I went to the doctor yesterday (It had been 3 years since I had been to one... I KNOW...) and she gave me a blood sugar monitor (I hadn't tested for months... I KNOW!!...).
Anyways- I started testing yesterday and my blood sugars have been consistently high. All day today they have ranged between 200-390, and that has been with little food and lots of insulin. I tested an hour ago and it was 515! I took 20 units of humalog and tested again just now and it was 392.
My last A1C was 10.7 (last week) and I'm thinking since I haven't kept a very close watch on things there may be something more serious going on... but it seems like every time I think something is serious and I go to the ER they pump me full of fluids and send me home with a HUGE bill.
Should I wait it out or should I pack a bag and head to the hospital?
Extremely high blood sugars aside, what symptoms have you concerned enough to consider a hospital trip? Have you checked for Ketones? (If not, go to the pharmacy and buy some Ketostix. They're like $10.)
Only you know your body, so the question of hospital or no is yours. It's hard for anyone but you or a medical professional to know what's normal for you, vs. what's not normal.
Feeling low when you aren't is a very normal symptom for people who have let themselves run high for a long time. Your body self-adjusts to thinking that "high" is "normal", so when you start to come down a bit, your body thinks you're "low", even though you're not.
You've got a long road ahead, but we're all here to help you walk it.
The high blood sugar is all I'm worried about. I just tested again and it is coming down... I was just worried maybe the insulin wasn't having any effect on me. I'm wanting to get back on track and I will need lots of support so I definitely appreciate having other diabetics to talk to. Thanks! :)
I agree with Kim. Its definitely a good idea to get ketone strips, if you feel that crappy you might not be able to tell ketone symptoms apart. Drinking a lot of water will definitely but go with your gut feelings... if you feel like its worse and you should go then i wouldn't put it off. Maybe if your doctor has an emergency number you can call and ask her opinion before you go. hope you feel better!
You said yourself exactly what you need to do: Test your blood sugar. Who cares that you haven't for months. Start testing more often TODAY.
It's not that your insulin isn't working...it's just that when your blood sugar gets super high and you have ketones it's a lot harder to bring it back down. It'll take a lot more insulin than you'd normally give.
I can tell you exactly what an ER will do for you...I work in one...and I see how our doctors treat high blood sugar/DKA all the time. Trust me, it's not fancy. And it's a waste of money for anyone who's conscious and knows how to treat diabetes.
IF you do go to the ER, this is exactly what will happen: They'll check a finger stick BG, start an IV, draw blood and run labs, give you a bolus of insulin (humalog or novolog), give you liter(s) of saline through your IV, and then possibly put you on a insulin drip of old school regular insulin. Plus everyone's fave part of the E.R. - hours of waiting.
And they'll charge an arm and a leg for it. And sadly it's stuff that you or I could all do at home: check your sugar, take some insulin, make sure you've taken your basal insulin (or your pump is working), an drink lots of water.
Go to your 24 hr pharmacy and buy a box of ketostix. They're easy to use. Take a strip out, pee on it, compare it to the colors on the box and see if you have ketones. If you do, drinks TONS OF WATER. And keep taking insulin until your blood sugar comes down. There's no fancy trick. You're not doing anything wrong. You just have to have the gumption to do it.
I know you can. Anyone with type 1 diabetes has a certain sense of "can do!" that enables us to take control of our health. We might get lazy at times, but it's never too late to fix your bad habits. Get to it, girlfriend.
If you do everything we've been telling you then we just saved you tons of money on a wasted hospital trip. :)
Drinking a lot of water does help. A Whole Bunch! Everyone is right about what they are saying. I had diabetes for three years, and i never took my shots or tested my blood until early this year. My A1c was >14%!!! and stayed that way until I started controlling it better this year. Also, to help with the drinking water, drink some Pedialyte a couple times a day between glasses of water. It helps you to drink more water because it keeps you from getting tired of the water's lack in flavor, and it has electrolytes in it which help your body out a lot! Also, to help you stay in control, eat only 45-60 carbs per meal, and try to not eat snacks unless you are low or about to exersice. Also, try to test every 2 hours. It's a hassle, but watching how your blood sugar numbers trend will help you gain better control! I hope I helped! Send me a message if you have any more ?s, because I went through exactly what your going through now, and I know it is so so hard! Good Luck Hun.
I would defintely suggest keeping track of your BGs and writing everything down ( what the bg was, what ur eating, how much insulin you are taking). Drink a lot of water as well will help. Then I would call your doctor (most will talk to you over the phone and come up with a better regimen for you without you having to go to the ED and pay). Tell your doctor all the stuff you have written down so they can help you figure it out.
Also, it is very likely you will feel low due to the fact that you have be high for a decent amount of time. I suggest that you at least eat a small amount of carbs every time you take your insulin, so your BG will go down more slowly. This is better for your body and will give you less of a low feeling. It is never good to dramatically drop your BG from 400-500 down to 90s or whatever your goal is. Slow is better.
I hope this helps, good luck! and definitely call your doctor, you dont have to figure this all out on your own!
Starting testing, for BG and Ketones is a big step and kudos for making a great step toward improving your D.
What kind of a multiple daily injections regimen are you following? You mentioned that you are taking Humalog, what and how are you using your long acting insulin are you using.
When I first went on multiple injections I did a fast to determine what my basal dosage should be before planning my humalog insulin.