BS high & not feeling well etc....

[Georgia]

Hi All

I am off to the path lab at 9am in the morning for my bloods to be taken.

But I have not felt well since Saturday: headache, neck ache & limbs ache & my chest hurts when I inhale deeply...so wonder if the flu is on it's way or I have caught a chest infection of some sort (hope not). I'm going to the doctor's at 8am to see if they can give me something.

I do not feel like eating & my bs is currently 16.5, which is ridiculous as I haven't eaten very much at all today. It must be because I am under the weather.

So, do I take extra insulin to bring the bs down & risk having a hypo during the night, which won't be good seeing as I'm going to the path lab tomorrow & should fast from 10pm this evening.

Or, do I take my normal dose & deal with the high bs tomorrow after the bloods have been done?

I just don't want my actions to affect my blood results tomorrow.

What do you think?

Thanks

[Clint]

my BS tends to run higher when I am sick. I make adjustments for it and go on. I think it would be worse for you to let your BS stay high than to take steps to bring it down.

[DeusXM]

Well, it depends what you're having you're blood tested for. A temporary change in BG isn't going to change most things though - it's not going to affect an A1c test, and it won't have any effect on toxicology tests either.

Take the extra insulin, but don't overdo it. If you bring down your bg though, you will feel much, much better, and it will also speed up your recovery time.

If you're running at 16.5, unless you take something like 10 times your usual dose, you aren't going to have a hypo in the night.

[Georgia]

Well I only took my usual dose & I only had veggies for dinner (10 carbs worth) & this morning it was 22.1!

The doctor said I have a chest infection & advised I stay off work for a few days - but I can't as I leave my job on Thursday (will be officially unemployed then - my choice though may I add!) & they'd think I am taking the p*ss. So I am at work (feeling lousy) but am taking things easy. My appetite has vanished & I hadn't eaten anything all morning (probably a good thing seeing as my bs was so high) & then at 1:15pm the hypo arrived - grrr!

I went to have me bloods taken at the path lab at 9am & took in my urine sample...think they want to check the usual stuff:

HbA1C
Fasting
Thyroid
Protein in Urine
Iron count

Not sure if there's anything else they wanted to check.

I didn't dare take extra insulin as I was worried I'd have a hypo & ruin the fasting result.

Thanks for your posts.

[KickStart101]

Hey Georgia: Good Heavens, now you are sick too. I'm sorry to
hear that. It's that time of year, now it all starts. Too bad it didn't
wait 'til you finished work. Well, hopefully you can hold up 'til your
work is finished then you can have a well-deserved rest. Take it easy.

[am1977]

Oh, you poor thing! I'm sorry that you aren't feeling well...that definitely can cause a lot of difficulty with control. Do take your doctor's advice :nurse:, rest and take it easy.

I hope you are on the mend soon :top: Take care of yourself :biggrin:

[Cinnabon]

Georgia, any infection in our body affects us, diabetics, greatly! I would drink a lot of water, bolus as needed. Most important keep TESTING!!!

I hope you feel better......

[DeusXM]

In future I recommend that you bolus if you're running high when you're ill. I appreciate that you didn't want to interfere with your fasting results, but the fact is that your fasting results are going to be useless anyway if you're ill. Your urine samples aren't really going to be of any use either - I guarantee they're going to have ketones in.

All that's going to happen now is that your doctor is going to look at those results, basically panic and then accuse you of not taking your insulin. I suggest you contact the path lab now and inform them of your chest infection. They will probably want you to make a new appointment once you've recovered because unfortunately, the results they're going to get from the samples you've just given are going to be of little use.

Bolus and get that BG down now. A chest infection can be serious if not dealt with promptly, and every day you have BG that high is going to translate as an extra 2 days of being ill.

As for your employer - f*** 'em. Give them a doctor's note and they won't have a leg to stand on. You're doing no-one any favours by going to work sick - you're just going to infect the rest of the staff, you're going to ruin your bg, and you're going to delay your recovery.

Call in sick, and if they don't like it, then tough. If they kick up a fuss, just refuse to go in (whatever they threaten) and then inform them they'll have a doctor's note ASAP. Then make sure they get that note. There will be absolutely nothing they can do and they'll just have to grin and bear it, otherwise you can get them before a tribunal and sue the **** out of them.

[vrocco1]

Be very cautious with your BGL. Last year, DKA landed me in intensive care for three days. That was after I had the flu for over a month. Test often, and don't let your BGL get too high. Be very careful that you drink enough fluids, and continue to take your regular insulin as well as corrections as required. Do not mess around if your not feeling well. See your doctor if you don't get it under control!

