Colonoscopy

Hi @dabbit

I am afraid it is against the forum rules for any of us to give you advice on medication dosing.

So I would urge you to contact your doctor or your nurse on Monday and stress both the importance and the urgency of your situation. If there is no one available at the surgery, then I would be insistent and ask them to refer/transfer you to someone who can give you the advice you need.

I really hope you get the advice you need and that your procedure goes OK.
Please let us know how you get on?

If you are working on fixed amounts of insulin as against active carb counting then you need more expert advice than we can give and I suggest you call the Diabetic Clinic at your local hospital asap on Tuesday, they should have a member of staff available to give you the help you need.

Ah yes @satindoll - its a bank hol, isn’t it! Nothing will be open until Tuesday.

dabbit said:

Oh, I do apologise for that. Our surgery is shut Monday hence why I thought I would ask on here. I didn't realise it was against rules. I was only seeking general advice.

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No worries!
The rule exists to protect people, both those asking, and those who might try giving the advice, but you are in no trouble whatsoever - and i really hope you get someone who can help you on Tuesday.

dabbit said:

On Wednesday I am having a colonoscopy, and was informed by the hospital to contact my DSN at my surgery to get help adjusting my insulin levels (due to 24 + hours of fasting). However, when I rung the surgery my nurse was off sick and was told someone else might be able to help and would ring me back - they didn't. So as I'm only allowed black tea, jellies of certain colours and lemon squash or water. I wonder if anyone can offer any help on how much to reduce my insulin. My current levels are Novorapid 30, 30, 30. Levemir 40 am 30 pm

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Hi, I'm assuming you test your glucose levels as you are on Insulin, so if you do, I would keep testing your levels and see how they are. As it's a procedure that most people would have a small amount of sedation, you may feel a little anxious, so that may put your levels up, plus afterwards, they usually offer tea and biscuits, if you want these.
Can you ring your surgery first thing Tuesday morning and tell them you need advice asap because of your procedure the following day ?
Good luck and I hope your colonoscopy goes smoothly.
Take care.

dabbit said:

On Wednesday I am having a colonoscopy, and was informed by the hospital to contact my DSN at my surgery to get help adjusting my insulin levels (due to 24 + hours of fasting). However, when I rung the surgery my nurse was off sick and was told someone else might be able to help and would ring me back - they didn't. So as I'm only allowed black tea, jellies of certain colours and lemon squash or water. I wonder if anyone can offer any help on how much to reduce my insulin. My current levels are Novorapid 30, 30, 30. Levemir 40 am 30 pm

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When I had a colonoscopy recently the paperwork said to ring the hospital for further information about how to manage your diabetes during the preparation for the procedure.

I am fortunate to be on diet and Metformin only and used to fasting so i didn't have to make any major changes.

The diabetes team at the hospital should be guiding you on how to manage your BG during the bowel prep.

Sadly, the way these kind of things are managed is a postcode lottery; there are several different regimes for preparing you (emptying you out) and they change from year to year. I have had a colonoscopy two years running (results all good this year) and had completely different bowel prep each time.

Best of luck.

In an ideal situation, your Levemir should keep you stable without food, and the NovoRapid only covers your meals, giving you no problems when not taking it when not eating.
However, ideal situations do not exist in real life so you should be given some guidance from your HCP as to how to adjust your insulin and what to take for low sugars without messing up your colonoscopy.
Good luck, both with preparing and with the colonoscopy! And of course with the results.

You could try 111, give them a call and ask for a call back from someone medically trained to give insulin dosing advice it’s likely to be a loooooong wait as it’s a bank holiday weekend. Maybe phone first thing and keep your phone on you throughout the day. I don’t know how helpful they will be, 111 can be quite hit or miss, but it’s the only thing I can think of other than guessing yourself.