HBA1C came in at 80 :( Please help with advice

[Sally71]

The constant infection is quite likely because of the constant high blood sugars. Please, please, please, don't wait for an appointment with your useless team, you don't have to stay with a medical team if you don't like them, you are quite within your rights to ask for a second opinion or to be referred to a different one. Your nurse obviously only knows one way to treat diabetes and doesn't know what to do when that doesn't work for you - you will end up with DKA again if you don't get better help than that. Please do what @Pumper_Sue said and get yourself to hospital quickly if you can't be seen anywhere else within the next couple of days. They won't mind if you explain that you have tried going down the GP route but that is getting you nowhere and you are feeling worse instead of better. Good luck 🙂

 

[Melwest]

Just to let you all know I have made it through the weekend but had spoken with the nurse from the diabetes clinic telling her how i felt, they have made a appointment for me today- Monday and she has stated that they are going to put me on insulin.. Can anyone advise regards this only is metformin and gliclazide the only medication to treat type II- I know my surgery diabetes nurse shall say I am still type II but on Type I medication-i.e. insulin, anyway nobody has told me 100% which one I am except for you kind people on here that have suggested the TI, a friend of mine said that I need to return my drivers licence and inform dvla if it is confirmed that I am TI, plus that I have to reapply every 3 years and also have to check my levels before getting in the car. Are there any other laws? that I am unaware of? I have to be honest in that the nurse from the hospital said that after my insulin tomorrow i should start feeling better again?!! oh my gosh, i have not felt well for so long now I am somewhat looking forward to it.

 

[Ljc]

Hi Melwest. Best of luck with your appointment, when you have time please let us know how you got on.
I’ve just read through this thread with my heart in my mouth till I read your last post. I can’t say what I really think about the advise that practice nurse gave you as I’d get banned. It’s well known the side effects Metformin can have , in fact we often call it Metfartin on here, some people have no problems with it , others do a lot to keep loo roll companies in profit.
And as for telling you to eat carbs, they will spike you but don’t worry about it , grrrrr.
TBH I think when your feeling better an official complaint to the practic manager is in order and if possible change to a different practice

I’ll look up the DVLA driving rules and put them here, you need to inform you car insurance as well.

I’ve been on insulin for a couple of years now , it’s made a huge difference and I feel so much better, to be honest I didn’t realise how ill I had been feeling till I started feeling better.

It’s possible that your sight may go blurry, if this happens to you try not to worry , it’s because as your glucose levels go down, our eyes need time to adapt, mine took about a month and I no longer need distance glasses.

I’d take your logbook , meter , notes about your meals and snacks ,a list of your questions, pen and paper to make any notes and a bag to carry stuff home in. It’s looking likely that you’ll soon be the proud new owner of a yellow bin, they are all the rage on here lol.
Imo one of your questions should be about what type you have , because my alarm bells are ringing just like others on here are.
I wish to reassure you that one type of diabetes is not worse than another, it’s just that it’s vital that we are on the right treatment for it.

After your appointment if anything is unclear , ask us ,we’ll do our best to help.

 

[Ljc]

Here is the link to the driving on insulin rules.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/life-with-diabetes/driving

A while ago I read that you can inform the DVLA online.

 

[Bloden]

Good luck with your appointment today, Melwest. 🙂 Let us know how you get on.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hello Mel,
good luck with your apt today. I'm more than pleased the apt has been brought forward for you.

Please ask for a antibody test so it can be established what type you are.
Insulin will def make you feel a lot better but to start with you will probably feel awful as your body has been toxic for so long it needs to adjust to being normal again.

 

[Sally71]

Metformin and gliclazide are not the only T2 medications, I think there are several others (there's also a slow-release Metformin which has less effect on your bowels!), but it's also possible for type 2s to eventually go onto insulin. So yes, you could still be a type 2, however you have been so desperately ill that I think it's more likely that you are type 1. In some people, particularly those diagnosed as adults, it can take a few years to fully develop. (Whereas in a young child like mine was it only takes a few weeks!). There are tests they can do to establish which type you are, basically in type 1s insulin production fails completely, current thinking is that this is due to an autoimmune reaction, whereas type 2s are still producing insulin but their bodies are resistant to it and therefore they need loads of the stuff to have the same effect ( which quite possibly wears their poor pancreas out and hence they have to help it out with insulin injections).

I am so glad that you are getting the right help now, good luck with your appointment! Please let us know how you get on 🙂

 

[SB2015]

Great to hear that you are now getting appropriate help.
Let us know how you get on.

 

[Ralph-YK]

basically in type 1s insulin production fails completely, current thinking is that this is due to an autoimmune reaction, whereas type 2s are still producing insulin but their bodies are resistant to it and therefore they need loads of the stuff to have the same effect ( which quite possibly wears their poor pancreas out and hence they have to help it out with insulin injections).

This is my understanding. So insulin is a T2 medication. Metformin and gliclazide are not much help for a T1. Either way insulin will help.

 

[Melwest]

Ok I have started, I have been given a Humulin Kwikpen and arrived home and took my first dose, i must say i hesitated before i put it in my tummy, i have no idea why, i think i was starting to panic and maybe somewhat anxious, i got over it and put it in and did not even feel it though it is not the needle, it is taking a new medication which i may well have to take for the rest of my life. I am not sure if i am going to feel anything though felt rough anyway so all i can do is monitor it and see how things work out.

