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jayhighlands

jayhighlands

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello fellow diabetics 🙂

I have been a type 1 diabetic since I was 14 which was about 14 years ago now. My Mum and Dad are both type 1s so didn't really have much of a chance 😛 I am normally not to bad with my control, test all the time (prob to much) and my HbA1c were always around 6.5.

However, I was made redundant from my last job (computer engineer) and ended up getting a job working in a warehouse of a supermarket working nightshift, since then its all went down hill. The work is very physical and unfortunately it is also unpredictable, all of a sudden I would have to exert myself with little warning and thats when bad hypos happen. I am currently on 40U of Lantus (night), 1 to 7g ratio with Nova Rapid and 1000mg morning and night of Metformin when I am not working. My HbA1c last week was 8.5.

I always try and run my BG higher (about 14) when I am working because I am basically scared of going hypo as well as munching on dextro tabs when I can to try prevent hypos. The problem is that because 1 hour I might not be busy the other I am running about like a loon! So my BG are high then they go super low.

It has got to the point that I dont feel hypo's until they are super low ( 1.* ) and I just suddenly get extremely dizzy and have to sit down (not passed out...yet) this can happen up to 2-3 times a night :( When I sleep during the day my blood goes up to anything between 15 and 20.

I take 28U of Lantus when I am working. I eat through out the night 2am lunch and 5am snack) but take no nova rapid when eating. Its about 60g worth of carbs I would say.

When I am not working I go back to my original ratios and my blood sugar goes back to normal, between 5 and 7.

Just back from the DSN about the whole night shift thing and they were basically that in a ideal world I need to leave the job but the best they think they can do in the mean time is run my blood sugars high, around 14, so I dont have such bad hypos. They were talking about change me on to Levimer but just desided to split my Lantus into 2 doses. 22U at 9pm before I start and then 4U when I finish at 9am. Which I am happy to go along with to see how it helps.

The company I work for a pretty unaccommodatingabout the whole thing sadly. just managed to get a set amount of days on after a bit of a fight, I done 1 on 1 off at one point!

One thing that really annoyed me is that they said a pump would be ideal for me but there is currently a waiting list of 8 people but they are only allocated 1 a year!! 😱 They have been requesting funding for more but so far haven't got any. The added me to the list tho so hopefully I might get one of them soon....

On a plus side they gave me a new One touch ultra easy, a few spare novapens and some Glucogel, which they also said I can get on prescription now :D

Anyway kind of a long for my first post, hope I didn't rant to much!
 
Hi there Jay thank you for such a well detailed first post, your very welcome and I hope you get out of this forum what we all get a wealth of knowledge and all the help and assisstant we can all give one another .Such a shame it will be such a long wait for a pump from what i have seen they have been a great credit to all the users on here.Good luck x
 
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Hi Jay, welcome to the forum 🙂 As I was reading your post I was thinking 'this man needs a pump!', so disappointing to read that you are on such a long waiting list. I wonder if the people at Input could help you find ways to speed things up http://www.input.me.uk/

Running as high as 14 to avoid hypos will (as you know) do you no favours for the future. Your workplace may not be very accomodating, but they do have to make reasonable efforts to help you out with your diabetes, so worth looking into the Disability discrimination at work rules http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Living_with_diabetes/Discrimination/

Hope you can find some common ground so that you have a better opportunity to control your diabetes better!
 
Hi Jay

I am currently on the waiting list for a pump in Edinburgh, it is not so bad as the Glasgow one, but still not good. In Scotland it is not INPUT, but IPAG Scotland, http://www.ipagscotland.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage

They gave me some help in writing letters etc. 8 years is absolutely ridiculous, it makes me so angry.

I was changed onto Levemir from Lantus to help with hypos, particularly overnight. My understanding is that levemir stays in your body for a shorter amount of time than lantus, so having 2 doses of different amounts is more effective.

