I've recently started insulin, after about 5 years of diet and tablet control, after they finally did the relevant tests and found I had type 1 diabetes. So some of this might be a bit different for type 2 diabetes but it's mostly the same I think.
Here are some things that would have saved time if I'd known about them before the appointment about starting insulin. In no particular order:
1) Make sure they tell you clearly what your target blood sugars are for self testing. You want to know the levels for: fasting (first thing in the morning), 2 hrs after eating, and before you go to bed so it doesn't drop too low at night.
2) Ask about injection sites - NICE guidelines say use thighs for long acting insulin and stomach for short acting.
3) Do you self-test blood sugar? If not, ask them to show you how to do this. Either way make sure you have lots of test strips and lancets on prescription, if you already get them on prescription it might only be a small amount. You want like 200 at a time, something like that, I was recommended by the nurses to test 6 times a day so they get used up pretty quick.
4) Get some of the calibration solution for your meter from the manufacturer's website, I think it is free for whatever meter you use, just so you can make sure it is working ok.
5) Get some lucozade or other sugary drink and keep it somewhere handy. Have some near your bed. This is in case you are sick etc and the glucose tablets don't work because you aren't digesting them at all.
6) You want 2 of everything, so you can carry one set with you and leave the other somewhere safe in case you get mugged or probably more likely drop/step on/sit on your insulin and break it! You want two:
- blood testers and finger prickers.
- packs of glucose tablets.
- each insulin type you are taking, and spare pens if you are using the refillable ones.
- leave some needles and test strips with your spare stuff too.
I also got a spare prescription for my insulin from the Dr to keep in my wallet when I am travelling, in case I lose my bag or something.
7) I would get them to confirm that you should be still taking the glipizide.
8 ) Does the metformin ever make you ill? If it does, tell them at the diabetic clinic how often it does and are you sick etc.
9) You'll need a sharps bin for the needles (if you don't already have one for lancets from a blood test meter). Don't do what I did, and close the lid fully when it is empty. They can't be reopened...
10) The insulin comes in disposable pens or cartridges for refillable pens (you can also still get it in syringes I think, but the pens are much more user friendly and have smaller needles!). If you are on two types of insulin in refillable pens, make sure both pens are a different colour so you can tell them apart! You might prefer to have one or both in disposable pens because these have the type of insulin written on the side, so it's easy to tell which is which. If you are on a long acting insulin and a short acting one, you might prefer the long acting one in a disposable pen, but the short acting one in a refillable pen, because you might be using the short acting one during the day in public and the refillable pens look less 'medical'.
11) Ask if you can see the pens and how they work before choosing which to use. The ones I was given at the hospital are fine, but they have some useful features that not all pens have, eg. you can turn the dose section dial back if you dial too many units (like if you want 4, but dial 5 by mistake, you can turn it back to 4). You can't do this with all pens apparently. The refillable one I have is a NovoPen4, the disposable ones are FlexPens. I've had no problems with either.
12) I don't know how long acting rosiglitizide is, but it might overlap with the insulin if you stop taking it and immediately start taking insulin. Ask the Dr or nurse about this.
Hope this is of some help!