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It's all going wrong for me.

I always google it when I need it, so here it is :)

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lucylocket61 said:
I am just back from the diabetes nurse. My diabetes has got much worse, my blood pressure is high, I have a UTI, blood in my urine and my cholesterol is be not good. I was doing well before I got covid. So a list of new meds to take, and a lot to take in. I am wibbling. I have managed for 9 years without meds, and now my body has thrown in the towel. I am now googling rimipril and empagliflozin, as these are the meds my DN recommends. I can't take Metformin. Anyone with experience of these please feel free to share your experiences.
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Hi Lucy I am sorry you are having a tough time of it. I had Covid confirmed but had a low viral load (i know that because I was two mins next to someone with a choking cough after not having left my house for 9 days previously, it took another 4 days for my symptoms to start then I tested positive) BUT it messed my BG for at least 8 weeks. I am trying to give you some hope that if you had it bad it may take a lot longer for the virus to leave your body and you may find somewhere down the line your BG control will bounce back. I really hope that is true.
 
carol43 said:
Ramipril can give you a very annoying cough wh.ich, at this moment, is something you don't want.
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I have just been taken off Ramipril because of a cough. Think it gave me a frog in the throat which is not the best place to keep a pet frog. I did use Forxiga for a short while, but it hit back with a dose of UTI that needed strong antibiotics to shift. Empagliflozin is a milder version, so it may be more gentle with you. Keep hydrated, and up your salt intake a little.
 
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Hugs, @lucylocket61 -- you've definitely had a couple of tough years.

Can't help much with the medication, was on ramipril for about a week, but then stopped it because I couldn't get off the sofa without feeling dizzy.

Do you check your blood pressure at home? When I started doing this, I found I had a bad case of white coat syndrome (and this seems to be getting worse rather than better as the years go by.)

Please take care of yourself.
 
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The strange thing is that my before and after meals numbers only change by up to 1 point, sometimes the after dinner number is less than at the start. So I am puzzled as to why my background level is higher eg 8-9 before a meal and fasting blood sugar levels.

@Rachox have you any ideas please?
 
lucylocket61 said:
The strange thing is that my before and after meals numbers only change by up to 1 point, sometimes the after dinner number is less than at the start. So I am puzzled as to why my background level is higher eg 8-9 before a meal and fasting blood sugar levels.

@Rachox have you any ideas please?
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It sounds like you’re eating appropriate foods if you’re only seeing a rise of 1 max, however it sounds like the fasting levels are what’s worrying you. My fasting and post breakfast are always the highest of the day and pre and post dinner in the evening are better, with like you sometimes the after number is lower than the before. I believe insulin resistance improves as the day goes by. You have so many things to deal with just now. If it was me I’d tackle the infection as first priority. The BP and cholesterol I think are less urgent. Once you’re on top of the infection I would hope that your blood sugars would improve. Did you decide what you wanted to do regarding the suggested meds?
 
Rachox said:
It sounds like you’re eating appropriate foods if you’re only seeing a rise of 1 max, however it sounds like the fasting levels are what’s worrying you. My fasting and post breakfast are always the highest of the day and pre and post dinner in the evening are better, with like you sometimes the after number is lower than the before. I believe insulin resistance improves as the day goes by. You have so many things to deal with just now. If it was me I’d tackle the infection as first priority. The BP and cholesterol I think are less urgent. Once you’re on top of the infection I would hope that your blood sugars would improve. Did you decide what you wanted to do regarding the suggested meds?
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Unfortunately the pre meal is 8-9 too. It doesn't go down during the day. As if my baseline is stuck on high. My DN hasn't got a clue about any of this.
 
lucylocket61 said:
Unfortunately the pre meal is 8-9 too. It doesn't go down during the day. As if my baseline is stuck on high. My DN hasn't got a clue about any of this.
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Lucy - Could you clarify for me; are all your numbers +1, or are you saying that when you're going about your business, your postprandial numbers are just +1 from preprandial?

I think that could make a difference to responses.
 
DCUKMod said:
Lucy - Could you clarify for me; are all your numbers +1, or are you saying that when you're going about your business, your postprandial numbers are just +1 from preprandial?

I think that could make a difference to responses.
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I get up in the morning and my fasting blood levels are around 9. Before meals are around 9. After meals around 8 - 9.5.

Is that clearer? This has been the pattern for several months, no matter how low carb the meals.
 
lucylocket61 said:
I get up in the morning and my fasting blood levels are around 9. Before meals are around 9. After meals around 8 - 9.5.

Is that clearer? This has been the pattern for several months, no matter how low carb the meals.
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Thanks Lucy, so, it's the underlying issue, rather than any specific reaction to food degrading.