Just to add from the above replies, I have also tried the long release metformin and still had issues, i have no idea why, same as the gliclizide gave me a bad tummy. Anyway, the nurse was extremely helpful and she explained everything i asked, i always think of other things after i have left, she has said she believes me to still be Type II as of not having some of the Type I symptoms and to get the test done to be certain I would have to make an appointment with the consultant so at the moment, i am not sure whether it is that important, i am just glad i am on some form of medication to help things 🙂

 

[Melwest]

I am not feeling so great and have a lot of acid tonight for some reason, just out of curiosity i just checked my sugars and i am at 12.1mmol and that is hours and hours after eating anything, dinner was around 6pm and i have only had two cups of tea and one coffee since, i only had my version of carbonara, cheese sauce, smoked lean bacon, red and yellow peppers, a sprinkling of Quinoa and also some cauliflower- just to use it up for dinner tonight, this afternoon i did have one slice of vogel soya and linseed bread with sardines on it, this is all post taking my first injection. I have a headache from hell and can't sleep....

 

[Ljc]

I am not feeling so great and have a lot of acid tonight for some reason, just out of curiosity i just checked my sugars and i am at 12.1mmol and that is hours and hours after eating anything, dinner was around 6pm and i have only had two cups of tea and one coffee since, i only had my version of carbonara, cheese sauce, smoked lean bacon, red and yellow peppers, a sprinkling of Quinoa and also some cauliflower- just to use it up for dinner tonight, this afternoon i did have one slice of vogel soya and linseed bread with sardines on it, this is all post taking my first injection. I have a headache from hell and can't sleep....

Hi. Your going through a considerable amount of stress and worry atm, which may be causing your stomach. upset. I hope you feel much better tomorrow or I should say later today..

They usually start us carefully units (dose) wise on insulin for a couple of reasons. One is we are all different in the amount of insulin our bodies need to deal with the carbs we eat and drink, so it’s initially a best guess. another is that they don’t want to lower our BG levels quickly.
So it’s likely that she will need to adjust your doses gradually. Did she give you her number / email so you can contact her for advise.

What Humalin insulin are you on.

 

[Melwest]

Hi again, I am on the 'I' long acting variety and yes she did say my dosage may need to be increased, it is currently 10 twice per day, I have not had a cup of tea or anything yet this morning but had a very restless night to say the least, I am on 10mmol :/ Taking my morning dose shortly.

 

[Bloden]

That’s great news, Mel. 🙂 Onwards and downwards (blood glucose, that is). You’re bound to feel iffy at first cos your body’s getting used to the new regime. You’re so right when you say : “monitor and see how I get on”. You’re off to a great start!😛

 

[Melwest]

I'm not sure, I was told when things settle down I can have porridge again like I did pre hospital, i did say last time i had some i went to around 30mmol, i was 10mmol when i got up today, took my first dose and had marmite on toast, that was approx 3 hours ago- i fell asleep, i just woke up again and i am on 13.4mmol though i do not feel as bad as i did yesterday.

 

[Melwest]

Hi, sorry all, if i write things here i won't forget them, had my lunch and now on 10.mmol, trouble is i feel like passing out- i get like this a lot, like i am really light headed and cannot stay awake, i am going to have to go and lay down for an hour or so, when i wake up it shall be like waking from a really deep comatosed state and it shall make me disorientated for a short while.

 

[Emmakeets]

HI @Melwest I would imagine that you will be feeling unwell if your blood sugars have been decreasing. Although 10mmol is still quite high, if it is a lot less than your body is used to it will take some time to adjust. I found that when I started on insulin I had hypo symptoms when I was not low and this is due to your body not feeling used to it. I also had a headache which subsided after some time had passed and my sugar levels had stabled

 

[Ralph-YK]

Let your medical people know how you are feeling. Hopefully it's just your body adjusting and will settle down.
From what people have posted, it's common for the insulin to be adjusted when first starting. It's a case of seeing what your BG levels do. Safer not to crash down. And depending on how things go, you might be able to have porridge.

 

[Melwest]

That's the thing though, prior to going into hospital last year I was always under 10 and sometimes i would be at 4mmol, the record is still on my machine i think, i realise my glucose levels are still very high though and probably around 70+ i.e. HBA1C. It has only been post hospital that my levels on my caresens go up to say 30mmol if i have porridge or cereal hence why i cut it out, my sugars seem to be going lower though but i do feel really quite horrible with tummy ache and general delirium. before dinner tonight i was actually 7.4mmol so that was quite good considering.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

That's the thing though, prior to going into hospital last year I was always under 10 and sometimes i would be at 4mmol, the record is still on my machine i think, i realise my glucose levels are still very high though and probably around 70+ i.e. HBA1C. It has only been post hospital that my levels on my caresens go up to say 30mmol if i have porridge or cereal hence why i cut it out, my sugars seem to be going lower though but i do feel really quite horrible with tummy ache and general delirium. before dinner tonight i was actually 7.4mmol so that was quite good considering.

Hi Mel the reason you feel so rough is because you have been used to having syrup rather than blood going through your veins.
Yes you will feel rough for a little while longer but stick with it.
The idea is to bring down your numbers nice and slow so that you don't end up with complication as in eye damage.
Slowly but surely is the name of the game.

Do ask your team to change you over to a basal bolus routine as this is so much easier for correcting and adjusting for the amount of carbs being eaten.