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De de

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My husband is type 2 Thursday evening we had to go to the hospital as his levels were 30.5 and 32.7 he was admitted over night to get his levels down. We saw a specialist diabetic nurse who gave him insulin to take 10 every evening.
I'm new to controlling his diabetes and the nurse was telling me what to do and when to give the insulin, but as I hadn't had any sleep the Thursday night I didn't take everything in. He came home last night and I was told his level was 16 so today after brunch his level was 30.8 have I done anything wrong? if so what do I do to get them down. I am so worried.
He also has dementia.
 
De de said:
My husband is type 2 Thursday evening we had to go to the hospital as his levels were 30.5 and 32.7 he was admitted over night to get his levels down. We saw a specialist diabetic nurse who gave him insulin to take 10 every evening.
I'm new to controlling his diabetes and the nurse was telling me what to do and when to give the insulin, but as I hadn't had any sleep the Thursday night I didn't take everything in. He came home last night and I was told his level was 16 so today after brunch his level was 30.8 have I done anything wrong? if so what do I do to get them down. I am so worried.
He also has dementia.
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Welcome to the forum
I would help you get some answers if you say what insulins he has been prescribed and how are you checking his levels.
How was he managing his diabetes before this episode.
I hope you have a contact number for the diabetic nurse who should give you some on going support.
I can't advise but hopefully this will be bumped up and some other folk will chip in.
 
I check his level before breakfast then 2 hour after. Then checked his levels before dinner which was 29.7 and I gave him 10 units of humulin 1 checked his levels after 2 hrs and they were still 29.7 so I gave him 2 more units as told by the nurse, checked them again 2hrs later before he went to bed, down slightly 25.2 but I'm still worried that they are still high.
And I don't know what else to do. Being the weekend I don't know who I can talk to.
 
Before this he was on trulicity an injection once a week and metformin twice a day.
The metformin was stopped because of his kidneys so just the injection which went out of stock (national shortage).
So nothing for 2 weeks while Dr's decided what to give him which was lingatin or something like that 5mg once a day. His levels were still high but not as high as now.
 
De de said:
Before this he was on trulicity an injection once a week and metformin twice a day.
The metformin was stopped because of his kidneys so just the injection which went out of stock (national shortage).
So nothing for 2 weeks while Dr's decided what to give him which was lingatin or something like that 5mg once a day. His levels were still high but not as high as now.
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I think the Humalin 1 is a slow acting background (basal) insulin which works to keep glucose levels even throughout the day and night but is unlikely to be sufficient to deal with the carbohydrates in meals which is why his levels are remaining high.
Do you have any urine ketone dip sticks to test for ketones if his glucose levels are so high that can be a danger DKA diabetic ketoacidosis which needs immediate medical attention.
If he becomes very unwell then you need to go to A & E or the very least call 111 for advice.
Making sure he drinks plenty.
What sort of meals is he having as they may be too high in carbs if his levels are as high as they are.
Are you sure it is humalin 1 as it seems odd that the nurse said to give extra units which would not be usual with a basal insulin.
There should be somebody available to sort this out for you even though it is the weekend, problems with diabetes doesn't just happen during the week.
 
@De de Are you sure the nurse told you to give him another 2 units of Humulin i after 2hrs? Humulin i is a slow-acting basal insulin and although it is often increased over time if blood glucose remains high, it would normally be increased by 2 units every day not every few hours.

How often were you told to give him the Humulin i? Was it morning and evening (twice a day) or just the evening or morning, ie once a day?

Is the Humulin i the only insulin he’s been given? What’s his blood sugar now? When did he last have the Humulin i?
 
Hi, he has humulin i 10 unit's in the evening, I checked his sugars this morning before breakfast/lunch and they were 12.7, but 2hr after it was up again to 21.5 he only had cornmeal porridge 2 slices of 50/50 bread with lemon & ginger tea with 2 sweeteners. I'm confused as to why his sugars have gone up. I do check how much sugars are in his food.
 
@De de it’s not just sugars, it’s carbs. Look at the carb amount. His cornmeal porridge and two slices of bread was too many carbs if his blood sugar was at 21.5 two hours after.
 
Moreover, Humulin i is usually taken twice a day (because it doesn’t last 24hrs) so by the evening, before he takes his next dose, it might well be running out, which will cause high sugars. His 12.7 this morning was ok but try to reduce the carbs in his brunch or whatever it was. Don’t cut them out all at once because that could be dangerous. Do it gradually day by day until his blood sugar is at a more reasonable level.
 
De de said:
Hi, he has humulin i 10 unit's in the evening, I checked his sugars this morning before breakfast/lunch and they were 12.7, but 2hr after it was up again to 21.5 he only had cornmeal porridge 2 slices of 50/50 bread with lemon & ginger tea with 2 sweeteners. I'm confused as to why his sugars have gone up. I do check how much sugars are in his food.
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That is quite a lot of carbs so either the porridge or the bread with maybe some eggs would be better.
 
Leadinglights said:
That is quite a lot of carbs so either the porridge or the bread with maybe some eggs would be better.
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How many carbs are in the cornmeal porridge? I’d find that out first and cut the carbs gradually just to be safe.
 
Sorry to hear about the difficult time you’ve been having with your husband’s insulin @De de

It’s quite usual to start people on quite cautious doses, which are gradually adjusted to improve levels gradually and with a relatively low risk of hypos.

Hope you are able to get in contact with his nurse next week to help you balance his meds and his meals.
 
Thank you everyone. I have rang the diabetes team this morning and waiting for a call back. I will look at the carbs he is having, which I think will need to be adjusted. Just trying to sort all this out was really concerning for me as I have never had to look after his diabetes before, but with his dementia I have to do it for him now.
 
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