Please help: boyfriend newly diagnosed, very high blood sugar levels

[beccyy14]

My boyfriend was diagnosed the other day, and has very high blood sugar levels.
He has been taking insulin shots and blood tests, and his blood sugar level is ranging from 16 to high 20s.
We suspect he had diabetes undiagnosed for about a year.
He had levels of ketones but they have now gone into minus numbers.
He is feeling down as he can't bring his blood sugar down any further than 16, and it hugely fluctuates when he eats anything. He has a good heathy diet and is being extra careful with food now.
Will the blood sugar levels drop more when he has been taking insulin for longer, and when the doctors prescribe him with the right amount? At the moment it appears to be trial and error, but his blood sugar levels are still worrying.

Any advice would be really appreciated! Thanks

 

[Adrian1981]

Hi,

Welcome and admire you for coming on here and doing you best for your boyfriend.

When you say his blood is high, how frequently are you testing his sugars and is he not eating between the insulin doses?

I have been advised that after a meal along with fast acting insulin including any correction doeses that you should wait 4 hours to do a new blood test and that you shouldn't act/inject/ try to correct a sugar level taken 2 hours after that meal.

It maybe that the insulin has not had time to do its thing yet and if you keep taking more you might result in a sudden unexpected drop.

Do you know what type of insulin(s) he is on?

All the best
Adrian

 

[mrburden]

The early days are indeed trial and error in many cases. His BG levels are high, but the doctors tend to prefer to bring the levels down in a controlled manner rather than in big steps so as to avoid having a hypo. The time that this process takes can vary from person to person, but the levels will come down over a few weeks. Any change in insulin levels can take several days to be fully noticed in the BG readings, so most doctors will increase the dose once a week or so rather than every day, until the BG is down to a more appropriate level.The levels you mention are high, but not unexpected for a newly diagnosed diabetic. I've met people who were in the low 30's on diagnosis.

Getting the insulin levels right and getting the correct balance between a long-acting insulin and a fast-acting insulin (if he is on 2 different insulins) is probably the most difficult thing to master in diabetes and, over time, the balance is often thrown off by a whole lot of different causes. But it does get easier to manage.

 

[beccyy14]

Hi,

Welcome and admire you for coming on here and doing you best for your boyfriend.

When you say his blood is high, how frequently are you testing his sugars and is he not eating between the insulin doses?

I have been advised that after a meal along with fast acting insulin including any correction doeses that you should wait 4 hours to do a new blood test and that you shouldn't act/inject/ try to correct a sugar level taken 2 hours after that meal.

It maybe that the insulin has not had time to do its thing yet and if you keep taking more you might result in a sudden unexpected drop.

Do you know what type of insulin(s) he is on?

All the best
Adrian

Hi Adrian, thanks for your reply!
Not sure about all the medical terms and names related... However he just got a ring from the nurse who said that his ratio may have to change as he might not be taking enough insulin. (I think, I get lost with all the information).
He is taking 24hour insulin and also short term.
He tests his sugars in the morning, then after breakfast, then after meals I think and before bed. (I might have that wrong, that's roughly it...but I get confused with it, I'm trying my hardest to get my head round it all!)
He sometimes has a snack between insulin doses.
It sounds as though until his trial and error period is over, it's going to be hard to tell how much insulin he needs, but I'm reassured by your reply, and coincidentally the nurse ringing also helped my worrying.
Thanks!

 

[beccyy14]

The early days are indeed trial and error in many cases. His BG levels are high, but the doctors tend to prefer to bring the levels down in a controlled manner rather than in big steps so as to avoid having a hypo. The time that this process takes can vary from person to person, but the levels will come down over a few weeks. Any change in insulin levels can take several days to be fully noticed in the BG readings, so most doctors will increase the dose once a week or so rather than every day, until the BG is down to a more appropriate level.The levels you mention are high, but not unexpected for a newly diagnosed diabetic. I've met people who were in the low 30's on diagnosis.

Getting the insulin levels right and getting the correct balance between a long-acting insulin and a fast-acting insulin (if he is on 2 different insulins) is probably the most difficult thing to master in diabetes and, over time, the balance is often thrown off by a whole lot of different causes. But it does get easier to manage.

Thanks very much for your reply, very helpful!
He has just been rung by his nurse who says they may change his amount of insulin if in a few days he is having increases of more than 2 after a meal.
It just sounds like the trial and error period will take it's time and we must be patient.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Beth_Robinson]

Like people have said, it's a case of trial and error. If he's really really finding it hard, you can do no carbs for a bit (ie just eating meat/eggs/cheese/salad/some veg/ some fruit) but this isn't a long term solution by any means. Take advantage of any support in place is another point; I won't repeat everything everyone else has already said, but good luck! the first few weeks are the hardest, I promise it will start to get easier the more you understand and the closer you are to getting the right dosages

 

[furryboots]

hi becky,i was recently diagnosed as type1 and mu bloods are still all over the place,i can go from panid low to oh sugar high(no pun intended),think we can all agree that type 1 diabetes is personal but as long as your bfriend has a good team they will help get levels down,its a huge change for anyone and i'm also at learning stage,

 

[beccyy14]

Like people have said, it's a case of trial and error. If he's really really finding it hard, you can do no carbs for a bit (ie just eating meat/eggs/cheese/salad/some veg/ some fruit) but this isn't a long term solution by any means. Take advantage of any support in place is another point; I won't repeat everything everyone else has already said, but good luck! the first few weeks are the hardest, I promise it will start to get easier the more you understand and the closer you are to getting the right dosages

Thanks so much!

 

[beccyy14]

hi becky,i was recently diagnosed as type1 and mu bloods are still all over the place,i can go from panid low to oh sugar high(no pun intended),think we can all agree that type 1 diabetes is personal but as long as your bfriend has a good team they will help get levels down,its a huge change for anyone and i'm also at learning stage,

Thank you, really helpful to know!
I hope things go well for you, thanks for the advice

 

[simonkit]

Hi,

All a little daunting at first, not long diagnosed myself. The main thing that helped me get things quickly under control was carb counting.. get the diabetes team to give you an "Aviva Accuchek Expert" meter and explain carb counting. Also it's best to cut out the snacking in between meals for now until things have settled. Just sticking to main meals and taking insulin for the carbs in those will make it easier to figure out how the whole thing works.