Hi all new member but had diabetes for 12 years and still struggling.

[ChrisWoodward]

Hi all,

I have been lurking around the forum reading posts now for quite some time but only just registered.

I have to start off by saying that this forum is excellent and I should have joined sooner.

So a little about me:

Been a type 1 diabetic for 12 years and am now 25, weigh 8 stone and 5ft 9 tall. I have never had particularly good control but in the last couple of years I have been trying my hardest to manage my diabetes properly. I am on 28 units of Lantus split 16u am and 12u pm which seems to keep my background ok and a carb ratio of 1:20. I have funding approved for a pump and am just waiting for the Accu-chek Insight to be delivered to my specialist.

I have quite recently started suffering with anxiety which seems to be because of my BG levels and fear of hypo's as my hypo awareness isnt great, the symptoms of the anxiety are very similar to a hypo so I dont notice a true hypo unitl in the mid 2's which in turn makes the anxiety worse.

I have uploaded a 7 day report to take a look at for meal times, I feel that I should probably change my ratio to 1:15 rather than 1:20 but sometimes even the 1:20 can be too much. (dont worry I am not asking for medical advice, just wondering if my train of thought is correct) It would seem though that I can do the exact same thing twice and get different results which is making it very difficult to understand what to do. My sugar levels never seem to drop even slightly between meals so does this mean I should be taking more Lantus possibly?

I currently have the Dexcom G4 fitted and it does seem that I suffer from dawn phenomenon as almost every night at between 3 and 4am my sugars shoot up from the mid6's/7's into the high 20's which leaves me chasing my sugars around for the morning trying to bring them down which leaves me feeling very shakey but also even more anxious! Is there anyway to help this?

Anyway enough of my rambling I hope you are all well and thanks for reading.

 

[T1Taz]

Hi Chris, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be much help to you cos I'm in the same situation. So I'm gonna tag along on your thread & hopefully pick up some advice.
Averil

 

[ChrisWoodward]

Hi there, thanks for the reply, frustrating isnt it!

Well yesterday my doctor said to reduce my evening insulin to 1:23 as on average I seem to be lower after dinner, that didnt work this happened:


Its stuff like this too, every morning I wake up and have a breakfast shake, take 2u Novo and off I go, 50% of the time that works fine then the other 50% of the time this happens:


So frustrating!

 

[lizdeluz]

Just to say Hi and welcome.

I've been type 1 for a long time and have never managed good control - I've put that down to my complete inability to look at my results and draw conclusions. I know I'm very bad at that, my mind boggles when I look at lows and highs and doses for bolus and basal, - so I've always relied on being told what to do by the consultant and DSNs but of course they can't know !

I'm impressed with the way you're tackling your levels, and I wish I understood what you are talking about !

I can't cope with adjusting my doses but I have found that low carbing has evened out my blood sugar levels. That might help you too and it might be useful to look at the advice on the Low Carb thread of the forum.

Glad you've joined the forum and sure you'll enjoy and find useful.

 

[SandyDee]

Hi Chris, I know this is wrong but it makes me feel so much better when I hear stories like yours because then I know it's not just me. You should hopefully be able to get better control with the pump, it makes it much easier to have different levels at different times and most people get improved warning signals for hypos. I have exactly the same thing for breakfast every day with varying results, which is really frustrating, but I find there are so many other factors that can affect sugar levels, my biggest thing is stress. I can guarantee I will always go hypo for certain events - hospital visits, late shifts at work etc. and I am learning to give temp basal rates for these times. I'm sorry there is no easy answer to this but it's nice to have people who know how you feel and bounce ideas off them, which is what I find in this forum.

 

[lizdeluz]

Hi Chris, I know this is wrong but it makes me feel so much better when I hear stories like yours because then I know it's not just me. You should hopefully be able to get better control with the pump, it makes it much easier to have different levels at different times and most people get improved warning signals for hypos. I have exactly the same thing for breakfast every day with varying results, which is really frustrating, but I find there are so many other factors that can affect sugar levels, my biggest thing is stress. I can guarantee I will always go hypo for certain events - hospital visits, late shifts at work etc. and I am learning to give temp basal rates for these times. I'm sorry there is no easy answer to this but it's nice to have people who know how you feel and bounce ideas off them, which is what I find in this forum.

I reckon stress is one feature of life that isn't given enough importance for its role in raising our blood sugar levels. There's quite a lot of anecdotal evidence, but personally I haven't come across any good study/reading about how to deal with it. I've always been plagued by stress and sometimes wonder if it actually caused my diabetes in the first place.

 

[ChrisWoodward]

Thanks for the reply to the both of you, it is actually very comforting knowing we are all in this together, although I wish i could take it away from all of us.

I have thought about low carbing, the only problem for me is that I find it very difficult to gain weight and I am slightly under weight as it is, the only thing that keeps my weight steady is carbs.

I luckily have always had a good grasp on what can effect sugar levels and using my results to improve my control, I must admit I am looking forward to having the pump but it looks like I will have to be more reactive than proactive with this, its just a shame Novo doesnt work quicker.

 

[ChrisWoodward]

Here is another thing that gets me, why dont the NHS fund CGM systems as standard? They are common place in most other countries yet not here in the UK, I know they are expensive and not everyone will want this much data but compare my food diary to the CGM results and look at what I miss during the day, now if only they could make a CGM that is as accurate as a BG tester and a faster acting insulin so we could treat reactively rather than proactively it would make this condition a lot easier to deal with.
Just to point out on my chart I was high over lunch due to not enough Lantus, this has since been changed and seems to work, the morning though, who knows.

 

[T1Taz]

Hi there, thanks for the reply, frustrating isnt it!

Well yesterday my doctor said to reduce my evening insulin to 1:23 as on average I seem to be lower after dinner, that didnt work this happened:


Its stuff like this too, every morning I wake up and have a breakfast shake, take 2u Novo and off I go, 50% of the time that works fine then the other 50% of the time this happens:


So frustrating!

isWoodward, post: 531643, member: 106875"]Hi there, thanks for the reply, frustrating isnt it!

Well yesterday my doctor said to reduce my evening insulin to 1:23 as on average I seem to be lower after dinner, that didnt work this happened:


Its stuff like this too, every morning I wake up and have a breakfast shake, take 2u Novo and off I go, 50% of the time that works fine then the other 50% of the time this happens:


So frustrating![/QUOTE]
Frustrating pretty much sums it up. As soon as I think I've figured something out, my glucometer tells me my bg is high. I finally got to grips with my morning blood sugars & was so delighted with myself & saturday morning the whole thing went to pot 15.7 :-( no explanation