[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

uli84

cocker5 wrote: »

did you not test again? and leave it 10 minutes and test again?

if in doubt test and test again...

I didn't, I trust my sugar meter more than the CGM on the pump so took it was correct. Damn, all the drama with sugars after meals makes me wanna limit eating to the minimum When im fasting it's so nice, steady n within limits

CramCycle

uli84 wrote: »

I didn't, I trust my sugar meter more than the CGM on the pump so took it was correct. Damn, all the drama with sugars after meals makes me wanna limit eating to the minimum When im fasting it's so nice, steady n within limits

If my results don't look right I test on both hands and then once more for luck, take the two that are close together. I don't leave anytime between tests though. Not scientific, just increasing the odds of which one is the odd one out..

cocker5

uli84 wrote: »

I didn't, I trust my sugar meter more than the CGM on the pump so took it was correct. Damn, all the drama with sugars after meals makes me wanna limit eating to the minimum When im fasting it's so nice, steady n within limits

To be honest at times neither are more accurate than another - always test again. Difference finger with a new strip. There could be a number of reasons neither is right as i posted above and if you were up at 12 (so the metre says).. i DEF wouldn't take that as right id test again

You mention sugars after your meal... when do you take your insulin?
try taking it 15 / 20 mins before you eat this will help lessen the spike.. have you started carb counting? this would help hugely with any spiking.

cocker5

jano1 wrote: »

Aeternum, can you tell me please where the DAFNE course is being run? Is there a long waiting list do you know? Thanks

DAFNE is run is most hospitals they do require you to be a year diagnosed(or you may be able to convince them to let you do it sooner) .. there are lots of books you can look at to get you started on your own first - you dont have to wait until the course etc. See attached...

Also download the carb and cals app to your smart phone


http://www.carbsandcals.com/

CramCycle

Just got back from my pump clinic this morning full of that buzz about doing everything right from now on. Just trying to figure out how long it will last this time :pac:

ElBarco

uli84 wrote: »

So today my CGM medtronic pump was showing 3.6 while the actual sugar was 12.2 - how is it even possible...

The major thing I've found with the CGM is that you have to calibrate it at the right time. I try to only calibrate when I'm seeing a relatively flat line on the screen. Having said that it can be wildly out of kilter with actual glucose readings for the first 12 hours or so when a new one goes in.

CramCycle

ElBarco wrote: »

The major thing I've found with the CGM is that you have to calibrate it at the right time. I try to only calibrate when I'm seeing a relatively flat line on the screen. Having said that it can be wildly out of kilter with actual glucose readings for the first 12 hours or so when a new one goes in.

Consultant said that to me today, watch the first 12 hours or so as the reading s in his opinions were way under what they should be, and it really only should be used for the patterns.

Nurse said it is due for general release here in September, not on the LTI yet (no code yet, although some smaller chemists may make mistakes and put it under a different code) but they expect it to be on the LTI soon enough.

Accordign to the nurse it will be 140euro for the kit + 2 sensors (which is odd as my ads from the UK version say its 159 sterling for the same) and then 55euro per sensor.

gctest50

Three blind mice, see how they heal

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep26525


A fundamental gap in knowledge is whether diabetic wounds have abnormal electric signaling. Here we used a vibrating probe to demonstrate that diabetic corneas produced significantly weaker wound electric signals than the normal cornea. This was confirmed in three independent animal models of diabetes: db/db, streptozotocin-induced and mice fed a high-fat diet.



Diabetic cornea wounds produce significantly weaker electric signals that may contribute to impaired healing

Time lapse measurements revealed that the electric currents at diabetic corneas lost the normal rising and plateau phases.

The abnormal electric signals correlated significantly with impaired wound healing.

Immunostaining suggested lower expression of chloride channel 2 and cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator in diabetic corneal epithelium.

Dick Dastardly

ElBarco wrote: »

The major thing I've found with the CGM is that you have to calibrate it at the right time. I try to only calibrate when I'm seeing a relatively flat line on the screen. Having said that it can be wildly out of kilter with actual glucose readings for the first 12 hours or so when a new one goes in.

I discovered this by accident after changing sensors before bedtime and having nights of either low suspend or sensor readings of 17+ When my bloods were fine. Presumed it was because I was lying on the sensor or something. Will move to a.m. changes from now on thanks!

uli84

I just love how Medtronic pump/CGM tells you 'calibration not accepted' without stating any reason as to why. Happens twice in a row and 50€ sensor goes to bin, great business if you ask me but who let that into the market

Aeternum

Had my DAFNE pre assessment this morning, really starting to look forward to it! They are changing me from lantus once daily to levemir twice daily, has anyone else gone through this and did they see any noticeable improvements?