Rachel
 
Thanks for the IPAG link Rachel, must remember to use that when appropriate in future! 🙂
 
Thnaks for the feedback 🙂

Northerner, Thanks for the websites. When I was talking the DSN the subject of discrimination did come up and she said about writing a letter to them about giving me time to eat carbs after a hypo to properly recover etc but we also came to the conclusion that they could turn around and say that I am not fit to work in that sort of environment. I will defo look into that tho and see if I could do anything need to judge and see how the company react. In the mean time tho if any other job came up I would leave in a heartbeat.

Steffie, the forum has been great so far! I have been a lucker for a few weeks now read a good chunk of past posts, it really is a wealth of information!

rachelha, When I met the Dietitian and the DSN and they said about putting me on the waiting list they were talking about how they are after more funding for extra pumps and how bad it was trying to get it, not good! They also said they would get an appointment with the "pump nurse" so she can give me more details on it. Hopefully its not as bad as they were saying.

I have the same understanding of Levemir but as far as I know Lantus lasts about 18 hours so am not sure how splitting the Lantus will go, I have never heard of splitting Lantus before. Cheers for the updated link too :D

I must say tho the DSN and dietitian were really good, they spent a good 1.30 - 2 hours with me looking at the BG results I took in and food I was eatting looking for various solutions. 🙂
 
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hi jay welcome to the forum ...like northe as i read the post i was thinking this guy needs a pump ...or a new job ...good luck with both x🙂
 
Hello Jay, welcome to the forum.

I was just wondering, could you do an experiment outside of work to establish (as far as it is possible to do) a routine whereby you can do the level of work required without running such high bs levels?

Alternatively, if your manager is amenable, could you spend a few days actually doing this at work? If I were your manager I would be willing because it would be in my interests for you to be working at full efficiency and it would also show that you were keen to work for me (but then, I always have a naive approach to things!)

It would mean quite a bit of testing, but I assume that you are doing that already?

Andy
 
I have been able to do blood results in work (carry the meter in my pocket) and managed to get a set of results for the DSN, a test every 2 hours when working + hypos over 4 nights.

The BG results would be fine before the start of the shift but when working it would all depend on the level of work I was doing from minute to minute. If it was quiet I would go high because I normal take a flapjack just as I start my shift to prevent the hypos. If I do end up having to work pretty hard I go hypo even after having the flapjack and then the cycle kinda repeats throughout the night.

The issue that the DSN was trying to avoid is when I have to use a burst of energy and cant take something to eat to cover it (on top of dextros) so end up with the hypo's again. They really dont like that I cant feel hypo's til the 1.* and I was explaining to the I am scared to go hypo now because of it.

I think I need a new job 😛
 
Hi Jayhighlands
I also work shifts, both paid work, and voluntary, which involve even more irregular bursts of energy, shifting bikes, boxes & other kit for adventure races, walking / running / biking to remote checkpoints etc for up to 5 days and nights on the trot. The key for me is (a) 2 injections per day of long acting insulin (Humalin I in my case), (b) anything from 1 to 5 injections per day of short acting (Humalog in my case), and (c) pockets full of tiny ziplock bags with about 4 jelly babies or quivalent in other jelly sweets (Sainsburys' Midget Gems are very cheap - about 35p for 200g, think) When I get to Scotland, I stock up on tablet bars, as my Scottish grandmother died several years ago, and my attempts at making it fall far short of what she made.
For longer acting carbohydrate, much as I like flapjacks or muesli bars, I find that oatcakes (small round ones) or crackers are ideal - inner packs of 5 oatcakes (usually 4 inner packs in a box) are ideal, as they're robust, when kept in pockets and give slow release of energy.
Good luck - not easy dealing with such impaired hypo awareness, but hope that running high for a while might help, along with regular blood glucose testing, helped by being able to keep your meter in your pocket.
 
Hi Jay, welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks very much for that copepod and PhilT, I hope that splitting the Lantus into 2 does works for me too 🙂

I have just decided that I am just going to take a break when I need to, do test when I have too etc. and just see what the work says about it. I am off for 2 weeks so you never know I might get a new job in that time 😛
 
Good luck Jayhighlands - hope the break works out how you hope 🙂
 
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