Trial and Error?

[Matthew1990]

Spoke to my diabetic nurse today and as I've been scoring low level alot she's said not to take insulin (humulog) before breakfast, midday meal and evening meal to see how i score before and after, I had my midday meal and when taking blood sugar level now I scored 9.5mmol which scores I scored to high? Ive just had a big meal now and I've been told by the nurse not to check my sugar level until before I go to bed.

I'm concerned, is this right? Is the meant to be a trial and error method?

 

[cugila]

No idea why your Nurse thinks you should ignore your PP (post prandial) level ?? Especially as you say you have eaten a 'big' meal ........ It won't compromise what SHE needs to know .....however it will give you more information for YOUR own benefit.

A lot of things are trial and error, however you need to do what is good for YOU......not always the same as what some HCP's want....... :twisted:

Personally, I would take the Bg level when I wanted.

 

[noblehead]

Are you on a set dose of humalog for each meal and told to eat a set amount of carbs? Also when did your dsn suggest you test your bg after eating your breakfast/midday meal, was it 1, 2 or 4 hours after or did she not say?

Nigel

 

[JIMDOG1]

Hi Matthew1990

Im only going on what my dn told me while in hospital going through testing my self and doing my medication even tho im type 2 i have insulin at moment that it could make me hypo ive had 3 low readings since diagnosed and out of hospital 1 of them i had to treat went realy funny in feeling 3.2
low.

she told me to do my set testing times before meals and 2hrs after but at any time if i feel somthing is wrong test myself as its better to be false alarm rather than wait to next test time which could prove serious and i dont fancy a reapeat of last year a&e icu hdu ok icu was good they put you to sleep for a while:roll:.

im not trying to contradict your hcp on this as each person is diffrant if you feel they are not doing a good job you need to change asabove all you are the important.

Hope im not digging myself a grave here with some of long standing members and mods who have tons more understanding than me at moment

 

[Matthew1990]

I have to do it altenative days, she didnt want me to do it before and after meals because taking your sugar level 7 times a day is too much she said, soo today i've been doing it before meals and tomorrow I have to do it 2 hours after meals and then on wednesday before etc etc, got to ring her on thursday to update her on my scores

 

[Matthew1990]

She's been changing my humalog insulin doses alot lately as I am always scoring low, it was 6,6,6 then 4,4,4, then 3,3,3 and now 2,2,2 but I havent got to take it for the next couple of days unless I score double figures for my blood sugar, she wants to know the kind of scores I am scoring with insulin i expect. I've still got to take my 24 hour lanthus though of 6mmol.

She havent mentioned a specific carb diet or anything!

 

[cugila]

I have to do it altenative days, she didnt want me to do it before and after meals because taking your sugar level 7 times a day is too much she said, soo today i've been doing it before meals and tomorrow I have to do it 2 hours after meals and then on wednesday before etc etc, got to ring her on thursday to update her on my scores

Sorry Matt.
That is typical money saving mantra ! If you do what YOU want just tell her what SHE wants ....

I despair sometimes. YOU need to know what is happening as you live with Diabetes 24/7, 365 days a year.....not her ! :twisted:

As for diet you should have seen the basic advice from Sue and I and others on the Forum. YOU have to take control and not be led by the Nurse, she can assist you but you are the main man !

Ask about a DAFNE course so you can take control

 

[Matthew1990]

We'll i think the diabetic nurse is trying to find the right balance/relationship of the amount of insulin I take and the amount of food I eat, thats why she doesnt want me to take any humalog insulin before meals next couple of days to see what I am scoring. Also concerning the diet, I had a meeting with the dietician the other day and I've changed various things such as I now eat wholemeal bread, green top milk, weetibix/cereal, diet coke and have cut down on sweets and crisps and now eat alot of fruit instead.

I've been booked in for feb for the carbo counting course as there was no space to fit me in January.

 

[cugila]

We are not talking about the Insulin.....it is when and how to test.....

I'm a Type 2 on Byetta and I am advised to test 7 - 8 times daily, you are a T1 on Insulin you should be doing the same at this point in time. I suppose she told you it was bad for you....... :roll:

The DN can get all the information she needs from the readings you give her, as I said it is YOU that needs the additional information as to what your Bg levels are. So YOU are able to deal with high or low levels. If you don't know about them you are 'riding blindfold.'

I have seen 2 of my best friends Type 1 and Type 2 get serious complications following such advice about testing. The Type 1 has lost part of one leg and was set to lose a foot from the other because he was told to only test in the manner you have been. He had ridiculous post meal levels and was totally unaware.......he now tests much more often and is improving all the time.

You are newly diagnosed and should be testing frequently as per the guidelines. Once you know more then you can test in the fashion she recommends. I stand by the advice I have given. Money doesn't govern what I have said, just trying to help a fellow Diabetic.

 

[Matthew1990]

Now you've scared me, I totally don't know what to do now, why would she tell me the wrong info? I hate having diabetes and just seem to be getting more and more scared .

Do i test 2 hours after meals and before? I am totally bemused!

 

[JIMDOG1]

We are not talking about the Insulin.....it is when and how to test.....

I'm a Type 2 on Byetta and I am advised to test 7 - 8 times daily, you are a T1 on Insulin you should be doing the same at this point in time. I suppose she told you it was bad for you....... :roll:

The DN can get all the information she needs from the readings you give her, as I said it is YOU that needs the additional information as to what your Bg levels are. So YOU are able to deal with high or low levels. If you don't know about them you are 'riding blindfold.'