HbA1c was up to 63 which is 7.9% but I was expecting it to be higher as they have me running my BG high to try and increase my hypo awareness still.

CramCycle

uli84 wrote: »

I just love how Medtronic pump/CGM tells you 'calibration not accepted' without stating any reason as to why. Happens twice in a row and 50€ sensor goes to bin, great business if you ask me but who let that into the market

Any luck contacting Medtronic, I realise its covered on the LTI but it grinds my gears when this happens. The paranoid one in me sees it as them stealing from the state.

cocker5

uli84 wrote: »

I just love how Medtronic pump/CGM tells you 'calibration not accepted' without stating any reason as to why. Happens twice in a row and 50€ sensor goes to bin, great business if you ask me but who let that into the market

have you considered the sensor may be faulty? if this is the case if you return it they will examine it if it is faulty they will replace for Free - Dexcom do this

Fiona123456

Hi
Just wondering if anyone has advice on what to do when sugars go too into 20's. Do you inject more insulin? My partner is now on Lantus & novo rapid.

cocker5

Fiona123456 wrote: »

Hi
Just wondering if anyone has advice on what to do when sugars go too into 20's. Do you inject more insulin? My partner is now on Lantus & novo rapid.

How long is your partner diagnosed ?

answer is yes you'd normally take a correction unless recently diagnosed.. it can take a while before they introduce corrections.

your partner needs to look at what they ate / drank in order for the bloods to run high.. usually means the insulin they are taking for the meal isnt sufficent etc

Fiona123456

He was diagnosed about 7 years ago when he was 30, on tablets to start with.
He was put on injections 4 months ago.
When he goes too high he gets confused & awkward to deal with, cant move or walk, not coherent
I asked the GP if I should give him more insulin & he said no, that's not how it works..
Asked the diabetic nurse & she said let it pass...
They don't stay awake all night to make sure he doesn't go unconscious!
Am I over reacting? Is this a normal occurrence for diabetics?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Fiona123456 wrote: »

He was diagnosed about 7 years ago when he was 30, on tablets to start with.
He was put on injections 4 months ago.
When he goes too high he gets confused & awkward to deal with, cant move or walk, not coherent
I asked the GP if I should give him more insulin & he said no, that's not how it works..
Asked the diabetic nurse & she said let it pass...
They don't stay awake all night to make sure he doesn't go unconscious!
Am I over reacting? Is this a normal occurrence for diabetics?

Yeah, highs and lows are a fairly common occurrence but you have to balance carbohydrate eaten with Insulin and exercise and it's not easy at times.

My OH has had some awkward times with me being spaced out and incoherent during lows but I've never had that during highs tbh.

I would say go back and explain your concerns and how it's affecting your relationship and see if their attitude changes. If not then change your GP or go see an endocrinologist to get individual attention.

I'm going to an endocrinologist 60 miles away because I can contact her when there is a problem and I find her excellent for me.

Meauldsegosha

If my blood glucose was in the 20s and it was more the 90 minutes since I last injected I would take insulin to correct it. A small amount, maybe 3 to 4 units and continue to check my blood every 30 minutes. I would also check for ketones. Is your partner sick, have an infection?

cocker5

Fiona123456 wrote: »

He was diagnosed about 7 years ago when he was 30, on tablets to start with.
He was put on injections 4 months ago.
When he goes too high he gets confused & awkward to deal with, cant move or walk, not coherent
I asked the GP if I should give him more insulin & he said no, that's not how it works..
Asked the diabetic nurse & she said let it pass...
They don't stay awake all night to make sure he doesn't go unconscious!
Am I over reacting? Is this a normal occurrence for diabetics?

Im guessing he's a type 2 now insulin dependant? Apologies if im wrong.

Fiona123456

Thanks for your replies
I understand when his blood sugar goes high due to stress, infection or food intake been there for all of them. The last one I'm assuming was due to food.
All the advice out there is for low sugars, he seems to have serious reaction to highs, to the point where I'm debating calling an ambulance.

Fiona123456

Yes that's what I think Type 2, yet there is a debate going on whether he is type 1 or 2
He was extremely overweight when diagnosed initially 24 stone!!
Exercise & diet change brought him down to a normal weight.

CramCycle

Fiona123456 wrote: »

Hi
Just wondering if anyone has advice on what to do when sugars go too into 20's. Do you inject more insulin? My partner is now on Lantus & novo rapid.

I would issue a correction dose, I am quite surprised they tell you not to try. If he is high and has not taken insulin in the last 180 minutes, it means the novorapid is gone out of his system.

When my control was bad I would get similar symptoms to your partner, going into dazes, unfocused, easily confused.

What hospital are you in, it is shocking they did not set you on a plan to deal with hyperglycaemia.

