Type 1 Vomiting after 1st day of insulin?

[Kaye182]

Hi all.
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes yesterday and weren’t planning on posting a question for a while until it sunk in... until just this afternoon.
As the subject suggests, today was my first day on insulin at home and I have already had a tough experience.
It had gone well up until just before dinner time where I started to feel slightly queasy. I done what was needed, took my sugar reading, insulin and then waited 20 or so minutes to have dinner ( home made spag Bol - healthy recipe ) The queasiness then multiplied and about 1-2 hours had to visit the toilet a few times. The worst bit come when i couldn’t resist vomiting anymore and had to do it. A lot come out.
I was a bit shaky as I usually am afterwards, and even took my sugars and ketones which all seemed ok (12.3 sugar - 0.2 ketone)
All I want to know is, is this a usual thing to happen when first taking insulin? Has anyone had a similar experience? And what did you do afterward (remainder of the night) for food/drink?
Any response will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[Antje77]

Not a usual side effect of insulin. Are you prone to nausea from anxiety? With your bg of 12.3 you still have leeway to wait and see what happens. For tonight, I'd test often for the next 4 or 5 hours or so and if it looks like you're dropping eat something with carbs that isn't likely to upset your stomach.
Good luck!

 

[Kaye182]

Hi and thank you for this. I am an anxious person but never to the point of vomiting. But then this a whole different thing I guess! Yeah I will keep my eye on this to see what happens, thank you again.

 

[Matteo1980]

I have started insulin from june. Never caused me any trouble ,but did the other medications! Are you taking anything else?

 

[Scott-C]

All I want to know is, is this a usual thing to happen when first taking insulin?

Hi, Kaye, and welcome to the forum. It's probably not the insulin which caused the vomiting.

In the lead up to being diagnosed, you'll have likely had the typical pre-dx symptoms of losing weight, raging thirst and peeing a lot - that was your body going into DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis.

It sounds like you were dx'd before it got to the end stage of falling unconscious and getting bluelighted to hospital, but it is still a major shock to the body, and it can take a while for the body to recover from it. The insulin is starting to get body chemistry back to normal, so it's probably the case that you'll feel out of sorts for a while. The vomiting is probably just a part of that.

The thing to be most careful about, though, is that you took some insulin, ate, vomited, so there is a risk that the food which the insulin was going to deal with is no longer there, but the insulin still is and will carry on working to lower levels.

Having said that, though, the timing of it all which you mention, not puking until about 2 hrs after the injection, means that you'll have already absorbed a fair bit of the carbs in the meal before losing the rest of it, so the insulin will have some glucose to deal with. If you'd puked immediately after the meal, that would be more of a problem.

You're not looking too bad at 12, as that's still quite a bit away from hypo levels, and, assuming you're on an insulin like Novorapid which last for about 4 to 5 hours, it'll probably have worn off by about now, but definitely keep an eye on it with regular blood tests over the next couple of hours just to make sure the tail end of the novo action isn't dragging you down to much.

If you start to see drops towards the 7, 8, 9 levels, I'd be inclined to have a bit of lucozade, toast, some biscuits to keep it nudged up. You really don't want plummeting levels at this early stage.

If at all possible, if your DSN (diabetes specialist nurse) has given you an emergency number, use that, or 101 if you have any doubts at all.

There's usually always dozens of folks on here who can fire you a few suggestions in these early uncertain days.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi @Kaye182 ,

Welcome to the forum..

Now I've had dodgy guts on my travels. Usually due to "something" I ate previously? (Food poisioning.)
You mentioned you felt queasy prior to your meal. What had you eaten earlier in the day..?

It's unusual for insulin to cause this. However if you have brought back up undigested food that you bolused (injected) for?
You will need to monitor your blood sugar levels closely, making sure you don't drop too low.
Your higher BG at 12.3 could suggest an infection.? "Food poisoning" again.? Which could have raised BG to start with??

What was your number prior to the spag bog?

Keep some sugary drinks handy.
(I'm not a doctor, but I am a long term insulin user.)

