweets will do for hypos, I also like the little boxes of raisins or a small banana will do.

When I injected I would change sites, arms, belly, legs. Whenever you have flesh you can reach, or someone can help you with, that's easier for arms.

Lantus normally stung me, someone mentioned that, not sure if that's what you are on.
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I've got a Abasaglar pen type insulin dispenser. My blood sugar has come down a lot, no more really high ones, not sure if thats because of the insulin or the steroids leaving my body. A couple of early morming hypos down to 3, but fixed LITERALLY in minutes with a couple of ginger oatcakes which I keep bedside. Getting used to the injecting routine now and just glad its under control.
Yes the forum is just the best thing. I'm off to put a cooking question on now....
 
Pookie said:
O thank you for that. I didn't know I could get on prescription. Certainly so much easier to keep a track of than all the finger pricking.
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The guidance for type 2 to get libre is injecting 2x a day or more and fingerpricking 8 times a day or more. Worth asking but it’s not guaranteed
 
Pookie said:
I've got a Abasaglar pen type insulin dispenser. My blood sugar has come down a lot, no more really high ones, not sure if thats because of the insulin or the steroids leaving my body. A couple of early morming hypos down to 3, but fixed LITERALLY in minutes with a couple of ginger oatcakes which I keep bedside. Getting used to the injecting routine now and just glad its under control.
Yes the forum is just the best thing. I'm off to put a cooking question on now....
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Sorry to hear that you have had a couple of hypos. How did you feel? Were these whilst you were in bed/asleep and did you double check them with a finger prick?
The reason I ask is that Libre is prone to compression lows (false low readings as a result of lying on the sensor in your sleep) and the way you talk about these hypos suggests that perhaps you didn't feel particularly unwell, which is unusual, as with your first few hypos, when levels are coming down from being high for a while, generally make you feel like you are dying and recovery takes a while.

Can I also mention that ginger oat cakes are not a good choice for hypo treatment. You need something which will release it's glucose really fast and anything which has grains with fibre and perhaps fat, like chocolate, cake or biscuits, will usually take a bit longer to release it's glucose than something which is mostly just glucose and can be absorbed straight into the blood stream through the cells inside your mouth.... so jelly babies or orange juice or full sugar coke or dextrose tablets etc.
It is important to bring your levels out of "the red" as quickly as possible and cakes, biscuits and chocolate are not as quick acting as those other things which are high in simple sugars. The fact that you recovered so quickly using a ginger oat cake suggests that perhaps you were not actually hypo and this was a compression low ie a false low reading.
 
rebrascora said:
Sorry to hear that you have had a couple of hypos. How did you feel? Were these whilst you were in bed/asleep and did you double check them with a finger prick?
The reason I ask is that Libre is prone to compression lows (false low readings as a result of lying on the sensor in your sleep) and the way you talk about these hypos suggests that perhaps you didn't feel particularly unwell, which is unusual, as with your first few hypos, when levels are coming down from being high for a while, generally make you feel like you are dying and recovery takes a while.

Can I also mention that ginger oat cakes are not a good choice for hypo treatment. You need something which will release it's glucose really fast and anything which has grains with fibre and perhaps fat, like chocolate, cake or biscuits, will usually take a bit longer to release it's glucose than something which is mostly just glucose and can be absorbed straight into the blood stream through the cells inside your mouth.... so jelly babies or orange juice or full sugar coke or dextrose tablets etc.
It is important to bring your levels out of "the red" as quickly as possible and cakes, biscuits and chocolate are not as quick acting as those other things which are high in simple sugars. The fact that you recovered so quickly using a ginger oat cake suggests that perhaps you were not actually hypo and this was a compression low ie a false low reading.
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It had never occurred to me that it could be a false reading. I sleep on my back, so wasn't compressing the Libre2. But it was 3.0mmol/L at 5.06am, 3.7mmol at 5.09am and 4.9 at 5.11am, so that does sound very suspicious. And I therefore thought the ginger oatcakes were performing magnificently! They didn't do any harm I think as I was hungry anyway and the reading never went above 6mmol before breakfast. I will check the Libre2 a couple of times before taking anything tomorrow - although maybe dextrose tablets would be overkill if it is not a true reading. And yes, I felt fine, apart from a bad headache - which goes with a caffeine tablet. Thank you very much for your advice.
 
Pookie said:
I will check the Libre2 a couple of times before taking anything tomorrow
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If you think you’re low a fingerprick is the best way to confirm not the libre
 
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