Is this my honeymoon?

[dan_o_89_rs]

So I am new here. Fairly new to diabetes. If you read my introduction, you'll see I'm not on top of things like I should be. I lack the drive to better my health. I have read of people on here fighting BS in the 300's. I know I need to keep it around 100, but I have no consiquences/feelings of bad when my BS is 300. I want to know what would happen to you if you did what I did.

Thursday night, I completely forgot to take my Lantus. I have done this before w/ no troubles. Friday before a high-carb dinner and a high-sugar dessert, I bust out the glucometer (I am seeing my endo Mon & want some readings).

@ 8pm my BS is 176. -I last ate 6 hrs before this, I know it's high because I didn't take the Lantus.

I ate... 2 breaded porkchops, cheesy scallops, some veggies, w/ a sweet tea (real sugar). Then followed it up with a regular sized ice-cream sundae.

@ 10pm my BS was up to 336. I felt stout as a horse.

@ 11pm I took my Lantus. This AM my BS are great.

~So why is it that a 300 to some is life-threatening and not in my case?

~When dx'd my fasting BS was 690. So why can I eat like that now w/ no insulin and stay under 400?

~Is the answer to these questions: 'honeymoon period'?

Thanks.
Daniel.

[xMenace]

Honeymooning is probable, but there can be other explanations. I'd like to know if you take another insulin. Do you take only Lantus? If you are only on Lantus, then yes, Doc thinks you are.

300 is life threatening for you. Just because you feel fine and you have no ketones does not means you are superman. I'll give you ten to fifteen years at 300.

[shabbie]

hi dan, welcome to DF!

i would probably suggest that your endo will want to put you on some sort of rapid insulin and knock your lantus back a little.

those highs are way too high to be healthy in the long term. high levels of glucose in the blood act like little shards of glass wrecking havoc on your body even while you feel 'fine'.

coming onto this forum is a great start dan, there is much you can do...if not for you, then do it for your beautiful daughter!!!

[Jan B]

Dan,

First, I love your picture w/your daughter.

Your guess about honeymooning sounds correct. Like XMenace asked, are you taking a fast acting insulin with meals? Sounds like you are not. Ideally, you would take your Lantus daily, and take the appropriate amount of Humalog, or other fast-acting insulin with meals that have carbs. (I for example take one unit of Humalog for each 15 carbs in my meal.) For a meal like you described without any fast-acting insulin, my bg would have been HIGH - over 500 for sure.

During times of poor control, a 300 does not feel bad (been there, done that), but it is bad for you. During times of excellent control for me, 80 feels great (tons of energy, great mood) and 300 I feel absolutely terrible - tired, pain in the legs or even cramps and I swear I feel sugar running all around my blood -- feels like poison.

You are young enough that you haven't put too much wear and tear on your body yet, but you must start carb-counting and make your health a priority. I very frequently thank God that I lived past 19. I pulled some dumb stunts. I pray that you stay on this forum and learn more about how to get control. I promise it will pay off.

And . . . you can quit using real sugar & don't drink "real" cokes! Start looking for alternatives (diet drinks). If you are going to be eating ice cream sundaes and the like, you REALLY need to count the carbs and take the fast acting insulin!

[dan_o_89_rs]

I'd like to know if you take another insulin. Do you take only Lantus? If you are only on Lantus, then yes, Doc thinks you are.

300 is life threatening for you. Just because you feel fine and you have no ketones does not means you are superman. I'll give you ten to fifteen years at 300.
I only take Lantus at night. No fast-acting. I have an appointment Mon with my endo. I was going to ask about the fast-acting insulins. I think it would be helpful, as I'm pretty sure I won't diet like I should.

Dan,

First, I love your picture w/your daughter.

Your guess about honeymooning sounds correct. Like XMenace asked, are you taking a fast acting insulin with meals? Sounds like you are not. Ideally, you would take your Lantus daily, and take the appropriate amount of Humalog, or other fast-acting insulin with meals that have carbs. (I for example take one unit of Humalog for each 15 carbs in my meal.) For a meal like you described without any fast-acting insulin, my bg would have been HIGH - over 500 for sure.

