[emmie_lou]

Dear all,

so pleased to have found this site as i have really been feeling frustrated by my diabetes recently so glad to have found somewhere to talk to other diabetics and share experiences

please read my profile and please contact me

many thanks

Emmie xx ;-D

 

[rubystar2]

My diabetes is not quite like yours. I hope you get some answers soon. You really need to stabilize yourself to minimize any long term affects. I know you are trying but the doctors need to figure out what's going on so you can take care of yourself. I'm sorry I have no answers but please let us know how you progress. Best of luck to you.

 

[Terrie]

Hi Emmie:

Welcome to our forum. I like your hair in braids but it must take forever to get those done. You have a lot of patience.

I've had many of the same experiences you have since I was dxd. at age 3. With tons of seizures. I still get the occasional low but no seizures thankfully. I also had Friends and Relatives die young from this disease.

I don't have bowel problems and we're not Drs. here but there is a small chance that you have Colitis. Of course, if it was that, the Drs. would know right off. So it's most likely something else. I hope that it's easily treatable.

Boy, you've been through a rough time alright. I hope that you are over the food poisoning(I had that once--Bad)and feeling better. Hopefully you will be able to have your tests soon. It sounds like your sugars are out of control. I wonder if it is partially caused by the bowel problem. I know Nursing is a run-run job usually. Do you carry something with you like Glucose tabs? Are you allowed to test often enough while working? Please let us know what happens. We're here for you.

*Terrie*

 

[emmie_lou]

hi

thank u both for ur messages. yeah the consultant i'm under for the bowel thinks it might b ulcerative colitis but they need to do the scope to have a good look, which should b in a couple of wks. i'm off work now for a further wk for the food poisioning to clear. I've left a voicemail message for my diabetes nurses to phone me everyday next wk to support me as my sugars are still sensitive. went low again this morning and i didnt have symptoms, which makes me feel nt in control so will continue to reduce the levemir. Work is good when it comes to my diabetes, where i'm out on my own between visits i do my bm's and always keep stuff in my car for when i need it.

I've bought a diary today so i can monitor everything from my bm's, insulin, meals, bowel motions, excerise and my pain symptoms so when i see my consultants both diabetes and bowel i have a clear record of everything.

I just feel real low at the mo so used to being independant and active i just want the pain to be diagnosised so i can get the correct med's and get bk into my normal life.

Luckily my diabetes nurse in hospital was wonderful she knows exactly what diabetes is like which was lovely that she understand how frustrating it is when u cant stabilise things even when ur trying ur best.

thank u so much for u support :-D
love and friendship
xx

 

[Terrie]

Hello:

It's Good that you are able to rest for awhile until you are recovered from the food poisoning.

That's Great that you are writing things down for your Drs. That will help them a lot. Meanwhile, maybe you could see a trend and discover what is causing your lows from what you have recorded.

Ulcerative Colitis as you probably know is an auto-immune disease. It is common for a Person who has one auto-immune disease to get another and perhaps another. Like one isn't Bad enough eh?

I'm surprised that you have hypo unawareness already. I didn't get that for many, many years. Mine isn't total. I still have some awareness of lows. I suppose having so many lows has created that for you. I've been told that keeping your sugars high for about 3 weeks will get rid of it. But I have a high phobia, so I couldn't do that. I had a high for 3 days back in 2006 and I was really not happy since I couldn't figure out what was causing it. A CGMS would come in handy, for that reason.

I'm Glad that the Nurse will be helping you with your sugars. The 2 weeks will pass before you know it. Then you can be dxd. with whatever is causing you the pain. Then you'll be up and running again. YW!

 

[Richard157]

Hello Emmie Lou, welcome to our support group! I read your profile and I see you are having several problems. I hope they get better in the months ahead so you can regulate your diabetes more easily. Do you use a basal/bolus type of control with your insulin? Carb counting has helped me more than anything else. I count the number of grams of carbs in my meal and take the appropriate number of units to compensate for those carbs. My ratio is 6 for most of the day. That means I need one unit of fast acting insulin for every 6g of carbs I am going to eat. Your ratio might be quite different. Some people need 1 unit for every 15 or even 30 grams of carbs. Carb counting has helped me to greatly reduce the number of highs and lows that I have. Most of my Type 1 friends use carb counting.

