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NovoRapid Newly Diagnosed

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D

DanielM

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello,

I was newly diagnosed on Thursday and was shown how to inject Levemir and NovoRapid. My sugars are lower but not fully controlled yet and I have an appointment after Christmas. The idea is to get me through Christmas first.

I've been told to take NovoRapid before a meal which I have been doing but I am still hungry and want to snack on something but I have already injected NovoRapid for the three meals.

I was wondering, is it safe to inject whenever I get hungry as long as I check my sugars each time. This is a big concern over Christmas because there will obviously be more food around and I want to be safe.

I don't know if I can eat and then monitor my sugars and then inject NovoRapid if the sugars are too high as and when?

I'm just looking for a little advice if possible please. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Dan
 
Hi dan are you on a set amount of insulin at each meal and have you been testing before and 2 hours after meal ?
 
Hello,

I was on on 4 units but my sugar was still high so I was advised to up it to 6. I also inject Levemir at 8 units at 12 hour intervals. I was also advised to up this to 10 units if I wake high. I was told only to test before meals at the moment. I also inject NovoRapid and test before bed.

I was told I can more or less eat what I like over Christmas as long as I monitor things. My sugars are not yet controlled properly and range from 10 to 20. My diabetic nurse is not concerned at the moment as the goal is to get insulin into me first and then look into getting things good and stable after Christmas.

Thank you for your reply, it's appreciated.
 
Hi , just a welcome from me and to say it does get easier, honest !
 
Thank you. I'm so anxious about it all and a bit shaky. Not low blood sugar as I checked. It's just a big shock just before Christmas.
 
Hi Daniel - its perfectly normal to feel shaky - it comes as a nasty shock whoever you are. If you feel like having a ruddy great sob or a red mist rant - just do it and let it out otherwise it festers if you try to stifle it.

At the moment over Christmas - just do what you've been told to do and if you're hungry between meals - go for carb free snacks mostly which does not mean I'm condemning you to salad! On the contrary - protein is excellent at satisfying hunger so opt for some cheese, hardboiled egg, cooked meats, things like tuna mayo or my fave LOL smoked salmon. You can of course pile it up on a cracker or crispbread (which are low carb anyway) but just not too much bread or cake as a snack - but as your 'pudding' after a meal. fine! Just don't eat the whole dish of trifle or chocolate log is all! And do have your usual tipple, and enjoy it - but don't get legless is all.

Christmas Day like your birthday only happens once every year and we always tell people that makes em carb free. Of course they're not and we do have to be a bit sensible - but don't worry about it too much is all - cos it will be sorted out afterwards.

We could sit and go into chapter and verse about how to adjust insulin - but quite honestly - just give yourself chance to get used to it all a bit because there is so much to learn, no way can anyone do it in a couple of months let alone days - so it's like walking up a hill - take smaller steps, take your time and be able to reach the summit still able to get your breath - and enjoy the view!
 
Thank you so much for your reply. What if those eggs are pickled eggs? There's going to be plenty of meat such as Turkey, Beef and Ham.

I was told it's fine for me to get a little tipsy but to go for wine rather than too much beer because of sugar content and to make sure I eat something before bed to help mop anything up. I also take NovoRapid before bed.

I actually feel a little better in myself as of Saturday and I think my body has adjusted a little since Thursday when they gave me my first jab at the hospital. I guess you could say that I feel more alert.

The past night and tonight I have woken feeling hotter than normal and maybe a little sweaty. Not dripping in sweat and no other symptoms. I've done a test and I'm within the mid to high tens like I have been for the past couple of days. That's better than the high twenty's like it was though.

The fear for me is that I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the symptoms of that feel the same as a Hypo so it took me a while to realise anything more was wrong with me as the symptoms overlap with Diabetes.

I guess I'll get used to things and everything will just become a routine and I won't have to think too much about things.

Once again, thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it.
 
@DanielM . Umm are you sure you’re to take Novorapid before bed Or did you mean Levemir 🙂.
We need to be a bit careful with alcohol as it can lower our BG (blood glucose)

Many of us will be letting our hair down a bit this Christmas inc me, so enjoy your eats and drinks just don’t go mad ok :D
 
I take Levemir at 9am and 9pm. Hmm, maybe I've made a mistake then. It says tests before meals and NovoRapid but has a mark against bedtime too.

