Request for help writing diabetic stories

[Paul DCL]

I have been type 1 for 50 years.
At the moment I am writing a series of short stories based a round a detective who has just been diagnosed type 1 diabetic.
I want to have her make many of the mistakes new diabetics can make soon after diagnosis, so would like some ideas of mistakes you or someone you know have made.
The ideas I have so far are:
1) Took insulin too early when going out for a meal
2) Though after finishing insulin that diabetes is cured as medication now completed
3) Being convinced they're not hypo and arguing with others before checking blood sugar
4) Going away for holiday and forgetting to pack enough medication in case of delays
5) Ordering high protein meal and not realising the carbohydrate will be low

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Robin]

Ones I made. Waking up hypo in the night because of a) taking a lot of exercise the previous day or b) drinking alcohol before going to bed, and not adjusting insulin downwards in either case.

I have to quibble with your number 2. I assume your detective is quite intelligent? Surely she’d have been told about putting her insulin on a repeat prescription and getting free prescriptions going forwards, and I’d have assumed a detective would have done some research into her condition, I find it hard to believe she would think she’d be cured.

 

[Paul DCL]

Ones I made. Waking up hypo in the night because of a) taking a lot of exercise the previous day or b) drinking alcohol before going to bed.

I have to quibble with your number 2. I assume your detective is quite intelligent? Surely she’d have been told about putting her insulin on a repeat prescription and getting free prescriptions going forwards, and I’d have assumed a detective would have done some research into her condition, I find it hard to believe she would think she’d be cured.

Thanks for your comment.
I did wonder about number 2, but decided to put it in as some people can be in denial at first. Also when writing you do sometimes use a bit of license (yes I know its a cheat). I may change the reason in the story for ending in hospital.

 

[Dishevelled]

I can't help with type 1 things but I've often thought that a detective could tell which day I'd been murdered by looking at how many Metformin tablets had been used. Mine always run out on a Thursday. I imagine a Libre or Dexcom would also be handy for a bit of detecting.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

I have been type 1 for 50 years.
At the moment I am writing a series of short stories based a round a detective who has just been diagnosed type 1 diabetic.
I want to have her make many of the mistakes new diabetics can make soon after diagnosis, so would like some ideas of mistakes you or someone you know have made.
The ideas I have so far are:
1) Took insulin too early when going out for a meal
2) Though after finishing insulin that diabetes is cured as medication now completed
3) Being convinced they're not hypo and arguing with others before checking blood sugar
4) Going away for holiday and forgetting to pack enough medication in case of delays
5) Ordering high protein meal and not realising the carbohydrate will be low

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Hello, you could try the detective conducting an investigation, interrogating a “suspect” & or colleagues, basically talking nonsense, veering from the topic due to cognitive decline on an impending low? I have a quibble with number 2. T1 insulin dependence is for life, not just for Christmas. Your detective would have been told this & the character would have been well honed in asking the relevant questions? (Assuming a gritty thriller & not the “Pink panther.”) Actually, I’m a little concerned with the rest of your proposals could also undermine the protagonist’s professionalism?

I can't help with type 1 things but I've often thought that a detective could tell which day I'd been murdered by looking at how many Metformin tablets had been used. Mine always run out on a Thursday. I imagine a Libre or Dexcom would also be handy for a bit of detecting.

You got me thinking. Fair point on the CGM. Just done some “doctor googling.” Apparently there have been cases where CGM data has helped determine cause of death? Including cardiac arrest.

 

[Inka]

Hi @Paul DCL I think common mistakes would be forgetting to inject; forgetting to take insulin with you when out and about; and miscalculating carbs.

You say the story is going to end in hospital - is this for the detective? If so, maybe ketones would be a good cause? These are often forgotten or underestimated by the newly diagnosed, and the symptoms of impending DKA assumed to be something else. Also, with Covid, ketones can form at lower blood sugars so are even more likely to be missed.

Good luck with your story 🙂

 

[mashedupmatt]

Good luck with this - a great idea - took wrong insulin at the wrong time - large(ish) bolus instead of basal in the morning (had to run around the house finding carbs to eat!)

 

[MikeyBikey]

As I have ten more years on the clock and having seen numerous changes I have a couple of questions.

1. In which period is this set as the method of control could be urine tablets or sticks, a BG meter that changed significantly between 1980 and 2020 or CGM.

2. Are they a police or private detective? I thought of joining the police in the seventies and found diabetes made it a NO-NO!!! Then generally if someone in the force developed diabetes they were put onto desk duties and then out to pasture as soon as possible. It was still the same in the eighties and I am not sure of the current rules!

Idea - chasing a suspect over the roof tops and going hypo!

 

[Satan’s little helper]

You could look at protocols regarding mobile phones in prison if the detective has a CGM & the line of enquiry leads to someone in custody?

