New to the forum & to Diabetes

Lozzo

Member
Hello everyone,

I have just joined the forum today, after reading through many posts, especially in this Diabetes thread.

I would like to get some views from anyone who has had diabetes for a long time, but first a little background info about me.

I am currently living in Hong Kong and have been here for 6 years. ( We are considering moving back to the UK in a year or so).

So anyway, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in July, after having ( i now know) 2 weeks of hyperglycemia. I was very weak, badly dehydrated, light-headed etc..before my wife convinced me to see the local doctor. (See, men are bad for taking themselves to the doctor..heh). After checking my blood & urine, they found my blood sugar was over 23 mmol.The doctor gave me a letter and promptly ordered me to go to the public hospital emergency room the same day. Needless to say my wife & I got worried pretty quick!
Anyway, at the hospital they confirmed that i had type 2 diabetes mellitus and i stayed in hospital for the next 4 days while they poked, prodded, injected, weighed and examined me. For a government hospital, the service was very, very good and i felt i was in safe hands all the way through that week.

That was all in July. I was prescribed the following drugs to take daily ( maybe these are similar to the ones in UK?) :
1. Protaphane HM penfill Insulin ( 24 units before breakfast, 12 units before dinner ).
2. Metformin HCL tablet ( 2 x 500mg )
3. Acertil tablet ( 1 x 2mg )

So, when i came out of hospital, my FBG was around 10-11. Within a week, it had reduced to around 6. For the past few weeks, it has constantly hovered around 5 - 5.5

I exercise for about 40 mins, 3 or 4 times a week ( walking up & down the mountain roads here ) which feels like a pretty good workout as i was doing zero previously.

I was supposed to use the 'exchange' system for my diet but i've found this to be too difficult to follow, especially when i have also prepare the evening meals for my family. So basically, I cut out ALL sugar & massively minimize my intake of salt, fats etc..found within foods. I eat almost no processed foods and stick to simple cooked lean meat/fish, veg, whole grains, drink water only etc..

Luckily, my efforts seem to be working OK as i have been losing weight slowly but surely ( lost 33 Ibs so far ).

So here is my only concern right now. In the past week or so, my FBG has been dipping down to below 5. The lowest one was 4.3 which freaked me out a bit. It happened on my final blood test before going to bed ( i check 4 times per day before meals ). I was worried and ate a few pieces of candy. 15mins later it was 4.7.

The question in my head is does anyone think that my insulin level could be reduced soon? I know i can eat more food to balance out the insulin taken, but i want to be sure not to over-eat while also trying to lose weight.

I haven't had chance to discuss this with my diabetes nurse at the hospital yet, as my follow-up appointments are months apart. They say that only the doctor can authorise a change in the medication levels, and the doctor was never around when i went back for a follow-up last time.

I generally feel OK within myself, but i just have this nagging feeling that a FBG of 4 something is a bit low?

What does anyone think? Happy to receive any feedback you think is appropriate.

Oh, and sorry for rambling on for my first post. I'll be shorter next time..lol

Cheers! :p

Lozzo
 
Hello there, and welcome .... firstly WELL DONE on your achievements !!!!! you should be VERY proud ....... Secondly, in terms of your diabetes - 4mmols isnt regarded as hypoglycaemic BUT as you take insulin, it is advisable to reduce your insulin - as a diabetic you suddenly become very independant with your diabetes and so, it is up to you to titrate your insulin as and when you need, and not to rely on your doc (bare in mind i am a type1 diabetic and have 19years experience in this field) as like you say, appointments are months apart and the last thing you want is to be having hypo's left, right and centre ... and also just bare in mind that the more insulin you take the more chance there is of weight gain, so reducing the insulin is better than increasing your food intake. And thirdly, add in some sugar, it wont harm you as your body is clearly showing signs it needs the carbohydrate when your bm's are lowering to 4mmols - add in a biscuit or two are meals, yogurts etc ... I hope this has helped. if you need any help with anything, i am very happy to provide you with answers.

Claire :D
 
Hi Claire-Bear,

Many thanks for your kind words. Your advice on what i can do next is very much appreciated and i guess is similar to what i was also thinking.

I suppose that because this is still a quite new situation for me, I assumed i should just stick to the prescribed meds and not deviate. Before i left hospital in July, the doctors and nurse were quite insistent that i follow the prescribed course and what ever happens *DO NOT MISS AN INSULIN SHOT*. It all seemed pretty scary to me at the time and its taken this long to settle down and for it all to feel like routine.

Also, maybe its a language problem or cultural thing, but the Chinese nurses, although usually speaking english pretty good, the demeanor is a bit less friendly. Like they have a steel outer shell, through which emotion and empathy shall fail to pass..lol. So i guess i was a bit scared to raise the issue with them and just accepted what i was told to do.

But i think that my blood levels are generally stable now. I don't eat anything to make them spike. I also noticed that while exercising, i have been feeling slightly weaker and less energised that even when i started. It could be a lack of energy due to low sugar levels. I will give the little sugar boost thing a try and let you know what happens.

Many thanks again!

Lozzo :happy096:
 
Hi and welcome.
Firstly, anything between 4 & 7 is fine. Below 4 is a Hypo.
Secondly, since you are so new to this, I think you should go back to the Doc now for a re-evaluation.
As our lovely Claire-Bear said it is eventually up to you to adjust your insulin dose up and down as needed but that comes with knowledge and experience.
Certainly do not miss an injection but do go and see about getting more information and adjustments sorted out. Great to have you with us and well done on your achievements. :)
 
Hi Leanne,

Hello and thanks for the warm welcome. Yes, all good advice. Actually my FBG was 5.2 last night and 5.0 this morning. So i can see that its going to vary quite a bit depending on what i eat. I guess i'll leave things for now and see how my levels continue
Unfortunately, you can't turn up at the diabetes clinic here. They have to issue an appointment to you, which would be a few months away. Best i can do to get immediate advice is give them a call and ask to speak to a nurse. I can only afford to use the government hospital system. Private clinics would charge a small fortune per visit. Way out of my league!

But lets see how it goes. I am determined to become the master of this disease and not the servant. As i have read elsewhere on this forum, it was the kick up the bum i needed to get myself healthy again. And i'm gonna give it my best shot!

Cheers!

Lozzo :party0011::party0049:
 
You sound like your doing very well .... diabetes is such a patient led condition .. i mean, i never really consult my diabetes team for help, as i already know what to do ........ but it would be nice for you, if you could see them if u needed .. but i guess its two totally different countries .... if u want any help - theres a fair few of us diabetics around on here so feel free to ask anything u wanna xx good luck with everything :D
 
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