[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

Rasheed

How often do ye get yer HBa1c checked? Do ye make the appt with the doctor/clinical nurse specialist or have ye a specific time to go, eg every 3 months?

certifiedcrepe

Red blood cells only last 3 months so your hba1c fluctuates every 3 months. It is completely unnecessary to have it check twice in less than three months. My hba1c is checked every 6 months at my clinic visit. Hope this helps!

robinph

Depends on when you are going for the appointments with the hospital and when they request them. At the moment I've been getting the Hba1c done about every 6 months, but before that was only each year. All depended on when they asked for it.

Mincork

Rasheed wrote: »

How often do ye get yer HBa1c checked? Do ye make the appt with the doctor/clinical nurse specialist or have ye a specific time to go, eg every 3 months?

I normally make an appointment on the day of my blood test for the next one 3 months in advance.I use my regular GP for the test. I also ask them to check my cholesterol since they are taking blood.

For my next test I plan on asking for the below tests as well.

HBa1C, Thyroid, Cholesterol, Testosterone, B12 Levels, CoQ10 Coenzyme and Chromium Levels

I'm not sure if they are gonna do all , not to mention its gonna be costly. I would really like to know the results tho.

Cheers

Rasheed

Thanks everybody, that's a big help.:)

BlackEdelweiss

I have always been a bit of a sweater but recently I have been having really bad head sweat at night. I wake up and my pillow is soaking wet. I read somewhere that this can be a sign of night time hypos. Has anybody here heard of or experienced this?

CathyMoran

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I have always been a bit of a sweater but recently I have been having really bad head sweat at night. I wake up and my pillow is soaking wet. I read somewhere that this can be a sign of night time hypos. Has anybody here heard of or experienced this?

I sweat a lot when I have night time hypos but I normally get worse than that and would need help from my husband. Set your alarm for 2.30am and see what you are then?

cynder

I was sleeping next to my daughter and she starting fretting, like she was having a nightmare, after about 30 seconds it clicked she was having a hypo, ttying to bring her round was a nightmare ( had to call an ambulance) they said that things would have sorted themselves when her liver kicked in to give her a sugar rush. She was soaking wet like she had a fever I smacked her so hard across the face to wake her up, it was a bad hypo took 6-8 hours for her to be fully back to herself. When she has a hypo during the day she never sweats as much as she does at night.

Now every time I hear her move in bed I check on her..



Do what Cathy suggests.

CramCycle

Sweating is one of those symptoms of hypos I get occasionally and despite all my experience it's one of the symptoms I still forget/overlook.

That said, it is not the only reason for night sweating and I would definitely advise getting a doctor to check you out if you manage to rule out hypoglycamia as there are many other issues that can cause it. Some serious, most not but all worth getting looked over for.

CathyMoran

It is one of my big fears of having bad hypos during the night - it is one of the reasons why I do not go out in the eveing (also I have chronic fatigue) but I like to know my carbs in the evening and their GI.

I would not trust the liver to kick in - I have fitted badly at times with severe lows and it was scary for my husband and children. My husband has had to give me glucagon several times.

graflynn

I thought this short article was well thought out and very balanced, if a bit simplyfied but occasionally we need that. Sometimes we only see the world from our side of it.

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/voices/2012/06/type-1-and-type-2-my-lessons-learned/

CramCycle

graflynn wrote: »

I thought this short article was well thought out and very balanced, if a bit simplyfied but occasionally we need that. Sometimes we only see the world from our side of it.

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/voices/2012/06/type-1-and-type-2-my-lessons-learned/

Didn't know there was a war on, nice article though although the pedantasaur inside me must query this statement:

Unfortunately, people with type 1 diabetes can get type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes also occasionally get type 1. This one-two punch is especially difficult.

These incorrect statements in the media can also be especially difficult for those of us who both work in the field and have diabetes of either type.

brianregan09

Hi i have CF and on my yearly NCT i failed the glucose tolerance test so they gave me a meter to check my levels and its been between 6 and 12 all week averaging around 8-9 i suppose, so going to the diabetes clinic today do you think this is grounds for insulin or is fairly ok , (bear in mind i drink alot of coca cola) and find it hard to let go lol

robinph

^ Diet Coke I hope?

