hypos at work
- Thread starter danny 86
- Start Date
Hi Danny. My son is newly diagnosed too and has had quite a few hypos as his blood sugar gets stabilised. I think you need to talk with your diabetic nurse about how to tweak your insulin/diet to sort out the hypos. My son has had to drop the amount of insulin he uses as his sugars get more under control, and it's made a difference although he's still going a bit low at times. Definitely bend someone's ear about it - we have found unfortunatley that there's not as much support as we would like in these early days. It would be great if we could just phone someone up whenever we're worried, but it doesn't seem to work like that!
I think when you have better control, you'll have fewer hypos and when you do, they will be less disruptive - and I'm sure most employers would be completely supportive if you needed the odd ten minutes to get over it. Good luck.
I think when you have better control, you'll have fewer hypos and when you do, they will be less disruptive - and I'm sure most employers would be completely supportive if you needed the odd ten minutes to get over it. Good luck.
danny 86 said:
Hi,
When first diagnosed hypo's are likely to happen as your figuring out how much insulin you need.
I have had plenty of hypo's at work, depending on what type of work you do i'm sure your employer would be happy to make some changes if need be.
Few tips:
Always make sure you have hypo treatment with you, e.g glucose tablets. Probably a good idea to have some in a first aid kit so if you are unable to treat yourself then they are safely put away where everyone knows where they are.
Make sure your boss and colleagues are aware that you have Diabetes and are at risk of hypo's. It's always a good idea that they also know how to assist if needed. You could get a leaflet from your diabetes centre and let people have a read.
It's also important that people know if you are unconcious during a hypo that they shouldn't feed you anything by mouth and to call an ambulance for assistance.
Depending on your work you may need a little recovery time before you return to work, talk to your boss and make sure this is understood and have a pre-agreed time in which you are to return to work. for example i work in an office so pretty much as soon as i have treated a hypo and my BG's are over four i return to work, as i can treat myself at my desk. But for example if you are a fork lift driver you need to be more careful and sure you are safe to return to work. A health and safety officer may want to do some sort of assessment for you.
It's important you get it all sorted as soon as possible so your employer is aware for health and safety reasons, and of course that you are safe in your working environment
Ask your team for advice, as so much depends on your type of work.
You may need to reduce insulin doses to take account of more physical activity at work, communting by walking / cycling etc.
Always have sweets in your pocket - fighting into a locker is not easy when hypoglycaemic.
You may need to reduce insulin doses to take account of more physical activity at work, communting by walking / cycling etc.
Always have sweets in your pocket - fighting into a locker is not easy when hypoglycaemic.
I've your'e a driver make sure you notify DVLA and your insurance company.
Your work place should make allowances for you to treat hypos. I agree, speak to your diabetes care team for further advice. You will have rights at work and you will want to be aware of them so that unfair demands are not made on you.
Your work place should make allowances for you to treat hypos. I agree, speak to your diabetes care team for further advice. You will have rights at work and you will want to be aware of them so that unfair demands are not made on you.
Workplaces *ought* to make allowances for hypos but of course they all differ, and bosses are all different.
I was inspired by a colleague of mine who was t1 and if he was hypo would just say, "excuse me, I'm hypo, I'll just sort it out" with such confidence that even our very scary macho boss just shut up and let him sort it out. I also heard him once say on the phone to a very high powered journalist "I would answer your question, and I'll get back to you straight away, but I'm hypo and I must prioritise that I'm afraid". Brilliant. Nobody ever batted an eyelid. He got promotion and is now paid about 3 times what I earn!
Much better than my way of coping which was to secretly eat things under the desk and hope nobody was watching me.
Once you've got your insulin doses sorted and understand a bit more about how your body responds, you won't be having so many hypos anyway. Good luck!
I was inspired by a colleague of mine who was t1 and if he was hypo would just say, "excuse me, I'm hypo, I'll just sort it out" with such confidence that even our very scary macho boss just shut up and let him sort it out. I also heard him once say on the phone to a very high powered journalist "I would answer your question, and I'll get back to you straight away, but I'm hypo and I must prioritise that I'm afraid". Brilliant. Nobody ever batted an eyelid. He got promotion and is now paid about 3 times what I earn!
Much better than my way of coping which was to secretly eat things under the desk and hope nobody was watching me.
Once you've got your insulin doses sorted and understand a bit more about how your body responds, you won't be having so many hypos anyway. Good luck!
