The #Type1Diabetes See-Saw, All we need to get High is Healthy Food !

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 

Iport & Insuflon, HSE expence, the cost of wasted Insulin

#Iport #Insuflon #InjectingInsulin #Type1Diabetics #Type2Diabetics #HSEcost 

Ok so personal little exercise for a various reasons.

#IportCost #InsulinCost #HSEexpense @HSElive @OB_Recuitment

Just 1 #NovoRapid #InsulinPen is aprx €10 @ cost price

In the picture attached You'l see, that all too familiar drip we have on the end of our insulin pen needle after injecting our insulin. ( even after the 10 second rule )  If we inject 5 times daily ( 3 meals, 1 snack & a possible correction ) that's at least 5 units of insulin wasted........

A Novo Rapid insulin pen has 60 units of insulin, costing €0.17 per unit.

So that's €0.85 cent per day, €5.95 per week, €25.78 per month of wasted insulin.

#Iport costs €160 @ cost per month. It comes as a pack of 10 each lasting 3 days, so 30 day supply. €16.00 each for 3 days, €5.35 per day. This would save on lipohypertrophy complications and treatment, it would save on even more insulin as injecting to a lipohypertrophy area would mean using even more insulin than should be required to cover the carbs in a meal or snack.

#Insuflon costs aprx €60 @ cost, comes as a pack of 10, each lasting 3-5 days. If we say 3 days each box would last a month. €6.00 each, €2 per day.

For a 5 day period a box of insuflon would last for 7 weeks, and the daily cost to the HSE would be €1.20 per day & €36.00 per month. 

Now as the definite waste of insulin per month is aprx €26.00 and maybe more in some cases, I would have thought covering both the iport and Insuflon on our LTI scheme would be a cost effective measure even the HSE can't ignore. Using one of these devices would reduce the cost of insulin to the HSE and in some cases & circumstances it might even balance out.

However we are still awaiting a decision from the HSE as to whether they will cover the iport on our long term illness ( LTI ) scheme. Wouldn't it be nice if both the Iport & the Insuflon were included ? Then we could choose which one we would prefer to use. 

I do think the iport is possibly a little more suitable to children. However the Insuflon has a potentially important role to play for people / adults with type 1 diabetes And adults with type 2 diabetes injecting insulin.

Iv used both and I'm happy with how effective both devices are when used correctly. There are advantages with both devices, and very few disadvantages, however at the end of the day it is down to personal choice, age, circumstances, and lifestyle.

At the end of the day, when using either of these devices, the insulin we are injecting is more effective and with no waste because the little rubber seal we inject into catches every single drip of insulin we inject. If we inject 6 units, we get the effect of 6 units instead of 5 units with a 1 unit drip wasted.

Davina "T1"

Not professional but experienced

Diabetes T1 Ireland

Drunk without the Alcohol, Type 1 Diabetes and the Hypo

#DiabetesBlog #Hypoglycemia #DeGlucofied How does it feel ?

"Drunk without the Alcohol" by a #T1D

Sugar is not the cause of #Diabetes. Without sugar people with diabetes would be in serious trouble. #Sugar is treatment for #Hypoglycemia #Hypos, People with #Type1Diabetes and some people with #Type2Diabetes need sugar just like they need #Insulin to survive. Sugar to a #Diabetic is just as needed and just as important as our insulin is. 

De-glucofied ( my new word )  "What happens in the hypo stays in the hypo" 

Whenever I meet parents of children, not long diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, especially parents of young children one of the first questions they ask is, "what does a hypo or a low blood sugar feel like" of course they read the symptoms, but what it actually feels like is a whole other thing.

Sometimes children don't seem to have listened to what's been said to them, sometimes they just sleep for hours after a low, maybe have a tummy pain or upset tummy, they might be weepy, or feel a bit emotionally soft, seem confused, seem awkward, uncordidated  or can't remember. Well this is how I feel during a low, after a low, and sometimes for quite a while afterwards.

I woke up during one nights sleep and I knew straight away this wasn't good, I actually felt confused making my way to the kitchen and tried to maintain my balance while keeping the wall real close. 

Because I was more than a tad disorientated when I got to my meter I spilled the tub of test strips on the floor and they seemed to have taken flight. There's a visible flush going on, with a trickle of sweat running from my hairline, my clothes feel damp, o wait they are damp with sweat, and I know that someone is talking to me because their lips are moving, but Iv no idea what they're saying. I treated that low heavily, my reading was 2.3 and I slept deeply for hours after it.

Nobody can understand that "no mans land" that I am in when my blood sugar is low, except another person with diabetes who's had a low or hypo.

Totally deglucofied, and because of that, strangely unresponsive, and when I say unresponsive I don't mean unconscious.

One moment I am walking around, chatting and laughing, thinking things through, planning, working, or just cooking the dinner, when i slip silently into, not thinking and just doing. 

I go from walking with purpose and direction to walking and not knowing why or where Im going.

I go from chatting and laughing to seeing people around me chatting, i hear sounds but they don't make sense, it's like quite noise and my brain can't figure out where it's coming from. Afterwards when iv treated the low BG with glucose or sugar of some sort, I find people saying "remember I told you that" ? Mmm NO. Because "what happens in the hypo stays in the hypo" and does not get remembered.

For all the following reasons hypos or lows can be very frightening and bit dangerous.

It would be easy to fall and hurt myself. 

It would be easy to say or do something and have no recollection of it afterwards.

It's easy to put something down and not be able to find it.

It's easy to eat for survival and not measure, count or care about portion size or carb count.

It would be easy to walk out in front of a car when crossing a road, because judgment is gone.

if im walking there's a strange but not nice feeling of walking on air, like the ground beneath my feet just doesn't exist, impact as I walk is gone, tripping and falling would be so easy

Because all of these things are completely out of our control when our blood sugar drops too low and that's just one side of the coin.

The treatment (not treat ) is sugar / glucose in the form of a full sugar drink or lucozade, jelly beans, jelly babies, skittles, basically anything high in sugar or glucose.

It's important to remember that when you treat a headache, a hangover, or something else that's making you feel rotten, you don't just pop a pill and feel instantly better, the same applies to popping in the glucose for a hypo, it's not an instant "feel better" it takes time to come back to normal.

Treating a hypo in no different, yes we treat it, and get those blood sugar numbers back within range, but the "feel good" feeling dosent return instantly because there's an aftermath. The fact that you'v dropped low means it's effected all of your body and it takes quite a while for the sugar rush to reach everywhere and get us back on track. 

If your anything like me all of this is followed with a dreadfull headache, an upset tummy, and a feeling of exhaustion that leaves me fit for nothing but sleep.

It's actually worse than being very drunk, it's downright frightening. 

My Balance, sight, & sense of direction are all effected, 

Davina.

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