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Diabetes made more complicated

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C

Caroline LGB

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in December 2014. Most of the time sin e, I have controlled it with diet, losing weight and have been on atorvastatin for a while. Recently, the Diabetic Clinic told me that the guidelines had changed, and consequently (though my numbers were unchanged), I would be put on Metformin.
However, in the meantime I have had a cancer tumour removed and a course of chemo and radiotherapy just finished. What with steroids and eating to try to balance between constipation and diarrhoea (oh, joy!) I feel my diabetes is out of control. High sugar registered when I asked them to check one week; I feel dehydrated at times though drinking more to protect kidneys from chemo; going to the loo very frequently at times - I won't go on, but back to the diabetic nurse tomorrow to see what can be done. They keep saying it is more important to deal with the cancer, and I do know that, but just today I am not feeling too brilliant, and not liking that out-of-control feeling.
I apologise for just gushing out my problems - hope this is the right place for me to vent a little.
 
You're certainly in the right place @Caroline LGB, welcome to the forum. We have one or two folk around who've faced dealing with both diabetes and cancer and they may have some ideas to help you. Are you able to test your blood sugar levels for yourself? If you have or can get a meter, you may find it a very useful tool.
 
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AlisonM said:
You're certainly in the right place @Caroline LGB, welcome to the forum. We have one or two folk around who've faced dealing with both diabetes and cancer and they may have some ideas to help you. Are you able to test your blood sugar levels for yourself? If you have or can get a meter, you may find it a very useful tool.
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I believe this may be part of my meeting with the nurse tomorrow, so having the meter to hand will at least give us an idea whether we have a long term problem, or if this will settle down again now the treatment and steroids are over. Thanks for the reassurance, Alison.
 
Ahah. BGs often rise when we have an illness and that's without taking things like steroids into consideration. I bet you'll find your numbers will improve now that the treatment's over. They may remain raised for a while longer though as your body is still fighting the C, but they should come down at least a bit. Keep us posted.
 
Here I am, crossing my fingers for both of us: me, because I hope you are right and you, because I saw a message which suggests you are having a rough time yourself today. Hope things improve and you get back in balance very soon.
 
Caroline - it may actually be that at the moment you need some extra help from medication to keep your blood glucose on the straight and narrow - it's VERY difficult for the body to deal with any other health problem with higher BG than it should have - that's why we're always warned that odds and sods of relatively minor stuff - a paper cut, a blister, whatever - might take longer to heal so to be very very careful of such things, more care than you'd have thought to take in the past. Well that applies to stuff going awry with your innards too - how the heck can anyone expect your body to deal with such a tenacious and vicious thing as cancer cells trying to proliferate themselves at your expense, when it's not otherwise fighting fit?

Depends how high your BG is really and you won't have a clue unless you test - but as a guide and warning - on this and another forum we've seen folk needing 3x the amount of insulin they normally need whilst needing steroid use or eg a man's cancer biopsy under anaesthetic.

Take all the help you can get, my friend - and if you think you need it and it isn't offered - ASK for it! It seems simple to me to prescribe temporary insulin use to get you through it - like gestational diabetes which ceases once baby's been born - it doesn't mean you'll always need to use it !
 
You clearly have experience of dealing with the ups and downs, given the length of time you have had to deal with diabetes and its tricks. Thanks for the support, and I can tell you I now have a meter to check BS myself - 13 this morning, before breakfast - and a prescription for Gliclazide, as the nurse felt Metformin's side effects added on to the reactions I am still having to the Chemo- and Radiotherapy might be too much for my system. Ah, well - another few days adjusting to a new regime and then gradually getting back to diabetic dietary patterns, hopefully things will settle down again. Ever the optimist!
 
Hi Caroline, first of all I hope the chemo and radiotherapy has eradicated the cancerous tumour because that's obviously the priority for you at the moment. However I totally understand the dilemma of trying to balance illness, steroid use, resultant stress and diabetes! I have blood cancer which includes cancer of the immune system and my BG levels are influenced heavily by infection. I'm yet untreated but know the chemo regime involves lots of steroids which is a serious concern to me. I suspect at that time I'll require medication as Jenny suggests because it's hard to control on diet alone. However that challenge is for another day for me.

I feel sure your BG's will settle as you get your system back to normal and I know from experience that doctors get more excited about fighting the malignancy and infection than temporary high glucose levels. However we can't afford to as the symptoms exacerbate everything else and I can understand you feel like hell at times anyway. I see from your latest post that gliclazide has been introduced for you and I really hope that knocks the levels back down. We panic massively about our BG's but doctors have told me that wouldn't be their main priority in type 2'S during cancer treatment (unless it was off the scale).

