Hi newly diagnosed and clueless with how it all works ....

[andykiddo]

Hi ,so this weekend I ended up in hospital and came out finding out I was diabetic they are not sure if it's type 1 or 2 yet but suspect 2 and gave me a box of goodies , 2 types of insulin and some not very clear paper work .


I get when I'm meant to take my insulin and my glucose levels were high I have currently taken 2 short length insulin shots and 1 long lasting .

All IV been told is take the long lasting once a day at the same time and the short 15 minutes before food .

I have a patch on my arm to measure glucose and also the manual machine also, I also have to measure ketones .

The worry I'm having is if I eat anything my glucose seems to go through the roof it spikes to like 30 mmol/l .

I left the hospital and it was about 15 and the girl said it may take a day or 2 to come down where it needs to be . I woke up this morning and I took my shot ,.ate a bowl of fruit and fibre cerial and had a glass of water , 2 hours later my alarm is going off saying I'm at 31mmol ,but my ketones are at 0.6 ,I feel fine if not a little tired but that's been me for a while as I have other health issues.


But whilst I know that's high , considering what my starting level is I'm not sure when to panic . There's so many things on the internet and horror stories , not much information was given from the hospital , just here you go deal with it see you in 2 weeks . I'm a bit lost with it all .


Just left with no idea what to eat , what to drink ,what to do , when to panic obviously eating chocolate and sweets and pizza etc is bad news ,my diets not woeful as it is ,my BMI is only slightly high ,just an average 40 year old male . But I don't even know if I can have a cup of tea or coffee without setting something off .


So here we are looking for any advice or tips of insight into what I'm dealing with .

 

[KennyA]

Hi andykiddo and welcome to the forums.

The real problem in replying to you is that you've not had a firm diagnosis yet - there are a few things that depend on that. Do you know what your HbA1c result was? That's the usual means of diagnosis for T2. I'm T2 myself.

As far as your blood glucose levels are concerned, the main things that increase that are eating sugars and carbohydrates. Your liver also plays a role, but there's less to be done there. So your bowl of cereal is almost all carb and sugar, and it will definitely raise your levels.

This guide, written by one of our members, might help.

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...

josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

tagging a few of our T1 members who can advise on that aspect: @Jaylee @zand @EllieM @Antje77

Best of luck - we've all been where you are right now, but many of us had the advantage of a definite diagnosis.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi ,so this weekend I ended up in hospital and came out finding out I was diabetic they are not sure if it's type 1 or 2 yet but suspect 2 and gave me a box of goodies , 2 types of insulin and some not very clear paper work .


I get when I'm meant to take my insulin and my glucose levels were high I have currently taken 2 short length insulin shots and 1 long lasting .

All IV been told is take the long lasting once a day at the same time and the short 15 minutes before food .

I have a patch on my arm to measure glucose and also the manual machine also, I also have to measure ketones .

The worry I'm having is if I eat anything my glucose seems to go through the roof it spikes to like 30 mmol/l .

I left the hospital and it was about 15 and the girl said it may take a day or 2 to come down where it needs to be . I woke up this morning and I took my shot ,.ate a bowl of fruit and fibre cerial and had a glass of water , 2 hours later my alarm is going off saying I'm at 31mmol ,but my ketones are at 0.6 ,I feel fine if not a little tired but that's been me for a while as I have other health issues.


But whilst I know that's high , considering what my starting level is I'm not sure when to panic . There's so many things on the internet and horror stories , not much information was given from the hospital , just here you go deal with it see you in 2 weeks . I'm a bit lost with it all .


Just left with no idea what to eat , what to drink ,what to do , when to panic obviously eating chocolate and sweets and pizza etc is bad news ,my diets not woeful as it is ,my BMI is only slightly high ,just an average 40 year old male . But I don't even know if I can have a cup of tea or coffee without setting something off .


So here we are looking for any advice or tips of insight into what I'm dealing with .

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

Let’s see if we can chop some sense into this…

What insulins are you prescribed?

 

[andykiddo]

Long is abasaglar which IV been told once a day at 12 units same time each day .


Short is trurapi at 4 units before meals .

 

[Jaylee]

Long is abasaglar which IV been told once a day at 12 units same time each day .


Short is trurapi at 4 units before meals .

OK.

The issue is regarding the meal insulin, you may well be eating more carbs than the dose can deal with?
As an insulin user, I would adjust my injected dose to the carbs consumed accordingly to avoid these highs..

That’s just one aspect. The long acting insulin dose might need looking at too?
It’s the foundation for stable BGs. Think of it like a building? If the basal (long acting.) isn’t right. Your going to be fixing cracks in the walls..