My sugars have been in the high tens to twenty's but is now showing 9. I have been given a range of between 4 and 9 but it isn't expected of me to reach that until I am taught more on how to manage things. The idea is just to make sure I have some insulin in me and to keep keytones at bay.

I had keytone levels of 1.3 at the hospital on Thursday and now have it down to 0.2

I have some Jelly Babies in case my sugar goes too low and I know I can adjust the NovoRapid from 6u to 4u. I started at 4u and my sugar was high after eating so I was advised to try 6u which worked better.

I'll have many questions for the Nurses at the hospital next Thursday.

Thank you for your reply, it's appreciated.

Edit - One more question. Let's say I inject Levemir at 9am and want breakfast half an hour later. Is it safe to then inject NovoRapid before the breakfast? I just don't want to lower things too much and am trying to understand things better.
 
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DanielM said:
Edit - One more question. Let's say I inject Levemir at 9am and want breakfast half an hour later. Is it safe to then inject NovoRapid before the breakfast? I just don't want to lower things too much and am trying to understand things better.
Click to expand...
That's fine. Levemir and Novorapid do completely different jobs. The Levemir is there to drip feed a consistent amount of insulin over 24 hours, to cope with the glucose that your liver trickles out to keep your vital organs going. Normally, your body would be drip feeding your own insulin to cope with this. Novorapid is tailored to cope with a meal, it starts slowly, then has a peak around 1-2 hours, then tails off, to minic what your pancreas would be doing if it was working.
So yes, it's fine to do your long acting Levemir immediately followed by Novorapid, if you're going to eat.
 
DanielM said:
Let's say I inject Levemir at 9am and want breakfast half an hour later. Is it safe to then inject NovoRapid before the breakfast? I just don't want to lower things too much and am trying to understand things better.
Click to expand...
There shouldn't be a problem with that at all 🙂 Levemir is designed to keep things ticking over throughout the rest of the time and the novorapid deals with the food 🙂 xx
 
Hello @DanielM

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis - unfortunate timing with Christmas and all!

Best to reduce those levels gradually rather than trying to crash from very high BGs to ‘normal range’ in one go, as a gentle transition places less stress on the system. You may find you get symptoms of low BG as you get into single figures - but fortunately it sounds like you’ve been told to double check for ‘false hypos’ until your glucose thermostat resets itself.

For your original question, I’d agree with others - better to stick with the advice you’ve been given. You *can* dose again if your levels are higher than you’d like and/or you are worried about the ketones, but each NovoRapid dose will last 4-5 hours, and each has a rise and fall curve of how much effect they are having - so you can end up with doses overlapping which can make things a little unpredictable until you are used to it.

Hope you can enjoy your Christmas and that the Diabetes fairy leaves you alone to celebrate 🙂
 
Thank you for your replies, you've been very helpful.

I just checked my sugars and I'm at 7.7 which has gone from 25 since last Thursday. I've injected both types and have had some breakfast.

I wasn't aware of false hypos but I have experienced feeling a bit shaky and getting hot. At these times I have checked my blood sugars and they have always been in double figures so it's possible I'm having the false hypos as mentioned.
 
Your body adapt to the higher levels you were having before diagnosis, so by contrast more ‘in range’ results can trigger your warning signs. It won’t last too long before your body adapts to more normal levels, so don’t get used to ignoring warning signs as they may be real ones before long!
 
The main thing about not having 'extra' Novorapid in between meals at the moment, is that if you do that and then see the clinic after Christmas - doing 'adjustments' to doses will make it harder for them to see easily what's going on and advise you clearly what to do next.

Incidentally nobody has yet advised you to get a really good book - originally written to help parents of Type 1 kids - but it's just as useful for us at any age! it's imaginatively entitled 'Type 1 Diabetes in babies, children and teenagers' by a doctor called Ragnar Hannas (& others) - I'm sure @Northerner will post the Amazon link for you - please get it ordered asap as a late Xmas present to yourself - I myself was advised on various aspects by my specialist nurse at Ruby hospital D clinic, using passages she'd found in the book to explain succinctly and I never even met her till I was in my 50s!
 
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