The only thing to be careful of is not to stack the insulin (take multiple corrections in quick succession, can really mess you up).

Can you identify what is causing the hyperglycaemia, is it after food, is it all the time, etc.

Fiona123456

CramCycle wrote: »

I would issue a correction dose, I am quite surprised they tell you not to try. If he is high and has not taken insulin in the last 180 minutes, it means the novorapid is gone out of his system.

When my control was bad I would get similar symptoms to your partner, going into dazes, unfocused, easily confused.

What hospital are you in, it is shocking they did not set you on a plan to deal with hyperglycaemia.

The only thing to be careful of is not to stack the insulin (take multiple corrections in quick succession, can really mess you up).

Can you identify what is causing the hyperglycaemia, is it after food, is it all the time, etc.

Surprise, shocking & conflicting advice from a hospital in Dublin, Blanchardstown!
So much so that it's discouraging when trying to balance the complications of diabetes. Encrinologist says 1 thing, nurses another & gp..... so we are conflicting with each other then on who to listen to
Thanks for guidance

cocker5

Fiona123456 wrote: »

Surprise, shocking & conflicting advice from a hospital in Dublin, Blanchardstown!
So much so that it's discouraging when trying to balance the complications of diabetes. Encrinologist says 1 thing, nurses another & gp..... so we are conflicting with each other then on who to listen to
Thanks for guidance

Hi OP,

I understand it’s very frustrating, I’m going to be very honest and say most nurses and doctors most know very little about diabetes only what they learn from text books.
In reality while those are guidelines are great it’s a very different reality living with Diabetes.

My OH was diagnosed 2.5 years ago with Type 1 he was admitted to St Vincent’s after collapsing etc.. to be honest the nurses are useless they know virtually nothing, doctors are OK and I sue that term loosely… GP’s are even worse.
My OH wanted to go with a CGM straight away they laughed in Vincent’s… hadn’t really even heard of them… then we mentioned the insulin pump – doctors was that’s YEARS away for my OH.

Then we self-funded the Dexcom for 2 years (now on LTI card), he did get the pump after 11 months… it’s made a HUGE difference but we had to do TONS of research online and kept pushing over and over again.

We’re very lucky his bloods are very good, but it does takes lots of daily work i.e. carb counting very tightly, exercise , the GCM and pump etc. his average is usually 5-6 never goes above 8-9.
This did take a good year to work out OP it’s not a quick process

I would suggest you joining and ask on here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/

We have gotten some amazing advice from other suffers on the UK forum (and also on boards but more posters on the UK site) .. the best advice we have been given so far. Unfortunately, in Ireland we’re not as up to date with forums as the UK.

See some links below that will help you.

Best of luck OP


http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/medication/insulin/insulin-and-type-2-diabetes-what-you-should-know

http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/treatment/insulin/

http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/type-2-diabetes/type-2-diabetes-insulin

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/managing-diabetes/treatment-approaches/type-2-diabetes-and-insulin/

CramCycle

Fiona123456 wrote: »

Surprise, shocking & conflicting advice from a hospital in Dublin, Blanchardstown!
So much so that it's discouraging when trying to balance the complications of diabetes. Encrinologist says 1 thing, nurses another & gp..... so we are conflicting with each other then on who to listen to
Thanks for guidance

I would ignore your GP, they are not specialists in the area, I would generally ignore the endo as well because they are following what they think or have read is best practice. Nurses though, if they are from one of the specialist clinics, I would put more stock in what they say. The better ones are in the Diabetes unit permanently, not moved around and see patients day to day.

I know nothing about Blanch but I have found James quite good.

cocker5 wrote: »

My OH was diagnosed 2.5 years ago with Type 1 he was admitted to St Vincent’s after collapsing etc.. to be honest the nurses are useless they know virtually nothing, doctors are OK and I sue that term loosely… GP’s are even worse.
My OH wanted to go with a CGM straight away they laughed in Vincent’s… hadn’t really even heard of them… then we mentioned the insulin pump – doctors was that’s YEARS away for my OH.

It really does depend on the hospital. Unfortunately with funding, they will never admit it but only a certain amount of people will get pumps through the LTI each year. The only good nurses are the ones who have done the time, unfortunately in Ireland that seems to be fewer and fewer. There was a time when the good DNs were known across the country and you would hear their names mentioned at DI meetings.

Then we self-funded the Dexcom for 2 years (now on LTI card), he did get the pump after 11 months… it’s made a HUGE difference but we had to do TONS of research online and kept pushing over and over again.

And it really is a shame. You can apparently, (willing doctor to do it) ask for special exemption where the doctor writes in for an item that is not cleared for the LTI but I don't know what the acceptance rates are.


