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Treatment when in hospital

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
litto-miss-loz

litto-miss-loz

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hey all,

Just wondered how you all felt about your diabetes treatment if your ever in hospital for other treatment.
I was in hospital a week ago getting an operation on my neck. Most of the nurses made sure I got my blood sugars checked regularly, however after my operation, they took me off the insulin scales thing and put me back on my own insulin. But then my sugars started to creep up, i think because i had been fasting and because of the op. My sugars were then high for a day or so and it was me who had to tell the nurses to check my ketones and once they checked it, it came back that i did have ketones so i had to go on the drip. but if i never told them to check my ketones they probably would of let me out of hospital and i would of went home with ketones in my urine. And another thing is when i was leaving the hospital, my mum asked a doctor to get my insulin out of their fridge and he was like "Insulin in the fridge?!!" as if to say that it isnt meant to be kept in the fridge...

Anyway thats my wee moan for the day lol just annoyed me so much that some members of the health care system dont know these simple & vital facts.
 
When I was in hospital because of my diabetes (DKA), I had to ask nurses on several occasions to check my levels (usually the night staff), and also to give me my insulin before meals. I also had to remind them to change canulas. But, on the whole I was very happy with the way I was treated. Two of the nurses in particular were outstanding in the level of care they provided to me and all the others on the ward, and I wrote to the hospital later to make sure they were recognised for it. 🙂
 
The simplist and easiest way to look after your diabetes when in hospital is use the magic words, I will self medicate.
This means you are incontrol.
Insulin does not have to be kept in a fridge either so don't worry about that aspect of things
Keep all of your supplies with you including glucose tabs this does save a lot of problems.
The nurses know very little about diabetes it's safer for you to do this if you are aware of what you are doing.
Also nurses are way over worked with far to many patients to look after they just can not find the time to do simple basic tasks half the time :(

I hope you are recovering well after your op.

Best wishes
Sue
 
i've never had a bad experience in hospital. and i do self medicate, however all hospitals are required by health and safety to keep all your supplies locked away (as per there own drugs). this is due to the fact anyone else on the ward could easily access them and use what they dont need to and do harm to themselves. if you feel that the care you get in hospital isnt up to scratch then ask for the sister and tell her whats wrong. after all how can they fix what they dont realise is broken.
 
Type1_Sue said:
The simplist and easiest way to look after your diabetes when in hospital is use the magic words, I will self medicate.
This means you are incontrol.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of making a thread about this actually. When I went to that BERTIE meeting recently, some people told stories about how they were treated in hospital and it was very worrying!

I poor old guy had been told he was going to be given something like 24 units of insulin and he said that he never takes anything like that musch and he really had to fight to stop the nurse giving it to him. Eventually he was allowed to look after himself, but after a lot of arguing and involving other people. There were other stories too, and it really scared me!

The Diabetes specialist's advice was, as Sue said... self medicate just as you would at any other time - he said don't let nurses or anyone take away your glucose monitor, insulin or hypo treatment. Obviously if you can't look after yourself for whatever reason, it's up to the hospital (god help us).
 
Type1_Sue said:
The simplist and easiest way to look after your diabetes when in hospital is use the magic words, I will self medicate.
This means you are incontrol.
Insulin does not have to be kept in a fridge either so don't worry about that aspect of things
Keep all of your supplies with you including glucose tabs this does save a lot of problems.
The nurses know very little about diabetes it's safer for you to do this if you are aware of what you are doing.
Also nurses are way over worked with far to many patients to look after they just can not find the time to do simple basic tasks half the time :(

I hope you are recovering well after your op.

Best wishes
Sue
Click to expand...

Sue,
Just a bit confused as to why you say insulin doesnt need to be kept in the fridge? We were told it absolutely has to be kept in the fridge? Bev
 
Overall my care in the hospital was good, I was just outlining a couple of minor things that I feel they should have already known.

