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A&E

A

abs

Well-Known Member
Messages
261
Location
Bath
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Can't believe how little knowledge doctors have in my a&e have I attended a&e yesterday on advice from my diabetic team. They informed me that my continual hypos were not hypos that it is fine to have levels of 3 but if there are at 1 then go back in! The dr said that I didn't look like I was having hypos but I know I only begin to shake at levels of 2 and can still talk and function when they have gone down to 1.1 in past.
 
It's scary isn't it? A lot of the medical textbooks have outdated or just inaccurate info about hypos. How on earth does the doc think you ought to look when hypo? bizarre!
How come you were told to go to A&E, did they want you to get advice from there?
 
Re: A&E

You can even find on the Internet that a hypo is something below 4. Very worried they didn't know that!! Doesn't sound like they are up to date at all.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I had previously been in a&e on a infusion as bg levels were all over the place, discharged on the sunday lunch time which was my choice as well i could have stayed a few more hours but all appeared fine however since early hours the levels went down to 2 again there up and down i can eat and be at 15 then within 30 mins drop to 3 again so they wanted me to go in and be checked overnight and help controlling it but a&e said they will only do that if it goes to 1 - lucky my GP gave me enough anti-sickness tablets so i can cope eating again.
 


At 1mmol you wouldn't be able to attend A&E yourself and the only way you'd get there is in the back of an ambulance!

I would get in touch with your diabetes clinic asap and explain what is happening to you.
 
abs, are you on fixed insulin doses or changing them according to what you eat? And when you check your bg, eg that example when you were 15 and then dropped, how long after the meal was the reading of 15?
 
I'm on basal / Basel insulin so can change was ill at weekend and made mistake with dosage hence on infusion. My team know etc levels getting better now. But so shocked at how bad there were last night.

She did say if your levels get to 1 call ambulance hopefully it's settled down now staying at 5ish
 
hypos at 3, if not still falling are not dangerous. That's only where a hungry non-diabetic would be. However, if you feel hypo then you ARE! what medics sometimes don't understand is that you can FEEL hypo at any level that seems normal to them if you are accustomed to a high blood glucose level. Certainly 1 can be dangerous and should be corrected. My T1 husband had a hypo of 1 some weeks ago and I couldn't get the BG to come up. I called paramedics who had the necessary stuff. I now have a box of glucose powder and one of those syringes, without a needle!, for giving medicine to children and can make a concentrated solution and give it.by mouth. According to my vet brother. giving glucose by mouth works faster than glucagon and probably faster even than IV [ He's treated MANY diabetics with 4 legs!]
Hana
 
Thanks had been using gel every 30 mins at the time and that kept it to 3 and above hence why they wanted me to go back.

It's not about the treatment or lack of its the shock how little they understand about diabetes
 
I have been admitted to hospital a few times over the last year with ketones and high glucose levels, even though i do my best to keep them under control its always illness related.
The second time i went into a&e the DOCTOR said that a ketone level of 2.0 is normal! which is obviously wrong. I told the doctor that i should be giving my self some insulin to bring my glucose levels down but they never seem to listen or tell me to give myself anymore insulin. many of them have never even seen an insulin pump before.
I see where your coming from, doctors and nurses in these departments should know more about diabetes, especially when people are seriously ill with it because the a&e department will be the first to deal with these patients.
 
Re: A&E

I have two points to make.

Firstly, with hypos. I had a really bad hypo in McDonald's the other day. Reading of 2.4, took glucose tablets, and still dropped down to a further 0.9. I was sitting on the floor by that point, and going in and out of consciousness. My friend who was with me got the McDonald's staff to pour some coke and made me drink it so I got myself out of it quickly. (He is a very good friend who looks after me. He even did my sugar test). He probably should have called an ambulance, but I don't trust A & E, so as long as I'm conscious, I will treat myself.

Which brings me to my second point, why I distrust A & E. When I was still quite newly diagnosed, I had high sugars and felt ill. I went into A & E as advised, and I was put on a drip. Some idiot, when changing the drip, put in a sugar substance or something. All I know is that I nearly died. I don't trust A & E at all.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
It's called hypo n hyper unaware, I will go down to 1.2 ans still be alert and aware be able to hold conversation ect so by looking at me you would not be aware and I myself am unaware so I feel nothing infill I hit the deck. It's very scarey and requires a hell of a lot of care. I was advised to run my blood sugar levels in the teens for a while and see if any sensation comes back. Unfortunately it hasn't worked for me. My body has just tried to adapt and in doing so has stopped sending out signals. Do get it checked out hun. It can be so very dangerous. Xxxxx
 
Re: A&E


That's what I've got I think. I don't feel low until I'm on the floor and its too late.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I had a motorbike accident at the tt races 9 weeks ago and broke my collar bone. My wife knew the shock would have sent my blood sugars down in the road so she tested me and they were 3.2 so I was having a hypo and not making much sense . The ambulance people wouldn't even listen to her when she told them to give me glucose!!! It was only at the hospital (15mins away) that they realised I was u conscious and my blood sugars were on 1.3 . I wear an ice bracelet that u plug into a USB NO BODY knew what to do with it or what it was about
 
It is so sad to hear all the comments about A&E. I live in Belgium and if I am taken to A&E I'm put on a drip immediately and made to stay overnight with my blood being tested every 2-3 hours. Then they call my consultant and only if she is ok will they let me go home. They are very good in Belgium and the A&E at my hospital know me very well.
 
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