learning how to deal with my perfect mans hypos!!

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Lissy87

Lissy87

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Hello everybody,

I hope you don?t mind me jumping in but help advice or just chit chat of experience would be greatly appreciated. :confused:

My lovely boyfriend and I have only been together a year but we feel so right for each other it?s scary (and a bit bucket at bay!!! eeeek) But he is one of those guys you cannot help to love. 6"1 athletic blonde blue eyed and a beautiful personality to match. 😉

He is a type 1 diabetic 30 years of age and has been diagnosed for 27 years.
Two injections 9am (30-34 and 6.00pm
Unfortunately recent times have been a fairly rough time for him as he keeps having victorious hemorages in his eyes and also to top it off some rather bad hypos.

Just last week I woke to my darling mans screech and convulsing at around 3.30am turned the light on to see him blue lipped. I immediately rang the paramedics after putting him in the recovery and checking his airway. It took four hours to bring him out of a low and an anxiety attack 😱

This is the first severe fit I have experienced!! He has a fair few lows anyway which I am fair confident to (as we put it) bring him back! With a big smile and a hello where have you been?!?

My experience with the gp was shocking he will just say to us well you should know how to deal with this after 27 years!!!!

I cook all the food from fresh, bread wise burgen (quite yummy soya bread and very low baddies!) I am very keen cook and love making sure he enjoys his restricted diet the best I can.

Sorry to babble but like I say if any advice or other partners of diabetics can share I would be greatly appreciative.

Lissy
x
 
Welcome Lissy.

A few things the GP could usefully have mentioned are:
(a) Glucagon injection for you to use when your boyfriend is unconconscious due to hypoglycaemia
(2) basal bolus regime (long acting insulin once or twice a day, plus short acting matched to each meal carbohydrate content) gives much more flexibility than twice daily insulin
(c) carbohydrate counting courses, usually offered by diabetes clinics in hospitals, and more complete courses, such as DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating)

I would be worth your boyfriend asking about these.
 
Welcome to the forum...........

It seems he has been diabetic for a long time, yet it also seems he has not been advised as to how best manage the condition, I suspect there are many long term diabetics in the same predicament.........

My advice would be to get him to attend his hospital diabetic clinic where he can discuss an MDI regime and to arrange for a carb counting course.....

This will firstly give him flexibility with his food, but more importantly, much tighter control, so as to avoid hypos and to help improve any current complications.........

Well done for taking an interest and seeking help, he is a lucky man............:D
 
Thank You 🙂

(a) Glucagon injection for you to use when your boyfriend is unconconscious due to hypoglycaemia
(2) basal bolus regime (long acting insulin once or twice a day, plus short acting matched to each meal carbohydrate content) gives much more flexibility than twice daily insulin
(c) carbohydrate counting courses, usually offered by diabetes clinics in hospitals, and more complete courses, such as DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating)


Thank you he asked for the glucagon but they gave glucagel!!

I will get him to suggest these at the diabetic clinic. 🙂
 
Hi Lissy, welcome to the forum 🙂 Just because he has had diabetes for so long does not necessarily mean that he is able to manage it well and knows all about it. We have had lots of stories from long-term diagnosed people here who have been greatly surprised how much treatment options have changed, and how behind the times they find they are. I think that some healthcare preofessionals make the assumption that a person is fully au fait with the latest information, whereas in fact they might be attempting to control things on the basis of wholly incorrect knowledge. For example, a man I met had been diagnosed for several years, but thought that he should only need to look at the sugar content of food rather than total carbohydrate content.

I think that sharing experiences here with hundreds of other people with diabetes is an excellent way of gathering knoweldge so you can go back to your doctor with new questions 🙂 One thing that strikes me immediately is that he is on two injections, rather than the more usual multiple injections (also known as basal/bolus), whereby you inject once or twice a day long acting insulin, plus seperate injections of fast-acting insulin to match the carbs in your food. This is far more flexible than two injections as you are no longer tied to having to eat whatever matches the insulin - it's the other way round!

I would suggest getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas. It's an excellent reference book for Type 1s of all ages (I'm 52!) and just browsing it might give you and him some ideas.

I look forward to hearing more from you (and your man, if he wishes to join!). No question is considered 'silly', so ask away if there is anything you've ever wondered or worried about! 🙂
 
Hi Lissy sorry i cant be much help on this one, but wanted to welcome you on the forum
 
Welcome to the forums Lissy 🙂
 
novorapidboi26 said:
Welcome to the forum...........

It seems he has been diabetic for a long time, yet it also seems he has not been advised as to how best manage the condition, I suspect there are many long term diabetics in the same predicament.........

My advice would be to get him to attend his hospital diabetic clinic where he can discuss an MDI regime and to arrange for a carb counting course.....

This will firstly give him flexibility with his food, but more importantly, much tighter control, so as to avoid hypos and to help improve any current complications.........

Well done for taking an interest and seeking help, he is a lucky man............:D
Click to expand...


Hi Novo

The next app is on the 7th sep which i will be going too. Thanks for the response i will defo get the course info. he does have his normal foods when we go out to dinner and family gathering! but as a general rule we stick to scrit diet as his bg can fluctuate so dramatically!! eg. 8am 11.9 12pm 2.4 8pm 8.8 then in the night around 1am he will hypo and that is after having a snack normally a banana!!
It feels somtimes like a very long battle but it is so worth it. I would do anything i can to improve quality of life for him.
🙂
Thank you muchly x
 
The problem with a mixed insulin is he is stuck with a fixed amount of carbohydrate to match the insulin dose he is taking, but also, the longer acting part of the dose which deals with the livers contribution and other more slowly released carbs may be too much or not enough throughout a 24 hour period.....

that's why separating both the long acting and faster acting needs with separate insulins' makes it easier to control, as both can change independently of one another..........

