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Illness and T1D

abbylgerrard

Member
Messages
8
Good morning. I wondered if anyone could help


I have been poorly recently with a really bad cough and cold. I’ve been giving myself more insulin than usual but my blood sugars have been wild and going up to 25/26 mmol. I have been giving myself corrections, but my body isn’t reacting to the insulin as much as it usually does. Prior to feeling unwell, I would usually correct with 1-2 units which would bring my sugars down by 4-8mmol. I have been giving myself between 6-10 units and my sugars have barely moved at times, or if they have, it has taken hours to get them down!

Whenever I eat something, I give myself my usual 1-8 ratio, plus extra to prevent spikes etc, however my bloods still seem to be spiking up to 20 mmol then it’s taking a while for my body to react to the correction again
.

I went up to A&E as I was struggling to get blood sugars down but they said there wasn’t much they could do as my bloods were coming down (slowly) and I only had 0.2 traces of ketones.
I have checked my ketones today and they’re 0.1. But still struggling to manage my blood sugars. Is this normal? Please can someone give me some advice

I have been diabetic for 10 years but haven’t had the best support, so I still feel a bit out of my depth at times. Usually my bloods stay between 6 - 12 mmol.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you, Abby
 
Hi @abbylgerrard and welcome to the forums.

Your team are supposed to give you T1 sick day rules to manage your insulin when ill. They explain how much to increase your insulin by as insulin needs can increase quite dramatically when you are ill.

The big risk is DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) but it sounds as though you are managing to keep your ketones down, which is excellent.

Are you on MDI or a pump, as the rules are probably slightly different for the two regimes, though the principles are basically the same (watch ketones and bgs and adjust your doses according to a flow chart)?
 
Hi Ellie, thank you for your response! I’m on MDI. Feel like I’m giving myself loads of insulin and barely seeing much of a difference
I’ve been sat at 25 mmol all night and injected 12 units in total and only just managed to get my bloods down to 7.3 mmol which has taken 5 hours with 12 units of novo rapid
 
Hi there

This sounds similar to what I experienced last autumn when I had Covid (first time). At the time my insulin requirement was fairly low: Lantus 6 units & Novorapid 7/3/7, plus metformin. Then I was chasing my tail & could not get on top of my BGs. After a chat with my diabetes nurse I increased everything & also started correcting after 2 hours. The Novorapid doses ended up around 20 units every 2 hours. At first I was worried about a deep hypo but this did the job. I mention these doses to give you an idea what I did, not suggesting you follow them. Everything settled down as soon as Covid went.

Hope that helps & best of luck
 
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I am a Type 2 Diabetic for 30 years and on Metformin + Insulin.
My Fasting Blood Sugar level has been around 8 -10 mmol. But if i consumed an ice cream or banana or a half slab of milk chocolate, the sugar spikes to above 10+ mmol.

Three months ago I tried Green Tea + Ginger + Turmeric.
Within 2 days my sugar level dropped to below 7 mmol.

Try this non-medical Natural remedy for a week.
Three - Four sachets of Green Tea + One inch++ Fresh Ginger chopped + Half tea spoon of Turmeric powder. Mix in boiling water One litre /pint of Boiling water.
Add sweetner tablets.
Drink two cups during day and one cup before bed time.

See the result.
Now I can eat ice cream or chocolates or bananas or fruit!
 
Good morning and an unusual response.
prior to and during COVID every winter had weeks poorly with coughs ,colds, sore throat and wheezing day and night. I found a “ instant relief” using Potters Mucus Cough Pastilles. Only ever take one when wheezing and each pastille should be sucked. I find they stick to roof of mouth or teeth and will very slowly dissolve.
I’ve now had , with great care of my type 2 diabetes, not had a bad winter since and have reduced insulin intake.
Some weeks don’t have to take any pastilles , but they work for me.
Im 78 and have good relationship with local diabetic nurse at surgery. Do check with medics first. Mike
 
It's likely insulin resistance caused by elevated levels of Cortisol (hypercortisolaemia - which happens under stress and illness). Happens also when on Steroids. Happened to me a few years ago and the insulin dosage went right up whilst on it
 
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Hi Abby
Previous contribution is correct. When ill, the body produces an inflammatory response and the insulin requirement will go up. Sometimes wildly.
I use sick day rules to overcome the problem. These should be available from your DSN or support team. The amount of insulin used can look daunting but keep checking BG and ketones. This should resolve the problem but be aware. I have found that as the illness resolves the requirement for the extra insulin can drop off suddenly leaving me hypo and having to watch the BG levels more carefully. Have fun.
 
During Covid, NHS England produced a great flow chart of sick day rules for type 1 diabetes on MDI which i think i got via Diabetes UK link, but is still available online.
 
A reminder to forum members. This threads title is “Illness and T1D” The OP has Type 1 diabetes and illness and sick day rules are very different from Type 2, even those on insulin.

Please be aware of this when answering the post and making recommendations and offering advice, also be aware of the forum rules about cross posting, a link to forum rules can be found here https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/community-ethos-forum-rules.50278/

Any posts deemed to break these rules may be edited or deleted

Kind regards lovinglife on behalf of the moderator team
 
ClaireHT said:
During Covid, NHS England produced a great flow chart of sick day rules for type 1 diabetes on MDI which i think i got via Diabetes UK link, but is still available online.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, when I’m poorly my glucose levels go mad so having the Libre is very useful as I can see if the blood glucose is going up, down or staying the same and adjust my insulin accordingly. I tend to give less fast acting insulin when I’m poorly. I do little and often but I do notice on the Libre sometimes it shows even arrow but when I look at the graph my glucose is clearly still on the way down but maybe slower. So very careful about how much rapid insulin I give myself.
 
Hi there,
Happens to me too, but when I drink 1 big glass of water my BG goes down. Plus I eat healthy no carbs no sugar.
stay healthy …..
 
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