I know you have other health concerns in play, meaning it's a step too far for you to go very low carb. Whilst in your shoes, I'd hate it (as I have any medication, and swear every week, when I top up my weekly pot with my thyroid meds!), but it might be relevant to have some pharma support whilst your body is still coping with your long covid.

I'd probably want a bit of reassurance that your current UTI has been taken into account when recommending the Flozin prescription, and I'd also want to have agreed some form of fast track attention if the UTI were to recur, or thrush take it's place.

The last thing you need is to swap on uncomfortably hot frying pan with an equally scorching fire.

I'm confident you'll claw it back in time, Lucy, but in the meantime, perhaps a little help wouldn't be such a bad thing?
 
DCUKMod said:
Thanks Lucy, so, it's the underlying issue, rather than any specific reaction to food degrading.

I know you have other health concerns in play, meaning it's a step too far for you to go very low carb. Whilst in your shoes, I'd hate it (as I have any medication, and swear every week, when I top up my weekly pot with my thyroid meds!), but it might be relevant to have some pharma support whilst your body is still coping with your long covid.

I'd probably want a bit of reassurance that your current UTI has been taken into account when recommending the Flozin prescription, and I'd also want to have agreed some form of fast track attention if the UTI were to recur, or thrush take it's place.

The last thing you need is to swap on uncomfortably hot frying pan with an equally scorching fire.

I'm confident you'll claw it back in time, Lucy, but in the meantime, perhaps a little help wouldn't be such a bad thing?
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Thanks. I will ask about the UTI and also future backup. I am speaking to the DN on Wednesday. It's good to have people on here to point me in the right direction. :)

I spoke to the triage nurse just now, as I have had a bad reaction to the ramipril. It's like a constant panic attack, plus breathlessness.

I asked the triage nurse for my actual Hba1c, as the DN didn't give me a printout and I forgot to ask. I was so shocked my mind went blank at the DN appointment when she said about my blood pressure and very high blood sugar levels.

It's 52 which, while not good, is not the disaster the DN implied. Especially as I have been ill for months and may have had the UTI for a week or so too, plus the abscess from two weeks ago is still healing as well. I have 4 more days of strong antibiotics.
 
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lucylocket61 said:
Thanks. I will ask about the UTI and also future backup. I am speaking to the DN on Wednesday. It's good to have people on here to point me in the right direction. :)

I spoke to the triage nurse just now, as I have had a bad reaction to the ramipril. It's like a constant panic attack, plus breathlessness.

I asked the triage nurse for my actual Hba1c, as the DN didn't give me a printout and I forgot to ask. I was so shocked my mind went blank at the DN appointment when she said about my blood pressure and very high blood sugar levels.

It's 52 which, while not good, is not the disaster the DN implied. Especially as I have been ill for months and may have had the UTI for a week or so too, plus the abscess from two weeks ago is still healing as well. I have 4 more days of strong antibiotics.
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44 (taken from your signature) to 52 in a very difficult year doesn't sound dire to me, although with the finger prick tests you are seeing, it could be on the rise, recently.

Don't forget your UTI (and I think that you've had other issues of late too) will possibly have impacted on your "today" numbers, rather than too long into your A1c, but it all adds in.

You mentioned a Flozin in a thread about a year ago, so it could be the nurse has just gone fast forward to that, as a matter of course.

To be perfectly candid, in your shoes, I might be inclined to ask if I could have another test in say, two months. That'd give you a good idea, bearing in mind how biased an A1c is to most recent weeks, of your direction of travel - improving or struggling. Whilst it's never a good feeling when the A1c goes up, you aren't in horrible, swampy territory just yet. If another test was agreed (at 2-3 months), personally, I'd be inclined to spend that time seeing what if anything I could do, in terms of keeping my diet tight and getting rid of the UTI, properly. Of course, I could say the bugs will love the sweet urine, but glucose generally (where no relevant medication is in play) only spills out into the urine at around 10+. If that was a concern, I'd go to somewhere like Boots/eBay/HomeHealth or wherever and buy some urine dip sticks. That would inform you if you have glucose spilling, but would also allow you to keep an eye out for white blood cells, blood or protein in your urine - all of which can happen with a nasty UTI or just one that's hanging around.

(Your surgery might just give yo a tub of dip strips. They're cheap.)

If you were newly diagnosed at 52, I doubt the script pad would be coming straight out, unless your practise is one that likes to prescribe "early".

Lucy, I have really just unpacked my head there and it might be a bit jumbled. I'm certainly not telling you to do anything in particular. Only you can decide on your way forward.

Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up. Life has definitely conspired against you in recent times. It surely has to be your turn soon for a decent break.
 
@lucylocket61
Not too sure if it is the same bucket but I think I have had one UTI when I had a cather in place and on it's removal. It was really unpleasent and fair screwed me up... antibiotics were taken in large numbers.
I hope it gets sorted sooner.
Take care
 
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