Wishing you well. Regards, Amigo
 
You sound as if you have a lot to go through in the next weeks and months, Amigo, and I really hope that the treatment helps you. The steroids do have an effect on the BS levels, there is no doubt: add in antibiotics for infections and keeping control by diet really goes by the wayside.
It is an absolute bugger (excuse my French) to have to deal with more than one serious illness at the same time, because, as you say, the treatment for one throws the other into disarray. I hope I am heading into the foothills of getting myself back into balance. As I said above, I am ever the optimist, and look for positive news next month after the check up CT scan, but if there is more to do, I will buckle down and do it. In the meantime, trying to regain control on the diabetic side seems a proactive thing to do while waiting.
I do hope that the treatment (while inevitably a grim time for you) will prove efficacious. I will keep you in mind, and expect we will see news about each other here. Al the best, Caroline.
 
Brilliant news about both the meter and the Glic - you see I'm not as off the mark as I may appear sometimes LOL - only on this occasion I'm not exactly whooping for joy cos I was right - if you can follow that. Anyway - sounds like you've got a good sensible Nursie there so look after her - she's a keeper! And do mot EVER be reticent if/when you need more help again - or indeed as I hope ifs the case - slow to try dropping it as you recover and get rid of stinky steroids.

Good luck at your next scan - Pete's soon coming up for his 6 monthly blood test following his cancer removal and radiography and although you know you've progressed, it's still ruddy scary until you have actual proof of it.
 
Clearly things are worse than I thought - after the blood test results from Monday came back, the nurse said to increase the Gliclazide to 2 a day, and the doctor also told me to increase the atorvastatin dose from 20 to 40 per day: add to that everything I brought back from the Palliative Care clinic today, I am going to be rattling from all the pills and capsules. Only consolation is that some of this is temporary, but if I am on Gliclazide in the long term, I see it says 'no alcohol'. I drink very little alcohol, but never being able to enjoy a little celebratory fizz, Archers & tonic or Baileys .... I would miss that. Seems a petty thing to whinge about, when there is so much of more serious concern, but I remember when my husband was diagnosed lactose intolerant, his reaction was about 'No more ice cream!' rather than the soya milk he found unappetising.
I do hope Pete's news is good, and I absolutely recognise that feeling of 'will it be OK, or will they have a long "bad news" face on as I go in'. Keith and I have tried to follow a 'don't worry about things over which we have no control' course since July diagnosis, taking each day as it comes, but each time there has been a next step appointment it has not been good news, so I am definitely apprehensive about the appointment after the CT scan in December.
Thanks again for support, Jenny, and best wishes,
Caroline
 
This was nearly a month ago. Shortly afterwards, Keith and I went away for a few days to recover from the daily round of hospital visits. Unfortunately, we'd barely been there for two days when I did a spectacular collapse, temperature of 40.2 degrees and entirely incoherent. Ambulance to hospital and diagnosed with neutropenic sepsis, I do not remember much of the first 36 hours . I spent a week in hospital, initially unable to stand/ walk. Lymphoedema is much worse, too. The oncologist tells me this is a textbook case, small consolation, but I am grateful to the people at Bangor who pulled me through what was clearly a very serious infection.
The good news from the CT scan is that they have cleared out the cancer for now, lots of warnings though that there will be ups and downs over the coming months and even years. My BG figures seem to be settling down, taken measurements every other day, and mostly in single digits now. I think I will have to continue with patience, taking advice, careful diet and wearing the new long compression socks every day. Very boring, but better to be careful and alive ...
My 93 year old Mum cracked her arm last week, and despite my natural instincts, I have not rushed to Surrey to visit her, as just about everyone said to steer clear of hospitals and the potential for bugs and infections they represent. I may not like it, but the philosophy to look after number 1 at this stage is better for me and mine.
 
Caroline LGB said:
This was nearly a month ago. Shortly afterwards, Keith and I went away for a few days to recover from the daily round of hospital visits. Unfortunately, we'd barely been there for two days when I did a spectacular collapse, temperature of 40.2 degrees and entirely incoherent. Ambulance to hospital and diagnosed with neutropenic sepsis, I do not remember much of the first 36 hours . I spent a week in hospital, initially unable to stand/ walk. Lymphoedema is much worse, too. The oncologist tells me this is a textbook case, small consolation, but I am grateful to the people at Bangor who pulled me through what was clearly a very serious infection.
The good news from the CT scan is that they have cleared out the cancer for now, lots of warnings though that there will be ups and downs over the coming months and even years. My BG figures seem to be settling down, taken measurements every other day, and mostly in single digits now. I think I will have to continue with patience, taking advice, careful diet and wearing the new long compression socks every day. Very boring, but better to be careful and alive ...
My 93 year old Mum cracked her arm last week, and despite my natural instincts, I have not rushed to Surrey to visit her, as just about everyone said to steer clear of hospitals and the potential for bugs and infections they represent. I may not like it, but the philosophy to look after number 1 at this stage is better for me and mine.
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Sorry to hear you have not been well. Glad you appear to be on the mend. I agree about keeping away from hospitals if you can. Hope you continue to get better.
 
grovesy said:
Sorry to hear you have not been well. Glad you appear to be on the mend. I agree about keeping away from hospitals if you can. Hope you continue to get better.
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Thanks for the support, grovesy. Merry Christmas, and hope all well for you in 2017.
 
It never rains but it pours! 😱 Your poor Mum. You're doing the right thing though, you must think of yourself first at this time. (((hugs)))
 
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