Newly diagnosed & hospitalized

[ErinMarie]

Hi. I was diagnosed as diabetic 3 days ago (HgA1c 110 mmols/mol, fasting BG 17.69) and have been hospitalized since then. Going through the newbie emotions.

My big frustration is the hospital diet. I've been taking notes of all my BG test results and food and I can see a direct cause and effect. For example, yesterday's "diabetic" breakfast was 2 large slices of light rye bread, margarine, 125g low fat strawberry yogurt, an apple, and a cup of artificially sweetened coffee with skim milk. My BG before eating was 13.8, and 3 hrs later it was 20. I'm also getting an insulin injection at the start of each meal, but I don't know exactly what type or how much.

I've asked the doctor 3 times if this diet is what I should be having, and he answers yes, this is the properly formulated diabetic diet for my condition and I need to eat all of it, no substitutions/extras. However, after seeing yesterday's results, he said he would change me to the most strict diabetic diet offered, which turned out to be 1 slice of rye bread, a small amount of fat free creamy spread, an apple and that horrid coffee.

I couldn't bring myself to eat any of it. The lady in the next bed kindly gave me some of the Greek yogurt her boyfriend smuggled in, so I ate about 100g of that (8g carbs).

I want to be a good patient, I still hope they know what they're doing. But I feel frustrated and tearful-fearful. Am I crazy?

I should mention that I'm 47 years old, overweight, and receiving treatment in the Czech Republic, so the NHS is not involved.

 

[dani96xx]

Hello Erin,

I am sorry to hear you're having a bad experience.

There is no such thing as a diabetic diet. It looks as though you're a type 1? Your insulin consumption is based on how many carbs you consume.

Your injection should also be given around 10-15 minutes before eating.

Im from the UK so probably can't really give you much advice.

Hopefully when you're home you can start making changes yourself.

We are all here to chat!

 

[dani96xx]

Hello Erin,

I am sorry to hear you're having a bad experience.

There is no such thing as a diabetic diet. It looks as though you're a type 1? Your insulin consumption is based on how many carbs you consume.

Your injection should also be given around 10-15 minutes before eating.

Im from the UK so probably can't really give you much advice.

Hopefully when you're home you can start making changes yourself.

We are all here to chat!

Also forgot to mention at the moment whilst in hospital you will probably be on a set amount of insulin based on your weight. Carbohydate counting will start once you're home and you will then start to see a drop in your blood sugar

 

[Rokaab]

Also note they may not want to bring your sugar levels down too quickly as it can cause damage.

Your injection should also be given around 10-15 minutes before eating.

This will depend on many things, the person, the insulin, the time of day etc

@ErinMarie you will need to get them to confirm which type of diabetes they are diagnosing you with, this is a very important thing to know as it will affect your treatment and your options.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @ErinMarie Welcome to the forum

I agree you need to ask your doctors what they are diagnosing you as ? Why were you hospitalised ? What insulins are you taking ?

Diagnosis is a scary time as it brings many questions, however this is a bump in the road and in time things will become easier for you, whilst no one here can give you medical advice we can help support you in this to make the journey a little easier, so hopefully you will get more answers soon, best wishes J

 

[ErinMarie]

Thanks for the emotional support, it helps. Being in hospital abroad is scary, the language barrier alone is daunting. The doctor speaks English, but I feel like I don't know what's going on, most of the time.

I'll push for more details (type diagnosis, what insulin I'm receiving, etc.). After 3 days in hospital, seeing my BG go up instead of down is confusing and eating so much bread, fruit, fruit juice, and so on feels wrong. Yesterday, a nurse asked me if I'm eating candy. I swear, the only thing I have other than the food they provide is my toothpaste, and I don't swallow that!

I have not been weighed or asked for my weight. Maybe they are very good at estimating that from just looking at me. LOL

 

[KK123]

Thanks for the emotional support, it helps. Being in hospital abroad is scary, the language barrier alone is daunting. The doctor speaks English, but I feel like I don't know what's going on, most of the time.

I'll push for more details (type diagnosis, what insulin I'm receiving, etc.). After 3 days in hospital, seeing my BG go up instead of down is confusing and eating so much bread, fruit, fruit juice, and so on feels wrong. Yesterday, a nurse asked me if I'm eating candy. I swear, the only thing I have other than the food they provide is my toothpaste, and I don't swallow that!

I have not been weighed or asked for my weight. Maybe they are very good at estimating that from just looking at me. LOL

Hi Erin, I feel for you, I really do! The Nurse asking you if you are eating candy emphasises the fact that she has NO idea about carbs. You may as well be eating candy to be honest, the food they are making you eat has pretty much the same effect. Have they said how long you will be in for and as already asked, WHY were you admitted, was it because of diabetes symptoms? Is there anybody that could bring food into the hospital for you at all? It's a difficult one because if you are on a fixed rate of insulin then going straight into low carb could be dangerous. Does the hospital have an interpreter???

