What was you BG at diagnosis?

Status
Not open for further replies.
It was 26 years ago and I have absolutely no idea! I'm sure no-one ever told me. All I remember is going to the GP because I didn't seem to be recovering from a bout of flu, him doing a blood test and a couple of days later him chasing after me from the surgery to say results had just arrived and I was diabetic! Then followed the words I still treasure - "as you're young and not overweight (I was 43!), you'll probably be on insulin". No Type 1 or 2 then, we were either IDDs or NIDDs (insulin-dependent diabetic or non-insulin-dependent diabetic). And had to pay for pen needles.

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the first treatment with insulin, and also 100 years since my father was born. What a long way we've come in just two generations!
 
Lily123 said:
Yikes! That could have had a very different ending. DKA is Diabetic Ketoacidosis which means extremely high ketones. Absolutely no idea what is classed as “high” in ketones tho
Click to expand...
0.1-0.2 is classed a normal I believe. Think it's around 0.6 - 0.7 that is classed as going high.
 
it was about 22 years ago (I think) when I walked in the surgery feeling totally exhausted and weak when I remember being told I couldn’t see anyone and I told the receptionist I thought I might fall down and took a seat in the waiting room.

they performed a test and my after explaining my symptoms they tested m BS and I think it was 27
the nurse couldn’t believ, I had driven myself to the surgery and I wasn’t in hospital,
I don’t know what my HbA1c was the firs time it was taken though
one day I will ask someone to look back in my records
 
No idea what it was, just remember dr dipping urine & confirming diabetes then sent home to wait for phone call from hospital, 3 days after was admitted for week stay, wait was due to being friday when dr rang hospital so bad timing being weekend, how times change.

Dr said to avoid carbs so just eat meat & veg, big shock to system being young man, once in hospital & started on insulin carbs were reintroduced, felt so much better in days when started on insulin as lost fair bit of weight & was so run down & lethargic.
 
I was diagnosed at age 11 in 1967. No idea what the test results were at that time, but I had been ill for a few weeks and had been prescribed a nice sugar-full tonic by the GP. When I did not recover he eventually did a urine test and immediately sent for an ambulance as I was slipping in and out of consciousness. (I weighed 3 stone on admission to hospital and 4 stone on release 3 weeks later)
I never heard of ketones until a few years ago and not sure that any records exist from 1967 to enquire about the numbers. But I guess both were extremely high!
 
JJay said:
It was 26 years ago and I have absolutely no idea! I'm sure no-one ever told me. All I remember is going to the GP because I didn't seem to be recovering from a bout of flu, him doing a blood test and a couple of days later him chasing after me from the surgery to say results had just arrived and I was diabetic! Then followed the words I still treasure - "as you're young and not overweight (I was 43!), you'll probably be on insulin". No Type 1 or 2 then, we were either IDDs or NIDDs (insulin-dependent diabetic or non-insulin-dependent diabetic). And had to pay for pen needles.

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the first treatment with insulin, and also 100 years since my father was born. What a long way we've come in just two generations!
Click to expand...
In 26 years in gone from only being recognised as non- insulin and insulin dependant to being type.1 and type 2? Quite a long way in that time span
 
Pat91 said:
0.1-0.2 is classed a normal I believe. Think it's around 0.6 - 0.7 that is classed as going high.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I never knew that
 
Barbie1 said:
I was diagnosed at age 11 in 1967. No idea what the test results were at that time, but I had been ill for a few weeks and had been prescribed a nice sugar-full tonic by the GP. When I did not recover he eventually did a urine test and immediately sent for an ambulance as I was slipping in and out of consciousness. (I weighed 3 stone on admission to hospital and 4 stone on release 3 weeks later)
I never heard of ketones until a few years ago and not sure that any records exist from 1967 to enquire about the numbers. But I guess both were extremely high!
Click to expand...
Quite scary then with having to go in an ambulance
 
Lily123 said:
Yikes! That could have had a very different ending. DKA is Diabetic Ketoacidosis which means extremely high ketones. Absolutely no idea what is classed as “high” in ketones tho
Click to expand...
Below 0.6 is normal
0.6-1.5 is slightly raised and should be checked again in a couple of hours. But be aware, my daughter has had them this high just from starvation ketones when she had a tummy bug and could hardly eat anything for a couple of days, starvation ketones are just a normal part of body function and aren’t a concern as long as your insulin supply is working and BGs are normal
1.5-2.9 is an increased risk of DKA and you should contact your GP or diabetes team
3.0 and above is very high and you should seek medical help urgently
(Taken from NHS website)
It’s actually the ketones not the blood sugar which cause all the typical diabetes symptoms of thirst, needing the loo a lot, feeling tired etc.

