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Hypos after surgery

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Beaker

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Hi. My father has type 2 diabetes and has had for 15 years. He has recently had 2 toes amputated due to ulcers. My query is.. .since coming back from Hospital on Xmas eve, he keeps getting hypos as low as 2.1. This usually happens when he goes to sleep either in the afternoon or night time.
Is it the surgery that has caused this fluctuation?
He is eating as he should for the condition.
Many thanks
 
It sounds like he may need to reduce the dose. Does he have a diabetes nurse or dr he can call to talk through dose adjustments if he isn’t confident adjusting the doses himself?
 
Yes he has a diabetic nurse and was controlling his own doses but after being in hospital for 5 weeks with this amputation, his levels have gone silly. I gave him a ham and salad sandwich at lunch, went for a walk as he wanted a sleep, came back and his prick test showed 2.1 and he was feeling bad.
 
Beaker said:
Ah sorry, yes he is on 25 units of insulin morning and night
Click to expand...

I’m guessing that’s a mixed insulin? If he’s going hypo, then his doses will need to be adjusted possibly as @Lucyr says.

In the meantime, I’d make sure he tested his blood sugar lots, kept hypo treatments near, and stuck to meals that worked for him and have the same amount of carbs each meal (ie lunch, etc).

If he’s on other meds, I’d check the info leaflets to make sure they’re not affecting his levels. If he’s lost weight that could affect the amount of insulin he needs too, and obviously if his appetite is down and he’s not eating as much (carbs) then he’d need less insulin.

I’d be phoning his team to get his insulin doses adjusted as soon as possible. Hypos when he’s sleeping or napping can be potentially dangerous.
 
Hi @Beaker

Were your Dad's toes infected which led to needing the amputation? If so infection pushes up blood sugar and it could be that once the toes & infection had been removed his blood sugar has reduced and settled at a lower level reducing his insulin requirements. As said above get in contact with his diabetes team asap and ask for help to reduce the doses he's injecting.
 
He had a huge ulcer on the ball of his foot which lead to his big toe and next toe being amputated.
 
I agree with others that his insulin dose needs adjusting.

As to whether the surgery caused the fluctuation, I would say possibly, indirectly.
Infections cause our blood sugars to rise as our livers release more glucose to fight the infection. As the surgery removed the infection, your father’s liver should be releasing less glucose which means his blood sugar levels are lower.
 
We have stopped his evening insulin (can't get hold of diabetic nurse yet) and that has stopped his night time hypos. We are checking his bg regularly and are managing to keep him stable with just having his morning Insulin
 
Hope you can get hold of your Dad’s diabetic nurse soon to discuss a way forwards and let them know about the adjustments you have made.
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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