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Help! hubby ill

daisyduck

Well-Known Member
Messages
988
Location
Great Yarmouth
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
My hubby is an insulin dependent diabetic. and had been for a while before we met.
I have always assumed he is type 1 but since reading these forums I realise some type 2's inject too ?
Anyway he just has 2 doses of humulin at breakfast and dinner. and Metformin.
He's been feeling rough for a while and I finally managed to get him to go to the doctors on Monday. GP says he has blood, sugar and white cells in his urine and has given him antibiotics for a water infection and has sent a sample off to the lab.
He doesn't want to eat much and has been in bed sleeping most of the while. He's just managed half a cup of tea and half an egg custard today.
Yesterday his BG's were 14-16's Slightly better today at 10-12's. He gets annoyed when I keep pricking him though !
My question is, If he's not eating much does he still inject as normal ?
 
Hi daisyduck yes your right with the insulin question I know a few people who have been unable to control there type 2 diabetes and have been put on insulin if he has a water infection that will make him feel horrible hope he feels better soon and gets his diabetes sorted all the best.forgot to add you may have to adjust his insulin while he's not well just keep testing as you've been doing.
 

Not wishing to be pedantic, but some of us t2 insulin dependant folks are not on insulin because of poor control but because we cannot take oral meds due to other health conditions.....
 

Yes he still needs to inject his insulin though the amount may be more than usual rather than less so keep testing even though he wont appreciate it.......
 
Humulin is different for sick day rules as he cant add in any extra straight forward bolus insulin to help lower levels.

Its not quite the same as following sick day rules on a bolus/basal regime.

I would discuss with him and ask how he thinks he can get his levels down....what has he done previously?
 
Hi. When he is well again it would help to confirm if possible whether he is T1 or T2. If he has excess weight then T2 is more likely but if he is slim then T1 is more likely. A c-peptide test would help determine how much insulin he produces but many GPs won't do it due to cost (or ignorance). You will need to ensure he manages his blood sugar well in the future and see the DN and come back here for more guidance if needed.
 
He shouldn't stop taking his insulin as he'll need it even more if he's ill. A BS of 10 or 12 isn't too bad with an infection, but if it gets much higher, it might be wise to phone a doctor for advice. It's possible his doses may need adjusting during his illness.

If you're able to tell us a little more about the precise kind of Humulin he's taking, that would help - ie it's full name.
 

Again not wishing to be pedantic, there are plenty of thin t2's and plenty of heavy t1's.........yes a c-peptide test is useful to determine the type, but to assume all t2's are carrying excess weight is wrong.....
@daisyduck .........my aapologies for hi-jacking your thread.....
 
What I do is .....continue with my 2 doses of humulin (60units in one site and 44units in another site of humulin m3 a mixed insulin) therapy. I monitor my blood pricks results more. I drink plenty of water and sleep if I need it. If I experience higher bgs I increase my units by 10. Although I'm highly insulin resistant. His dn instructions advise by how much the adjustment should be. We are all different.
If experience hypos treat as normal and reduce my therapy by 10 units less til hypos no longer occur.
Ultimately I take advise from my dn with sick rules in mind.
What advise has your hubby been given?
 
He is tall and fairly slim, He was diabetic long before I met him and was treated as a type 2 .
When his first wife died his readings were all over the place and they put him on to insulin.
Amazingly none of his health team have ever told him if he is now type 1 ? He, like me, just assumed he was because of the insulin.
He has never been advised to vary his insulin, in fact he has been given no advice on this at all from his GP.
His cartridges say Humulin M3
He eats a lot more carbs than I do, but if he does eat my low carb meals , we have found that he will need less insulin as he can go too low, so have taken on ourselves to vary by about 6 units. He used to have 44 morning and evening but to keep him around the 6's he normally injects 38/40 now.
He's still on 11.1 at the moment but that was just before some rice pudding .. so probably a higher injection needed ?
 
@daisyduck Humulin M3 is a mixed insulin. I'm going to,tag @urbanracer. Mixed insulins contain a mix of fast acting and long/slow acting insulin. Therefore if you make an adjustment, it will,affect both types of insulin.

Here's a leaflet that explains how,it works and about adjustments:

http://www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk/Se... Adjustment for twice daily mixed insulin.pdf

If you're in the slightest doubt, phone 111 for advice. If you do increase the dose, increase it very cautiously and remember that increase will have an effect over a number of hours and through the night.
 

The type of diabetes you have doesn't change dependant on whether or not you are taking insulin. Type 2 diabetes does not become type 1 just because it is treated with insulin. If he was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and no subsequent investigations suggest that was a misdiagnosis he remains type 2 diabetic, he is just now an insulin dependant type 2 diabetic.

Sorry, @Brunneria i have no experience on mixed insulin. It is now fairly unusual and against guidelines for a type 1 diabetic to be prescribed mixed insulin, it would have to be something they were asking for cos they were used to it. I was diagnosed 2011 and I would have thought basal/bolus insulin would have been the first choice insulin for type 1s from the early 00s if not before. I'd seek advice from the DSN or 111 if blood sugar climbs very high.

Hope your husband feels better soon @daisyduck
 

If you have an infection and diabetes your blood sugar will naturally be raised as your liver releases stored glucose to help fight the infection, as the infection recedes his appetite should improve
 

Just for reference, I'm on a 25mix although I also have a rapid acting pen for sick days. I've asked for basal/bolus but my endo is dead set against it I know of other T1's in my area on the same regime.
 
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daisyduck said:
Thanks everyone. He ate his rice pudding OK.. not ideal I know , but it was all he fancied.
He's done his normal dose of insulin and gone to bed.
I will keep pricking him whether he moans or not
Click to expand...

Hi @daisyduck , I am a T1 using mixed insulin. Whilst most T1's would match insulin to their food intake I often have to do the reverse, and match food to my insulin. Because I also have a rapid acting insulin pen I do sometimes take extra insulin if I want a carbohydrate rich meal.
 
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