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Lost My Way Best Way To Get Back On Track.

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powerley

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Type of diabetes
Type 1
hi all been high all week and cant get down, ended up in a vicious circle of eating going high taking insulin then feeling hungry so eating and going high etc.. etc.. am taking enough insulin to cover the foods i am eating..this week have been between 11 and 38. ...any ideas on how to press the reset button lol..feel rather yuk.
 

Firstly don't be so hard on yourself, running high means glucose isn't getting into your cells so you will be feeling knackered, hence the need to eat rubbish food, it's a vicious cycle but also systemic due to the high levels of glucose in your blood.

Do you know why you're running high ? So is it illness, infection, hormonal, bad insulin, bad injection sites ? There's many reasons for running high but finding out is important as it will help in regards to treatment.

Have you worked out what your correction dose is to bring your levels back into range ? I hit insulin resistance when my levels start climbing, so I have to correct 20-40% more with quick acting insulin the higher my levels go. If I go really high then I change insulin and depending on the time of day I really attack it with insulin and testing more frequently, so every hour minimum during the daytime, I don't do this at night as I will need to sleep and its impossible to test then, I also drink loads of water to help flush the excess glucose out of my kidneys, keeping hydrated is really important.
 


hi yes correcting but as you suggest maybe need to increase that due to resistance. Good tips, will try attacking it and testing more frequently. Also good tip on the water, i have suffered from dehydration in the past.. thanks for the tips much appreciated.
 

Any clues as to what's caused it ?
 
powerley said:
not got any ideas, feel quite unwell but not sure if it's because of my levels or may be coming down with something.
Click to expand...

It's difficult to tell what's really going on when you're running high as it could be illness or it could be a result of running high too, you should be checking for ketones too, can you test this ? When your running above 15mmol/l and have high ketone levels then your in danger of ketoacidosis which requires immediate medical assistance, so you really do need to check and take care.
 

keytones 0.8... ended up in hospital earlier this year with ketoacidosis not a pleasant experience
 
powerley said:
keytones 0.8... ended up in hospital earlier this year with ketoacidosis not a pleasant experience
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Sorry to hear about your hospital stay, you know too well how serious it is already. Hopefully your levels will start coming down and you will feel better soon, just change your insulin to be sure and if you still continue having issues check in with your DSN/GP for a check up to rule out other causes.
 

Thank you Juicyj some good advice...monitoring every hour and i'll see if i can get under control..
 
Have you thought that it might be your diet causing this? Sometimes poor food choice leads to high sugars, then feeling rotten, then trying to correct, then it all becomes a vicious circle of highs and lows. Do you eat low carb, or just the normal recommended diabetic diet? May I suggest trying to reduce carb intake for a while and seeing the effect that has on your sugars?
Plus, you really need to be testing regularly, if on insulin. That's before breakfast in a fasting state, then try 1 and 2 hours after brekkie, so that you can see the effect of your choice of food, and then do the same with lunch and dinner. It's a pain, but it will let you see how you're reacting to those foods. If you do decide to low carb, please check this is ok with your GP, since medication may need to be adjusted. Often we can get on a merry go round of giving ourselves insulin, then eating to cover that amount of insulin, or trying to, then sugars rise, so we do the same again, and again...
 
Also, if sugars are as high as 38, you might just need a wee visit to A&E to get them controlled. I had a serious DKA in 2010, and I was well out of it for 2 days, and am still battling some of the lasting effects. I'd not take chances again with sugars at that level, so either contact you diabetic team, or present yourself to A&E with a reading that high. I hope you get this sorted out soon and feel better.
 

Thanks Zilsniggy since posting my readings have started to come down, i have also taken steps to alter my diet..i started writing down what i was eating and realised i was on a very high carb diet, gradually cutting down on the carbs. Thank you for the advice i will bear it all in mind. Am seeing the diabetic nurse in two weeks.
 
Hi @powerley, In addition to your correction doses (short-acting) insulin did you increase your basal (long-acting) insulin as well? The following is just from my experience and not professional advice or opinion.
If there is a persistent BSL rise I start with a 20 to 30% increase in basal (long-acting) insulin as well as a 20 to 30% increase in before meal bolus (short-acting) insulin. Depending on how much extra short-acting insulin for corrections is needed over 24 hours I will increase the basal and bolus insulins accordingly - except the bolus insulin increases will be according to when the correction doses were required (e.g. if the BSL after breakfast needed correction the bolus dose BEFORE breakfast was increased).
The other trap is when the increases in insulin start to cause hypos. The hypo can lead to a rebound hyper some 3 hours later and one can end up chasing one's tail with over corrections. Easing back the short-acting doses in particular is the only solution.
I hope you have ben able to contact your DSN for advice over this time.
2 weeks away for an appointment sounds too long to me ?!
Best Wishes for an uneventful time from now to full recovery.
 
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