Meauldsegosha

brianregan09 wrote: »

Hi i have CF and on my yearly NCT i failed the glucose tolerance test so they gave me a meter to check my levels and its been between 6 and 12 all week averaging around 8-9 i suppose, so going to the diabetes clinic today do you think this is grounds for insulin or is fairly ok , (bear in mind i drink alot of coca cola) and find it hard to let go lol

Swap to diet coke and those numbers could drop. I remember reading there is between 9 and 13 spoons of sugar in a can of coke.

brianregan09

So maybe if i say that to the doc that i'll switch maybe he won't stick me on insulin because i'm panicking like **** i do not like the idea of injecting every day

tbh

brianregan09 wrote: »

So maybe if i say that to the doc that i'll switch maybe he won't stick me on insulin because i'm panicking like **** i do not like the idea of injecting every day

ok, here's the thing. If you aren't diabetic, you can drink as much coke as you want and your bloods will be in and around normal, because you just produce more insulin to compensate. So in my personal opinion, stopping drinking coke won't prevent anything, but it is a good idea in terms of weight etc.

SEcond, I'm assuming you're not being treated for diabetes at the moment, right? In that case, if your bloods are averaging around 8-9, that's elevated, but not high. So I would suggest that probably if you are diabetic, and I don't know if you are, then you're type 2, which means you're still producing insulin, it's just not as effective as it used to be. This means you probably won't need any more insulin, you just need to reduce your resistance to what you make yourself, and this is done usually with oral medication, exercise and a change of diet.
So, yeah - cut out the coke, but that alone may not be enough.

thirdly - if you do have to take insulin, don't worry about it. You hate the idea of it because you've never done it, and you assume it'll be sore, but it isn't as bad as you think it is. It's more of a chore than sore - it's like shaving or having to cut your nails - if you didn't have to do it, you wouldn't, but it's not a big deal.

Meauldsegosha

brianregan09 wrote: »

So maybe if i say that to the doc that i'll switch maybe he won't stick me on insulin because i'm panicking like **** i do not like the idea of injecting every day

It's not that simple there could be all sort of reason why your levels are high. You need to go to your doctor, get tested and discuss things with him. If you are type 2 diet and medication could be regime you are put on. And if you are type 1 then the injections aren't that bad you soon get use to them.

CramCycle

brianregan09 wrote: »

Hi i have CF and on my yearly NCT i failed the glucose tolerance test so they gave me a meter to check my levels and its been between 6 and 12 all week averaging around 8-9 i suppose, so going to the diabetes clinic today do you think this is grounds for insulin or is fairly ok , (bear in mind i drink alot of coca cola) and find it hard to let go lol

Without knowing when you are taking your BG tests it would be impossible to tell if they are inappropriate readings or not. Also when you say you "failed" your GTT, what precisely do you mean? Were they slightly elevated, were they grossly elevated, where you doing less that morning, was it a huge change to your average daily routine?

Meauldsegosha wrote: »

It's not that simple there could be all sort of reason why your levels are high. You need to go to your doctor, get tested and discuss things with him.

+1, I presume you are not or at least have not been diagnosed diabetic yet, no one here will be able to tell you much without alot more specifics, and aside from that, this is the internet, get a doctor/nurses opinion, CFRD is different in many respects to type 1 and type 2, and the treatment is a mixture of the treatment of both and in some ways contradictory, its almost like trying to treat both at the same time. CFRD is often hard to diagnose so if you've caught it great, my knowledge is limited to one talk at a conference years ago so my knowledge maybe out of date.

If CFRD you will not be trying to boost insulin secretion as this is most likely being inhibited through a range of factors including mucus, blocking of beta cell ability to sense shifts in glucose levels, anti inflammatorys etc etc (again, no expert, these are words that sound familiar), Treatment will be insulin and excercise and sugars to basically be controlled through boosting of insulin receptor sensitivity (through excercise) and shifting insulin injection levels (ie taking over from your beta cell). There was something about diet but I can't remember what.
But my main advice, talk to your care team as they will be the best to deal with this hopefully, I don't think I've seen a CFRD patient on this thread before, very interested to hear back from you, particularly on how right or wrong I am from the doctors perspective.