 

[Elaine p]

There’s some good advice on here. Keep an eye on those BG levels and if you’re unsure come back on here to ask further advice. Reassurance is key to keeping the stress levels down. Try to do something relaxing that might help you before bedtime and hope you’re feeling better soon x

 

[Kaye182]

I have started insulin from june. Never caused me any trouble ,but did the other medications! Are you taking anything else?

Hey. No nothing else is being taken at the moment with this! I will be wary of this though, thanks

 

[Kaye182]

Hi, Kaye, and welcome to the forum. It's probably not the insulin which caused the vomiting.

In the lead up to being diagnosed, you'll have likely had the typical pre-dx symptoms of losing weight, raging thirst and peeing a lot - that was your body going into DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis.

It sounds like you were dx'd before it got to the end stage of falling unconscious and getting bluelighted to hospital, but it is still a major shock to the body, and it can take a while for the body to recover from it. The insulin is starting to get body chemistry back to normal, so it's probably the case that you'll feel out of sorts for a while. The vomiting is probably just a part of that.

The thing to be most careful about, though, is that you took some insulin, ate, vomited, so there is a risk that the food which the insulin was going to deal with is no longer there, but the insulin still is and will carry on working to lower levels.

Having said that, though, the timing of it all which you mention, not puking until about 2 hrs after the injection, means that you'll have already absorbed a fair bit of the carbs in the meal before losing the rest of it, so the insulin will have some glucose to deal with. If you'd puked immediately after the meal, that would be more of a problem.

You're not looking too bad at 12, as that's still quite a bit away from hypo levels, and, assuming you're on an insulin like Novorapid which last for about 4 to 5 hours, it'll probably have worn off by about now, but definitely keep an eye on it with regular blood tests over the next couple of hours just to make sure the tail end of the novo action isn't dragging you down to much.

If you start to see drops towards the 7, 8, 9 levels, I'd be inclined to have a bit of lucozade, toast, some biscuits to keep it nudged up. You really don't want plummeting levels at this early stage.

If at all possible, if your DSN (diabetes specialist nurse) has given you an emergency number, use that, or 101 if you have any doubts at all.

There's usually always dozens of folks on here who can fire you a few suggestions in these early uncertain days.

Hi Scott. Pretty much, if not everything you said is correct. Really good advice thank you. I have taken another test and it was 12.6. So I’m thinking this weren’t effected at all.
Thank you again and I will certainly be in touch with the dsn

 

[Kaye182]

Hi @Kaye182 ,

Welcome to the forum..

Now I've had dodgy guts on my travels. Usually due to "something" I ate previously? (Food poisioning.)
You mentioned you felt queasy prior to your meal. What had you eaten earlier in the day..?

It's unusual for insulin to cause this. However if you have brought back up undigested food that you bolused (injected) for?
You will need to monitor your blood sugar levels closely, making sure you don't drop too low.
Your higher BG at 12.3 could suggest an infection.? "Food poisoning" again.? Which could have raised BG to start with??

What was your number prior to the spag bog?

Keep some sugary drinks handy.
(I'm not a doctor, but I am a long term insulin user.)

Hi. Thank you for this. It was a mix what came up but after another test the levels don’t seem to be affected. I have took a lucozade up to bed just in case. Thank you

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @Kaye182 welcome to the forum

Diagnosis is a great shock to the system and also remember your body is under going a period of incredible stress with DKA which impacts us in many different ways so it will take you a while to repair and mend and it's not surprising your still feeling unwell. Just take it easy and drink plenty of fluids and if it continues please consult your GP.

 

[Antje77]

Your higher BG at 12.3 could suggest an infection.?

12.3 is wonderful when only been diagnosed for a day

 

[Jaylee]

12.3 is wonderful when only been diagnosed for a day

I've no idea how it's done now. Back in my day we were hospitalised for week.
Kaye may have started the day with a bang on FBG & was doing fine until he consumed some (off the top of my head.) cross contaminated chicken or some bacteria laden reheated rice earlier on in the day...? (At a guess.) The sketty (though harmless.) may have been the final "turn of the screw" with the digestive issue... Ive tried food in exotic places & it's a concern when or if it "turns you over."

One thing's for sure. Don't blame the "slin."

Keep an eye on those BGs & a safe recovery @Kaye182 .