[sydneya]

Life gets so confusing with our "responsibilities". But if truth be known, your health is more important with anything that can be going on at work. As Deus said, you have rights as an employee. You don't have to work when you could be contagious or if it can be dangerous to you. As he said, get the doctors note and fight for your rights. The note will document the situation and protect you from any harrassment they might give you.
I'd keep my blood sugars as close to normal as I could, report what I did to the doctor and phlebotomist.

[Georgia]

Thanks to each & everyone of you for your messages.

I have been at work but finished at 4pm each day (instead of 6pm) so I missed the rush hour & managed to get home at a reasonable time. To be honest I don't feel too bad, just tired. It's my last day tomorrow (yippee) so I won't be doing much during the day. I'm pleased to say my bs has come down a bit & seems more steadier than it was. Boy, this diabetes lark can be such a pain in the .... !!

There's no point getting the bloods re-done until I'm 100% better & I'm away for Xmas so won't be back until the 29th. I see my doctor on the 30th so I will just have to tell him the results aren't acurate because of my chest infection - hopefully he'll understand (!) & I won't have to keep repeating myself.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Georgia

[Karon]

I'm glad your beginning to feel a little better. Take care of yourself and rest as much as you possibly can. :thumbsup:

Karon

[Georgia]

I saw my GP this morning...

I have always had high blood pressure - this morning it was 180/100 so I now have a prescription for Methyldopa tablets & my doctor said it is likely I'll have to take 3 different medication tablets for it in the long run.

I also have protein in my urine - I think he said my level was 200 whereas it should be under 3. Oh my god. He said there is medication to prevent it worsening but I am panicking like mad. When I went for the blood work I had a chest infection but he said this would not cause protein in the urine - is this correct?

My thyroid & iron levels are fine.

My A1c was 8.6 (same as the one I did at home) & he was pleased that I am working in the right direction for getting it down.

He is making me an appt at the diabetic clinic & they will review the above & decide on what measures to take. I need to discuss changing to MDI.

I'm feeling very upset as I have so much work to do before my husband & I can start trying for a baby.

[Georgia]

Plus he said that a A1C of between 7 - 8 is good but shouldn't I really be aiming for between 4 - 6?

I've read on the internet that high blood pressure can be a cause of protein in the urine so if I work on getting that down & also my A1C down hopefully that will help the protein problem - what do you think?

[DeusXM]

I'd say that your ketone level will have partly been elevated by your illness - as I've just learnt, when you're ill, stress hormones block the action of your insulin. This can result in ketoacedosis. As for high blood pressure, I don't know, but since hypertension can affect your kidneys it probably also plays a part.

Your A1c is a little high but given that you're recently diagnosed and on premix, it's to be expected and it's a massive step in the right direction. Ideally your A1c should be under 7, although some doctors consider under 8 satisfatory. The lower you can get it, the better - according to the DCCT trials, once you're under 7 you've massively reduced your risk of future complications.

Once you're on MDI and medication for your blood pressure, you will be in a very good position to think about having a baby. Don't worry too much. Diabetes is a learning curve and even when you've had it for several years it still brings up surprises. You're already doing much, much better than I was in my first 2 years of diagnosis and you're only going to get even better in the future. You can do it!

[Georgia]

So if you have protein in your urine is this the same as having keytones? Does this mean that down the line I am more than likely going to have serious kidney problems? I have so many questions but typically I didn't think to ask anything to the doctor.

I've started the Methyldopa today & go back to have my bp checked in a fortnight. I'm thinking of buying one of those bp machines so I can keep an eye on my bp at home. I know I need to get it down because the doctor said if I fell pregnant now neither I or the foetus would survive a bp of 180/100.

Thanks Deus for your help I really appreciate it.

[jen_slc]

So if you have protein in your urine is this the same as having keytones? Does this mean that down the line I am more than likely going to have serious kidney problems? I have so many questions but typically I didn't think to ask anything to the doctor.No, ketones are just an acidic byproduct of fat metabolism, which you probably have b/c you're sick. If you have protein in the urine, it'll be albumin and yes, I think spilling protein in the urine could result in kidney problems later on if it isn't controlled/reversed just now. High blood pressure can cause you to spillover protein, so hopefully it's just a transient situation and the BP meds will take care of both problems. :top:

[DeusXM]

Oops, sorry. I thought ketones were a type of protein and the reason for protein in the urine. D'oh!