night shift and new to diabetes

[pollybostik]

I was diaganosed 4 weeks ago now and I am having difficulties getting my BG below 20. I have spoken to my DB and she told me to try not to eat after 7 in the evening!! My Shift starts at 9.30pm and ends at 6.00am. There is no way I can go all night without something to eat as I have tried it and it just makes me feel sleepy and cranky or so I have been told by the men in the warehouse they joke about throwing in their hats before entering my office. I can not it seems get to grips with what is good to eat and what is not. I also have an underactive thyroid for which I take thyroxine and 2 x 500mg of metformin. I feel so tired all of the time as I cannot get a good days sleep!! :yawn:

As anyone on here got any suggestions or tips I could try as I feel I am not getting any where with my DN.

Thanks

 

[donnellysdogs]

Go back to your DSN. I dont think she understands that you cannot work nights without eating. That is dangerous to be honest....

I dint think the DSN understands that your body when it is awake (nights) needs food... You cant eat during the daytime when you are asleep, so your body is kicking in and reacting because you arent feeding it when it needs it.

If you cant see your dsn, get to see your gp... Anybody that will listen and change your meds to cope with nights.

I worked in a warehouse on nights for years... There is no way, that I could have managed myself, let alone others without food!!!

I suspect there are more diabetics working nights here who can give more help than me.

To me your DSN is not fully appreciating how the human organs work when we are awake...

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Maybe your nurse just gave you the advice she would give to a day shift person. I notice that they have a one size fits all attitude.

I for one wouldn't like to work all night without eating. Maybe adding 12 hours to anything she says is the answer.

 

[Lozzybabyw]

A couple of months ago I thought there was a connection between sugar &me falling asleep! I was falling asleep walking down the road& still sometimes:-/ I've tested my theory out over this time period.. It really DOES!! That's why being diabetic we feel tired a lot the sugar makes us sleepy not the other things like meds... I don't take any meds for it!!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[mchphoto]

I have an idea to fool your body into submission for this condition, as I have just applied for a night shift post and was wondering the same, what I can and cannot eat and when etc

Your body clock is opposite to what everyone else is at e.g. normal 9-5 work hours, so what happens when you go on holiday to a foregin land e.g. California, America, you body need to shift its thinking 8 hours backwards, it takes some times 2-3 days for your body to react to it's new enviorment.

So why not workout how far you are out of the sleep cycle and then eat accordingly, so what you would normall breakfast at 8-9am is now night time getting ready for sleep, so do not eat then, may be drink something. Before I was diabetic I worked on a demanding night shift and when I cam home in the morning, I would have a cold drink milk, water (not tea or coffee) and then go straight to bed within 20 minutes of getting home. It worked for me as we were doing either 10 or 12 hour shifts, if I had a cup of tea and did things while I drunk that tea, I felt bad when I woke up.

What we need to do is change your meds /eating habits if you were say 8 hours behind and stick with that routine, while you are working shifts, when you finish the shift - depends on how long you have between night shifts etc is whether you go back to a normal day rouitine or you stay on your night shift pattern.

I am will be using this method if I get the job

Michael

 

[kangoo]

There was another thread about this recently.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=39847