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Question re High Sugar in recently confirmed diabetic

J

julieg

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3
Hi All,
My name is Julie and I'm new to the forum, I have a 16 yr. old daughter diagnosed just this week with what they are terming type II diabeties but they are now leaning toward Type I. Her sugar levels have been quite high, at her her first appointment at the Diabetic clinic her sugar level from having her finger pricked was 22. they decided to therefore start her on a drug called Gliclazide-80mg. one a day-before her evening meal, she had no adverse reaction to the medicine in terms of her sugar dropping to low, so they decided today that tommorow she should start on one Gliclazide in the morning and one in the evening-tonight her sugar levels are really high-the last one I did at 10pm as she was feeling a little dizzzy says she is 23.4 I've put a call into the NH24 helpline to see if I should take her in to the hospital or just let her sleep and go ahead and do her blood level in the morning and if still high then take her down to hospital, I spoke with nurse who said because my daughter is so newly diagnosed, she will be putting a call into a doctor who will call me back, that was an hour ago. By the way her Ketone levels (has her meter checks both) are very low just 0.1 I'm so worried, all of this is so well to be honest frightening. I've done nothing but cry, but NOT in front of her, she only sees a positive, smiling face from me. But the things I'm reading on the web at various places are so frightening, I've stopped looking. Can anyone advise should I when she wakes up tommorow if this level is still high take her into hospital to be checked, or should I just wait and see how this second pill of Gliclazide works, that means she will be taking 160mgs of this pill a day. Any advise would be so very welcome. Many, many thanks-Julieg
 
Hi Julie

I'm sorry I can't help. All I can tell you is that there aren't usually many people on this forum at this time of night.

She probably has been running these sort of figures undiagnosed, so try not to worry and I'm sure someone will be along with some advice in the morning.
 
Thank you so much for your reply Denise, your probably right about her running these levels when she wasn't diagnosed, I'm just very frightened as she's my only child.....
 
Hi Julie, I'd say if she's still that high in the morning then you probably should take her to the hospital, it might be unnecessary but better safe than sorry! Keep checking her ketones too and if they start to go up definitely get her seen. Hope things go ok for you both xx
 
Me personally, I haven't known any child age 16 to be given tablets.....but I'm not a health care person.....When do you speak to the diabetes team again?

I f levels persist above 15 I would be going back to hospital with daughter.

I take it that you have a blood testing meter and enough strips for over the weeknd and until you see your HCP's.

Levels may be higher in mornings, but I would want to see them coming down, have the HCP's done any other tests to tell you why they suggested she might be a type 2?? Has she got weight or eating issues?
 
Hello donnellysdogs,
Yes she was given the tablets Gliclazide-80mg, today we rushed her into A&E as her blood sugars were over 23 again, the Dr. we saw stated that she is definitely NOT type 2-she is Type 1 and should be on insulin. Until we contact the Diabetic Clinic she attends on Mon. he advised she drink as much liquids as she can stand, using her no-added sugar dilutes, and she now is on 2 of the Gliclazide tablets per day. They ran various blood tests while we were there, and things look ok in her blood tests. The Dr. explained that she was slightly on the dyhydrated side when we arrived, however not enough to hook her up on an IV, so while we there and waiting for results of blood tests they brought her many, many glasses of water with dilute, and within an hour of that her blood sugars starting dropping. When we arrived at A and E her sugars were 23.4 and after all the liquids she consumed and the many trips to the bathroom, her sugars dropped to 14.6, still high, but good news as the liquids were working. The Dr. is contacting the Diabetic Clinic my daughter is attending on Mon. to advise of the serious situation that developed over the weekend and he will be advising that his opinion is she is Type 1 and should DEFINITELY be on insulin (He is a diabetic specialist). The A and E were simply fantastic, when she arrived the waiting room was packed and we expected a long wait, but they took us straight away. They didn't want to start her on insulin as he stated that we all really need to learn how to inject her etc. He did state though that if her sugars elevated above 21. tonight we should bring her straight back. Thankfully for the first time since this all begin, her blood sugars at bed were 11.1 with no keytons (not certain I'm spelling that right, but I'm certain you'll know what I mean) The Dr. advised that this overloading of liquids etc. is just a short term- measure and we should have her started on Insulin first thing Monday. So that is where we are at present, this is all so new and terribly frightening. Obviously were keeping positive in front of her and studying up on as much material as we can. I'm nervous about the injections but I'm certain that we wont be leaving the Clinic until we are sure we know what we are doing. Anyways I thank you very much for your kind post and any thoughts you may have at anytime are much appreciated. Julie
 
Hi Julie and welcome to the forum :) I hope your daughters levels are better this morning and that you get everything sorted out soon. It may help you to look at this good basic information which was written by the Forum Monitors for new members. You may find quite a lot in here which will help you and your daughter to manage her diabetes as well as possible. This information is not always the same as that given by many health professionals, but it has worked for many members here. You obviously have to do what the medical team tell you to do first and bear this in mind for the future. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will answer. I see you have already had help from several members.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
How terrible that your doctor couldn't work out she was Type 1 and needing insulin. It is a very steep learning curve getting your head around insulin, food, exercise but it does just become a part of life at some point and only troublesome on occassion. There are lots of parents (like me) that are often in the Youth section of this forum. Hope we can be of help or some comfort to you and your daughter.

Jen.
 
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