You dont keep insulin in the fridge???? I know that you dont need to keep it in the fridge after you have started using it but I also had extra supplies with me just incase so that had to be kept in the fridge or doesnt it?? :S

thanks for all your feedback :D:D
 
litto-miss-loz said:
Overall my care in the hospital was good, I was just outlining a couple of minor things that I feel they should have already known.

You dont keep insulin in the fridge???? I know that you dont need to keep it in the fridge after you have started using it but I also had extra supplies with me just incase so that had to be kept in the fridge or doesnt it?? :S

thanks for all your feedback :D:D
Click to expand...

I was told, and do, keep my spare insulin in the fridge, and take a new cartridge or pen out of the fridge at least an hour before using, to allow to get to room temp. 🙂
 
runner said:
I was told, and do, keep my spare insulin in the fridge, and take a new cartridge or pen out of the fridge at least an hour before using, to allow to get to room temp. 🙂
Click to expand...

Precisely what I do, although I have forgotten more than once to take it out when needed - most annoying when you think there's just enough left in the cartridge and there's only half enough!😱
 
Not in use insulin is fine out of the fridge for at least 28 days.
But if it worries you that much whilst in hospital have them keep the unopened in the fridge when getting nr the end of the cartridge/vial ask for the refridgerated insulin to be returned to you.
 
I think sue means you probably wont need to keep it in a fridge whilst in hospital - unless you are going to be there for a very long time.
 
If the hospital allows then keep your own insulin and self medicate. The difficulty is that the nurse is responsible for the medications and has to sign for it.

A recent incident form that I saw was a man who had injected his morning insulin himself and then decided not to eat breakfast, he therefore went hypo. The nurse is at fault and had a clinical incident against them.
 
sofaraway said:
A recent incident form that I saw was a man who had injected his morning insulin himself and then decided not to eat breakfast, he therefore went hypo. The nurse is at fault and had a clinical incident against them.
Click to expand...

meh - ridiculous 🙄 Was it a bad hypo??
 
Type1_Sue said:
Not in use insulin is fine out of the fridge for at least 28 days.
But if it worries you that much whilst in hospital have them keep the unopened in the fridge when getting nr the end of the cartridge/vial ask for the refridgerated insulin to be returned to you.
Click to expand...

aww is it, I didnt know that, I always made sure that unused cartridges had to be kept in the fridge but thanks for letting me know. 🙂

No it didnt worry me....They kept it in the fridge, I was only sayin that the doctor didnt know that insulin was kept in the fridge and he was a doctor not a nurse...

thanks anyway 🙂
 
Just home after fifteen days in hospital. Cholecystitis. The first five days were on the HDunit and they put me on a sliding scale insulin pump, taking bg every four hours (all grub/fluid intake via the plethora of plumbing)
Once I had recovered sufficiently I returned to the ward and the morning gliclazide tablet.
The treatment and medication sent the bg on a wobbly but is already stabilising.
Can't praise them enough. Well trained and understanding.
Hope they are as good when I return in about five/six weeks to have the gall bladder plus stones removed.

No more fish and chips :(
 
Hey Kojack, hope you are recovering well and hope the other hospital stays go just as smoothly 🙂
 
kojack said:
Just home after fifteen days in hospital. Cholecystitis. The first five days were on the HDunit and they put me on a sliding scale insulin pump, taking bg every four hours (all grub/fluid intake via the plethora of plumbing)
Once I had recovered sufficiently I returned to the ward and the morning gliclazide tablet.
The treatment and medication sent the bg on a wobbly but is already stabilising.
Can't praise them enough. Well trained and understanding.
Hope they are as good when I return in about five/six weeks to have the gall bladder plus stones removed.

No more fish and chips :(
Click to expand...

John, good to hear that your stay was comfortable and that you were well looked after!🙂 Sorry to hear about the fish 'n' chips :(
 
Hi there,

Glad to hear that u were well looked after.

Hope everything else goes smoothly for ya 🙂
 
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