Is this serious

[martinsoton]

Hi Everyone

I am wondering if i should be worried. (Im type 1)
I was in at the doctors on firday and got a fairly clear bill of health. I do have slightly high blood pressure as well as high colesterol. Over the last couple of months i have been trying to loose weight by training harder, i take less insulin prior to excersing so my levels have been higher. Ive attached a graph of my reading for the last month (graph from T+Diabetes managment). I am 26 an pritty active i go to a gym most evenings.

The 2 things that are worrying me are:
1. I normally get calf cramps when running, but over the weekend ive not been able to get rid of them, and feel they are constantly tight now. This happened before and lasted a couple of months, then went away

2 I have noticed that there has been a little bit of blood in my mouth when brushing my teath over the weekend, but over the weekend my gums were bleeding like they had actually been cut. I have really good oral hygean and have never had a filling before.

Ive only been diagnosed for a year or so these arnt likely to be the effects of Diabetes are they?

 

[howie]

hey,

funny you should mention bout bleeding when brushing as i had it the other day, and it did freak me out for a bit but i'm freaking out everytime i get a slight bit of pins and needles at he moment, i think its normal to get it occasionally! i think cramps are associated with raised BG levels in the short tern rather than long term damage. might be cos you said you allow for you levels to raise before exercise by using less insulin. i'm experimenting at the moment with exercise and insulin and generally i use a normal amount of insulin but if i know i'm playing tennis for an hour or so then i have a banana before i start and when it kicks in i'm usually countering the rise in levels with the exercise or i just keep topping up with a mouthful of lucozade every 20mins or so. but i'm new to this so you probs more experienced than me. i'd like to get a continuos BG meter but apparently they're 20 mins behind which ain't really good enough during exercise.

all best,
howie

 

[cugila]

Hi Martin.

If I am reading your graph correctly then your BG levels are not good at all. Firstly, I have no idea at what point these levels were taken ? Were they fasting, post prandial ? Did your GP check your Bg levels at all, HbA1c perhaps ?

As A T1 your Bg level guidelines are as follows.
Fasting (waking)..................between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after foods..................no more than 9 mmol/l.

Your readings appear to be way out of line including both Hypo and Hyper levels. You seriously need to get your Insulin dosage and/or dietary intake adjusted. I am not a T1 so am not best placed to advise you. I am sure one of our T1 'experts' will be along with better information for you soon.

Ken.

 

[martinsoton]

I can do a per-day break down if this helps. I admit that my readings are not great. But this month has been a particularly bad one, i think they have been high due to stress this month.

How does stress let more sugar into you blood system?
How long does it take for the long term affects start to show there face?

thanks
Martin

 

[cugila]

Martin.
Stress
If you're stressed, it's easy to abandon your usual diabetes management routine. You might exercise less, eat fewer healthy foods or test your blood sugar less often - and lose control of your blood sugar in the process. The hormones your body may produce in response to prolonged stress may even prevent insulin from working properly, which only makes matters worse.

What to do:
Look for patterns. Log your stress level on a scale of one to 10 each time you log your blood sugar level. A pattern may soon emerge.
Take control. Once you know how stress affects your blood sugar level, fight back. Learn relaxation techniques. Prioritize your tasks. Set limits. Most importantly, take good care of yourself.
The more you know about factors that influence your blood sugar level, the more you can anticipate fluctuations - and plan ahead accordingly. If you're having trouble keeping your blood sugar level in your target range, ask your diabetes health care team for help.

Here is a link another explanation from a different site.
http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/stress.jsp

As for the graphs. They look good, but they are very light on detail to be of any use. I need what times they are taken, i.e. Before breakfast, 1 or 2 hrs after meals etc. Date and reading is not of much use.

Ken.

 

[fergus]

Hi Martin,

It looks like your bg levels are consistently much too high! At a guess they're probably averaging in the mid teens across your sample period. As you know a non-diabetic would probably average around 4-5 mmol/l and just because we have type 1, our ambition should be to match that as closely as possible.
Gum problems are a fairly typical symptom of abnormal bg levels, as of course is peripheral neuropathy, which may underly your problems with your calf muscles.
Sorry to be blunt about it, but these problems are what you'll have to expect in the future unless you get those numbers down.
It's do-able though. If you stick around, there are lots of things you can do to bring your bg down to a much healthier level very quickly.