Time to go google scholar some papers on this to make me sound smart

brianregan09

Ok just back now and fairly relieved but still alittle apprehensive at the same time, now i've been put on a single shot at 8 units of Levemir to start off, now as i sed i was brickin it over the needle thing but got a 6mm which is tiny and barely felt it, and was told switch to diet coke, the reason my levels are high is because of t,he steroids im on 10mg of Prednisilone, so i think last poster was definitly on to something there, My levels were very high in the morning around 11.00 to 10.00 so thats what the doc wants to sort and has set a regular target of 7 which is fair enough

now my turn what diffrence had insulin made to ur lives ? Also should i be afraid of Hypos do they happen often

CramCycle

brianregan09 wrote: »

now my turn what diffrence had insulin made to ur lives ? Also should i be afraid of Hypos do they happen often

Well without it I would be dead, so a positive influence for the most part (unless you know me personally :P ).

As for the fear of hypos, they are not pleasant but again I am unsure of the response for CFRD. I presume that the reasons for the inhibited insulin response would bring about an inhibition of the glucagon response, therefore making the chances of hypoglycaemia reasonable. Older papers seem to suggest it was common but they are 20+ years old and may not be relevant.

Did your team talk you through the hypos? Do you know the warning signs and what to do? most importantly, brief those closest to you on what to do and what not to do, this is the most important thing for severe hypos in my opinion.

Eurovisionmad

brianregan09 wrote: »

now my turn what diffrence had insulin made to ur lives ? Also should i be afraid of Hypos do they happen often

I've only had T1 for about 3 months or so, the insulin isnt such a pain in the ass as you might think and in fairness its the the fear of getting the first hypo is the worst, I was almost relieved I got my first one (showed my BG was finally coming down) I've thank god never collapsed from one yet, you'll always have a lot of warning before that happens!

Redmal

Hypos aren't that bad. You'll find your own symptoms and you'll be able to know yourself soon enough when they are coming. I remember my very very first hypo, I just thought I was really hungry. It happened while I was still in hospital after my initial diagnosis and as the nurse was testing my sugars she asked me did I feel strange.

No need to be afraid of them, sometimes it can be an excuse to have a little treat that you usually would have to stay away from. Not all the time and it's not something that I would encourage but we're all human and I love chocolate! :-)

CathyMoran

Hypos can be very dangeous - not everyone is hypo aware - I have problems with them - the closer to normal levels the more hypos I get I find. I have had type 1 since I was 10 and am 38 now but mone is complicated by having dumping syndrome due to surgery I had to have for another condition.

RUCKING FETARD

@ Cathy

Is that an xmas hat on your Avatar?

CathyMoran

RUCKING FETARD wrote: »

@ Cathy

Is that an xmas hat on your Avatar?

It is a good luck charm at this stage - have had it since I was ill (either the big c that I was diagnosed with in 2006 or when I was ill and pregnant with my children) - we called our son tigger before he was born.

I do find that having diabetes and other conditions makes life interesting but I am still alive so that is good.

I hope that the new calorie thing on food includes carbs - would be great!

RUCKING FETARD

CathyMoran wrote: »

I hope that the new calorie thing on food includes carbs - would be great!

You mean what James Reilly was on about on the news?

Looks like it's just gonna be Calories.

http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/press_releases/calories_on_menus_report/04072012.html

http://www.thejournal.ie/calorie-count-menus-fsai-509599-Jul2012/

5live

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

I've only had T1 for about 3 months or so, the insulin isnt such a pain in the ass as you might think and in fairness its the the fear of getting the first hypo is the worst, I was almost relieved I got my first one (showed my BG was finally coming down) I've thank god never collapsed from one yet, you'll always have a lot of warning before that happens!

Not always. Most find that their symptoms of hypos reduce and/or change over time. I rarely notice a hypo now but the OH and, strangely, the dog both notice well before i do

CathyMoran

I did not notice a 1.9 earlier, I find that I only notice below 1.2 which is not good. I try to keep my hba1c below 5.5 in old money and am a type 1 which is is hard.

BlackEdelweiss

I might be offered a job in New Zealand in the next week or two. Does anybody on here know if my diabetes could affect my chances of being granted a visa?