Sick days

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Evergreen

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1.5 LADA
I’m hoping for some advice. I’ve come down with the flu and my blood sugars have been above my normal range for days now.

I’m actually starting to feel a little better, but it’s like my blood sugar is getting worse. Is this normal? I assumed when I started feeling better my blood sugar also would come down again, but it’s like it’s the opposite.

I know everyone is different but I wondered what this was like for other people? How long after getting better were your blood sugars still unstable?

Many thanks!
 
It could be that the virus has stirred up your immune system and triggered it to attack a few more of your beta cells and as a result you may need more insulin from now on, or it may just be that the lack of exercise/activity whilst you have been ill, is still having an impact.
We are all different and you just have to deal with whatever is happening with your body, so if you are seeing high levels then you need more insulin. Just keep a close eye on things and keep hypo treatments handy in case it all suddenly reverts back to normal.
 
Thank you. I’m upping my basal again tonight, but find it quite unsettling as only a week ago I suddenly was lots more sensitive to insulin (had to decrease both my basal as well as my mealtime ratio).

But it’s clear I need more insulin, so I will keep the corrections up and up my basal again tonight.
 
Evergreen said:
Thank you. I’m upping my basal again tonight, but find it quite unsettling as only a week ago I suddenly was lots more sensitive to insulin (had to decrease both my basal as well as my mealtime ratio).

But it’s clear I need more insulin, so I will keep the corrections up and up my basal again tonight.
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Frustrating as it is, ‘we need what we need’. Just to keep us on our toes, our doses are effected/affected (delete as applicable - I still never remember which to use) by so many different factors. I sometimes forget that if I have become more insulin resistant through illness I need to change both basal and bolus.

I find I get an early warning with BG rising before I feel I’ll and then a lag after I am feeling better.
I hope that things start to go back in range for you soon.
 
Evergreen said:
I’m hoping for some advice. I’ve come down with the flu and my blood sugars have been above my normal range for days now.

I’m actually starting to feel a little better, but it’s like my blood sugar is getting worse. Is this normal? I assumed when I started feeling better my blood sugar also would come down again, but it’s like it’s the opposite.

I know everyone is different but I wondered what this was like for other people? How long after getting better were your blood sugars still unstable?

Many thanks!
Click to expand...
I had a nasty stomach bug recently, and felt washed out for about three weeks afterwards. My blood sugars really didn’t come back to normal until the end of that period, when they suddenly fell into place as if nothing had happened. It was the first time that had happened to me, normally they only rise for a day or two at the start of an illness,
 
Thank you for sharing your experiences, I find it very useful to read what it’s like for others even though it’s all often quite an individual experience.

I think (hope) that my blood sugar is getting better! I was in range all night last night after upping my basal (although the effects of that are usually slower so might not have been the basal). Today is still a day of many corrections but blood sugars seem to respond a little better to the insulin so that’s all good!

I had a nurse today talk me through the sickness rules again and how to work out my TDD, but that just doesn’t make any sense to me as my insulin needs are so different day to day…I find it thoroughly frustrating sometimes how medical professionals just try and fit you into this completely narrow picture of what your body should function like with diabetes..
 
Evergreen said:
I find it thoroughly frustrating sometimes how medical professionals just try and fit you into this completely narrow picture of what your body should function like with diabetes..
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Totally agree. The theory and what happens in practice are often two very different things. I find the advice given by nurses can sometimes hamper you from finding your own solution and for me, experimenting on myself (with one eye very firmly on safety) has been the best way to find what works best for me, even if I flout one or two "rules" in the process.

Pleased you are seeing some improvement.
 
Can I ask do “Sick Day Rules” apply to T2 as well?
 
Evergreen said:
I had a nurse today talk me through the sickness rules again and how to work out my TDD, but that just doesn’t make any sense to me as my insulin needs are so different day to day
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For each of us our actual TDD will vary with the meals we eat, what we do and all the other factors. An average TDD is a starting point and when ill it can be useful to have a note of that so there is less thinking to do when you are not feeling like doing any calculations.

Good to hear that things are settling down and I hope that you feel a lot better.
 
Tdd struck me as an odd way to do things too.
An example...when i was low carb, my tdd was likely lower than it is now, but i was more insulin resistant. The tdd calc would have said i needed less insulin to sort out my sickness, though likely it would have been more.
I too agree with the 'suck it and see' approach
 
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