Getting really ill, lost control

[ElWray]

I've had really bad control for about fourteen years now, mostly constantly high blood sugar. I was diagnosed with type 1 at five years old and had really good control for the first 5 years and then I started messing it up. I was missing injections and stopped doing blood tests completely, it got so bad that I would do a test and the level's could be around 40 or even would say 'HI' because the machine couldn't read that high. By that time I was so used to it that I didn't feel ill. Now in the passed few years I've been trying and have kind of succeeded in improving control - I have been put on the DAFNE course which has helped slightly.
The problem is that now I'm really trying but I can't get control back. I wake up every morning with high blood sugars and just lately I've started waking up with incredibly dry eye's, it hurts to open them. My whole body aches in patches, twinges in my arms, legs etc and I've been having chest pains for about a year now. I'm 24 and I feel like a very old man, I feel like I'm dying.
I know this sounds incredibly dramatic and a long complaint but I'm lost for what to do, just want some advice please... if it helps knowing what treatment it's Novorapid and Lantus

 

[noblehead]

The symptoms that you now have is most likely due to your consistently high blood glucose over a very long time. I am sure that I don't need to explain the risks associated with unstable control, so the time has arrived to take your diabetes control more seriously and prevent your condition worsening and leading to life-threatening conditions.

As you have already done the DAFNE course, you know what to do with regards to insulin/carb ratios and recording/monitoring your control, so re-read your DAFNE notes and get to work on improving your diabetes control. Perhaps it may be worthwhile having a word with your dsn should you have forgotten any aspects of the course, many dsn's are also DAFNE trained. Good luck!

Nigel

 

[Snodger]

Welcome ElWray,

it sounds as if you are having a pretty grim time of it. Firstly, well done for improving your control, even if it isn't where you want it yet.
What happens when you wake up with high blood sugars - can you get them down at all, eg with small injections of insulin? Or do you end up hypo and swinging back and forth between high and low?
How many injections are you doing, usually? 3 novorapid, 1 lantus?

What happens if you increase your Lantus dose at night, does that make it worse or better? I went through a period where my bg was sky high every morning and my doctor suggested actually decreasing the dose - he reckoned I was going hypo in the night and bg rising again really fast after it. In the end that just made it worse so I increased the dose bit by bit again, and it gradually evened off.

Is there anything else going on, eg have you been ill with flu or anything that could make your sugars rise? And have you talked to a doctor about your pains and stuff or had a check up/advice? Can you get any kind of access to a good doctor or diabetes nurse, or is that not an option in your area?