I have seen 2 of my best friends Type 1 and Type 2 get serious complications following such advice about testing. The Type 1 has lost part of one leg and was set to lose a foot from the other because he was told to only test in the manner you have been. He had ridiculous post meal levels and was totally unaware.......he now tests much more often and is improving all the time.

You are newly diagnosed and should be testing frequently as per the guidelines. Once you know more then you can test in the fashion she recommends. I stand by the advice I have given. Money doesn't govern what I have said, just trying to help a fellow Diabetic.

I think your totally right cugila at the moment i think ive had brill advice from my hcp but it doesent hurt and could save your life talking to others my view is at mo i want test my bg to keep an eye on whats going on good or bad as i dont want of reapeat of last month and if it means sometimes overtesting somtimes im not bothered what the nhs thinks if im using to many strips i pay for them through my wages every week all of us do.

 

[JIMDOG1]

Now you've scared me, I totally don't know what to do now, why would she tell me the wrong info? I hate having diabetes and just seem to be getting more and more scared .

Do i test 2 hours after meals and before? I am totally bemused!

thats exactly right Mat

1 just before meal then 2 hours after and at any time u feel its nessary

Dont be scared mate youll get the lows and highs on emotions but just chill and take stock of things ive had to and i was probaly the worse at bad sins 20 fags a day gone last week as my bp was over the limit for allowing me to work on second test just scraped through food oh god do i miss some of my bad food but its gone as i dont want to end up back were i was, sorry for going a little of topic :roll:

 

[sugarless sue]

We are not trying to scare you. The good thing about the Forum is that we are all Diabetics, some more experienced than others and able to give you good advice on the day to day living with Diabetes.

Keeping levels down and learning to eat the right things and give yourself the right dose to cover this is what you need to learn. The best way is to test just before a meal, calculate the carbs in the meal and then give yourself the correct amount of insulin for that meal. This you will learn on the DAFNE course.

Testing just before the meal then two hours after tells you how your body is reacting to the food you ate and also how well the dose of Insulin has coped with the food. It is very important in the early days that you learn this.

A well controlled Diabetic is much less likely to get the complications that Ken was talking about, we live with Diabetes the Nurse does not. She is following orders from the Surgery probably to keep costs down by giving out this advice. They think this advice is right, we don't, we live with it, they don't.

Don't be scared Matt. Stay with us and learn, we have no agenda only to help other Diabetics. If anybody asks why you need more test strips you tell them you want to learn, be proactive and learn what is happening with your Diabetes....It is your life to live to the full as healthily as you can.

 

[Matthew1990]

Surely I cant ask the chemist for glucose strips everyweek, they are not going to give them to me.
Are they available to buy in a chemist/any shops? Ebay even and if soo whats the prices?

I am going to test my sugar level before a meal and then 2 hours after to see how much body reactions to the food, I will only inject insulin if i score in double figures like the nurse said. Also I will write down the food I have so I will be able to distiguish the difference of my sugar levels and the food.

 

[cugila]

Hi MAtt.

Sorry if I scared you but I really hate to see members getting poor information from HCP's.

As for the strips as a Type 1 you should be getting what you need, don't worry about the quantity for now, they should all be on your free prescription. There are many posts on here where a T1 has had to fight for the right to test frequently. It shouldn't happen but it does !

I am a Type 2 and get through about 50 a week so I am prescribed 200 a month. No problem. I drive as well so need to test before and during driving as per DVLA guidelines. As a Type 1 you should at least be on a par with what I get.

You have to be forceful....but polite to get what you need and want. Try not to get stressed......

 

[Matthew1990]

Right after listening to all your advice I took my sugar level 2 hours after food.

Before i had food i scored 9.6 and I injected 2 mmol of insulin (6pm) and 2 hours after (8pm) I took my blood sugar level and scored 7.2.

I had a jacket potato, egg, sausage, beans and 2 mackerel fish. Also a slice of wholemeal bread and a cuppa tea with 2 digestive biscuits.

Surely this is good?

 

[JIMDOG1]

i think most of that sounds good if im right but dont take my word to litral you could lose a couple of those items i may not be right on this as im type 2 and learning aswell my pre din was 6.1 got to wait 30min more for my post 2hr let you know all we can do is try and learn

 

[cugila]

Right after listening to all your advice I took my sugar level 2 hours after food.

Before i had food i scored 9.6 and I injected 2 mmol of insulin (6pm) and 2 hours after (8pm) I took my blood sugar level and scored 7.2.

I had a jacket potato, egg, sausage, beans and 2 mackerel fish. Also a slice of wholemeal bread and a cuppa tea with 2 digestive biscuits.

Surely this is good?

All sounds good, however why not try a test at 3 and 4 hrs as many of the things you ate are slower acting carbs so may not show up until a bit later. The Insulin might cover it all though......

Don't tell the DN though ...... :wink:

 

[Matthew1990]

Well i done it at 8pm and around 10.30-11pm I will be hungry again and usually have a bowl of cereal or a sandwich, something light. I always test my sugar level before supper/bed so Ill test it around 10.30 and let you all know Hopefully from that I will be able to learn!

 

[cugila]

Good for you Matt........