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Hypers

C

ciara26

Active Member
Messages
27
Hey,

I was diagnosed with T1 three weeks ago. My levels are very high between 12 and 17 or hgher some imes. Im on levamir twice a day and Novarapid. I have gotten 3 hypers in the last week, two small ones and a big one that lasted for about 45 mins. Now when my levels eventually go down i know what to do when i have a hypo but i dont know what to do when i have a hyper. my levels dont have to be high, my big one my levels were 14 and i had just had my novrapid with my dinner about 30mins beofre hand. Im confused by it.

Any advice please
 
As it's so soon since your diagnosis, you should still have the support of your diabetes team to decide on your daily doses, so please contact them. Basically, they will gradually increase your doses until you reach the right levels. Too sudden and you would feel hypo due to being used to higher blood glucose levels. Also, ask about how far before your meal you can take your novorapid, as many people take it just before eating, which may be more convenient.
 
You will likely to show a high reading half an hour after eating. It's best to test before you eat, so you know what your reading is, and then 2 hours after your meal at which time your Novorapid would have had a chance to work on the meal. Within 2 hours of the meal you will find higher readings. Try to avoid anything too sugary in your meal which will cause a higher spike. The pre-meal Novorapid will work for 3-4 hours so even after 2 hours your readings will still be dropping for another hour or so.

When Jess was first diagnosed her readings were quite high for a few weeks. They adjusted her insulin to slowly bring her readings down. They don't like to make changes too quickly otherwise you may find yourself dangerously low too quickly. It's best to do things slowly in the beginning.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I have a very good diabetic team, there slowly upping my units. I apparently are still on baby units. Typical dose for the day is 2 levamir, 2 novarapid before breakfast, 2novarapid before lunch, 4novarapid before dinner. 2levamir at 8pm and if im having a snack before bed i have to take 1novarapid. I take my insulin literally at the dinner table just before i eat and take my levels before i take my insulin. The only reason i took my levels when i was having my hyper was to see what they were.

I really only take my levels right before my insulin or if im going for a walk etc. My nurse told me novarapid last for 4 hrs so try not to check in betweent hat time as i will get a false reading.

I know the feeling when one is coming on im just trying to determine why there happening?
 
ciara26 said:
Hey,

I was diagnosed with T1 three weeks ago. My levels are very high between 12 and 17 or hgher some imes. Im on levamir twice a day and Novarapid. I have gotten 3 hypers in the last week, two small ones and a big one that lasted for about 45 mins. Now when my levels eventually go down i know what to do when i have a hypo but i dont know what to do when i have a hyper. my levels dont have to be high, my big one my levels were 14 and i had just had my novrapid with my dinner about 30mins beofre hand. Im confused by it.

Any advice please
Click to expand...

A couple of points here Caira26, I wouldn't inject novo 30 mins before eating, this is a fast acting insulin designed to be given just before eating, this should have been explained to you when given the insulin. Also, even though you have only been diabetic for 3 weeks, ask your dsn to put your name down for the DAFNE course, it may take a while to get on one, but it will be worthwhile for the following reasons.

The DAFNE course teaches the principles of carb counting and matching your insulin to suit. They also give advice on correcting hypers between meals, which by the way is to give a correction dose before your next meal, which would mean your include the correction dose together with the insulin to cover your food. It explains how insulin works and the profiles of insulins (how long they last in the body) and discusses the practise of good diabetes management.

I would contact your diabetes team and discuss your concerns, it is all very confussing in the early days, so if unsure do ask.

Nigel
 
Hi ciara26,
I am a Type 2 and would not like to presume that you do not understand carb counting and insulin requirements.

If however this is the problem then there is an online course that you can access whilst waiting for the DAFNE one.

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Hope this can be of some help to you,

Catherine.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I havent started the carb counting yet as there waiting for my levels to even off and lower. Sorry i didnt explain myself properly, i do my insulin at te dinner table literally as im about to eat.
 
Hi Ciara,

I think the answer is, you do nothing I'm afraid. You'll just have to ride it out. 14 isn't a dangerous level if you've just had a meal 30mins beforehand - it's normal, certainly when you've just been diagnosed. You're really noticing these feelings and sensations because your body's never done this before and it's all new - I know it can feel quite mad, I still sometimes feel like my whole body's in a wind tunnel when I've eaten and the insulin's doing its job on me, and it's 2yrs for me today. Going high can cause problems, true, but not just because you ate. To reassure yourself there's nothing wrong, ask for a prescription of ketone testing strips. The only time being high is immediately dangerous is if you're producing ketones. Obviously being high over a long period of time is going to be bad but that's not the issue for you right now. When I was new like you my nurses told me if my ketones were +2 or above that I should go to A+E, where they'd sort it out. If you've got an infection or are ill then you should always test for ketones. At 14, with insulin working away, and you've just eaten, I wouldn't suspect any ketones so don't panic.

So don't worry about it, once your doses are more sorted and you have a bit better idea where you are, you might find you don't even go that high after eating. It does depend on the type of food you eat too - start looking into the glycaemic index of your foods. You should get on a DAFNE course as soon as you can, and everything will seem less overwhelming and you'll feel so much less vulnerable because you'll have loads of information to see you through any tricky moments and you'll know precisely what to do if you really are in danger from hypers - which it doesn't seem to me that you are, at the moment. Plus, if you felt weird 30mins after injecting, you were absolutely right to test. You could have been hypo. You'll get there :D

I hope that helps.
 
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