GD struggling (on insulin) UK

[tiggerz]

I had GD last pregnancy requiring insulin before each meal. On Tuesday I was given the option of starting on insulin just for breakfast. The reason being I am finding it so hard to eat anything without going over blood sugar level (other meals are fine at the moment!) Even eating weetabix x 2 drop of milk no sugar and my level was 9!!!! With insulin today my level was still too high at 8!!!
Next thing is my levels are dropping like a stone between meals - I was told not to drive if bs is lower than 5 - twice today I've needed to drive and my BS has been 4.8 and 4.6!!! So I've had to eat before driving even though I feel fine and am not hungry!
I was told the insulin only stays in the body for 3 hrs so this can't be effecting me all day and now I just don't know what to do!!
Anybody help??

 

[HellBunny]

I've not much advice hun, only last time i was diet controlled but i wasn't able to eat any cereals at all, 2 weetabix with a tiny bit of milk put me at 14.5, so i had to have 1 piece of toast with loads of protein. Do you have a review/appointment with the diabetic team soon?x

 

[tiggerz]

Yes, I go back every 2wks at the moment but I also have phone contact - I'll ring her tomorrow, the reason I was given insulin at breakfast was so I could eat I am more worried about my levels dropping so much during the day so I can't legally drive!! Its scary!!
Have you been told if you'll have to start testing your blood this time - they got me started at 16 wks...

 

[Springtime]

Hi, it's common for sugar levels to drop between meals when one is on insulin. I am on insulin too and have to knack between meals to stop the sugars from going too low. I even get up in the middle of the night to snack so my sugars don't crash.

 

[tiggerz]

Hi, it's common for sugar levels to drop between meals when one is on insulin. I am on insulin too and have to knack between meals to stop the sugars from going too low. I even get up in the middle of the night to snack so my sugars don't crash.

It didnt happen last pg also I'm only having a teeny amount of insulin at breakfast; Also was told that in 3 hrs it's out of your system anyway! It's so hard isn't it!! I can't believe you're having to wake at night to eat - that's not good, I hope I don't need to do that xx

 

[Springtime]

It's an odd thing with diabetes and insulin. I got a bad hypo 2 nights ago. My sugars were fine 2 hrs after dinner and then I woke up at 2.30 am sweating and palpitating. My sugars were at 2.7! So I make sure I keep an alarm and check m sugars in the middle of the night. My doc told me hypos occur when one is on insulin.

 

[thelioncub]

I know it sounds obvious, but could it be that Weetabix is just one of your 'bad' foods - in that it will always cause high readings for you?
Quite often the foods I think will give me good readings don't, and vice versa. Have you tried changing your breakfast?
Right now brown toast gives me a high number, but granola pretty much always gives me an OK one. My best breakfast reading is after a portion of Lizie's chocolate(!) granola (found in Waitrose) with Activia pouring yoghurt and some blueberries. The chocolate flavour had the lowest sugar out of all the flavours, and is actually really nice (I'm not a gravelly-breakfast lover normally!)
I would play around with some other meals. x

 

[first]

I know this is a GD thread, and my situation is different, I have type 1 diabetes, so have been on insulin since I was 11!

I know the legal limit to drive is 5 and it can be scary to go below that with that in mind, but you should realize that 4.6 is a really normal level for diabetics! If you just drink a little bit of juice or eat something small it will easily come up to over 5 and you should be able to drive just fine! So it sounds to me that you're doing just fine! Hope it all works out well for you.

 

[tiggerz]

Thank you x

I've been playing with breakfast and I'm finding it the most challenging meal of the day still, been trying various different things - nothing suits!

I now have a wicked cold and fell asleep and woke to 3.1 bs!! Finding this really difficult!

 

[fairykate]

Hi guys I don't have GD but my OH has Type1 so I know quite a lot about it, being the one that cooks his food, treats his hypos during the night etc

The most common myth about diabetes is that it's to do with sugar - it's not. It's to do with carbs (which of course sugar is!) and this would be why wetabix sends you high. Fruits, though high in natural sugar will give you sugars but they work over a longer period rather than making you go high straight away so you could try that?

I don't know much about GD and insulin, but are you allowed to alter the amount you inject or does it have to stay an exact amount? With Marc, he just alters the dosage according to his BS before the meal (so if he's below 5 then he injects afterwards or does a lower dose) and what's IN the meal....

 

[fairykate]

Thank you x

I've been playing with breakfast and I'm finding it the most challenging meal of the day still, been trying various different things - nothing suits!

I now have a wicked cold and fell asleep and woke to 3.1 bs!! Finding this really difficult!