During times of poor control, a 300 does not feel bad (been there, done that), but it is bad for you. During times of excellent control for me, 80 feels great (tons of energy, great mood) and 300 I feel absolutely terrible - tired, pain in the legs or even cramps and I swear I feel sugar running all around my blood -- feels like poison...

...And . . . you can quit using real sugar & don't drink "real" cokes! Start looking for alternatives (diet drinks). If you are going to be eating ice cream sundaes and the like, you REALLY need to count the carbs and take the fast acting insulin!
Thank you for the comment. She is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I think the cutest thing I've ever seen ;).

I would say I've cut out at least 90% of the sugars I used to get from drinks. I drank a lot of sodas (mostly Mountain Dew), Redbull, sweet tea, and REALLY sweet Kool-Aid. It's usually either water, unsweet tea w/ sweetener and diet sodas for me now. It's rare that we have (sugar)sweetened tea in the house. After pouring a glass I was told that it had sugar. By then I was more interested in sitting down to eat than pouring something else.



So what things should I ask my endo on Mon? The last 4 visits I've been very passive as I didn't know anything about D. I figured she'd tell me something if I need to know it.

Also, do the fast-acting insulins come in pens or will I have to draw up my own syringe?

[Jan B]

http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/images/memoir.jpg

Isn't this a pretty pen! This is used w/Humalog. I never used pens . . . only syringes. Syringes never bothered me, but after seeing that pen, I'd like one!

I'm glad you have that appt Monday. Please post after your appointment and tell us what happened.

I'd tell my doctor that I want to accept this disease & get better control. Tell him/her the things you have learned so far -- you believe you need fast-acting insulin (and to learn/practice carb-counting), and believe you may need to reduce your Lantus dose (?)

Hopefully, others will give more ideas! Most diabetics go to Endocrinologists; once in a while, a GP can give good care.

[dan_o_89_rs]

http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/images/memoir.jpg

Isn't this a pretty pen! This is used w/Humalog. I never used pens . . . only syringes. Syringes never bothered me, but after seeing that pen, I'd like one!

I'm glad you have that appt Monday. Please post after your appointment and tell us what happened.

I'd tell my doctor that I want to accept this disease & get better control. Tell him/her the things you have learned so far -- you believe you need fast-acting insulin (and to learn/practice carb-counting), and believe you may need to reduce your Lantus dose (?)

Hopefully, others will give more ideas! Most diabetics go to Endocrinologists; once in a while, a GP can give good care.

Yes that is a cool looking pen. And I will give an update after the appointment. I am thinking of visiting my GP for most of my needs from now on... because the endo is about an hour drive to Louisville, as aposed to 3 minutes to the GP.

Also my endo is really hesitant to refill my Rx's. I had 2 cartridges left one time; one in the pen and one in the fridge. I got home from work real late, got a bite to eat from the fridge and the last cartridge rolled out and my big size 12 steeltoe landed on it :(.

I called the pharmacy to refill, they said they needed a new Rx, so I called my endo. After talking to 2 receptionists and holding for 10 minutes, I was given the 3rd degree like I was asking for an early refill on hydromorphone or something. I explained I was good for at least 2 weeks and needed it called in soon. They agreed to fax a Rx to the pharmacy. A week and a half later, I had to call them from the pharmacy and raise **** to get a Rx on my insulin!

It's a good facility... they just have their quirks.

[susique333]

~So why is it that a 300 to some is life-threatening and not in my case?~


The silent damage being done with blood sugars that high is incredible, it just takes time to manifest. Then the real fun begins. My grandmother was blind by the time she was 50. Then when her cardiomyopathy got so bad they had to put in a pacemaker due to the miss-fires (Arrhythmia). All before she was 55.

