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Struggling to keep levels normal with a cold

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Jess810

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Hi all,
I hope everyone has had a good bank holiday weekend.
My husband was diagnosed with T1 5 weeks ago and has had a cold since his diagnosis. The cold doesn't seem to be shifting and the past week he has been struggling to keep his blood glucose levels normal (they are often very low). When he was diagnosed he was told to take 4 units of Novorapid with each meal but he has reduced this to 2 units on the instruction of his diabetic clinic but his levels continue to be low at all times of the day. He is eating as usual but is having hypos 2 or 3 times a day. We have been given a leaflet about illness which suggests blood glucose levels increase when poorly so we are very confused. Could anyone please shed some light on what could be happening? Could he still be in the honeymoon phase? It may be worth mentioning that we moved house on Thursday so I don't know if the upheaval could be having any effect but it did all go very smoothly... Thanks in advance.
 
Sorry to hear your husband is struggling. there's quite a lot that could be going on. Novorapid, his mealtime Insulin , is only half the story, I assume he is also on a basal INsulin, such as Lantus or Levemir? The amount of this he's been told to take could be set too high, so my first step would be to query this with his diabetic clinic. it may be that now his levels are getting under control, he will need less. you're right in thinking that being unwell often causes glucose levels to rise, but it's not always the case. on the other hand, more activity than usual can make them fall, and moving house usually entails an awful lot more running around than usual.5 weeks in, it's very early to expect a regular pattern to have established itself, so a lot of tweaking is probably still on the cards. When he feels more confident, he will need to get to grips with Carb counting, and adjusting his insulin according to what he is eating at any given meal, rather than taking a set amount, this will give him more flexible control (There are courses to help learn how to do this, and a wealth of information on this site) Meanwhile, don't hesitate to badger his disbetic team, they are used to it, and it's what they are there for! good luck!
 
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Many thanks for the response Robin. He is on Levemir which he takes twice daily (4 units at night and 3 units mid morning) and we hadn't considered that this may need adjusting too.
He is booked onto a carb counting course in a few weeks so hopefully that will really help. He has just rang and left a voice mail with his diabetic clinic, unfortunately they haven't been great so far...He feels more like a nuisance than a newly diagnosed patient who is desperately trying to get to grips with this new way of life but I'm sure they'll get back to him eventually. Thanks again 🙂
 
Hi Jess. If I am busy thinking about things & my brain is working overtime I always go down hill, (Low bg). A house move is a big step with a lot of thinking & planning it might have something to do with it. Good luck & welcome 🙂
 
Hi Hobie, thank you for replying 🙂 My husband does tend to worry about things so he may well be the same as you as this low bg streak has only been in the last week. We'll keep an eye on it and look out for other patterns.
 
Hi Jess810
Hope your husband has had a more stable time since you posted 🙂. As the others have said, the stress and extra physical activity could well be causing the dips in blood glucose, even hoovering can send me down towards hypo territory so depending on how sensitive he is that could well be the trigger. The honeymoon (ironic word because it's not fun 🙄) can last up to 12 months or more especially if treatment is given early and I'm assuming given the small amounts of insulin intervention happened early? I'm just over twelve months in and allegedly still enjoying the honeymoon, but intervention was just in the nick of time for me so I'm sort of going backwards, and I keep waiting for stability but so far no joy 🙄

When I have a cold I get high readings before it arrives and then lows when it's in full swing, and find I can help avoid it (and hoovering hypos) if I have an oat biscuit with my coffee, so a few coffee/tea breaks might help. Also the nicer weather can mean background reduction for some of us (the levemir) as well. If he's going low during the day time (rather than at night) then it's probably the mid morning dose that will need adjusting. It all feels quite complex to start with but it gets easier honestly. I'd have some regular snacks to stave off the hypos and then ring the clinic and see if you can see the nurse for a chat about next steps. I spoke to mine because they were moving far too slowly for me and not really talking to me about what was happening, that helped a lot. Good luck 🙂
 
Honeymoon phase, moving house, sunny weather can all act on insulin requirements / blood glucose levels, as well as a cold. So, it's difficult - don't expect to get it right always, even after years of practice. Be kind to yourself, especially when unwell / under the weather.
 
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