I hope you can both get answers when the time comes.........

Feel free to ask questions here and to ask about possible questions you might want to ask on the day......
 
Hi Lissy, Welcome! You have a lucky boyfriend, well done for seeking advice. The first thing I noticed when reading your post is that he is only on 2 injections a day. I started on this and found it awful! Really hard to control sugar levels and very restrictive for my diet. Has he been offered an MDI (multiple daily injections) treatment? This is usually 4 injections a day, one "long acting" that lasts 24 hours and covers the background sugar from the liver and keeps levels stable if you don't eat, and then 3 (or more) "quick acting" injections that you take before eating a meal or large snack. The doses can then be varied so that he can eat a larger variety of foods and do exercise. Also, you should try to get a glucagon injection for use in emergencies like the hypo you described. You can then give it to him if he is unable to treat himself.
 
Glucogel is fine for hypos he can deal with himself but not if he is unconscious, it is worth asking again and explaining about his bad hypos and why you need it, if they still wont give it to you I would get a second opinion.
 
Natalie123 said:
Glucogel is fine for hypos he can deal with himself but not if he is unconscious, it is worth asking again and explaining about his bad hypos and why you need it, if they still wont give it to you I would get a second opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks Natalie i will defo persue this one. If i have to face what was last weeks episode i think it would be a very handy tool to save him 🙂
 
Hi Lissy

Welcome to the forums and well done for joining and asking questions.

As another long-term T1 I am very well away that it can be quite easy to just get used to whatever shortcomings your current regime imposes on your (and your partner's) life. You know it kind of works, most of the time. But sometimes D just messes you about and your clinic never really seem to have any suggestions that make any sense. The comments you make about having to have someone 'bring you round' every so often are very familiar to me.

It doesn't have to be like that.

I'd been invited to 'support groups' at clinic, but the idea of sitting in some dingy room with other diabetics moaning over tea and biscuits was never something I was going to do.

The interweb is an amazing thing. The great thing about a forum like this is that you can ask questions and read others' experiences whenever it suits you. You get the wisdom of 100s of clinics from all over the country (and world if you want to). And a chance to vent/rant/rage in a place where people get it.

In the last few years on this and other forums I have learned so much about how my own D works that I feel much much more in control. I've made lots and lots of little changes to the way I view and handle things. I've learned all sorts of bits and pieces that explain many of the previously 'random' events, and have helped me avoid them. I've not had a hypo I couldn't deal with myself for around 2 years. (I started looking after a really nasty one there are other posts on there from my other half you might find interesting)

Not everything you (or he) reads will apply or be right for him, but switching to MDI will be a massive step in the right direction.

Stick around and keep us posted with how he's getting on
M
 
GodivaGirl said:
Hi Lissy, sorry I can't be of any help, but welcome to the forum 🙂
Click to expand...

Hello GodivaGirl

I was reading your post then!! Wow what a discovery story eh!?! Since i have come into contact with diabetes i have most defo learnt somthin new every day!! The thing i found a first was recognising when he was dipping some fairly funny things have happened such as finding the contents of his pockets in random places or because my chap is a funny guy anyway trying to figure out if he is winding me up or dropping BG...

30 bg you mentioned that is madness dunc only gets that high when he is poorly yet he can go from 1.9 to 23 in less than 2 hours which is extrodanairy!!

Would be great to keep in touch and see how you and hubby are learn as i am too!!!

All the best 🙂

L x
 
Hi Lissy. Welcome 🙂

It does sound as though he's having completely the wrong regime for his lifestyle. I've been on MDI (basal/bolus) for a long time and it completely changed my life. I had far more flexibility to eat different amounts at different times and could be more spontaneous.

Even then, my control was a bit hit or miss, but since joining the forum I've improved much more.

Do you know what his latest HbA1c is at all ?

As others have said, I would get away from the GP and seek out a hospital clinic.🙂

Rob
 
Northerner said:
Hi Lissy, welcome to the forum 🙂 Just because he has had diabetes for so long does not necessarily mean that he is able to manage it well and knows all about it. We have had lots of stories from long-term diagnosed people here who have been greatly surprised how much treatment options have changed, and how behind the times they find they are. I think that some healthcare preofessionals make the assumption that a person is fully au fait with the latest information, whereas in fact they might be attempting to control things on the basis of wholly incorrect knowledge. For example, a man I met had been diagnosed for several years, but thought that he should only need to look at the sugar content of food rather than total carbohydrate content.

I think that sharing experiences here with hundreds of other people with diabetes is an excellent way of gathering knoweldge so you can go back to your doctor with new questions 🙂 One thing that strikes me immediately is that he is on two injections, rather than the more usual multiple injections (also known as basal/bolus), whereby you inject once or twice a day long acting insulin, plus seperate injections of fast-acting insulin to match the carbs in your food. This is far more flexible than two injections as you are no longer tied to having to eat whatever matches the insulin - it's the other way round!

I would suggest getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas. It's an excellent reference book for Type 1s of all ages (I'm 52!) and just browsing it might give you and him some ideas.

I look forward to hearing more from you (and your man, if he wishes to join!). No question is considered 'silly', so ask away if there is anything you've ever wondered or worried about! 🙂
Click to expand...

Hi Northener Thank you for post. It is great to hear about anything that can potentionaly help him. I completely agree with your comment on the professional assumptions that a long term Diabetic isaware of all new developments!! yet scary how he just got up mid convo and opened the door for us to leave once again thank you for your advice i will be showing him all of the post to me later. multi injections are defo top of my list to bring up with the specialist. 🙂
I will keep updated.

L x
 
Welcome to the forum and hope u get all the info to help 🙂
 
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