Anonymous Question What can I do?

[Anonymous Question]

Anonymous question submitted:

I read your mail and overs and I feel just about the same, there is no point in carrying on, I am now 83, I have a bad heart, one kidney only 50% working. I suffer from bad cramps in both legs my hands as well my feet goes in to spasm and I feel as if I am walking on glass, if I have to get down on my knees I need help to stand up but well I do no9t have help as I live on my own, so well I think I have had what they call hypos and I have found myself on the floor after falling off my exercise bike in my bedroom and I phone for my friend, he lives some 27 miles from me I hate to phone my next door as well they are in their 70s. What I do not understand is the attitude to well my Doctor, he told me, then said I needed to lose weight ( I have a low fat way of living as I have a Hiatus hernia, I need to take Senna at night and lactulose which is very sweet to keep me going as I take iron tablets, 20mg Omeprazol, Prednislone 5mg., Quinine Sulphate 200mg, also beta blockers, Metformin 500mg, Irbesartan Teva 75mg. I have to use E45 all over three times a day and Betamethasone Valerate as I have exima on my hands and feet. When I saw the doctor he told me not to come back till May that was in January told me to lose weight well I have lost 5 klos up to now. I eat lots of fruit and veg and well I eat three slices of bread with spelt and rye and do not use butter nor margarine I stopped using breakfast cereals and make sure everything is low in sugar, fats and carps, I was told if I had a Hipo to eat a jelly baby but well I sure feel **** I cannot check my blood sugar as the nurse said with D2 you only need to do it every six months, so how can I tell if I am doing the right thing? Am so confused. I do have a BP machine and well it started at 154-68-71 but now it is 138-60-60 but well I do not know if it is ok, please can you help me.

To submit a question, please go to http://www.diabetes.co.uk/ask-an-anonymous-question.html

 

[Spiker]

That is a very sad post. I'm sorry you are in such difficulties. It's hard to answer all of your questions easily. The one thing I would single out is that you do need to get a blood sugar meter. If the doctor won't give you one you can get them from Boots for ten pounds or less; maybe even a free one. But if you are having hypos from the Metformin during exercise, the doctor really should give you a meter and test strips on prescription. It will not help with all the problems you have written about but it will give you back some control and a chance to make a difference. As you say, to at least know if what you are doing is working or not working. You are clearly working hard to improve your health.

I'm sorry you are not getting the help you need from your doctor. Please keep posting here and we will try to help. Of course it would be best if you could get a medical person to help you. Do keep trying on that score.

 

[andcol]

The cramps may well be from high sugar levels as I used to get them in bed quite a lot before diagnosis. I never put two and two together and thought it may be salt or potassium so I increased my salt intake and ate lots of bananas If the lactalose is very sweet I wonder if that is raising your levels up. Got the following

• Diabetes patients - Lactulose solution may raise your blood sugar. High blood sugar may make you feel confused, drowsy, or thirsty. It can also make you flush, breathe faster, or have a fruit-like breath odor. If these symptoms occur, tell your doctor right away.

When you know how much it is raising them you can do something about it like target your exercise to reduce the impact.

Are you having the hypos whilst on the bike or shortly afterwards? If so I would recommend changing your exercise time to a little after eating and that may help.

Hope it helps and ask more questions as someone here should be able to help

 

[Kat100]

Hello nice to meet you,
Iron problems can cause leg cramps and other problems...as well...
Lactulose can be changed by your gp to something which is sugar free or diabetic friendly, please try asking..
You could, if you don't mind me suggesting, make
a list of the things you need help with, do you have an alarm button you can wear if you feel unwell, it might help, sounds like you should be able to get one....
You sound like you have coped with a lot and very much deserve care to help your needs in return...
You might have to be a bit more assertive when seeing your gp, or try another gp....to get the help you need...
But don't give up, you have been through a lot and sound very determined to cope...
Your neighbours may be more willing to help than you think, people in society today just don't like asking for help anymore....see what they say, often it is good to have two lots of neighbours who will help each other, in many different ways..... ( I have to ask my neighbours and I don't really see them but we have agreed to say if either needs help....) give it some thought....and take care of yourself .....Kat

 

[luceeloo]

I would like to second the idea of an alarm button. My grandmother had one of these, and it was a discrete wristband with a button on it that she could press if she was in trouble. Someone would then talk to her through a speaker phone until help arrived. Help was in the form of a local volunteer who would respond to the call and assess the situation.
They are wonderful devices.

 

[carraway]

Lots of meter companies will give you one for free but the strips are expensive. So lots of us here got the SD Codefree (mine came from Amazon), the strips are about one third the price of others.

I like to think that at 83 I will still be able to use the internet and go on my exercise bike.
Your post gave me a lot of hope

If you ant to post a few examples of your daily diet we can make a few comments to see if it can be improved.
HAve you contacted Age concern or similar to see if there is any extra help you can get? My friend is a volunteer visitor who takes an older person out once a week.

Hope you feel better soon

Cara

 

[andcol]

You may even find the council will put in an alarm as they did this for my mother-in-law after she had a fall, but that may depend where you live. Worth a try

 

[Spiker]

Here is the link to the SD Codefree blood glucose meter mentioned by Cara. It is £11 to buy as a complete kit with everything you need. Extra test strips work out to about 14p each per test. You will want the mmol/L version (unless you are in the US?).

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm