Unable To Eat And Type 1

[TheClockworkDodo]

Hello! I'm new here - will post an introduction shortly, but I joined today in the hope that someone might have ideas about what I can do if completely unable to eat.

I'm type 1 and also have another illness which is made worse by stress. Today has been really stressful and as a result I'm really nauseous and can't face food. I'm not actually being sick, and can drink water.

I know the general advice for someone who can't eat meals is try to eat stodgy snacks, but I just can't get them down (this is part of my other illness - if really stressed I can't swallow food).

The stress means my blood sugar is high - 13 at lunchtime and 11.9 just now, but of course it may not stay that way.

My partner tried to ring local diabetes nurse, but couldn't get through, then rang Diabetes UK careline, but all they could suggest was stodgy snacks. Last time he rang NHS direct we got someone who knew very little about diabetes and gave completely the wrong advice, so we're reluctant to try them.

I realise people here can't give official medical advice, but if anyone has been in a similar situation, what did you do? Do you think fruit juice would be a good idea, or a bad one? Any ideas gratefully received.

Juliet x

 

[Northerner]

Hi Juliet, welcome to the forum 🙂 A while ago I had a horrible illness which meant I couldn't eat anything or drink anything for about 17 days without being sick. Eventually, thanks to some medication I was able to sip some full sugar coke and lucozade, and also nibble on some crisps, this helped to keep the ketones down and I corrected my blood sugar levels with insulin. What insulin regime are you on? Have you been diagnosed long?

 

[khskel]

My DNS said ice cream if I couldn't eat anything else.

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome ! Packet soups, Yoghurts But keep hydrated. Good luck 🙂

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Thank you all for the welcome and the ideas 🙂 The one thing I didn't say is that I have lots of food intolerances, which makes things a bit more complicated ... but I've managed to get a yogurt down, so that's a relief.

I also thought if you could have sugary drinks, Northerner, I'd probably be OK with a few sips of grape juice, so have had that too. Now trying to crumble a ryvita into small enough pieces that I can swallow them - hmm, not sure that is going to work, but I've managed a few crumbs! And injected one and a half units of insulin.

In answer to your questions, I developed type 1 as an adult, four and a half years ago (I'm in my 40s) - probably because I have an overactive immune system, which is under the impression that things like my pancreas are alien invaders. I use Novorapid with meals and Lantus at night - small doses because I'm hyper-sensitive to everything.