Endoscopy cancelled high HBCA..

[Woody1949@]

Yes I will enquire today thank you.
Just seems their stance on not doing an ENDESCOPE which is not exactly open heart surgery
seems a bit extreme after all it’s a camera.
At least then they can identify my pain and biopsies will rule out anything sinister we then can move forward
once it’s shown I can wait for surgery if needed once my figures improve.
My wife died of Esphoghigal cancer.?
I’m thinking along the lines of a Hernia.
Thanks Jim.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes I will enquire today thank you.
Just seems their stance on not doing an ENDESCOPE which is not exactly open heart surgery
seems a bit extreme after all it’s a camera.
At least then they can identify my pain and biopsies will rule out anything sinister we then can move forward
once it’s shown I can wait for surgery if needed once my figures improve.
My wife died of Esphoghigal cancer.?
I’m thinking along the lines of a Hernia.
Thanks Jim.

I can see why you must be worried but a hernia is often quite obvious visually and non invasive tests, ultrasound, CT or MRI would most likely be done and only once confirmed would the actual procedure which would involve surgery be done. Have you had any of those done?
There is a risk of them becoming 'strangulated' and then that does become an emergency situation.
I wonder if they are thinking something else which is why they are looking at doing an endoscopy which is usually straightforward if unpleasant but does have some risk.

 

[rebrascora]

If you are at risk of hypos then testing more often would help you to understand your diabetes much better and manage it at a lower level without so many hypos. There is no way I could manage my diabetes well by only testing 4 times a day. I was up to finger pricking as many as 16 times a day at one point before I got Libre to give me information to help me manage it well. I currently scan my Libre an average of 30+ times a day to provide me with background info which helps me to understand how my body and insulin an exercise/activity and illness/stress etc all impact each other to keep myself safe and my HbA1c down at an acceptable level. 85 is really too high long term and will be putting you at risk of long term complications as well as an infection risk for the procedure.

This is the link to the free Libre trial

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott

Claim your 15 day free sensor if you have diabetes and have not tried the FreeStyle Libre 2 plus sensor before

www.freestyle.abbott

 

[Woody1949@]

Yes I will enquire today thank you.
Just seems their stance on not doing an ENDESCOPE which is not exactly open heart surgery
seems a bit extreme after all it’s a camera.
At least then they can identify my pain and biopsies will rule out anything sinister we then can move forward
once it’s shown I can wait for surgery if needed once my figures improve.
My wife died of Esphoghigal cancer.?
I’m thinking along the lines of a Hernia.
Thanks Jim.

I can see why you must be worried but a hernia is often quite obvious visually and non invasive tests, ultrasound, CT or MRI would most likely be done and only once confirmed would the actual procedure which would involve surgery be done. Have you had any of those done?
There is a risk of them becoming 'strangulated' and then that does become an emergency situation.
I wonder if they are thinking something else which is why they are looking at doing an endoscopy which is usually straightforward if unpleasant but does have some risk.

I have an existing Hiatus hernia the surgeon I am seeing removed my gall bladder about 7 year so ago.

 

[PattiEvans]

I had pain in the chest, along with difficulty swallowing and it turned out to be an ulcer in the oesophagus. It did need an endoscopy to identify it though. I'm surprised the Hba1c is preventing that procedure, though as @rebrascora says it could be due to infection risk. I now take famotidine to prevent recurrence.

 

[Inka]

Thanks again for your reply and others.
I will definitely follow your advice.
Annoying how small the margin is with my figures and their protocol requirements.
My latest HBCA done by them 85 and their requirement is 71.
On the old scale 85 is 9.9
And 71 old scale is 8.7?
So a difference of 1.2 on the old scale.
I explained to them regarding my Hypos I run it around 10 for my safety
especially at night as I have had several bad night time episodes as well as the day.
My diabetic nurse was happy with this.?
It’s a bit like I can’t wait to get you out of the door yearly appointment.
Weight/ blood pressure/ injection sites ok?/feet. HBCA result.and out.
Thanks again Jim.

A Libre would really help you as it has a Low alarm which you can set to alert you. It also has arrows which show you which direction your blood sugar is moving and and how fast. This would be really helpful to you in warding off hypos before they even happen. Do increase your testing to 8+ times a day as @Lucyr suggests, and tell your nurse how many times you’re testing (ie 8+) and ask for a Libre.

I’d write a list of questions for the nurse to make sure you don’t forget anything and so you can jot down answers while you’re there. I find that if you don’t ‘take control’ of the appointment they’ll just burble on about general things and you’ll come out feeling frustrated and none the wiser. The appointment is for your benefit not the nurses, so do be politely pushy.

You can ask about carb counting, and you might also want to ask about a change of basal insulin to something other than Tresiba because of your hypos. Something like Levemir, which is injected morning and evening, would allow you to finetune your daytime and nighttime doses separately, which will help you avoid hypos, in particular the nighttime ones, which always seem more scary.

 

[Woody1949@]

Thanks for your advice.
I was on Levimir but the nurse said the Tresiba would be better for me
as it kept you on a more level field.?
I think Tresiba was flavour of the month so let’s try it on Jim.?
and it reduced the need for extra injections.
At my age patience I’m afraid becomes short.
Thanks jim

 

[rebrascora]

I have an existing Hiatus hernia the surgeon I am seeing removed my gall bladder about 7 year so ago.

Since you mention gall bladder problems, I wonder if your pain is related to perhaps chromic pancreatitis rather than a hernia. Gall bladder problems can cause inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) and that can lead to diabetes. Pancreatitis can be horribly painful and might explain why your diabetes is "brittle". If you are still seeing the surgeon you might ask him about checking for pancreatitis or necrotising pancreatitis, where the long term inflammation leads to parts of the pancreas dying and no longer being functional. If this is the case, you would be TYpe 3c diabetic, not Type 2.and should find it a bit easier to qualify for Libre or other monitoring system.

 

[Inka]

Thanks for your advice.
I was on Levimir but the nurse said the Tresiba would be better for me
as it kept you on a more level field.?
I think Tresiba was flavour of the month so let’s try it on Jim.?
and it reduced the need for extra injections.
At my age patience I’m afraid becomes short.
Thanks jim

I think there’s a lot of truth in your ‘flavour of the month’ comment, Jim! Yes, Levemir does usually require two injections a day. If you’re happy with the Tresiba, then that’s all that matters🙂

 

[Lucyr]

If you are at risk of hypos then testing more often would help you to understand your diabetes much better and manage it at a lower level without so many hypos. There is no way I could manage my diabetes well by only testing 4 times a day. I was up to finger pricking as many as 16 times a day at one point before I got Libre to give me information to help me manage it well. I currently scan my Libre an average of 30+ times a day to provide me with background info which helps me to understand how my body and insulin an exercise/activity and illness/stress etc all impact each other to keep myself safe and my HbA1c down at an acceptable level. 85 is really too high long term and will be putting you at risk of long term complications as well as an infection risk for the procedure.

This is the link to the free Libre trial

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott

Claim your 15 day free sensor if you have diabetes and have not tried the FreeStyle Libre 2 plus sensor before

www.freestyle.abbott

Just be aware you need a compatible smartphone for the trial. Increasing your testing to 8+ times a day and changing your insulin doses will hopefully get your levels down to a safe point for the procedure