 

[Drummer]

How about mistakenly buying/drinking a sugar free soft drink rather than one with sugar after noticing blood glucose is a little low?
I have read that 'five to drive' is a mnemonic often used, and 'four's the floor' for being safe, or not to drive a vehicle which could place your detective in a predicament.
The laxative effect of sugar free sweets is a well known problem, but it is often overlooked in the early days - look up Haribo sugar free bears.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for your comment.
I did wonder about number 2, but decided to put it in as some people can be in denial at first. Also when writing you do sometimes use a bit of license (yes I know its a cheat). I may change the reason in the story for ending in hospital.

Could that be a question she asks of a Dr around diagnosis? Not sure which person you are writing in, but she could be thinking “very busy… last thing she needs… but at least it’ll all be over in a few weeks, right?” - an internal monologue / diagnosis appointment question sort of thing?

 

[helli]

4) Going away for holiday and forgetting to pack enough medication in case of delays

Rather than a holiday, could you link this to the detective work - they have to go away over night for the case and are stuck there longer than anticipated.
As someone who travels frequently for work, it can get a bit wearing whenever others assume a hotel stay is a holiday. A work/business trip is more likely to be extended than a holiday.
This also highlights another thing we have to consider that our colleagues can ignore.

Coincidentally, I have been watching a TV series where one of the detectives has Type 1 but has chosen not to tell her colleague. He works it out because she "keeps fainting" (which he helpfully treats by giving her insulin) and "has plasters on her fingers" from finger pricking.
I would love to take the screenwriters to one side and give them a lesson on having diabetes.

No doubt as someone with 50 years of diabetes, these are not mistakes you will make.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

He works it out because she "keeps fainting" (which he helpfully treats by giving her insulin)

😱😱😱

Ah yes! The scriptwriter favourite of dropping-in a potentially lethal misconception / basic error of what to do with someone with diabetes in a first-aid situation 😡

 

[Flower]

Being thrown out of somewhere eg pub/club by security/bouncers when hypo as a hypo can be mistaken for being drunk/aggressive & acting out of character.
The horror of being told how you behaved when hypo and you have no recollection then slowly little bits of memory return.

 

[Sally71]

Perhaps you could put the misconception idea in the story - that they end up in hospital because of some well-meaning person trying to help but giving them totally the wrong treatment - because they thought that’s what you should do (or they saw it on telly if it’s set in modern times)

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Juggling the hem of a chunky knit jumper with your chin whilst injecting.

 

[silver minion]

My husband used to work with two guys who were both type 1. They usually managed their BG well but sometimes things didn't go as planned.
One of them was found unconscious in a corridor so ambulance was called. Hubby took a finger prick reading while they were waiting thought it said 28. Ambulance crew checked on arrival and rechecked BG, which was less than 4. They thought earlier reading was 2.8 definitely a hypo. Hubby had to use the guys thumb to unlock phone so he could check for family in contacts. Spoke to brother who confirmed no allergies and ambulance crew got him sorted with glucose gel. He made a full recovery.
2 outcomes from this. Glucose tablets put in the cupboard behind the work desk and person concerned put his brother as ICE contact on phone.

 

[CliffH]

I have been type 1 for 50 years.
At the moment I am writing a series of short stories based a round a detective who has just been diagnosed type 1 diabetic.
I want to have her make many of the mistakes new diabetics can make soon after diagnosis, so would like some ideas of mistakes you or someone you know have made.
The ideas I have so far are:
1) Took insulin too early when going out for a meal
2) Though after finishing insulin that diabetes is cured as medication now completed
3) Being convinced they're not hypo and arguing with others before checking blood sugar
4) Going away for holiday and forgetting to pack enough medication in case of delays
5) Ordering high protein meal and not realising the carbohydrate will be low

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

I'd encourage you to ensure that it's a balanced account, rather than the "detective" (who's presumably highly intelligent) making so many mistakes as to seem hapless or hopeless: the last thing we need is even more stigma directed at diabetics!

 

[PattiEvans]

At diagnosis I was put on Novomix. Not long after that we were invited to a sunday lunchtime party which consisted of canapes and champagne. I took my morning dose, but hadn't thought about the fact that nearly all the canapes consisted mainly of protein. I started to feel woozy and clearly looked "out of it". Hubby was fetched over and decided I was drunk. To be fair he'd never seen me hypo and I was unfamiliar with the feeling. He marched me home (up a steep hill) put me to bed and told me to stay there until I sobered up. Fortunately I survived!

 

[Satan’s little helper]

At diagnosis I was put on Novomix. Not long after that we were invited to a sunday lunchtime party which consisted of canapes and champagne. I took my morning dose, but hadn't thought about the fact that nearly all the canapes consisted mainly of protein. I started to feel woozy and clearly looked "out of it". Hubby was fetched over and decided I was drunk. To be fair he'd never seen me hypo and I was unfamiliar with the feeling. He marched me home (up a steep hill) put me to bed and told me to stay there until I sobered up. Fortunately I survived!

I did that at my sister’s 18th party raiding a “punch bowl.” After the fruit? Problem was, I was about 9 years old & it was all pretty alcohol soaked. Last thing I remember was a bubble lamp rotating projection on the wall & disco banging. Then I passed out under the buffet table.