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judith74

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5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi
I am new to this site. My name is Judith but am usually called Jude. Ihave been a type 1 diabetic for 28years now. Things where extremely difficult for the first few years but over the last 10 years i have been really well controlled with my Hba1c never above 7.5. Over the last 2 years my control has slipped dramactically and despite adjusting and increasing insulin doses and icreasing the number of injections daily my Hba1c are increasing . i am feeling a bit tired and fed up to say the least,trying to juggle my job,my two kids and my diabetes. My friends who is a gp mentioned insulin pumps but i dont know whether I would meet the criteria or even what the criteria is to get a pump? I have my follow up with my consultant next week,I wou.ld be really grateful if anyone has any advice on insulin pumps. Many thanks

Judith
 
Welcome to the forum Jude. I am a T2 so can't help much, but there are some lovely T1's here, I am sure will answer you.
 
Hi Jude. Another type 2. Again no use, but aren`t we a friendly lot :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Evening Judith...

Controlling diabetes with a hectic life-style can be really difficult! A pump may certainly help but I would suggest what you need to identify is the underlying cause of the increase in blood glucose... this may be increased stress (which reduces insulin effectiveness), change in diet, increase in weight... diabetes is linked to our daily lives and I should imagine that something has changed in yours that's playing havoc with your control. If you can identify that then you can either make a life change or find a way to deal with it...

Can I ask what your daily diabetes routine is like at the moment... I take it your MDI? what insulins are you using? what food do you eat? do you exercise?

In regards to the pump question...

The NICE guidelines have two main criteria... 1. An HbA1c over 8.5% despite efforts to control this... 2. That diabetes is unduly effecting your day - to -day life style... i.e. loads of hypos.. brittle diabetes, etc...

It's certainly worth discussing a pump with your consultant.. and it may help to control your levels.. but ideally you want to identify the cause of the problem rather than trying a different cure.
 
Hi Pneu,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes i know that what happens in our daily life can affect our diabetic control. I have tried to identify what areas of my daily life i could alter to reduce my levels of stress,but this is difficult. Iwork 40 plus hours a week as a nurse in the nhs. My home life is hectic i have a son with adhd who needs a lot of supervision. Iam a single parent now so finding time for myself and my diabetes is getting increasingly difficult roblem:

My thyroid function is unstable at the moment.Ihave been on thyroxine for over ten years now. My diet is reasonly good. Icount my carbs and give my insulin dose accounting to the intake.
Under guidance from nurse specialist i have increased my insulin ratio and increased my long acting insulin which i take as a spilt dose.

I take 42 units of Levemir a night and 32units of Levemir in the morning. I then take humalog premeals.

Itake Valsarten320mg daily with Thyroxine and Omepazole daily.

Thank you again

Judith
 

Judith... just seen you have responded and was typing a reply but have been waylaid by a grump 14 month old... I will respond a little later with some suggestions.
 
Hi Judith,
I have given an answer of sorts in the pump forum for you, but to add for you here's the INPUT page http://www.input.me.uk/
this will give you all the info you need regarding a pump and how to go about getting one. NICE guidelines are there for you as well

As to your tiredness are you sure that's not a combination of thyroid problems, over work and children?:crazy:

When you have your follow up next week say to them that due to everything going on diabetes control or lack of it is affecting your quality of life. Point out you have done your best on MDI and would like to try a pump. When asking for a pump do not take no for an answer. It's very rare to have one handed to you on a plate but keep on at them for one. If a flat no ask for reasons in writing so you can address the reasons then ask again. If no ask your GP for a referal to a pump friendly clinic.
 

OK attempt 2 at answering this post!

As I am sure your aware routine is a type I's best friend so perhaps its just the lack of time you have to test and correct that is causing the slip in your control?

A couple of measure that may help:

1. Eat Lower GI - Change any hi-Gi carbohydrates you eat to medium / low GI these will spike your blood glucose less and should make things easier to control.

2. Reduce Carbohydrate - The less carbohydrates you eat the less that can go wrong.. if I am having a hard time on the control front I will often cut down.. I eat much less carbohydrate on days where I have less time to test.. it just makes managing blood glucose easier..

3. Check you Background Insulin - Are you sure that your Levimer dose is correct? Most people suffer poor control because their background insulin isn't right.. if that's not right then you will be forever chasing highs and lows... my first port of call on any type I with poor control is to check background insulin with fasting tests (i.e. you miss a meal and check that you blood glucsose stays stable within 1 mmol/l)..
 
Hi Jude

Welcome to the site, I have been a type 1 for 28 years and my husband has had to become my carer as i have lost all awareness of hypos and they are very erratic. I was put on a insulin pump in 2010 but i had a bad experience with it and gave it back after 3 weeks as my sugar level went through the roof. It was a medtronics veo pump probably not the pumps fault but i was not given no after care i only got a 3 hour talk on how to use the pump. I am a bit put off of the pumps now but maybe that was just a bad experience. My consultant keeps telling me i should give it another try and promises i will recieve all the after care i need. I have heard many people on the pumps get on really wellwith them and it has changed there life, so maybe its a good idea to speak to your diabetic consultant or nurse and get some information on it.

Good luck

Tracey167
 
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