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"What have you eaten" Parallel Chat

Annb said:
my sensor fell off this morning an I decided to hold back on using my last one because I may not be able to be prescribed an extra one - it was only 4 days in so will have to wait a few days before putting on another one.
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Give Abbott a call, you don't need to be prescribed an extra one, they will likely send you a new sensor.

Do you use any tape or such over it to prevent it from falling off? I use Hypafix and wouldn't do without.
 
I do have some patches to cover the sensors, but they don't stick any better to my skin than the sensors themselves. I've tried fabric plasters, micropore tape and another kind of patch - can't remember what it's called but it is like a soft micropore with holes in it. None of them will stick to my skin. This time, I hadn't put a patch over the sensor because the last one stuck really well and I thought that perhaps the glue had been improved. I will try to get hold of a different patch to try to hold it on. Or perhaps a kind of garter for my arm to hold the sensor onto my skin.

BG back down to 17.8 by the way. Still far too high but I don't really feel very secure in taking yet another correction dose without food. I'll wait until tomorrow - or perhaps the early hours when I daresay I shall be awake again.

I'll give Abbott a call tomorrow. Actually I have a telephone appointment with my diabetes nurse tomorrow - I might ask her if she can supply an extra sensor. After that I could give Abbott a call.
 
Annb said:
Actually I have a telephone appointment with my diabetes nurse tomorrow - I might ask her if she can supply an extra sensor. After that I could give Abbott a call.
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Give Abbott a call either way!
Annb said:
I do have some patches to cover the sensors, but they don't stick any better to my skin than the sensors themselves.
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Do you clean the area with alcohol and let it dry well before adding the patch?
I use a large patch, 10x10 cm (some 3x3 inches) to leave room for peeling edges.
If you add a piece of tissue between patch and sensor (stick it on with a drop of, erm, water) you can take the patch off once it starts to peel without pulling the sensor off with it, and then you can apply a new patch.
 
Annb said:
my sensor fell off this morning an I decided to hold back on using my last one because I may not be able to be prescribed an extra one - it was only 4 days in
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I think faulty sensors are replaced by the manufacturer. It shouldn't affect your prescription. I've just had one replaced that failed 12 hours before the end. The new one has the full 14 days on it. All done free of charge by Abbott libre. Just phone their customer sevices
 

Now that sounds like an excellent idea. I don't use alcohol to clean my skin - must get some to see if that helps. Presumably the pharmacy would have some kind of alcohol - not going to buy a bottle of drinkable alcohol. I use soap and water usually. I will give Abbott a call. Thanks for the advice Antje and Mrs A2.
 
BG dropped to 9.4 by 2 am, when I got up but by 7 am had risen again to 14.9. Haven't done anything about it yet but will probably take another 60u of my bolus dose and have a zero carb breakfast to see if that will help - well <0.5 g carbs in my fruit tea.

Then, at 11 am I have a phone call booked with the diabetes nurse. Somehow I don't find these long distance consultations very helpful. I'm pretty sure that things get missed out and, in any case, how can they measure my Hba1c without taking a blood test? Pretty sure mine is way higher than it was before, but I don't know.

I finally found a private podiatrist to check my feet - our local NHS has stopped providing any service at all and don't even answer the phone these days. It is, apparently, Neil's responsibility to look after my feet (I can't bend far enough to reach them) but he has so many health issues these days that I don't ask him - he didn't make a very good job of it in the past anyway. No 2 son is willing to help, but he is rather too enthusiastic and I think I might end up with more trouble than assistance. The one private podiatrist that I knew of had so many clients that he couldn't take on any more but now I have found the son of the old chiropodist who used to practice in Stornoway and will be seeing him next Tuesday. It's quite a job for him to take on because my foot care has been so bad these last 2 or more years.
 
Had my phone consultation with the diabetes nurse and, at her suggestion, will raise my basal insulin by 2 units to see if that might even my readings out a bit more. She also says to phone Abbott and I will do so after lunchtime. Not that I will be having any lunch - took 60u of Humalog and had 2 slices streaky bacon and 2 fried eggs for brunch at 11.30. BG at 1.25 was 12.5. That is down from 15.1 a bit before brunch, so I don't suppose I can complain. DN also suggests a piece of tubular bandage to hold the sensor in place. Not sure about that idea. I don't think it would work for very long before it slackened off and it certainly wouldn't benefit by showering.
 
Just had a phone call from the hospital to set a date for my pre-op consultation. 31 January. Then it'll be up to Raigmore to fix a date for the op. This morning I put the bins out for collection - which I usually do. Whatever I can manage I like to do myself. But this morning I could actually feel the bones in my knees grinding together - not a pleasant feeling - and since then I can't take my weight on my left leg at all. So that was rather silly of me. Just as well I did it though - Neil tried eating some prawns yesterday and has been feeling ill ever since (head/chest pain, sore mouth, weak). No 2 son took the bins back in for me when he came with the mail. He also took away the remainder of the prawns to use up. He'll have to be careful how he stores them until he can use them though - DIL is severely allergic to prawns.

