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Glucose levels erratic

Rhianna1984

Rhianna1984

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
afternoon all-

I am really confused at the moment with respect to my insulin use.

I have had recent ITU hospital admission (recently had 2 stents put in) after suffering from a heart attack and in addition I am on heamodyalisis 3 times a week and over the age of 70. I have been on dialysis for over 10 years now.

I am on clopidogrel, rosuvastatin 20mg Daily and calcium acetate (phosphate binder) three times a day post recent hospital admission.

When I came out of hospital my glucose levels were fine to the point on some days I did not require insulin however I keep getting mixed messages from the nurses and doctors.

Recently my glucose levels at night (before bed) are between 14-18 mmol. On the evening it was 14 mmol I injected 4mls of 30/70 mixtard insulin and by the morning my glucose was 5.2. However on the night it was 18mmol I injected 6mls of 30/70 mixtard insulin and in the morning I had a hypo and glucose level of 2.

I don’t know whether it’s normal that I am injections mixtard only at night and that I vary the number of mls I administer according to the glucose level? Is it better I take it at lunch time after food? I am just so confused and the doctors and nurses just don’t seem to have a clue. One doctors told me to not take the mixtard at all and not monitor my glucose levels either and just told
Me to take soluble insulin three times a day after meals but I have not been doing this. I prefer mixtard but these dangerous hypos are worrying me.

Finally the only difference in my diet is that I have been eating half a small bag of Doritos each day and probably had a bit too much coke in the evenings. Can Doritos cause these peaks in glucose?

Any advice would be much appreciated - feeling very alone and confused about all this at the moment.

Thanks in advance
 
Doritos has maltodextrin in it which effects glucose levels, is the coke diet? Doritos is like 16 grams of carbs per 11 chips so is it a full bag or like a snack sized bag?

Wishing you the best in your care and management
 
Paging @daisy1 for the welcome pack.

Also waving at any T1s in the building because insulin regimes are more your thing. @Scott-C for one.
 
Ragmar said:
Doritos has maltodextrin in it which effects glucose levels, is the coke diet? Doritos is like 16 grams of carbs per 11 chips so is it a full bag or like a snack sized bag?

Wishing you the best in your care and management
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your response.

The packs are small chilliwave flavour Doritos and the coke is not diet. After the heart attack I have been feeling really depressed and just can’t control my appetite and cravings for foods I know I should not have.
 
@Rhianna1984 no I understand wanting comfort food especially after such a harrowing event. By chance are you still in the hospital or at home?

I'm only two months in with this disease and can't advise anything about the insulin or blood levels but I would recommend finding company. Whenever I'm down and out I reach out to somebody and it takes my mind off of whatever was bothering me.

Hopefully someone can assist you with getting things in order because waking up to hypo at 2 would scare me
 
Rhianna1984 said:
Thank you so much for your response.

The packs are small chilliwave flavour Doritos and the coke is not diet. After the heart attack I have been feeling really depressed and just can’t control my appetite and cravings for foods I know I should not have.
Click to expand...

Your packet of Doritos contains 17g carbohydrate, that’s equal to the carbohydrate in 1/2 can of Coke, just to put it in perspective. Can’t comment on the insulin, but if you find you do want to cut carbs how about trying a Diet Coke and pork scratchings instead?
 
Ragmar said:
@Rhianna1984 no I understand wanting comfort food especially after such a harrowing event. By chance are you still in the hospital or at home?

I'm only two months in with this disease and can't advise anything about the insulin or blood levels but I would recommend finding company. Whenever I'm down and out I reach out to somebody and it takes my mind off of whatever was bothering me.

Hopefully someone can assist you with getting things in order because waking up to hypo at 2 would scare me
Click to expand...

I am at home now but I have family who are looking after me but struggle to manage with my insulin.

Thank your for your support.
 
Rachox said:
Your packet of Doritos contains 17g carbohydrate, that’s equal to the carbohydrate in 1/2 can of Coke, just to put it in perspective. Can’t comment on the insulin, but if you find you do want to cut carbs how about trying a Diet Coke and pork scratchings instead?
Click to expand...

Oh wow! Thank your for the perspective. I know I need to cut it all out but I just feel like I am unable to control my temptation right now.
 
@Rhianna1984

Hello Rhianna and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
The general advice when using a mixed insulin is to take it in the morning with breakfast and then again with your evening meal - and best to keep to the same amount of carbs each day and timings. It's a mixture of quick acting insulin to cover the carbs for the meal and a background insulin to keep you level during the rest of the time - I've never quite worked out how it's expected to cover lunch though! Perhaps as you're having quiet a few carbs as a snack a basal/bolus regime may be better for you - you take one or 2 shots of a slow acting basal to keep you level and then a quick acting insulin to cover the food you eat, when ever that is.
 
Diet coke or coke zero is the better choice for you - the coke will explain your highs.
@urbanracer was on mixed insulin for a long time so may have some sensible input.
 
Agree with @slip , mixed insulins are usually prescribed to be used twice a day which did used to cause me huge problems at lunchtimes as there's not enough fast acting insulin left in your body to cope with carbs at lunch.

Fortunately I had a fast acting insulin pen for sick days but I started using it for bolus with reasonable success.

I'm afraid that if you can't curb your cravings, you will most likely not succeed with mixed insulin. Since you cannot increase long acting insulin without increasing short acting you need to match your food to the insulin. I managed to keep my a1c at an acceptable level but my highs and lows were always challenging.

You will find too, that your statin medication will probably be raising your blood glucose which is an added complication.
 
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