Husband (treated as T1) had Covid before Christmas but tested negative on Christmas Eve. His BG levels went very high while he was positive so he followed sick day rules and had a chat with the hospital DSN. Christmas Day was fine but BG has gone crazy again since then. Levels up in the 20s but no ketones. He is following sick day rules again and taking additional insulin between meals which he was told not to do but ..... Levels still very high. He doesnt seem to have a chest infection. Anyone else had Covid and found that BG stayed high even after testing negative? Any ideas/advice welcome!
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Covid and high BG readings
- Thread starter mbmep
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rebrascora
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My levels have also been a bit crazy the last couple of days having been good up to and including Christmas Day. In some respects it is the nature of diabetes and you have to just accept that it happens and manage things as well as you can when you hit these turbulent periods. I have been firefighting the high levels with bolus insulin and stacking corrections which is also frowned upon, but after a couple of days of persistently high levels and lots of corrections I usually increase my basal for a day or two and then reassess.
It may be the change of routine over the holiday period, different (richer or more) food or less exercise or it may be that his body is still recovering from the Covid. It may even be that he got a false negative Covid test. My sister had a batch of lateral flow tests which tested neg when she was sure she had Covid. She gave them to me when I had Covid and I had tested very fast and strong positive on my test kit but negative on hers, so it can happen. That said, I am clear of Covid now as it was a month ago and my levels are haywire the last 2 days. I very rarely go above 10 and I have been stuck in the mid teens and not budging and then when I get really frustrated and jab too much insulin, it either drops a little and goes back up or it plummets to hypo and then despite not over treating the hypo, it is back up into double figures. I know from experience it will settle down in due course and all I can do in the meantime is my best, but it is very frustrating and just a little scary sometimes, especially when insulin appears to be having no effect!
It may be the change of routine over the holiday period, different (richer or more) food or less exercise or it may be that his body is still recovering from the Covid. It may even be that he got a false negative Covid test. My sister had a batch of lateral flow tests which tested neg when she was sure she had Covid. She gave them to me when I had Covid and I had tested very fast and strong positive on my test kit but negative on hers, so it can happen. That said, I am clear of Covid now as it was a month ago and my levels are haywire the last 2 days. I very rarely go above 10 and I have been stuck in the mid teens and not budging and then when I get really frustrated and jab too much insulin, it either drops a little and goes back up or it plummets to hypo and then despite not over treating the hypo, it is back up into double figures. I know from experience it will settle down in due course and all I can do in the meantime is my best, but it is very frustrating and just a little scary sometimes, especially when insulin appears to be having no effect!
Thanks! He was told not to increase basal but will put it up from 21 to 22 tonight and watch carefully. I suspect the change in routine has a lot to do with it. We usually have meals around the same time every day but that has gone out the window!
rebrascora
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I am surprised you are not adjusting basal yourself because that is part of following sick day rules. Which basal insulin does he use? And what are his levels like overnight?
He is using Lantus and levels stay high overnight. The sick day rules he has been given say to increase basal only if ketones are present and this was confirmed by DSN. They give a formula for increasing bolus (eg between 11 and 17 mmol/l add 2 units to usual dose). Going to increase basal anyway.
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