What a family!
 

I’m glad you don’t have too much longer to wait for the pre op appointment. Your description of the bones grinding together horrified me, that’s awful for you. I hope you’ve got your feet up now.
Poor Neil too!
 
@Antje77 I was so sorry to read about your best friend on the other thread. I completely understand your anxiety: We had a similar event here recently when the GP finally referred my daughter for a CT scan after 2 years of going to him about debilitating headaches. The scan showed a large mass behind her left eye so we were all very, very scared ( but she also felt oddly vindicated - wanted to shout at him ‘There! Now do you believe me?’)
She had the horrible op to remove it last week and it looks as though it was a benign cyst so we are hopeful that’ll be the end of it.
Thank goodness your friend can talk to you about it, with her husband suffering from anxiety it would be intolerable for her to try to cope with those feelings on her own. I hope to goodness the darkest fears are not realised.
 
So so sorry to hear about your daughter @DJC3 scary stuff but pleased looks benign and let’s hope that taking it away will resolve the pressure and hopefully eventually the headaches. Really is difficult at times dealing with scary issues affecting us and our loved ones isn’t it? @Antje77 and @Annb sending hugs your way too while you navigate through difficult worrying times.
 
So sorry to hear of your daughter's troubles with medics, DJC3. It's too easy for doctors just to ignore symptoms reported by patients. I actually think that in the past many male doctors tended to "pooh pooh" symptoms reported by women. Certainly that's happened to me. I don't think that happens so much now but sometimes it's easier for a doctor to say there's nothing wrong, or to assume it's nerves. Glad, in a way, that she's been vindicated but really it's no comfort. Still, if the operation has been completed successfully now, surely it's all up from here on.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter, that must have been so scary!
I hope she's recovering well from the operation, and from all the stress that must have accompanied this whole thing.
Please keep us updated on how she's doing, and on the final results on the cyst, very happy to hear it looks like it's benign!
DJC3 said:
Thank goodness your friend can talk to you about it, with her husband suffering from anxiety it would be intolerable for her to try to cope with those feelings on her own. I hope to goodness the darkest fears are not realised.
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It's such a sad and frustrating thing with her husband.
She feels she's deceiving him by not telling, but she knows that if she tells him all her energy will go to him, instead of to dealing with her own thoughts and fears, while juggling a family with 2 children and a job at the same time!

It's a very lucky coincidence she had an appointment with her specialist for tomorrow already (to get her feeding tube replaced, the stupid thing keeps slipping out of her jejunum (top of small intestine) and back into her stomach, not helpful when your stomach doesn't work properly, and it makes her even more sick than usual). Even if he can't do a full asessment of her results right then and there, at least he'll be able to tell her if the thickening in her bile ducts is usually just a variety in anatomy and they just want to rule out anything sinister or if it means a nasty cancer most of the time.
 

Yes, indeed, it can be very difficult at times. The pandemic has really increased anxiety as well, having to wait so long for referral appointments.
I hope you are still coping with your many sided caring responsibilities and still managing to fit some mindfulness into your day.
 

I do hope she gets some reassurance tomorrow at her appointment, as well as getting the feeding tube fixed in place properly. Will you be going with her? A hand to cling onto at stressful times can be an absolute lifesaver.
 
I was just about to say the same as @Antje77. I've had 2 sensors drop off and Abbott replaces them. You have a few question to answer but they are pretty prompt at issuing a replacement.
 

I think it’s still very common behaviour sadly. Especially when it comes to older male doctors and young women, so many just seem to dismiss any symptoms as attention seeking. It was only when my daughter saw a younger female GP she got the referral.
You’re right it’s a very mixed bag of feelings we have, vindication, anger, worry and relief all rolled into one big emotional parcel.
Hopefully all good from here on - she has the follow up appointment at the end of the month.
 
DJC3 said:
Will you be going with her? A hand to cling onto at stressful times can be an absolute lifesaver.
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No. She lives a 2 hour drive away, lockdown rules still allow only one person per appointment, and this really is just an appointment to replace her tube, her specialist might not even be aware of the results yet.
She has a very good relationship with this doctor though, so it will be OK, and I'll be glued to my phone in case she needs to call as soon as she gets out and before going home.
 
The tubular bandage is pretty useless (been there, done it). I use Tegaderm. Got it in the Pharmacy at Boots.
 
DJC3 said:
You’re right it’s a very mixed bag of feelings we have, vindication, anger, worry and relief all rolled into one big emotional parcel.
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Hugs. Sending lots of hugs. The emotions will need time to sort themselves, until that time, hugs are in place!
 
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