Hi I'm new to the forum, I was sent in this direction since joining carers uk. I am a professional carer but also try to support my diabetic father, and have done since the age of 16. Unfortunately dad suffers with regular hypos, so im kinda looking for new ideas to help him and to find a little support for myself I guess. It can be quite lonely and also frustrating sometimes... emily
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- Thread starter emily-85
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daisy1
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Hi Emily and welcome to the forum. I hope you will find lots of information on here which will help you to help your Dad.
Daibell
Master
Hi and welcome. Does your Dad have good support from the GP or clinic for his diabetes? If you can tell us a bit more about your Dad's insulin regime we may be able to suggest approaches to reduce the hypos. Also, is your Dad normal weight?
Hi there
Thank you everybody for getting back to me. Dad is 58 and has been diabetic since the age of 21. Dads blood sugars are erratic and unfortunately he has lost his hypo awareness. One of his hypos led to cardiac arrest a number of years ago, which I witnessed, he also had a further heart attack and was then given a triple heart bypass. A little further down the line he discovered an ulcer under his foot which led to amputation because, during treatment dad was given gentamicin- an anti biotic which can be very effective in the treatment of gangerine, for some people the drug can cause gentamicin toxicity, damage of the inner cells of the ears causing permanent dizziness-i.e my dad. Of recent times he suffered a bad stroke as a result of a bad hypo, which took a long time to get over and now he's at risk of TIAS. In the last few months yet another ulcer appeared, he's so lucky he didn't lose his foot, things were going well with this and it was healing well but 3 weeks ago any infection left over must have tracked up and into another toe, which he lost last week. Dad lives alone without support apart from me, I also work full time as a professional carer. Dad doesn't have a great deal of input from his g.p and tries to manage his diabetes taking insulin (novorapid) according to the carbs he's eaten. He has levimir first thing and also at night. I'm not sure what dad weighs but there's nothing of him anymore. I'm so worried and constantly ringing/texting to check he's OK and try to get to him if not in order to treat him. My worry never ends, sometimes I can be in a and e all night and then have to go off to work, his hypos are very regular, he's collapsed out and about so many times also. I really want to feel as though he's safe, has a better quality of life and a little pressure removed from me. We just can't carry on as we are
treated a hypo last night....
Thank you everybody for getting back to me. Dad is 58 and has been diabetic since the age of 21. Dads blood sugars are erratic and unfortunately he has lost his hypo awareness. One of his hypos led to cardiac arrest a number of years ago, which I witnessed, he also had a further heart attack and was then given a triple heart bypass. A little further down the line he discovered an ulcer under his foot which led to amputation because, during treatment dad was given gentamicin- an anti biotic which can be very effective in the treatment of gangerine, for some people the drug can cause gentamicin toxicity, damage of the inner cells of the ears causing permanent dizziness-i.e my dad. Of recent times he suffered a bad stroke as a result of a bad hypo, which took a long time to get over and now he's at risk of TIAS. In the last few months yet another ulcer appeared, he's so lucky he didn't lose his foot, things were going well with this and it was healing well but 3 weeks ago any infection left over must have tracked up and into another toe, which he lost last week. Dad lives alone without support apart from me, I also work full time as a professional carer. Dad doesn't have a great deal of input from his g.p and tries to manage his diabetes taking insulin (novorapid) according to the carbs he's eaten. He has levimir first thing and also at night. I'm not sure what dad weighs but there's nothing of him anymore. I'm so worried and constantly ringing/texting to check he's OK and try to get to him if not in order to treat him. My worry never ends, sometimes I can be in a and e all night and then have to go off to work, his hypos are very regular, he's collapsed out and about so many times also. I really want to feel as though he's safe, has a better quality of life and a little pressure removed from me. We just can't carry on as we are
treated a hypo last night....Daibell
Master
Hi. It sounds like your Dad is having good support from you and has a complex medical history. He is on the best insulin regime and the fact that he is not overweight implies he is not eating too many carbs etc which can happen when people are on insulin. Has anyone checked his Basal (Lememir) units recently? The frequent hypos might imply that he is having a little too much Basal but I can only guess. There is a quick rough check he can do and a slightly better one by fasting and seeing if his sugars trend upwards or downwards. I sometimes do the rough check which is simply checking sugars first thing in the morning and they should lie somewhere between 5 - 7 mmol. If your Dad is coming in towards the bottom-end or less then you might consider a small reduction in the Levemir units; one unit at a time over a few days with checking. I only have one daily shot of Levemir. With twice daily shots it's a little more complicated to decide which or both to reduce; other users on the forum may be able to provide some advice on this. As your Dad is carb-counting assuming he isn't wildly out then his NovoRapid may well be right. Obviously a meter check before a meal and 2-3 hours afterwards will guide him on whether his ratio is in the right area. What was your Dad's last HBa1C? One problem with insulin is that any illness will increase blood sugar and hence insulin needs so any checking needs to be done in a stable period and needs to be checked fairly frequently. Well done for the support you are giving and hopefully a small tweak to the insulin may reduce the hypos.
