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does it take you longer to get over illnesses & injuries as a type1?

mr55tsteven5on

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Insulin
My husband (who is the Type1 rather than me...) is now into the 4th week of a chest infection. he was a docs this morning who prescribed him further meds to help clear it. His skin always takes ages to heal from cuts and bruises too.... i wondered if this is a fairly common thing among diabetics?
 
Omg!! I must be your hubby's long lost birth twin!!!

I had 5 colds and chest infections this year till June...chest infections never cleared properly. Had general antibiotic..never worked. Had double strength x2 from dentist for gum abscess that shifted the chest infection for a week, but not the pain in tooth. Went back again few weeks ago, as still had chest infection. Got given 2 more of the strongest (malaria fighting) antibiotics and got told that it would be steroids next...

Never had anything like this before. Infection never went, so now had chest X-ray, and whole of abdomen scanned as well today. Results fully back on Monday. I was also given a spirometery test to see if I had COPD or asthma.. All clear.

I've never had infections and colds like this ever, and always was proud of it.

So, not much help, but if infection doesn't go...go back to GP.

I think because we have an autoimmune deficiency it can impact, but personally until this year I have never had to think about not healing...30 years T1 and can't say that I have been any worse than my hubby for getting over colds until now.

Hope somebody else can come a long and say.... Just a one off for both of you....as it is not nice. Sorry, but I am actually glad to hear that somebody else has had a chest infection that they can't clear.


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lol... he has never mentioned anything about a twin!
 
My lower legs are constantly a mess of semi healed scrapes and scratches from running and mountain biking. Not sure if they take longer to heal or if it's just the sheer quantity of them that makes it look that way.
 
It's said that diabetes slow down the healing process and recovery time, I think much also depends on how well your diabetes is controlled, but I suppose much like non-diabetics some people heal quicker than others, personally I recover from things quite well and always have done even before I developed diabetes.
 
Blood n cuts I heal really easy..


Loving life
 
I know Im t2 but colds and chest infections no problem its cuts that take forever, spent 11 months twice weekly visiting nurse for cut on shin, and 4 months every other day for a boil on my back under bra elastic.
 
I once read an interview with a diabetic who had kidney failure. He got a transplant, and they gave him a pancreas transplant at the same time. He said he was amazed how much more quickly he seemed to heal from cuts and illnesses after the transplant.
 

Are we surprised no,
 
If you have higher glucose levels then you do take longer to 'mend'
Personally I have relatively good control and wounds seem to heal fairly quickly. The scarring though takes much longer to fade. I had a dog try to take a chunk out of my leg almost three months ago, it's fine and was fine from a week after but even the part which was little more than a scratch is still evident....but that might just be an effect of age.
 
I have good diabetic control but a ****** immune system!! Even a common cold wipes me out for days, like the one I have now!!
 

My wound was on my shin bone, not much skin left so I had to grow new skin, got thrush in it thanks to nurse not washing hands, months on the scab is still there reluctant to soak it off as new nurse says if it aint broke leave it alone it will eventually fall off.
 
My BG isn't even that high being prediabetic, but I have impaired wound healing. Had an abscess which hadn't healed after 6 weeks and 3 lots of antibiotics - oh and surgery - so that's what prompted investigations into diabetes in the first place. Since I started a LCHF diet and got my BG down, the abscess is now disappearing, as if by magic! Couldn't believe what a difference it's made.
 
I don't notice any issues with wounds etc but since I've had my diabetes I do seem to get more illnesses when I never did before. Also takes me much longer to get rid of things. I have had a bad stomach for around 3 weeks and am only now getting over it. Before diabetes I would have been over it in no time.
 
If you keep your blood sugar in the non-diabetic range then your 'wounds' heal normally and quickly. I am forever getting blisters and cuts from running and cycling and they heal quickly because I keep my BS below 5.5 mmol at all times. Since I started daily exercising ~ 2 years in all seasons (i.e. cycling in the minuses, rain etc ) and all conditions I haven't had a single cough / cold / infection/ illness. In my opinion, If you follow the NHS guidelines for blood sugar levels then you can expect slow healing wounds and prolonged illnesses.
 
I'm sure, like most things, that there is too much going on inside the human body to determine whether or not it is diabetes that slows down the healing process. In the six years since I was diagnosed, and having always maintained a HbA1C in the 6's, I have no doubt that I don't heal as quickly as "normal" people. I react worse to insect bites and small cuts/grazes take ages to heal. Running and walking through the country on a regular basis means I am prone to bites/cuts etc.

It does concern me as I wonder what would happen if I suffered a major trauma.
 
I take longer to recover from colds than I used to, and cuts, etc, heal shower. I'm Type 1 and my blood sugar is regularly over 7mmol/l when measured. I think that better control would lead to better recovery times.

Some people on here appear to be athletes. That's great, but just like people without diabetes, athletes are a minority. Everyone should try and exercise more, especially outdoors, but don't beat yourself up if you're not one of these 3 hours a day exercise / BG always 5.0 - 5.5 people. Frankly, I don't know how people like that work 40 hours, commute and see their families.

Increase exercise gradually, without making yourself ill, and you should start to see benefits. Your BG should be lower with less insulin needed for control, and you should get ill less often.

I'm ill right now because I didn't take care of myself, drank and ate too much for a few days. Lesson learned.
 
I seem to heal very well from scrapes, cuts, dental work and operations, I also seem to have been like it, pre diabetic too. Very rarely gets coughs or colds, but I do seem to get autoimmune conditions
 
It depends what it is really. If I get a cold it lasts the usual amount of around a week but my symptoms seem to hit me harder than most people don't know if that's because I have diabetes though, I get maybe 3-4 colds a year . If I ever get blisters from shoes they take a good couple of weeks to heal even when using antiseptic creams but I heal well if I get minor cuts and grazes and dental work has never been an issue for me.
 
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