I have been Type 1 for 63 years and I am healthy. I was diagnosed in 1945 when I was 6.

Ask all the questions you want. We are here to help!

Richard

 

[emmie_lou]

Hi Richard

thank you for the message. yes i do carb count when they changed me onto the four jabs a day the said i'd have to carb count and it seemed quite generalised at 10g per unit. I jus feel at the mo my diabetes is so sensitive to food for example i woke up this morning and i was 2.5mmols and no symptoms of a low bm and had 3 glucose tabs and a small piece of malt loaf and the went bk up to 8 and still continuing to rise. i dont no how much of it is a rebound high and when to do insulin. i've dropped my bedtime insulin so its practicely half of what i was doing and still going low in the morning. getting rather frustrating for both me and my mum cuz she hates it when i fit. Just feel its a real knock to my confidence cuz being a child was hard trying to keep ot stable and then puberty was a flaming nightmare, so last couple of yrs i thought i was getting on top of it. my gp has already been putting me on high blood pressure tablets for the last yr, which he thinks might be start of automy neuropothy i think its called.

lol sorry for writing so much

thank u again

x

 

[Richard157]

Emmie, there was a time when I had that problrm so I set the alarm for 4am and tested. If I had started going low I would eat a snack. What time you should test during the night and how much you should eat can be dermined by trial and error. That routine worked for me. I got used to doing that and I could go back to sleep very quickly. I do think that a high protein snack just before going to bed would do just as well. There is a product called an "Extend bar" that you can Google for information. It is high protein and will extend throughout the night and it would help in your situation. It is also used by people who have "dawn phenomenon" too.

 

[Terrie]

lol sorry for writing so much

You write whenever you want to Love. I wish I had had someone to talk to about Diabetes when I was younger. We hope that you will be okay. Have a Good Day.

 

[pinefamily]

Seizures etc.

Hello all,
Just found this site today, so please bear with me. I have had type 1 diabetes for 23 years (since age 21). Got it under control, and thought I knew everything. I had few problems until I had to change my basal insulin, from monotard to protophane, with still using actrapid as my "leveller". I had a severe seizure in the middle of the night, which absolutely terrified my wife and son. After a stay in hospital, I was put on lantis and novorapid. The change in my sugar levels, both short & long term, has been remarkable. However, I have had three more seizures since, the last on Sunday last.
I am very interested to read any comments or suggestions.

Thanks,
Darren Pine

 

[Richard157]

Hello Darren, welcome to Diabetes Forum! I used to have a lot of seizures and hypos too until I started to use carb counting to determine my insulin dosages. Do you use carb counting? I have to know how many carbs (carbohydrates) I am going to have before every meal and snack. I need 1 unit of insulin for every 6 carbs. I take the necessary injections before I eat. Some people need 1 unit for every 15 carbs, it varies a lot from one person to another. That procedure enabled me to have fewer hypos. I have not had a seizure for more than 2 years now. I do not eat anything after 8 PM (20:00) so that I will not be going to sleep with any fast acting insulin in my body. I never have hypos during the night now.

Please ask any questions you want!

Richard

 

[pinefamily]

Hello Richard,
Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I do carb count (sort of); I know how each meal or food will affect my bsl, and take the appropriate novorapid. Since being put onto lantis and novorapid, I have had excellent control over my diabetes. One of my seizures was my own fault; I tested, took novorapid, then tested a little later and took more novorapid. Because I had been inactive at home, the novorapid didn't work as fast as it should have, and then both doses kicked in.
The other seizure I can probably put down to trial & error while adjusting to my new insulin. This last one is a complete mystery. I have been told that your warning signs to a low can disappear with good control. I am more concerned with long term brain damage. This last one has left the longest "foggy" mental effects.
Thanks for listening,
Darren

 

[Richard157]

Darren, I think the long term brain damage that you may have heard or read about is exaggerated. Seizures that lead to diabetic coma and recovery several days or weeks later definitely cause permanent brain damage. I have had a few hundred seizures where my mother, and now my wife had to assist me, since I was uable to function. There was no prolonged unconsciousness and my brain functions normally. Unless you have prolonged unconsciousness , I do not think you need to worry about brain damage.