Help we dont understand

[Traveling]

Hi there very happy to found this fourm. Me and my partner live in Turkey and he been diagnosed with type 1.5 he been put on insulin about 4 weeks now
Background (He slim and cycle and walk alot he has lost a lot of weight)
The problem is here it hard to find any information the doctors don't seem to have time to talk unlike back in the UK.
I have a few questions I hope you can help to put my mind at rest and so I can support him.

After taking the insulin which is once a day at night he feel off and feel sick is this normal?

He also still get a feeling sometimes where his say his body feel like shaking and he has electric type shocks feet and hand mainly in his body and would need to rest is this normal?

Also his moods changes very fast

It all new to us and the doctors are still monitoring his results 10days at a time
Can anyone recommend anything that can help? Or any advice

 

[Antje77]

Does he use a glucose meter to test his blood sugar multiple times a day?

 

[EllieM]

Welcome to the forums @Traveling

It would be very useful to test his blood sugar when he gets abnormal symptoms. The symptoms of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, for example, can vary widely from person to person and that is always a possibility if he is feeling "strange".

What type of insulin is he taking?

(Disclaimer : I am not a doctor and forum rules don't allow us to diagnose).

 

[Traveling]

Does he use a glucose meter to test his blood sugar multiple times a day?

Yes he been told to do it 7 time ago but blood sugar are always high

 

[Traveling]

Welcome to the forums @Traveling

It would be very useful to test his blood sugar when he gets abnormal symptoms. The symptoms of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, for example, can vary widely from person to person and that is always a possibility if he is feeling "strange".

What type of insulin is he taking?

(Disclaimer : I am not a doctor and forum rules don't allow us to diagnose).

NovoMix 30 Flexpen

 

[EllieM]

NovoMix 30 Flexpen

OK, that is a mixture of fast and slow acting insulins. It's pretty common in the treatment of T2 diabetics, who generally are insulin resistant and need a bit of extra insulin to boost their own production. T1 diabetcs have a different problem, they stop producing insulin.

If your partner has T1.5 (aka LADA or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults) then his insulin production is likely to be decreasing, but there is a good chance that he is still producing some of his own insulin, so the injections are a supplement rather than a complete replacement. (Typically new LADAs can continue producing some of their own insulin in a "honeymoon" period for quite some time.) In that case you can get away with a single dose of insulin.

Long term as his insulin production declines it's more common to go on a basal/bolus regime, where a long acting basal insulin is taken once a day, and a short acting bolus is taken before meals so as to balance your food intake. That has the advantage that you can balance the bolus insulin to your food intake and have much more flexibility on food amounts and timings.

His team is probably gradually increasing his dose so as to reduce his levels slowly, because they don't want to overdose him on insulin and it takes time to get the right dose.

There are quite s lot of LADA folk here on the forums, who'll be able to comment on their initial treatment.

As far as help and advice, it's worth keeping food as well as blood glucose diaries (and include exercise) so that your team can help you adjust the insulin doses. Have they given you any help with carnohydrate counting or advice on what to eat? Most T1s count the carbs in their meals either to match their insulin (if one a fixed dose) or to calculate their insulin (if one basal/bolus).

And if finances permit (they aren't cheap), both the Abbott libre and dexcom G6 seem to be available in Turkey, which are sensors that atatch to your body and continuously transmit blood sugar readings to your phone... (They have drawbacks, but can be very useful to many people.)

Good luck to you both.

Edited to add: As your partner is on insulin he will (almost certainly) eventually get hypos (low blood sugar). It's essential for him to take glucose tablets or some sort of sugar sweet with him at all times. If he goes low he can become confused and disorientated without that treatment. I always check my blood sugar before driving a vehicle, because if I hypo in a car I could crash it. (It's a legal requirement for insulin users in the UK, though not where I live in New Zealand.) Most of us T1s get very used to hypos but it can be scary the first time it happens and you want to be prepared.

 

[Zhnyaka]

The symptoms you describe are not normal. This is similar to hypoglycemia (low BG). Check BG in such conditions. Most likely you need to reduce the dose of insulin. Such symptoms are relieved by glucose or high-carbohydrate food (but check BG before this, not everything that looks like hypoglycemia is hypoglycemia)

 

[EllieM]

The symptoms you describe are not normal. This is similar to hypoglycemia (low BG). Check BG in such conditions. Most likely you need to reduce the dose of insulin. Such symptoms are relieved by glucose or high-carbohydrate food (but check BG before this, not everything that looks like hypoglycemia is hypoglycemia)

They have already said the blood sugars remain high.

Yes he been told to do it 7 time ago but blood sugar are always high

Although I agree with the checking bg, it is also possible that he is getting false hypos at levels far higher than normal, experienced because the body is used to much higher levels and reacts to the lower normal ones as though they are in hypo. My understanding is that false hypos pass as your body gets used to lower normal levels.

Having said all that, the symptoms might not be a hypo at all. And I haven't personally heard of the symptoms after taking the insulin, though someone else may have. (As a long term T1 I have few memories of early reactions to insulin so this is definitely a question for the adult onset T1s.)

 

[Daibell]

It would be better if your partners insulin regime was using two different insulins i.e. the Basal/Bolus regime. This is now standard T1 treatment in the UK. Mixed insulin is now reserved mainly for T2 and is usually injected twice a day. I think you need to challenge the once-a-day injection for twice-a-day and try to get changed to the Basal/Bolus regime. T1.5 or LADA is essentially T1 diagnosed later in life and can appear slowly know as the 'honeymoon' period.

 

[Skippy1]

he has electric type shocks feet and hand mainly

If this is a sharp, localised stabbing/tingling or pins and needles feeling, it could be peripheral neuropathy - this should ease as blood sugar levels come down and the nerves return to normal.