The Type 1 Diabetes See-Saw, All we need to get High is Healthy Food !
#Type1Diabetics can get #High without #Drugs.
Iv wanted to put this into words for quite a while now in the hope that others might just understand a bit more, but we are all so very different.
Our routines, our ratios, our insulin type, some people pump, some on insulin pens, then there are others mixing insulin and using a syringe.
For blood glucose monitoring & testing there are people using, a The Dexcom, The Libra, The Guardian and various other types and makes of blood glucose meters. Apple are even going to get into this apparently, it seems nowadays Blood Glucose Testing is #trending but it makes a change from "Cinnamon & other stuff curing us & reversing us lol.
I'm going to write strictly from my point of view here, experienced but not professional !
Ok before we start lets just say getting #high is real easy and inexpensive if you have #Type1Diabetes, all it takes is nice healthy food that has #Carbohydrate in it. Without insulin this carbohydrate (of any kind) has the ability to make us real sick and even hospitalise us.
The High, if left un-noticed & untreated is closely followed by Ketones, and then we're in big trouble.
We basically have an intolerance to carbohydrate, we can't process it and move it on. All because our autoimmune system has gone into overdrive and has killed off the insulin producing islets in our pancreas, so anytime we eat carbohydrate we must inject insulin.
FYI the foods without those carbs are (fish, meat, eggs, cheese, diet or sugar free drinks & water) O Ye and lettuce. So called "Diabetic" foods are a NO GO ! They are expensive and more importantly they are a laxative that comes complete with tummy cramping and urgency (if you get my meaning) .........
When it comes to my "Highs" I don't know which part is worse.
- The absolutely awful taste in my mouth, that I call "candy floss mouth".
- The dreadful headache, that paracetamol won't touch.
- The severe lack of focus my eyes have, like someone's changed the lens when I wasn't looking.
- Wet irritated eyes, that stream water.
- A runny nose.
- Feeling really unwell
- The cramps in my tummy and then of course the diarrhoea.
- That "I need space" I'm irritated feeling.
- The backed into a corner feeling, that makes me want to come out fighting.
Luckily those who know me, don't fuss me, I just inject insulin, drink water, and then sleep, I normally set an alarm to check again an hour later to make sure my BG is coming down. If not ? Then more insulin.
No I'm not saying these are the actual symptoms of #Hyperglycemia. I'm saying that this is what happens to me. I would suffer from what I call "Dumping" anytime my system is not happy because of (high BG, some foods, some medications etc) my insides go into fight or flight mode and get rid of it real fast.
I find my Highs a little bit of a snake in the grass, it sort of slithers up on me with no warning and most times for no obvious reason. Unlike its pall on the other end of the #Type1 #SeeSaw, (the #Hypo)
With a #Hypo, visibly seeming drunk and the fairly instant feeling that goes with it generally prevents an emergency, unless I sleep through the initial stages and wake very very low, but getting high is a bit different, and I could be very high before I realise it. Don't know about you but getting it down is a slow process. For all these reasons I went on a CGM to help with a more proactive way of managing my #Type1
I'm told if we did a breathalyser test when very high, we would fail it and it would show up as over the limit. Iv never tried it but I suppose it makes sense, that much glucose / sugar just
Floating around in our blood.
The other really scary thing I discovered is, when blood sugar is high, the lens of the eye swells, even after getting your BG back to normal it can take weeks for the swelling to go down fully.
It was only as I began to struggle hearing, that I found out it effects the delicate hearing organs too.
High blood sugar effects every single part of our bodies, doing damage to delicate nerves, organs, extremities, & skin all of which suffer when you have prolonged periods of blood glucose that is higher than recommended.
It's important to know that it's not just eating and then not injecting insulin for the food we'v eaten that causes us to get a high BG (Blood Glucose)
Very often it's my high BG that lets me know I'm not well, or at least I'm not going to be well, but let me explain this.
Any kind of infection can rise my BG, before I know exactly what's wrong.
I'd know a day or so before, Iv a kidney infection, a cold, ear ache, chest infection, etc as the onset of an illness / infection will be effecting my BG before I actually feel ill. These are thing it's best not to ignore.
I suppose what I'm saying is. Be strict when it comes to managing your blood glucose. Get to know yourself very well, if you keep a physical record of your daily BG, you won't be long about knowing when something is not right.
I'm going to leave you with Some Diabetes Language you may find useful when trying to understand what people in the diabetes community are talking about, and yes Diabetes has a language
- DSM ( diabetes self management )
- MDI ( Multiple Daily Injections )
- Pumping ( wearing an insulin pump )
- CGM ( continuous glucose meter )
- High ( Blood Sugar above the required limit )
- Hypo ( blood sugar below the required limit )
- Basel ( background insulin only )
- Bolus ( fast acting insulin we inject with food )
- Testing ( finger pricking to test blood glucose )
- BG ( blood glucose )
- Sensor ( is attached to the skin for use with a CGM )
- Site ( this is a term usually used by pumpers when using an insulin pump) referring to the place on their body they put their "set" their insulin comes from their pump, through very fine tubing, attached to the set thats attached to their body.
- Correction ( this is the ratio for correcting a high BG)
- Hypo kit ( is GlucoGen injection for emergencies when unconscious, glucose tablets or drink, Jelly sweets, full sugar drink. Stuff we carry to treat a Hypo )
- Ratio ( every diabetic has a different ratio for their Bolus insulin,
example : for every 5 grams carbs / 1 unit of insulin, a small plain scone without jam, might have 30gms carbs, this would need 6 units of insulin. (30 gms carbs ➗ 5 insulin /carb = 6 units of insulin needed)
Davina