[dan_o_89_rs]

~So why is it that a 300 to some is life-threatening and not in my case?~


The silent damage being done with blood sugars that high is incredible, it just takes time to manifest. Then the real fun begins. My grandmother was blind by the time she was 50. Then when her cardiomyopathy got so bad they had to put in a pacemaker due to the miss-fires (Arrhythmia). All before she was 55.

:eek: eye-opener, that is...

[mortis505]

not to mention other possible long term effects, see here (http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/complications.jsp)

[DCaplinger]

She is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I think the cutest thing I've ever seen ;).

Dan:

I think the above says it all. If that isn't enough motivation to develop your care plan, and stick to it, I don't know what is.

It's not easy to test 6 - 8 times a day, or to shoot up at least 4 times a day (I know, some don't care for the term "shoot up", since we aren't druggies), but I love my kids. I love them enough that I want to see them get married and have children, and to spoil those grandkids of mine when they do get here.

I realize that I've only been on insulin for a few weeks, but I am committed. I am just as committed to staying on track as I am with my smoking cessation. It isn't easy, but as I like to tell people... if you want it bad enough, you'll do it!

Regards,

[UpNorth]

Being in the 300's isn't lifethreathening for you NOW, but it is in the long term... As already said...

You really need to get some rapid acting insulin too, to cover your meals, sure, you might still be honeymooning, but still, you shouldn't run that high :s:

It can be a pain in the *** to have to test and inject all the time, 365 days of the year, but when seeing those good numbers on the screen, and feeling great despite living with a chronic potentially dangerous disease, it's so worth being a pincushion!

Find a good way to remember to take your insulin and test regularly, after a while it will become routine and you'll hardly think about it :T Just make it a habit and think about all the good things you'll get to see and experience if you just have those needles as you need :)

Btw... I was diagnosed at age 18, few days before i turned 19, so i definitely didn't grow up living with D...

[owlyn]

http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/images/memoir.jpg

Isn't this a pretty pen! This is used w/Humalog. I never used pens . . . only syringes. Syringes never bothered me, but after seeing that pen, I'd like one!

I'm glad you have that appt Monday. Please post after your appointment and tell us what happened.

I'd tell my doctor that I want to accept this disease & get better control. Tell him/her the things you have learned so far -- you believe you need fast-acting insulin (and to learn/practice carb-counting), and believe you may need to reduce your Lantus dose (?)

Hopefully, others will give more ideas! Most diabetics go to Endocrinologists; once in a while, a GP can give good care.

While that is an attractive pen (Lilly Memoir), it should NOT be used. I've posted on the problems with this pen several times. Basically, it can only be used at home- it cannot be exposed to ANY variances in temperature or humidity, so it cannot be taken anywhere. Defeats the purpose of a pen. A similar pen (Lilly Luxura HD) looks exactly the same, but is a different color (kind of a dark turquiose). It does not have any electronics, so it functions as a pen should (not sensitive to weather), plus it can give half-unit doses.

[Jan B]

Thanks Owlyn for the info. I hadn't paid attention to your previous posts, since before starting on the pump I just used syringes. I thought this was a pretty example to answer the question about a pen. Unreal this pen isn't even portable --like you said, what good is it? I guess some people never leave the house. That's sad.

[shiftzor]

If you want to know what happens to people with high bgs, you just need Google. The list includes loss of vision, loss of limbs and sexual health problems.

Complications - Diabetes UK (http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Complications/)

Complications of Diabetes Type 1, Type 1 Diabetes Complications - dLife.com dLife TV (http://www.dlife.com/dLife/do/ShowContent/type1_information/preventing_complications/index.html)

I hate looking at that website, I suggest that you need some accountability for your bg levels, basically start testing before every meal and 2 hours after, write down the numbers/upload them to your computer, look at the pattern and decide what to do from there.

You could go a step further writing down what you ate and injection amounts/times, its time consuming but you get a feel as to what’s happening to your body. If you control your bgs now it can help to prolong your honey moon period. The D world is a scary place to enter but we are all in it together. ;)