looking for advise please

notned said:

Hi Lisa,
I was diagnosed type 2 a year last autumn - don't know exactly when 'cos I was in an induced coma due to double pneumonia - they woke me a couple of months before my 70th and I was already on insulin. I really could do with losing a couple of stones.

In August last year we were advised that my wife's kidney blood results had dropped - suddenly we were facing dialysis and whatnot. Obviously it knocked her for six and in Sept we started weekly trips to the hospital - with the shock of their revelations, the hassle of parking, food and the rest I just took my eye off the diabetes. I was aware my blood sugar was rising - but weighed against fistulas and a couple of rather stark choices on dialysis it seemed of little consequence.

BG kept rising, I increased insulin and it seemed to rise faster - I hit a peak on 12 November, bedtime BG 20.7. Just a couple of days before that I had increased my insulin to its highest level - 14 units morning, 18 evening. I had phone calls recalling pens (mine weren't affected, but it is un-nerving), I spoke to LifeScan (who made my meter) and they sent me a new meter, I tried stopping insulin altogether, cut out meals. I ran out of ideas. Yes, I know, I should have seen my specialist nurse - but there just wasn't time.

At the end of November it was time for the annual prescription review. I saw a new Doctor - she instructed me to drop two urine samples in the following morning and wait while she 'dipped' one of them. After a few minutes at reception there was a shout to the effect that all was OK. About 29 November the practice phoned to say that the sample sent away had indicated a bladder infection. On the 2 Dec my doctor prescribed Amoxicillin and 5 days later my BGs fell back to something like normal (for me anyway, daily av 7 - 8). A week or ten days later they started to rise again, so in early Feb I was given a different prescription - 'Trime..' something. It didn't work as noticeably as the amoxy, but it brought the BGs down.

So for all those months I thought it was me - it was actually recurrent bladder infections. My first HbA1c was 45 (Dec '12) my second was 49 (after winter vomiting May '13) was 49, my last one was 63 (2 Dec '13).

The last time we went to the hospital kidney unit (can't spell Nefrology my wife's blood sample kidney results had picked up so dialysis and such are on the back burner and her appointments now every 3 months. Now my liver results are bad (can't even pass a blood test and the lady who did the ultrasound said 'it's cirrotic'. I see a liver specialist on 28 May - not bad for a non-drinker....

By 26 April my insulin dose had crept back to 32 (16 morn, 16 eve) - this horrified me but others tell me 'no big deal'. On 28 April I announced (to anybody listening) that I was fed up with the whole performance and things were going to change! I drank nothing but water all day - no food. The following day I ate normally - the day after that I fasted and largely thereafter.. Over the two weeks since 28 Apr my average insulin dose is a little below 8 (morning only) and never more than 10. BGs are daily av 6-7. If I could just crack the breakfast high they'd be less. I've lost a few pounds, nothing startling, but in the right direction.

It's a bit extreme though..


J.
PS sorry this is so long - I have edited a lot out - twice

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