Ketoacidosis is when the ketones build up to such a level that they start to turn your blood more acidic, which is eventually fatal. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, normal blood pH is around 7.4 so very slightly alkaline. I think my daughter’s at diagnosis was something like 7.1 and they already considered that concerning and her consultant told me later that she most probably would have been comatose within 24 hours. (Don’t know what her actual ketone level was unfortunately)

So I sort of get the fuss about ketones but in our experience something has to go very badly wrong to get into the high range once you are on insulin, my daughter’s cannula fell off in the night once and by the time she woke up and noticed she’d had no insulin at all for several hours and BG was in the 20s but ketones still only got to 0.9 which is only marginally raised, and they went straight back down again once insulin supply was restored. My mum has been type 1 since 1967 and has never done a ketone test in her life and she’s still here!
 
Sally71 said:
Below 0.6 is normal
0.6-1.5 is slightly raised and should be checked again in a couple of hours. But be aware, my daughter has had them this high just from starvation ketones when she had a tummy bug and could hardly eat anything for a couple of days, starvation ketones are just a normal part of body function and aren’t a concern as long as your insulin supply is working and BGs are normal
1.5-2.9 is an increased risk of DKA and you should contact your GP or diabetes team
3.0 and above is very high and you should seek medical help urgently
(Taken from NHS website)
It’s actually the ketones not the blood sugar which cause all the typical diabetes symptoms of thirst, needing the loo a lot, feeling tired etc.

Ketoacidosis is when the ketones build up to such a level that they start to turn your blood more acidic, which is eventually fatal. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, normal blood pH is around 7.4 so very slightly alkaline. I think my daughter’s at diagnosis was something like 7.1 and they already considered that concerning and her consultant told me later that she most probably would have been comatose within 24 hours. (Don’t know what her actual ketone level was unfortunately)

So I sort of get the fuss about ketones but in our experience something has to go very badly wrong to get into the high range once you are on insulin, my daughter’s cannula fell off in the night once and by the time she woke up and noticed she’d had no insulin at all for several hours and BG was in the 20s but ketones still only got to 0.9 which is only marginally raised, and they went straight back down again once insulin supply was restored. My mum has been type 1 since 1967 and has never done a ketone test in her life and she’s still here!
Click to expand...
That’s scary about what could have happened to your daughter! Starvation ketones are annoying more than anything I have them when I’m ill
 
Lily123 said:
That’s scary and slightly confusing about the doctors
Click to expand...
I spent the following day in AECU, where they made a worrying mistake. After blood tests and over 6 hours waiting, a young and very overworked doctor spoke to a specialist diabetes consultant on the phone and misheard him. She told me I would need to be put on Novamix and have a dose of 30 at 6pm and 12am every day. The nurse showed me how to inject and I did. My wife then asked if I would have to set an alarm each day at midnight; the nurse seemed concerned and left to speak to the doctor. 5 minutes later several nurses came rushing in with food and told me I needed to eat as I had been given an incorrect dose (should have been a dose of 6 each morning and 12 in the evening). The doctor entered the room sobbing and extremely apologetic - the nurses were giving her filthy looks. I had to stay in overnight and have my BG checked every 15 minutes as they were convinced I was going to slip into a coma. The doctor finished her shift at 1am and came and sat on my bed apologising - I kept reassuring her and we had a long chat - turns out she had been working since 6am and was due back on shift at the same time the following day. I don't blame her for the error, but it was very scary.
 
Ivostas66 said:
I spent the following day in AECU, where they made a worrying mistake. After blood tests and over 6 hours waiting, a young and very overworked doctor spoke to a specialist diabetes consultant on the phone and misheard him. She told me I would need to be put on Novamix and have a dose of 30 at 6pm and 12am every day. The nurse showed me how to inject and I did. My wife then asked if I would have to set an alarm each day at midnight; the nurse seemed concerned and left to speak to the doctor. 5 minutes later several nurses came rushing in with food and told me I needed to eat as I had been given an incorrect dose (should have been a dose of 6 each morning and 12 in the evening). The doctor entered the room sobbing and extremely apologetic - the nurses were giving her filthy looks. I had to stay in overnight and have my BG checked every 15 minutes as they were convinced I was going to slip into a coma. The doctor finished her shift at 1am and came and sat on my bed apologising - I kept reassuring her and we had a long chat - turns out she had been working since 6am and was due back on shift at the same time the following day. I don't blame her for the error, but it was very scary.
Click to expand...
Good job the nurses realised! I think a doctor working that shift should have double checked that as 30 units must have surely sounded too much!
 
