Blood sugar over 20mmol

[Samantha_84]

Sigh. I'm having problems. Bit of background - i'm taking Lantus and Novorapid and i'm a type 1 diabetic.

I've been having some problems recently with my blood sugar and for the past week (or 2 :cry: ) when i've tested it first thing in the morning it's been over 20mmol. On Saturday morning it was 27mmol. Obviously I injected myself with fast acting insulin to correct it. This morning I tested and I was 18mmol.

I've contacted my diabetic clinic at the hospital and they can't see me until the 11th November 2010 which is nearly 3 weeks away. My GP gave me some suggestions around dosages etc but that isn't working and I am either having a serious hypo or still staying the same. I'm guessing the lantus isn't working but I can't be sure until I see the doctor.

It's going to be a very long 3 weeks until I finally get to see the diabetes team :cry:

 

[Dollyrocker]

Are your blood sgars within range through the rest of the day?

It may be that your Lantus is running out, although it's supposed to work for 24 hours it often doesn't

 

[SophiaW]

It's important to know if your blood sugars are high like this at any time of the day or is this purely a waking thing?

A couple of things spring to mind:

Are you sure you're not going hypo during the night and having a glucose dump (liver dump) resulting in a high waking reading? Best way to check is do several tests through the night over a period of a few days to track what your blood sugars are doing.

If your blood sugars are high throughout the day then perhaps you're unwell or coming down with something? If they are high throughout the day then don't forget to test for ketones and keep an eye on that.

Can you identify anything that's changed over the past week or two? Are you eating differently, under more stress, exercising more?

 

[ZACNEMMA]

Hi
How much Lantus are you having? Pretty sure your team will up it when you go for your appointment.
Emma

 

[noblehead]

Samantha,

Should your control during the day be fine, then it can only be one of two things:

It may well be that you are going hypo in your sleep and your liver is releasing glucose to bring your levels back up, sadly it's often the case where it releases too much and sends bg into double figures, if this is the case then you need to reduce your basal insulin and make sure your bolus insulin is exhausted before bed. Try setting your alarm at 2-3am for a few mornings to carry out some blood tests.

Alternatively your basal insulin may be too low and there isn't enough in your body to maintain your bg throughout the night until morning, again the only way of knowing is to set your alarm and test, if your bg is creeping up during the night try increasing your basal insulin by 2 units and test the following night. Just keep in mind that lantus insulin takes around 2-3 days before changes are effective, as where levemir insulin the changes can be seen within a day.

Nigel

 

[Stuarty84]

I'm having the same problem.

Every night for the last 3/4 weeks I have been up going to the toilet maybe 3/4/5 times. Then in the morning I would do my blood and it's very high. It's really **** having to go to work when my reading is almost 20 if not over!

Most days my readings are fine during the day, it only seems to be happening at night.

My blood was 21.6 this morning then jumped to 23 before I got insulin into me. It's sitting at 15 at the minute. It's a nightmare, this happening all the time.

Not got a Diabetic Clinic appt. for another month either...

 

[fig]

Me too, there seems to be lots of us having the same problems. I have been testing hourly throughout the night and some nights i have hypos after going to bed with a bg of about 20 (4 hours after last novorapid injection) and i have still had a hypo at 3am! I used to be on 14 units of levemir at 6pm but have been gradually reducing this and for the last month i have been on 6 units and am still having hypos! My next hosp appt is early nov but they don't seem to be able to understand whats going on either :roll:
I also seem to regularly have bg in the 20's when i wake up. I have been under a lot of pressure at work over the last few months, could it be anything to do with that?

 

[Stuarty84]

Im supposed to take 4 injections a day. 18 units novarapid and lunchtime, 18 units novarapid at tea time as well as 34 units lantus, then depending on what i have ate that night i would take anywhere from 12 - 18 units at bed time.

But this last few weeks ive been taking maybe 8 injections a day, just to keep the blood reading down.

I am absolutely destroyed with anxiety at the minute as well.

 

[Dollyrocker]

Stuarty84, are you carb counting? It sounds like your ratios and doses are way out

 

[Stuarty84]

Stuarty84, are you carb counting? It sounds like your ratios and doses are way out

No, i havent done that in years and years and years!!

I have been on these 4 doses/injections per day for a couple of years now and i have been absolutely fine... up until this last few weeks.

I got that reading this morning down to 8.9 just before lunch. So went home and did my usual 18 units, then had a sausage and bacon bap along with a biscuit. So an hour later, back into work and its still at 8.9. Then started creeping up again. So i done another 7 units to try and take it down. Im feeling pretty ****** at the minute, so gonna test again and see what its at now...

 

[Stuarty84]

7.2

Its slowly coming down. But i feel like its about 14. Constantly pissing, constantly needing a drink.

I feel a hospital trip coming on because there's definitely something not right here. My control this last almost 20 years has been brilliant and haven't felt like this before.

 

[Dollyrocker]

You should definitely get checked out if this is not the norm for you

It may be worth going back to strict carb counting for a while, it's quite likely your insulin/carb ratios have changed or maybe your basal needs adjusting

 

[Stuarty84]

Just got off the phone to my Diabetes Specialist.

She reckons by the sounds of things, my Lantus is the problem. So I have to up it by 4 units (which will now be 38 units) starting tonight, and if that's not working, up it by 2 units every 3 days until I can get a reading of 8 or below in the mornings.

To be honest, I would have liked to up it more than 4 units because I am so high in the middle of the night and the mornings. I might just stick it up to 40 units tonight for my first go. I'll report back and see what happens!

 

[Dollyrocker]

That''s good that you spoke to the specialist already, please don't increase your Lantus too fast, I found the difference between 1u and 2us immense so you really need to adjust by only 2u at a time and like your specialist said, test for a few days before adjusting again.

I hope you start to feel better soon

 

[Stuarty84]

Well I have my lantus at 40 units now and my readings are finally sorting themselves out, thank God!

Although I'm still going to the toilet in the middle of the night a couple of times. Why would that be? Am I drinking too much? lol

 

[noblehead]

Well I have my lantus at 40 units now and my readings are finally sorting themselves out, thank God!

Although I'm still going to the toilet in the middle of the night a couple of times. Why would that be? Am I drinking too much? lol

Try not drinking to late in the evening, cutting out caffeinated tea and coffee worked for me as I was experiencing IBS symptom's (bladder in this instance) but if you are concerned do get a check-up with your gp to rule out any other cause.

Nigel

 

[Marian-Gold]

Lantus was my problem too - and a diabetic nurse (who had diabetes) said Lantus seems to fade after about 20 hours, hence the glucose rising at the same time. I changed to Lantus twice daily but changing to a pump was the best answer.