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Little bit concerned

C

Captain Chris

Member
Hi I have just been told by my diabetes nurse I might have to start taking insulin injection because my blood sugar levels are getting high and she can not put me on medication ( currently I am not taking any medication for diabetes )because I only have 1 kidney so I might have to go to taking insulin injection to get my blood sugar level under control .Which is a big jump from taking nothing to start injecting insulin Will I be stop from driving ,I have had no affect from diabetes 2 but if I go to taking insulin injection will I loose my driving license and not be able to drive again .That is worrying me a lot I need to drive
 
Captain Chris said:
Hi I have just been told by my diabetes nurse I might have to start taking insulin injection because my blood sugar levels are getting high and she can not put me on medication ( currently I am not taking any medication for diabetes )because I only have 1 kidney so I might have to go to taking insulin injection to get my blood sugar level under control .Which is a big jump from taking nothing to start injecting insulin Will I be stop from driving ,I have had no affect from diabetes 2 but if I go to taking insulin injection will I loose my driving license and not be able to drive again .That is worrying me a lot I need to drive
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That's a giant leap indeed! Have you tried changing your diet? I don't know why you're missing a kidney, but if the other one is in full working order, I think you should be able to follow a low carb/high fat diet to control your blood sugars. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ might help a little.
 
The nurse gave me 3 months to get my blood sugar levels down .Well the 3 months are up and I had a blood test yesterday and waiting on the results of the blood test .I was so worried about loosing my driving license that I have stuck to a low sugar / carb diet and have lost a stone in weight so hopping that will show up in the new blood test but just worried if my sugar levels have not changed .I was really bad before my first blood test ,eating chocolate ,cake and a load of rubbish so there is only one person to blame but these last 3 month I have been good .No chocolate, cake or biscuits etc So fingers crossed but I do not know if loosing a stone in weight will help .I suppose it can not be worse ,can it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
You can drive on insulin. You have to inform the DVLA, they will replace your license with a 1 to 3-year licence, after posting in your current licence, together with a form they provide stating that you are hypo aware and haven't had more than one severe hypo where you couldn't treat it yourself in the last 12 months and that you have your GP's approval. You also need to know you should drive when your blood sugars are 5 mmol/l or above. If they are between 4 and 5 you have to eat carbohydrates before you can drive. If they are below 4 you need to eat carbohydrates and wait 45 minutes and test again.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/life-with-diabetes/driving/driving-licence
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hypo-unawareness.html
 
Captain Chris said:
Will I be stop from driving ,I have had no affect from diabetes 2 but if I go to taking insulin injection will I loose my driving license and not be able to drive again .That is worrying me a lot I need to drive
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When I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I no choice but to go straight on to insulin.
However, I still drive. I had to tell DVLA, my license is renewed every 3 years and I need to test my blood sugars when driving.
Insulin is not a reason for taking away your license - severe hypos which require assistance from someone else are.
 
Captain Chris said:
Not sure but I am sure the nurse mention the figure 71 but not sure what that means
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That's high but not desperately so. Plenty of the folk on this forum have started with higher levels than that and achieved normal blood sugar levels by reducing the carbs in their diet. It corresponds to an average blood sugar of 11, which is well above normal (4-8) and is enough to pass sugar into your urine (really not ideal if you've only got one kidney).

But am confused why the nurse is saying you have to go on insulin when you haven't even had the bg result back yet?

Not sure why you only have 1 kidney but if you already suffer from kidney disease then keeping your bg levels down is more important than for a typical T2. I'd strongly recommend that you get a glucose monitor so that you can find out what is happening to your body.

Well done on reducing the carbs in your diet. I hope your latest blood test results are improved enough so that you don't need to go on medication (I agree, it seems weird that they'd put you on insulin as a first line of medication, but am guessing that a lot of meds are contraindicated because of the single kidney).

Good luck.
 
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