Lily123 said:
Good job the nurses realised! I think a doctor working that shift should have double checked that as 30 units must have surely sounded too much!
Click to expand...
A lot of people who have insulin resistance take 30 units at once, and more, so it probably didn’t sound too much. (It’s one thing that worries me if I ever have to go into hospital. I take 5units of basal in a morning, and 3 at night, which sounds like a tiny amount compared with some people, but any more, and I would hypo. If a nurse thought 3 units? Surely it must be 30? I’d be comatose.)
 
Robin said:
A lot of people who have insulin resistance take 30 units at once, and more, so it probably didn’t sound too much. (It’s one thing that worries me if I ever have to go into hospital. I take 5units of basal in a morning, and 3 at night, which sounds like a tiny amount compared with some people, but any more, and I would hypo. If a nurse thought 3 units? Surely it must be 30? I’d be comatose.)
Click to expand...
I knew people with insulin resistance had to take a lot but 30 seems quite high. Suppose it’s similar to how my basal is 23.5
 
Sally71 said:
Below 0.6 is normal
0.6-1.5 is slightly raised and should be checked again in a couple of hours. But be aware, my daughter has had them this high just from starvation ketones when she had a tummy bug and could hardly eat anything for a couple of days, starvation ketones are just a normal part of body function and aren’t a concern as long as your insulin supply is working and BGs are normal
1.5-2.9 is an increased risk of DKA and you should contact your GP or diabetes team
3.0 and above is very high and you should seek medical help urgently
(Taken from NHS website)
It’s actually the ketones not the blood sugar which cause all the typical diabetes symptoms of thirst, needing the loo a lot, feeling tired etc.

Ketoacidosis is when the ketones build up to such a level that they start to turn your blood more acidic, which is eventually fatal. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, normal blood pH is around 7.4 so very slightly alkaline. I think my daughter’s at diagnosis was something like 7.1 and they already considered that concerning and her consultant told me later that she most probably would have been comatose within 24 hours. (Don’t know what her actual ketone level was unfortunately)

So I sort of get the fuss about ketones but in our experience something has to go very badly wrong to get into the high range once you are on insulin, my daughter’s cannula fell off in the night once and by the time she woke up and noticed she’d had no insulin at all for several hours and BG was in the 20s but ketones still only got to 0.9 which is only marginally raised, and they went straight back down again once insulin supply was restored. My mum has been type 1 since 1967 and has never done a ketone test in her life and she’s still here!
Click to expand...

This post has not only taught me some new info but also reassured me no end as I’ve been a panicking mess regarding ketones for 6 months
 
Jimmy2202 said:
This post has not only taught me some new info but also reassured me no end as I’ve been a panicking mess regarding ketones for 6 months
Click to expand...
I went back an reread your post and you said that you had ketones of 3.0 at diagnosis. Scary but have you been near that level since diagnosis?
 
Lily123 said:
I went back an reread your post and you said that you had ketones of 3.0 at diagnosis. Scary but have you been near that level since diagnosis?
Click to expand...
I mean it ment nothing to me at the time - they just told me the number. I understand now how dangerous it was.
No, I’ve not really checked for ketones in the 6 months I’ve been diagnosed - I haven’t needed to I don’t think.
It would be handy to know when I should be checking for them. (My understanding is 3 normal time BG readings above 17 then I should check) ?
I think that’s what I was told anyway
 
Jimmy2202 said:
I mean it ment nothing to me at the time - they just told me the number. I understand now how dangerous it was.
No, I’ve not really checked for ketones in the 6 months I’ve been diagnosed - I haven’t needed to I don’t think.
It would be handy to know when I should be checking for them. (My understanding is 3 normal time BG readings above 17 then I should check) ?
I think that’s what I was told anyway
Click to expand...
I didn’t have ketones at diagnosis I think a test was run but came back as 0 I believe and not knowing what ketones are at diagnosis can make it scarier or less scary. I test for ketones if my number is persistent on staying over 16 ( except if ill then ketones tend to appear )
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top