All the best,

fergus

 

[janabelle]

Hi Martin, I am a type-1 of 20 years, and I agree that your blood sugar control is not good. How your doc sent u away with clean bill of health is beyond me, but after my experiences recently does not surprise me.
It puzzles me constantly on this forum, that when people post because they're having problems with blood sugar control, it is rarely suggested that diabetes medication could be at fault, when it's often synthetic analogue insulins that are the common factor.
Your posting has reminded me that on lantus I suffered cramps in my calves and as well as a tremor in my left leg. My doctor prescribed me quinine. I had dreadful dental probs on when on Lantus, whether it's directly related I don't know. The silver lining was I found a great dentist!
How do you feel generally?
Jus

 

[phoenix]

I experienced cramps several times before diagnosis, both during exercise and at night.
It hasn't reoccurred so the most logical explanation is that it was caused by exercising with very high glucose levels. Gum disease is also directly associated with the high levels. (I also had that and sadly my dentist didn't think to suggest the possible cause ))
If by reducing your insulin before exercise you end up with too high a level then you may be defeating the object. If you are above 13.9mmol, before exercise, you should check to see if you have ketones (you should be checking anyway with concistently hig levels. If they are present you have too little circulating insulin and your BG levels may rise further still .

See this article on safe exercising with diabetes
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-and-exercise/DA00105

 

[hanadr]

Hi Martin
You may be exercising too often, "most nights at the gym". Most trainers advocate a day's break between sessions
Also, your Bgs are a bit high. Exercise can push it up, but perhaps you need to rethink your diet. It was proven as long ago as the 1920s that you don't need to eat carbs.
The quinine in tonic water is meant to be helpful with cramp. It didn't work for me, but it's cheap, so worth a try( the low carb version)
Diabetics are prone to gingivitis( bleeding gums) Do you Floss? Try floss or interdens spiral brushes and rinse tyour mouth with antiseptic mouthwash, or salt water for a few days and see if that improves the situation. In any case, you should probably see your dentist. If you don't have one, ring your PCT and ask to be given aname of a dentist taking NHS patients. i believe thay have a duty to find you one.

 

[Marky74]

Hi Martin
You may be exercising too often, "most nights at the gym". Most trainers advocate a day's break between sessions.

Hana this depends on the exercise.

Cardio I belive you can do every day.
Weights you alternate body sections, Upper 1 day, lower the next...

Well that is what I used to do, and will have to start to get fit for rugby again

 

[martinsoton]

Hey everyone

Thanks very much for the advice. I think i know what i have to do. My diet is generally i think quite a good one for a diabetic. I think i need to increase my insulin levels. Id managed to loose 9 kg in 4 months which i was really happy about i am just worried i will put it all back on with increased insulin use.

thanks again everyone

great community here!!

 

[fergus]

Hi Martin,

You're probably right, more insulin usually means more weight. It is a powerful anabolic hormone after all.
Your diet could well be a good one, but if it follows the model set out by NHS / DUK, it more likely isn't I'm afraid!
Good luck with it.

fergus

 

[kegstore]

Martin, some of those graphs make you a good candidate for pump therapy, this might be something worth thinking about? Although I know it doesn't suit everyone, I can't recommend it highly enough, it has allowed me to really take control of this pesky condition.

A useful target bg guideline I always use is a slight variation on the often-quoted range: whatever your pre-meal reading is, your 2 hour post-meal should be no more than 2 mmol/l higher. With pump therapy this is very easy to manage once you have mastered the theory. Now, even with a whole variety of food types, I can normally maintain a flat bg of around 6.5 all the way from pre-meal through post-meal and beyond.

 

[martinsoton]

hi kegstore

Is it posible to get a pump in the Uk through the nhs?

 

[howie]

+ 1 with a continuos G-monitor?

 

[martinsoton]

That would be sweet

 

[kegstore]

Is it posible to get a pump in the Uk through the nhs?

Definitely - check with your clinic, if you have any difficulties try the INPUT website as they're supposed to be very helpful.

+ 1 with a continuos G-monitor?

Now that's the tricky bit, I have a genuine clinical need for CGM but still had to go via Exceptional Funding to get it full-time, and it took some persuasion but can be done.

 

[lionrampant]

Martin, some of those graphs make you a good candidate for pump therapy, this might be something worth thinking about? Although I know it doesn't suit everyone, I can't recommend it highly enough, it has allowed me to really take control of this pesky condition.

A useful target bg guideline I always use is a slight variation on the often-quoted range: whatever your pre-meal reading is, your 2 hour post-meal should be no more than 2 mmol/l higher. With pump therapy this is very easy to manage once you have mastered the theory. Now, even with a whole variety of food types, I can normally maintain a flat bg of around 6.5 all the way from pre-meal through post-meal and beyond.

Question for you good sir: How easy do you find it to live with the pump? I mean how much of an annoyance is it when you're at the gym, or on a night out? Or in any other situation where things aren't simple and predictable?

 

[kegstore]

Question for you good sir: How easy do you find it to live with the pump? I mean how much of an annoyance is it when you're at the gym, or on a night out? Or in any other situation where things aren't simple and predictable?

No problem at all, I took to it like the proverbial duck to water and just wish I'd had one years ago. It does require commitment and effort to master, but is well worth doing. I think it's ideal for any situation where things aren't simple and predictable! Roll on closed loop devices...

 

[burtybob]

Forgive my ignorance, but wot is a closed loop device?