Flowerpot
Well-Known Member
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Hi emily
It sounds as if both you and your Dad are having a tough time.
Does your Dad get any input from a hospital diabetes clinic or is all his diabetes care provided by his gp? Something is obviously not right with his insulin regime for him to be experiencing regular serious hypos that need intervention. Some areas of the country have community diabetes nurses who can visit patients at home to help with treatment, this may be something you could ask about especially due to his other medical problems.
I don't have hypo awareness and use an insulin pump. It removes the need for long acting insulin as a pump only uses quick acting. I have found my hypos are less severe due to only having only a small amount of circulating insulin. Obviously you can still get it wrong if your insulin to carb ratios are not correct also a pump does require a lot of testing and ongoing commitment to set it up and use it to the best advantage. As your Dad's existing regime isn't getting good control I would get him to ask to be referred to a diabetes clinic if he is not already at one and ask for some assistance in trying to get better control so you both can have a less frightening and stressful time.
It sounds as if both you and your Dad are having a tough time.
Does your Dad get any input from a hospital diabetes clinic or is all his diabetes care provided by his gp? Something is obviously not right with his insulin regime for him to be experiencing regular serious hypos that need intervention. Some areas of the country have community diabetes nurses who can visit patients at home to help with treatment, this may be something you could ask about especially due to his other medical problems.
I don't have hypo awareness and use an insulin pump. It removes the need for long acting insulin as a pump only uses quick acting. I have found my hypos are less severe due to only having only a small amount of circulating insulin. Obviously you can still get it wrong if your insulin to carb ratios are not correct also a pump does require a lot of testing and ongoing commitment to set it up and use it to the best advantage. As your Dad's existing regime isn't getting good control I would get him to ask to be referred to a diabetes clinic if he is not already at one and ask for some assistance in trying to get better control so you both can have a less frightening and stressful time.
Dads hba1c is about 5 he says. His gp doesn't have much input and the consultant he sees at the hospital has cancelled 4-5 times. He doesn't seem to have any guidance from anyone really.
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AndyS
Well-Known Member
Hi Emily,
An A1c of 5 is actually an awesome value with the proviso that there are not consistent Hypos which doesn't sound like the case in this instance.
The constant up and downs cannot be pleasant and I am guessing he is always quite tired or worn out with the roller coaster ride.
Has your dad done any kind of formal diabetes education course like DAFNE? If not I would suggest you enquire since they usually let a family member or carer sit in on the course so that they get educated up to the same level.
Does your dad carb count and adjust dosage accordingly?
Unfortunately it sounds like he has really been through the ringer, you too, but it is still possible to get things in hand and under control so that his levels can be evened out.
If the consultants are cancelling you should try and find out who his DSN (Diabetic Specialist Nurse) is since in my own experience they are of MUCH more practical use than the consultants are. The consultants sign the paperwork but the DSN's are the ones that actually help you get stuff done!
If you haven't done any kind of DAFNE have a look at the BDEC online courses and also have your dad look at them too. I think you could use them to get rid of t he hypos and get rid of that gremlin in life which will make things much easier.
An A1c of 5 is actually an awesome value with the proviso that there are not consistent Hypos which doesn't sound like the case in this instance.
The constant up and downs cannot be pleasant and I am guessing he is always quite tired or worn out with the roller coaster ride.
Has your dad done any kind of formal diabetes education course like DAFNE? If not I would suggest you enquire since they usually let a family member or carer sit in on the course so that they get educated up to the same level.
Does your dad carb count and adjust dosage accordingly?
Unfortunately it sounds like he has really been through the ringer, you too, but it is still possible to get things in hand and under control so that his levels can be evened out.
If the consultants are cancelling you should try and find out who his DSN (Diabetic Specialist Nurse) is since in my own experience they are of MUCH more practical use than the consultants are. The consultants sign the paperwork but the DSN's are the ones that actually help you get stuff done!
If you haven't done any kind of DAFNE have a look at the BDEC online courses and also have your dad look at them too. I think you could use them to get rid of t he hypos and get rid of that gremlin in life which will make things much easier.
Thanks so much for your comments! I can't believe how many people have responded, there's so many ideas to try, all of which id have never really thought of. Really gives me a little hope that we can try and get this sorted. The worry at times can really be quite overwhelming and isolating, I really wish id found this website earlier! I'm going to look into this course today!!
