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Struggling with daily control - any feedback/help appreciated please

asa35 said:
Thank you @buckley8219. Some good points which I will take and use. What would you take for breakfast then?
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Hmm usually I make omelettes, bacon and eggs, poached fish, small piece of sourdough on the side occasionally, cheese, salads. I eat alot of eggs ha ha.

Sometimes I'll have a bowl of porridge but to keep my sugar within range, this usually takes me a dual bolus on my pump off around 15-17 units, 10 up front and then another 7 units over three hours! Rarely worth the hassle. But if I am cycling or doing loads of exercise I need the carbs sometimes. Again this is a rare treat.

Sure there are some great low carb recipes on this forum or have a bit of a google and see what you can find.

If you can't face low carb, try switching to low GI breads and cereals that break down more slowly.


I love fish and chips, have it about once a year if that, had it last night in fact in a moment of madness. I managed to flat line my sugars, but this was with a bolus 30 mins before of 10 units, and another bolus of 8 units over four hours on my pump. I also needed to correct with 3 units five hours after eating as my sugars were starting to creep high.

I kept my blood sugars under 7.0 the entire time. But given that my total daily dose is 50-55 units a day. That one meal took me 20 units and a lot of effort.

If I'd have a roast chicken salad, I'd have needed about 3.5 units and there would have been no bother!

Just trying to illustrate how much carb heavy meals can complicate an already complicated illness!
 
nmr1991 said:
Ive recently changed insulin types, heres a picture of my glucose chart to give you an idea of how bad it looks lol i've given it a 4 week interval as it is on a trial basis, even though I got more of the insulin as I use a pen a week.
1ptj5s.jpg
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Mate, absolutely not judging but I'd be off to get admitted to hospital with blood sugars in those ranges and would not be going until they were stabilised. Scary high numbers there over a prolonged period.

What have actions have you taken to try to bring them down?

The following books are really worth a purchase.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Like-... a pancreas&qid=1462125202&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dr-Bernste...=8-1&keywords=dr+bernsteins+diabetes+solution

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sugar-Surfi...ng&qid=1462125260&ref_=sr_1_sc_1&sr=8-1-spell

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pumping-In...83&sr=8-1&keywords=pumping+insulin+john+walsh
 
I'm still not yet sure of the accuracy of the earlier numbers, as me recent hba1c went down a bit from about 3 months ago from 14 to 13%, and i did detail that the expired test strips and lancets may be a contributing factor to the high levels, which may also explain I feel hypo's in the 10-16 mmol/l region - if not my body has acclimated to the high glucose and has lost its hypo awareness. I think i should ask for one of those indicator things that always give a 7 mmol/l reading and see if it goes up on my meter.
 
Agreed,

Get some control solution for your meter.

You can seem times get meters for £10 in boots, many companies will send you a free meter with a few test strips on request which you could use to test the accuracy of your supplies.

How come your using expired stuff if you're a type 1. Are you based in the UK? Request a new prescription if you are.
 
the old ones i used to be on got discontinued as i got a load of them all at once, about 6 boxes of 50x strips. but then I was given a new meter (accuchek mobile) which used cartridges instead of strips which i only received 3 of and the finger pricker also used different lancets, i told the dsn that the surgery wouldn't supply the new cartridges so they gave me a new meter which used different test strips to the others which atm i'm trying to get them funded but they don't show up on the system. So recently I went back to the old ones which happen to be about 3 years old, at the time I got them they were already about 6 months to a year old, must be just giving them out before they discontinue them, which they eventually did so they disappeared from my prescription list. The new meter I got from the hospital and its the surgery that says it only allows 1 or 2 types of strips to be funded, will have to find out tomorrow as bank holiday today.
 
nmr1991 said:
I feel hypo's in the 10-16 mmol/l region - if not my body has acclimated to the high glucose and has lost its hypo awareness.
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If you're getting false hypos, you're body hasn't lost hypo awareness, it's just that you are used to running in the high 20s, so it thinks that 16 is hypo & give you the symptoms accordingly. If you can bring your levels gradually down to normal-ish (<10) you will bring your hypo warnings down to start triggering more around 4-5, which is what you want them to do.
 
Hi nmr1991, like others have stated, I think you really need to get an up to date meter with prescription test strips. At my hospital, the DSN has meters they issue out and then send a form to my GP for the prescription test strips. Not until you can get this will you know for sure where you stand. Your Hba1c does seem very high and should be accurate. Good luck getting this sorted (sooner rather than later).
 
buckley8219, hi, just reading your posts again, you mention about being on a pump; how long have you been on this and what are your thoughts of them? I'm going for a consultation soon to talk about possibly getting one? My DSN mentioned that I wouldn't need a background insulin- is this right?
 
asa35 said:
would you say the pump has helped you better than 'usual' injections?
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Almost certainly, I was having a few lipohypertrophy issues before (injection site issues) and my insulin absorption could be hit & miss, but as mentioned earlier in your thread the beauty of a pump is having multiple basal rates, better bolus delivery options for difficult meals like those that are high in fat and (the obvious) not having to inject multiple times a day.
 
thank you @noblehead. I certainly like the sound of trying a pump, as a lot of people seem to say similar to you in it really helping their control. Hopefully in my consultation will give me the go ahead - fingers crossed!
 
Hi,

I've been on the pump 5 or so years now.

They have their pros and cons, I've been much closer to DKA and get much higher readings due to occasional kinked cannulas or blocked infusion sites which can be a real pain when they occur.

They are not particulary sexy pieces of kit and being tethered to something 24/7 wears me down at times, as does catching the tubing on door handles or droping the pump when trying to shower use the toilet.

However, my HbA1c and standard deviation improved markedly when I started the pump, my lows are much less severe when I do get them, it also improved my ability to exercises at a high intensity. All all I am glad I made the move, although that is not to say there are days where I don't ponder MDI and a Freestyle Libre.

As with most things, I think you'll get out of a pump what you put into it.

Pumping insulin by John Walsh will give you all the information you'll need on using a pump successfully and it's well worth a buy. Much more information that I was provided during pump training or by my DSN.
 
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