I'll also say that when OH is ill his BS fluctuate wildly!!!!

 

[fairykate]

It's an odd thing with diabetes and insulin. I got a bad hypo 2 nights ago. My sugars were fine 2 hrs after dinner and then I woke up at 2.30 am sweating and palpitating. My sugars were at 2.7! So I make sure I keep an alarm and check m sugars in the middle of the night. My doc told me hypos occur when one is on insulin.

In regards to this, we make sure that his BS is slightly higher before bed - about 8/9 normally does it x

 

[tiggerz]

It's an odd thing with diabetes and insulin. I got a bad hypo 2 nights ago. My sugars were fine 2 hrs after dinner and then I woke up at 2.30 am sweating and palpitating. My sugars were at 2.7! So I make sure I keep an alarm and check m sugars in the middle of the night. My doc told me hypos occur when one is on insulin.

In regards to this, we make sure that his BS is slightly higher before bed - about 8/9 normally does it x

That's a good idea!!! Hmmm digestive chocy biscuits for supper :-D

 

[fairykate]

It's an odd thing with diabetes and insulin. I got a bad hypo 2 nights ago. My sugars were fine 2 hrs after dinner and then I woke up at 2.30 am sweating and palpitating. My sugars were at 2.7! So I make sure I keep an alarm and check m sugars in the middle of the night. My doc told me hypos occur when one is on insulin.

In regards to this, we make sure that his BS is slightly higher before bed - about 8/9 normally does it x

That's a good idea!!! Hmmm digestive chocy biscuits for supper :-D

Haha Us women are probably more disciplined but he stays up for hours and then doesn't test before he comes to bed sometimes and I have to get woken up to the most awful night hypos. In that case I feed him raw jelly cubes or lucozade thru a straw if it's just a shaky one and not a violent one!!! Add that to having to wee every hour and I have worse sleep than I'd ever though possible!!!!

 

[tiggerz]

It's an odd thing with diabetes and insulin. I got a bad hypo 2 nights ago. My sugars were fine 2 hrs after dinner and then I woke up at 2.30 am sweating and palpitating. My sugars were at 2.7! So I make sure I keep an alarm and check m sugars in the middle of the night. My doc told me hypos occur when one is on insulin.

In regards to this, we make sure that his BS is slightly higher before bed - about 8/9 normally does it x

That's a good idea!!! Hmmm digestive chocy biscuits for supper :-D

Haha Us women are probably more disciplined but he stays up for hours and then doesn't test before he comes to bed sometimes and I have to get woken up to the most awful night hypos. In that case I feed him raw jelly cubes or lucozade thru a straw if it's just a shaky one and not a violent one!!! Add that to having to wee every hour and I have worse sleep than I'd ever though possible!!!!

You poor thing!!!! I'd kick his ass to eat before bed, you need your rest!!!

 

[fairykate]

Cos his BS can be up or down (it really is a bit of a rollercoaster condition) it's mainly the testing that's the problem. If he ate and then went high during the night he bloody gets up and tests to check and wakes me up then too!!!

Last night I woke up cos he was too still LOL and was talking in his sleep - normally a sign he's about to drop low (normally it's like being in a small boat on choppy seas sleeping with him in the same bed lol) so I fed him a couple of jelly sweets and went back to sleep!!! When he woke up his BS was 5 so good judgement call by me!!!!

 

[tiggerz]

Definite good call xx

 

[GingerNut]

Could you double check the bit about not driving below 5? I'm pretty certain that's not true. I've been told not to go below 3.5 or so, but they like me to be as close to the 3.5 as possible before meals.

 

[tiggerz]

Could you double check the bit about not driving below 5? I'm pretty certain that's not true. I've been told not to go below 3.5 or so, but they like me to be as close to the 3.5 as possible before meals.

I was told it was 5 for driving! But I thought from last time it was 3.5 - I will check with them again but she definitely said 5! I need to talk to her tomorrow as my levels are getting worse everyday
I'll post tomo when I've spoken to her x

 

[cranberry987]

Hi

I had the same problem with breakfasts too, i needed a silly amount of insulin to keep in target then would hypo mid morning. Now I snack every 45 mins so its fine I found that having a protein breakfast (with a little bit of insulin) like a glass of milk worked. After an hour I could then eat carbs (with insulin, but I take it all day anyway) and my levels would be much lower, it was like my body needed to be warmed up or something

Ive also been told that it has to be over 4, was told to test before I drive, but not that it had to be over 5. oh well, not much longer now anyway til its not an issue.

I would try staggering your breakfast if you can, maybe have one weetabix then one at work, or a cereal bar a bit later on. or just try protein breakfasts like me, might work