Extremely High Bloods

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IamHim

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Type 1
Hi all, Im just logging in to ask for your advice please.

Yesterday my bloods were 29 - the highest since KDA exactly two years a go, - this morning 24 and right now 21. - Im not understanding why, I dont want to call 111 and become a pain in the backside for them, im usually around the 15 mark and my gp is ok with that for now, but in the last couple of days my bloods have spiked a hell of a lot. Plus im very confused also, any advice for what I should do now ?
 
Oh the only other two things to mention is im taking extra sertraline now and the past 3 meals before tonight I was away and ended up eating late.
 
Even 15 sounds high to me.
Perhaps your insulin has gone off..possibly try a new vial/pen? Or maybe you a coming down with something? End of the day, the only things that get bs down are insulin an excercise and i'd avoid excercise with those high blood sugars
 
IamLawrie said:
Hi all, Im just logging in to ask for your advice please.

Yesterday my bloods were 29 - the highest since KDA exactly two years a go, - this morning 24 and right now 21. - Im not understanding why, I dont want to call 111 and become a pain in the backside for them, im usually around the 15 mark and my gp is ok with that for now, but in the last couple of days my bloods have spiked a hell of a lot. Plus im very confused also, any advice for what I should do now ?
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Are you under the weather at all? That can cause our bloods to go up a bit. Have you tested for ketones? If not, test if you have the kit.

Maybe try a fresh pen or vial, however you administer your insulin. They can sometimes fail.

if in doubt call 111. It’s what they are there for.

better safe than sorry.
 
A quick google brought up sertraline normally makes you more insulin sensitive, but for some it can have the opposite effect.
 
www.nhs.uk

Who can and cannot take sertraline

NHS medicines information on who can take sertraline and who may not be able to take it.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk
Perhaps increase your insulin might be a good idea.
 
Tdm said:
Even 15 sounds high to me.
Perhaps your insulin has gone off..possibly try a new vial/pen? Or maybe you a coming down with something? End of the day, the only things that get bs down are insulin an excercise and i'd avoid excercise with those high blood sugars
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Thank you, this is a brand new toujeo pen, I will also swap out the novorapids as i have new ones and plenty for some reason.
 
AndBreathe said:
Are you under the weather at all? That can cause our bloods to go up a bit. Have you tested for ketones? If not, test if you have the kit.

Maybe try a fresh pen or vial, however you administer your insulin. They can sometimes fail.

if in doubt call 111. It’s what they are there for.

better safe than sorry.
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Yes I am extremely depressed at the moment, the worse it has ever been. I have tested for ketones and there are none. I will take note and use a brand new insulin pen. - I might call 111 if i dont get anywhere soon.
 
Thank - you all, I am due my diabetic review but am still recovering from Covid 19 (4 weeks back).
 
IamLawrie said:
Thank - you all, I am due my diabetic review but am still recovering from Covid 19 (4 weeks back).
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If you have high blood sugars surely the first thing to do is increase your insulin? In all honesty that the very first basic thing you need to do.
 
At first i was reluctant to change my doses etc, but when i did, my management got so much better! Not sure how i would have coped with depression and diabetes, thsts a tough combo, but those high blood sugars will not be helping...if i am over 10 i feel rather leaden.
Unless there is a good reason, set your libre alarms at...oh, 6 or 7 should give you enough warning, and consider getting get some more insulin in you.
 
Tdm said:
At first i was reluctant to change my doses etc, but when i did, my management got so much better! Not sure how i would have coped with depression and diabetes, thsts a tough combo, but those high blood sugars will not be helping...if i am over 10 i feel rather leaden.
Unless there is a good reason, set your libre alarms at...oh, 6 or 7 should give you enough warning, and consider getting get some more insulin in you.
Click to expand...
I dont have a libre machine.
 
Pumper_Sue said:
If you have high blood sugars surely the first thing to do is increase your insulin? In all honesty that the very first basic thing you need to do.
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Yeah I know, I have still had no help from my GP its exactly two years since being diagnosed and its still guess work.
 
Why don't you have a libre? Is it your choice? I found the libre to be a gamechanger - it allows you to get your levels down safely and puts you in charge of your diabetes
 
IamLawrie said:
Yeah I know, I have still had no help from my GP its exactly two years since being diagnosed and its still guess work.
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I find GPs have very little knowledge of Type 1. In fact, they sometimes have wrong knowledge. Your DSN team should be advising you. They should help you with a correction dose figure and help you get your basal and meal doses as close as possible.

If it’s your Sertraline causing issues, there might be other medication you can try.
 
Sorry to hear your levels are worryingly high.

Have you done anything to educate yourself about dose adjustment? Diabetes is all about self management. Insulin doses need adjusting, sometimes quite regularly and we can't be expecting our doctors and nurses to be at the end of the phone each time we need an adjustment. Also they don't live with us every day and see what we are eating and how we are sleeping and how often or infrequently we exercise etc, so we have to learn how to adjust our doses for ourselves to accommodate our varying lifestyles.

There is an online education course that you can enroll yourself on called "BERTIE online" and you can work through it at your own pace. Do you currently carb count and adjust your meal time insulin for what you eat or are you on fixed doses still? The course will teach you how to carb count and adjust for food and exercise and alcohol and illness.

As regards Libre, you should be prescribed it or one of the other options for Glucose monitoring if you are Type 1, unless you don't want it, but it is a really beneficial bit of kit.

I agree with @Inka that I would not expect my GP to know much, if anything, about adjusting insulin doses and I would certainly not contact them for help with this, as I would simply not trust their knowledge of something so specialist. What this forum has taught me is that I need to be the specialist in the treatment of my diabetes, so I need to learn and carefully experiment on myself, so that I know how to adjust my doses to keep myself safe and healthy.

If you visit this forum more frequently and read and ask more questions you will gradually learn and gain confidence to take control of your diabetes and manage it well. Continuing with these high levels even at 15mmols is risking long term damage to your body and it is often too late once the damage happens, so really important to start managing things well now. We can help and support you with this but you need to start educating yourself rather than relying on medical professionals.
 
Sorry to hear your levels have been so high recently @IamLawrie - and that you haven’t had much help from your Drs to sort them out.

BGs can misbehave during periods of illness or stress, so it might be helpful to tackle these elevated BGs using Sick Day Rules

Sickday rules pdf

Sick day rules flowchart from Leicester diabetes centre. Particularly useful for people with Type 1 Diabetes during the Coronavirus outbreak.
www.t1resources.uk www.t1resources.uk

Then once things have begun to be a bit more manageable, you might want to look into the BERTIE course which will give you the skills you need to adjust things day-to-day:
www.bertieonline.org.uk

Hang in there, and look after yourself!
 
Morning all, I am on the phone as we speak to 111. i woke up after a good nights sleep.

Before food - Bloods 18.5

Pint of water and tablets

8 Units of fast acting insulin (Novorapid) - 2 pieces of toast, only managed to eat one.

Bloods checked after 15 mins - 17.4
Ketones: 0.7

??
 
Was the 8 units of NR calculated to cover the 2 pieces of toast or is 8 units what you always inject for breakfast? ie Fixed dose?
Hopefully the surplus insulin from the toast you didn't eat will drop your levels a little.
 
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