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Diabetic ketoacidosis

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Welshchick28

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Hello welshchick here .
I have been type 2 for nearly 20 years and plodding along but in general eating whatever I wanted ! That was until a week ago when I had vomiting for a few days Friday Saturday and then by Sunday afternoon I could not even keep water down then over an hour that all changed in speed , my breathing was very laboured and I was gasping for a breath .,it was at this point my son called an ambulance , I had 4 paramedics come , I had an ecg , my blood pressure was extremely high ,bloods taken and oxygen and whipped off to hospital .
At A&E I was told I had an episode of Diabetic Ketoacidosis WHAT ????? which if my son hadn’t called 999 When he did I would have been very very ill possibly in ICU. It was that bad .
I had drips for this that and the other , bloods taken with not a lot of success with my veins not opening . I had black bruising from all of this all up my arms .
I was then given insulin for the first time in my life .
Quickly things began to settle down and after 5 days I was allowed home with district nurses to come with all my needs for life with insulin and blood monitoring .
So with other medical problems that leave me housebound it’s a going to be a big learning curve.
I have to take 10 units of insulin twice a day along with bloods .
I have an appointment for a diabetic dietician at my local hospital in July .
So I am now wondering do I refer to myself as being “type 1 “ ?
Having eaten whatever I wanted now I can’t .
Thanks for reading in advance
Welshchick28
 
Usually it is the other way around - type twos restrict carbs in their diet to keep to normal BG levels, but if you have not done that then you are now a type two insulin dependant and can cope with carbs to some extent if you inject the right sorts and amounts of insulin.
 
I am so glad that that you received the right treatment quickly else you might not be here to tell the tale.
We with T2 can get DKA , it’s highly possible that like @Drummer has said, that you are an insulin dependent T2 , I am.
Drummer is also correct in saying it’s usually the other way around, people with T2 need to be careful about the carbohydrates we eat, so it sounds like you have been given a lot of wrong info in the past.

In time you will be taught all you need to know about insulin so may not need the nurse to come in to inject it

What insulin’s are you on.
 
Drummer said:
Usually it is the other way around - type twos restrict carbs in their diet to keep to normal BG levels, but if you have not done that then you are now a type two insulin dependant and can cope with carbs to some extent if you inject the right sorts and amounts of insulin.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Drummer , thank you for your reply .
I have constantly asked for a bm and lancets and the doctor said you don’t need it , but my fasting blood would come back high . I was due an operation but my pre op bloods read as 17.2. and this was then cancelled until lower reads .
I have a new doctors and they have been brilliant ,
 
Ljc said:
I am so glad that that you received the right treatment quickly else you might not be here to tell the tale.
We with T2 can get DKA , it’s highly possible that like @Drummer has said, that you are an insulin dependent T2 , I am.
Drummer is also correct in saying it’s usually the other way around, people with T2 need to be careful about the carbohydrates we eat, so it sounds like you have been given a lot of wrong info in the past.

In time you will be taught all you need to know about insulin so may not need the nurse to come in to inject it

What insulin’s are you on.
Click to expand...
Hi Ljc
 
Hi Ljc , thanks for the info . And yes lucky still here . One of the paramedic told my son , it’s a life-threatening condition
The insulin I take is Humulin Kwick pen
I have to take 10 units am and pm ..
The district nurse has now said I am doing ok and need them less . Now when I look back at the speed of what happened it’s a shock . I hope that doesn’t happen again .
 
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Hmmm - I think that you have proven that type two's really do need to test their glucose levels - I'd be tempted to write a letter to the practice manager at the surgery where your old doctor is inflicting his opinion.
Eating a low carb diet is a powerful tool for keeping type two under control - I have normal readings - but I bought a meter and strips to test myself. There have been people able to stop insulin entirely by sticking to low carb foods and reducing their need for insulin - plus, I suspect giving their poor hysterical pancreas a rest, so they return to being 'ordinary' type twos again.
 
Thank goodness my old practice is not a business now , having closed down and my new doctor is great . He phoned me within an hour of me being discharged to say he would come for a house visit .He visits on his bicycle and is so refreshing from my other doctors and I have built a trust with him straight away . I am going to educate myself more until my dietician appointment in July .
Whilst in hospital I had a Doppler test as my feet and legs become swollen and that was ok no clot .
Last 2 days I have swelling again so feet up . I will show the district nurse on Friday but keep an eye on it . I also have to check my ketones so getting the things I need for that .
So much going on !!!!
 
So sorry to hear of your brush with ketoacidosis @Welshchick28, must have been very scary for you.

As others have said, it sounds like you might be an insulin dependent type 2, though it can be hard to be 100% sure.

Diagnosis and classification is a tricky business, but the two conditions are quite different in some ways (though we all face similar fun and games with trying to manage blood glucose levels). Type 2 can be characterised by insulin resistance, where insulin is produced, but the body can’t use it effectively. Whereas type 1 is an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the beta cells.

Over time, people with type 2 can need additional insulin if their beta cells begin to struggle or ‘wear out’ after needing to produce increasing amounts of insulin over the years to counteract insulin resistance.

The added complication is LADA (a slow onset form of type 1) where there’s an autoimmune form of diabetes which happens more slowly in later life, and can look a lot like type 2 in some cases.

There are additional checks that can help sort out which is which (antibody checks and c-peptide to measure how much, if any, insulin the body is still producing) but classification is still best made on a clinical basis.
 
Hi Everydayupsanddowns.
Thank so much for the information .
I just thought I had a very bad sickness bug . I wasn’t really aware that my breathing was very short until my son saw me and put a 999 call .
At hospital they told me what had happened but still I didn’t take it in .
I didn’t realise how close I had come to being In a very bad place .
Now I have to adjust to my Diabetes in a completely different way to what I have been doing . So lesson well and truly learned .
 
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