How To Successfully Test Your Basal Rate

Are you looking for basal rate information and testing instructions? Perfect! You're in the right place!

www.mysugr.com

You really need to speak sooner to your doc.

You mentioned other health issues? Some things like flu or infections can raise BGs too.
For this we have the “sick day rules.” https://www.england.nhs.uk/london/w...abetes-Sick-Day-Rules-Type-1-MDI-06042020.pdf

 

[andykiddo]

Hi yes.jus spoke to a nurse or supposed specialist she says it's just a case of monitoring things and taking levels tests for a couple of weeks and letting my body adapt to it .I have fibromyalgia, sleep apnoea, and deal with anxiety and depression too so it's a mixed bag in here .

 

[Antje77]

Long is abasaglar which IV been told once a day at 12 units same time each day .


Short is trurapi at 4 units before meals .

The thing with insulin is that you don't know what the right dose will be for someone unless you try it out.
Some people need only 10 units a day, others need 200.
So the way to find the right dose is to start at a relatively low dose (imagine you're one of those only needing 10 units but taking 100!) and slowly titrating up, working towards what you'll need.

When first starting insulin there's ideally close contact between patient and diabetes nurse, and doses will be adjusted typically every 3 or 5 days. Two weeks is a bit long if you jump to the high 20s regularly.

But whilst I know that's high , considering what my starting level is I'm not sure when to panic . There's so many things on the internet and horror stories , not much information was given from the hospital , just here you go deal with it see you in 2 weeks . I'm a bit lost with it all .

Do you have a phonenumber for the hospital you can call with your questions?
No need for panic but you really don't want to see numbers in the 30s, so you might want to see if you can get hold of someone before the weekend.

Like @Jaylee said, your mealtime dose clearly wasn't enough for the carbs you ate.
In time you'll (roughly) learn how many units of insulin you need for how many carbs, so you'll be able to adjust the dose (or the amount of carbs).
I don't think the hospital will be happy if you start adjusting your dose without supervision, but you cn play with the amount of carbs in your meals to see how different amounts of carbs work with your fixed dose of insulin.

The nutitional thingy @KennyA linked pretty clearly explains how carbs work, and what foods are likely to not make you rise that high.
BUT, it's geared to T2's controlled with only diet, and very much not towards people newly on insulin!
Please don't cut out all carbs suddenly, on insulin you'll have to be careful and patient, I'd make small changes only, just to learn.

It will help your diabetes nurse and yourself a lot if you log what you eat, along with blood glucose before and after, this will be the start of finding your insulin to carbs ratio.

 

[andykiddo]

Yeh I tried calling her now and she was a bit dismissive , she says don't worry just keep with it , then you read online that it's dangerous and what not .only started yesterday but I can't seem to find anything that mentions how long it takes for your body to react and blood sugars to start to level .

 

[Jaylee]

Yeh I tried calling her now and she was a bit dismissive , she says don't worry just keep with it , then you read online that it's dangerous and what not .only started yesterday but I can't seem to find anything that mentions how long it takes for your body to react and blood sugars to start to level .

Right…

Blood sugar levels should stabilise slowly. (Like a steady “decompression” for a diver?) This is because a short sharp shock can possibly cause other issues? (With the eyes.) so I can understand to a degree your nurse probably don’t want to go at it like a bull at a gate.

However….

Here is some information on ketoacidosis. If you are having prolonged high BGs?

Diabetic ketoacidosis

Find out about diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), including what the symptoms are, when to get medical help and how to prevent it.

www.nhs.uk

I would suggest dialling 111 (stating you are a “newly diagnosed insulin dependant diabetic.”) if these higher levels persist & the ketones elevate…

 

[zand]

Hi andykiddo and welcome to the forums.

The real problem in replying to you is that you've not had a firm diagnosis yet - there are a few things that depend on that. Do you know what your HbA1c result was? That's the usual means of diagnosis for T2. I'm T2 myself.

As far as your blood glucose levels are concerned, the main things that increase that are eating sugars and carbohydrates. Your liver also plays a role, but there's less to be done there. So your bowl of cereal is almost all carb and sugar, and it will definitely raise your levels.

This guide, written by one of our members, might help.

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...

josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

tagging a few of our T1 members who can advise on that aspect: @Jaylee @zand @EllieM @Antje77

Best of luck - we've all been where you are right now, but many of us had the advantage of a definite diagnosis.

Thanks for the tag, but I'm T2 not T1 so can only reiterate what you have already said.