DKA and libre

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

Jay8ird77

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all.. My question is about libre... And if I can get it from my GP.. Who are utterly useless haha

Due to my GPs failings I was hospitalised with DKA for 3 weeks and nearly died. I'm T2..what are my chances as 2-4 tests a day pin pricks are getting me down
 
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/Recommendations#blood-glucose-management
Offer intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM, commonly referred to as 'flash') to adults with type 2 diabetes on multiple daily insulin injections if any of the following apply:

  • they have recurrent hypoglycaemia or severe hypoglycaemia
  • they have impaired hypoglycaemia awareness
  • they have a condition or disability (including a learning disability or cognitive impairment) that means they cannot self-monitor their blood glucose by capillary blood glucose monitoring but could use an isCGM device (or have it scanned for them)
  • they would otherwise be advised to self-measure at least 8 times a day.
Click to expand...
 
Jay8ird77 said:
Hi all.. My question is about libre... And if I can get it from my GP.. Who are utterly useless haha

Due to my GPs failings I was hospitalised with DKA for 3 weeks and nearly died. I'm T2..what are my chances as 2-4 tests a day pin pricks are getting me down
Click to expand...
Can I ask why this was your GPS failing? A DKA severe enough to be in hospital for 3 weeks sounds like you aren’t fingerpricking regularly, or aren’t aware enough of how and when to get help with your blood sugars. Do you need any help with that?

As a type 2 you need to be reccomended to test 8 times a day and be on multiple daily insulin injections to qualify for libre. Recurrent DKA would qualify but if it was just a one off then it may not.
 
gll said:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/Recommendations#blood-glucose-management
Click to expand...
More precisely https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/Recommendations#continuous-glucose-monitoring

(Notice the footnote defining multiple daily insulin injections: it just means "more than one", so two doses of mixed insulin or two doses of a basal insulin would qualify. Though that just gets you to looking at the other criteria, one of which you should meet. Though (as always) you might be able to persuade your team that it would be of particular benefit to you even if you don't quite qualify under the recommendations.)
 
Lucyr said:
Can I ask why this was your GPS failing? A DKA severe enough to be in hospital for 3 weeks sounds like you aren’t fingerpricking regularly, or aren’t aware enough of how and when to get help with your blood sugars. Do you need any help with that?

As a type 2 you need to be reccomended to test 8 times a day and be on multiple daily insulin injections to qualify for libre. Recurrent DKA would qualify but if it was just a one off then it may not.
Click to expand...
My gp said I didn't need to monitor my bloods so didn't five me a kit.. Just new meds... Side effect of which is... You guessed it DKA...

But in hospital my sugars were high and ketone 6.6! So if libre is for hypos maybe no good for me as I'm all over the shop currently as trialing gliclazide and metform... I don't think gliclazide is insulin from. What gp says? So may not be eligible ..

Gp had my. Blood tests in May 2022 and told me they were of concern and needed face to visit appointment... but when I called week and week on end for months they couldn't give me an appointment. 3 months later I collapsed...

Ispoke to gp finally late aug... on Friday.. Hospitalised Monday... as been vomiting everyday for 3 weeks... And gp sent me home with anti sickness pills and didn't check BS.. BP.. Oxygen.. Any of which would have showed I was in DKA already.. Even tho he read back to. Me my blood test results and medication side effects.
 
Jay8ird77 said:
My gp said I didn't need to monitor my bloods so didn't five me a kit.. Just new meds... Side effect of which is... You guessed it DKA...

But in hospital my sugars were high and ketone 6.6! So if libre is for hypos maybe no good for me as I'm all over the shop currently as trialing gliclazide and metform... I don't think gliclazide is insulin from. What gp says? So may not be eligible ..

Gp had my. Blood tests in May 2022 and told me they were of concern and needed face to visit appointment... but when I called week and week on end for months they couldn't give me an appointment. 3 months later I collapsed...

Ispoke to gp finally late aug... on Friday.. Hospitalised Monday... as been vomiting everyday for 3 weeks... And gp sent me home with anti sickness pills and didn't check BS.. BP.. Oxygen.. Any of which would have showed I was in DKA already.. Even tho he read back to. Me my blood test results and medication side effects.
Click to expand...
Yeah if you’re only on metformin and gliclazide you don’t qualify for libre. Need to be injecting insulin 2+ times a day.

Even if you’re not testing your bg you do need to be aware of the symptoms of DKA though and know when to seek immediate help, via 111 or A&E or a pharmacy, before things reach dangerous levels. Whenever you are put on meds that can cause DKA or any other side effect, these will be explained in the leaflet, so it’s important to read those before taking them so you know what to look for.
 
@jay8ird can I ask why finger pricking a few times a day is getting you down?
Many of us with Type 1 were pricking more than 8 times a day to qualify for a Libre and we still need to scan the sensor at least 3 times a day.

If the problem is sore fingers, we can advise how to minimise this.
 
Hi and welcome. Your DKA sounds really nasty.

Could I ask you to rewind a bit and tell us how and when you were initially diagnosed? ie. was diabetes identified by a routine blood test or were you symptomatic and if so which symptoms.
Which medication were you originally given that resulted in DKA and were you also given any dietary advice?

Have you lost or gained weight at all since diagnosis, intentionally or otherwise. Am I right in thinking you have never been given insulin to inject? If not, then your chances of getting Libre are zilch at the moment but if you needed insulin then your chances would increase slightly. If it turned out that they had your diagnosis wrong and you are actually Type 1, then your chances of getting Libre are almost certain..... but in that situation you would need to be injecting insulin and I can assure you that is far more tiresome than finger pricking and testing 2-4 times a day. There was a time when I was testing up to 16 times a day and didn't have Libre.
Anyway, just trying to build a better picture of your situation because it is quite unusual for Type 2 diabetics to go into DKA
 
Sorry to hear about your DKA - sounds like it must have been really tough.

It does sound like you need a bit more help with your diabetes management, and to try to keep your levels a bit more in range.

If you still think Libre might help you keep an eye on things you could sign up for the free 14 day Libre Trial

www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/free-trial.html

Gliclazide isn‘t insulin, but it does carry the possibility of hypoglycaemia, so your Dr should be offering you a means of checking your blood glucose levels.

What levels are you seeing with your fingerstick BG checks?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top