Stopped taking meds......

[Emma158]

Hi All,

I had an awful night on Friday night as I was uncontrollably shaking but my BG was 6.2 so it wasn't officially a hypo. I had some juice and started to feel a little better and had some wholemeal toast. My BG went up but then came down again quite quickly. I was too scared to sleep so spent the whole night checking my BG every half an hour and watching it coming down (I'm unsure if I was just being paranoid and that may be normal but I was worried in case it just continued dropping whilst I was asleep!) By the time breakfast time arrived my BG was only 6.2 despite having had 2 cartons of juice and a rich tea biscuit during the night.

Anyway I decided not to take my insulin or gliclazide tablets at all yesterday and haven't taken them today so far either and all my BG readings have been between 5.2 and 7.1. Bearing this in mind I am assuming I am definitely not Type 1.........Also does it mean I am OK to stop the medication as I am too concerned about BG levels going too low. I am really confused!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Emma

 

[Mike d]

Also does it mean I am OK to stop the medication as I am too concerned about BG levels going too low. I am really confused!

No-one here would ever tell you that. We are well out our depth on such advice. GP consult .... please.

Keep well Mike

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi All,

I had an awful night on Friday night as I was uncontrollably shaking but my BG was 6.2 so it wasn't officially a hypo. I had some juice and started to feel a little better and had some wholemeal toast. My BG went up but then came down again quite quickly. I was too scared to sleep so spent the whole night checking my BG every half an hour and watching it coming down (I'm unsure if I was just being paranoid and that may be normal but I was worried in case it just continued dropping whilst I was asleep!) By the time breakfast time arrived my BG was only 6.2 despite having had 2 cartons of juice and a rich tea biscuit during the night.

Anyway I decided not to take my insulin or gliclazide tablets at all yesterday and haven't taken them today so far either and all my BG readings have been between 5.2 and 7.1. Bearing this in mind I am assuming I am definitely not Type 1.........Also does it mean I am OK to stop the medication as I am too concerned about BG levels going too low. I am really confused!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Emma

If you are newly diagnosed, you may still be in your honeymoon phase, when the pancreas can dip in and out of functionality at (it's own free) will. @June_C is going through this at the moment, I believe.

As you say 6.2 isn't a hypo, but if you felt unwell, that's enough to want to do something. It does sound like at least a phone call to whomever supports your care is in order tomorrow.

I wouldn't begin to think I could guide you on your medication, but please do keep testing (although maybe not every half hour - poor fingers!) in case your scores shoot up.

Although I wish I had never been diagnosed diabetic, I am grateful every day that I wasn't diagnosed T1, as my personal journey seems to have been much more straightforward than all the juggling I see folks like yourself and others go through.

Good luck with it all.

 

[June_C]

Hi Emma. I was diagnosed T1 in October last year and started on insulin straight away. 6 weeks ago I noticed my bg levels dropping more than normal and had a couple of unexplained hypos. I realised that I had started to produce insulin, so AFTER consultation with my diabetic team it was agreed I could stop the injections, but monitor levels very closely. As mentioned above, this is known as the honeymoon phase and can last days, weeks, months or even a year or more.

Definitely check with your DN and see what advice/suggestions she may have.

 

[Emma158]

If you are newly diagnosed, you may still be in your honeymoon phase, when the pancreas can dip in and out of functionality at (it's own free) will. @June_C is going through this at the moment, I believe.

As you say 6.2 isn't a hypo, but if you felt unwell, that's enough to want to do something. It does sound like at least a phone call to whomever supports your care is in order tomorrow.

I wouldn't begin to think I could guide you on your medication, but please do keep testing (although maybe not every half hour - poor fingers!) in case your scores shoot up.

Although I wish I had never been diagnosed diabetic, I am grateful every day that I wasn't diagnosed T1, as my personal journey seems to have been much more straightforward than all the juggling I see folks like yourself and others go through.

Good luck with it all.

Thanks very much for your reply. I do have to say my fingers have certainly been through the mill!

 

[Emma158]

Hi Emma. I was diagnosed T1 in October last year and started on insulin straight away. 6 weeks ago I noticed my bg levels dropping more than normal and had a couple of unexplained hypos. I realised that I had started to produce insulin, so AFTER consultation with my diabetic team it was agreed I could stop the injections, but monitor levels very closely. As mentioned above, this is known as the honeymoon phase and can last days, weeks, months or even a year or more.

Definitely check with your DN and see what advice/suggestions she may have.

Hi June,

my DN did mention the honeymoon phase last week as she was surprised my BG had dropped so quickly. I will give her a call tomorrow but my BG levels have been between 5.4 and 6.6 today without insulin or tablets since Fri night so I am too scared to take it.......

 

[June_C]

I obviously can't advise you as to what to do, but if I was in your shoes I wouldn't inject insulin with levels like that either.

Will be interesting to see what your DN says tomorrow.

 

[Emma158]

I obviously can't advise you as to what to do, but if I was in your shoes I wouldn't inject insulin with levels like that either.

Will be interesting to see what your DN says tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[Emma158]

Will be interesting to see what your DN says tomorrow.

Hi,
just a bit of an update. I spoke to the DN and she seemed really confused about what's happening! She said to stop taking the tablets but to take insulin at a really small dose (2 units of insulatard twice a day)

She also suggested I check for ketones as I'd not taken insulin for a few days despite having normal BG levels and it showed trace ketone levels......not quite sure what that level means.

She said she had shown my BG results to a colleague and they were a bit surprised that the honeymoon period may have started so quickly.

I'm really confused, frustrated and scared.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi,
just a bit of an update. I spoke to the DN and she seemed really confused about what's happening! She said to stop taking the tablets but to take insulin at a really small dose (2 units of insulatard twice a day)

She also suggested I check for ketones as I'd not taken insulin for a few days despite having normal BG levels and it showed trace ketone levels......not quite sure what that level means.

She said she had shown my BG results to a colleague and they were a bit surprised that the honeymoon period may have started so quickly.

I'm really confused, frustrated and scared.

I'm not T1, but I think I can quite confidently say that trace ketones, with low/moderate bloods is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. What's your diet like, as eating low carb can take you into nutritional ketosis (not at all like the dreadful ketoacidosis), which (put extremely simplistically) shows your body is using fat for fuel.

 

[June_C]

Don't be scared I'm enjoying every moment of this so called reprieve even though it's confusing and surprising my DN. I think because they don't see this happening very often, we're viewed as 'oddities' not following the usual pattern.

As said before, keep checking your bg level and enjoy this time.

 

[Emma158]

I'm not T1, but I think I can quite confidently say that trace ketones, with low/moderate bloods is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. What's your diet like, as eating low carb can take you into nutritional ketosis (not at all like the dreadful ketoacidosis), which (put extremely simplistically) shows your body is using fat for fuel

I have certainly been eating a lot less carbs than prior to diagnosis so perhaps that is what it is. I've also tested again since and it was negative so that was a relief.

Thanks everyone for your comments and support. I just hope I can get rid of the constant feeling of panic!