The big thing to look at is to figure out if you are T1 or T2. A C peptide test might be a good idea. Honestly it sounds closer to T1 if the weight is down, you are on a full time insulin regime and your bloods are still high. I would look at switching hospital ASAP if you cannot get a nurse or doctor to advise you on BG correction doses.

cocker5

CramCycle wrote: »

I would ignore your GP, they are not specialists in the area, I would generally ignore the endo as well because they are following what they think or have read is best practice. Nurses though, if they are from one of the specialist clinics, I would put more stock in what they say. The better ones are in the Diabetes unit permanently, not moved around and see patients day to day.

I know nothing about Blanch but I have found James quite good.

It really does depend on the hospital. Unfortunately with funding, they will never admit it but only a certain amount of people will get pumps through the LTI each year. The only good nurses are the ones who have done the time, unfortunately in Ireland that seems to be fewer and fewer. There was a time when the good DNs were known across the country and you would hear their names mentioned at DI meetings.

And it really is a shame. You can apparently, (willing doctor to do it) ask for special exemption where the doctor writes in for an item that is not cleared for the LTI but I don't know what the acceptance rates are.


The big thing to look at is to figure out if you are T1 or T2. A C peptide test might be a good idea. Honestly it sounds closer to T1 if the weight is down, you are on a full time insulin regime and your bloods are still high. I would look at switching hospital ASAP if you cannot get a nurse or doctor to advise you on BG correction doses.

The funny thing is the LTI doesn't pay for anyones pump the HSE dont pay, its your local health centre that have to approve it - it comes from their budget , they pay the hospital directly for the pump and the supplies via the LTI. the waiting period is total madness, in the US its best practise to put someone on the pumps straight away and not make them wait.

just on that the Medtronic rep caitriona told me in vincents they have over 200 insulin pumps in the store rooms at any one time... they are just quiet back ward in coming forward when it comes to modern tech and Type 1

The dexcom wasnt approved at all in ireland for the first 2 years this is why we self funded - it became available in january 2016 and he now get all supplies through the LTI card.

Fiona123456

I really feel like we were unlucky in the medical "professionals" we were meeting.
It seems that we will have to do our research & work on it ourselves.
I will look at the uk forums for more guidance.
I had looked at purchasing the freestyle libre, if the dexcom is available here on the lti I will request it, it would be super efficient to have it linked to a mobile, no more guessing.

It was getting me really down feeling we were getting nowhere, actually going backwards
One Diabetic nurse told him to take insulin anytime he feels he needs it - which he took to mean skip 1,take one, skip 1.
My understanding is regular good food intake, regular insulin intake, check sugars & adjust accordingly & exercise
It sounds easy but life, work & everything else + diabetes its hard to keep going & balance it all

cocker5

Fiona123456 wrote: »

I really feel like we were unlucky in the medical "professionals" we were meeting.
It seems that we will have to do our research & work on it ourselves.
I will look at the uk forums for more guidance.
I had looked at purchasing the freestyle libre, if the dexcom is available here on the lti I will request it, it would be super efficient to have it linked to a mobile, no more guessing.

It was getting me really down feeling we were getting nowhere, actually going backwards
One Diabetic nurse told him to take insulin anytime he feels he needs it - which he took to mean skip 1,take one, skip 1.
My understanding is regular good food intake, regular insulin intake, check sugars & adjust accordingly & exercise
It sounds easy but life, work & everything else + diabetes its hard to keep going & balance it all

he should be taking insulin as he eats his meals this will help stop him spiking... click on the links i provided above and research they will help.

uli84

CramCycle wrote: »

Any luck contacting Medtronic, I realise its covered on the LTI but it grinds my gears when this happens. The paranoid one in me sees it as them stealing from the state.

I'm the exact same, i felt guily and didn't put the sensor until another week or 2 passed but if that happens again i'm gonna call them. in general they are very money oriented company rather than patient, hope the whole BigFoot company set up by people personally affected by diabetes will be a bit different.

uli84

cocker5 wrote: »

We’re very lucky his bloods are very good, but it does takes lots of daily work i.e. carb counting very tightly, exercise , the GCM and pump etc. his average is usually 5-6 never goes above 8-9.
This did take a good year to work out OP it’s not a quick process

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/managing-diabetes/treatment-approaches/type-2-diabetes-and-insulin/

Wow, what does he eat? Any special diet? While my pre-meal sugars are fine, after meals i often go too high like into 11-12 range.

As for pumps, in every country children get the priority in getting them free, I still think we're quite lucky here in Ireland. Also pump therapy is not suited to everyone.
I do agree that medical staff knowledge is poor, anyone knows nurse or doctor that is diabetic themselves? They're the best for sure. I personally was thinking of going this way myself but then decided it's not for me for various reasons.