When I got diagnosed and was in hospital they put me on a glucose & insulin drip. After 1 hour my glucose levels went down from 'Hi' to 3.1. Nurse panicked and ran off to get me 2 slices of toast. I ate those and an hour later it was back up to 16. Nurse upped the insulin and straight down to 3 again. More toast followed, back up, more insulin, back down and it went on like that ALL night. ALL about the carbs. x

 

[ErinMarie]

Hello Erin,

I am sorry to hear you're having a bad experience.

There is no such thing as a diabetic diet. It looks as though you're a type 1? Your insulin consumption is based on how many carbs you consume.

I assume I'm type 2. There is no history of diabetes in my family, I haven't had any unexplained/dramatic weight loss, no trauma. But yes, I need to make the doctor tell confirm it.

 

[ErinMarie]

Hi Erin, I feel for you, I really do! The Nurse asking you if you are eating candy emphasises the fact that she has NO idea about carbs. You may as well be eating candy to be honest, the food they are making you eat has pretty much the same effect. Have they said how long you will be in for and as already asked, WHY were you admitted, was it because of diabetes symptoms? Is there anybody that could bring food into the hospital for you at all? It's a difficult one because if you are on a fixed rate of insulin then going straight into low carb could be dangerous. Does the hospital have an interpreter???

When I got diagnosed and was in hospital they put me on a glucose & insulin drip. After 1 hour my glucose levels went down from 'Hi' to 3.1. Nurse panicked and ran off to get me 2 slices of toast. I ate those and an hour later it was back up to 16. Nurse upped the insulin and straight down to 3 again. More toast followed, back up, more insulin, back down and it went on like that ALL night. ALL about the carbs. x

Hi KK. Good grief, that sounds awful!

This all started when I provided a urine sample as part of an occupational medical check (I'm newy employed). That doctor was shocked that I was walking and talking because of the high glucose/protein levels. He told me to go directly to my regular doctor to be admitted to hospital.

2 hours later, my regular doctor was also concerned about what she saw in the urine sample I gave her, so she ordered lab tests for the next morning (after fasting). That afternoon, based on the lab results (GhA1c 110, BG 17.69) she told me to go directly to the emergency room and that I needed to be admitted for treatment for diabetes.

I was put on an insulin drip in the ER, which brought my BG down to 10 sometime after midnight. Then I was admitted and my BG went up steadily over the next 2 days.

 

[ErinMarie]

Have they said how long you will be in for and as already asked, WHY were you admitted, was it because of diabetes symptoms? Is there anybody that could bring food into the hospital for you at all? It's a difficult one because if you are on a fixed rate of insulin then going straight into low carb could be dangerous. Does the hospital have an interpreter??? x

When I spoke to the doctor yesterday, i said I would like to be discharged as soon as possible. (I thought that 4 days in hospital was long enough to formulate a plan and get me on my way. Naive?) He said that treatment takes time and it could be weeks before I stabilized. But looking back, he did not give a concrete answer.

I also asked if I could provide my own food such as salad greens, nuts, cheese, meat and fresh veg. He said no. However, my next meal included a tomato (yes, a whole tomato on the plate next to 2 slices of bread, some cheese, and an apple). I don't know if that was part of the official meal plan or an aberration because the next 2 meals haven't had any. But I sure enjoyed that tomato!

There is no official hospital interpreter that I know of. The doctor speaks English very well, and the lady in the next bed speaks a bit - she has been a huge help when it comes to communicating with the nurses.

 

[Tophat1900]

When I spoke to the doctor yesterday, i said I would like to be discharged as soon as possible. (I thought that 4 days in hospital was long enough to formulate a plan and get me on my way. Naive?) He said that treatment takes time and it could be weeks before I stabilized. But looking back, he did not give a concrete answer.

I also asked if I could provide my own food such as salad greens, nuts, cheese, meat and fresh veg. He said no. However, my next meal included a tomato (yes, a whole tomato on the plate next to 2 slices of bread, some cheese, and an apple). I don't know if that was part of the official meal plan or an aberration because the next 2 meals haven't had any. But I sure enjoyed that tomato!

There is no official hospital interpreter that I know of. The doctor speaks English very well, and the lady in the next bed speaks a bit - she has been a huge help when it comes to communicating with the nurses.

You can bring in your own food, don't be bullied by a doctor who doesn't answer questions and lies to you to try to get you to eat food that won't result in stability. You should know what type you are by now. Make him answer your questions, he's acting like a politician who doesn't want to. And he cannot dictate to you what you eat. He has no right. You're in a tough situation at the moment and not getting answers isn't helping. He is imo a big part of your problem at the moment, I really hope you can get some answers and get out there. All the best to you.