Anyone up? Sat in A&E with DH

[tumblingdowntherabbithole]

DH has just been taken to hospital with seriously high blood sugar - undiagnosed diabetes but he has a family history so we’re pretty sure that’s what we’re dealing with.

Not really after any advice just someone to chat to! They’re about to put him on fluids and try to get his sugar levels down.

Thanks everyone - we’re still no closer to any answers.

GP was furious that they discharged him with no help or advice - he couldn’t do anything practical as he didn’t even have access to his results from A&E.

DH has another appointment with the same GP this morning - they’ve been in touch with the hospital so we’ll find out some more answers soon. From the sounds of it he’ll need to go and see the diabetes team and possibly stay in for a day or two for monitoring and to teach him how to deal with his condition. He’s fine in himself (physically at least) so they’re not too worried for now.

DH is just dreading sitting around in hospital for hours with nothing to do! I’m dreading balancing a weekend of work with our anxious dog and we’re both just totally overwhelmed.

On the plus side I slept for 11 hours last night 🤣

@tumblingdowntherabbithole stay strong, you will manage it all and if the diabetic team can get things on thr right track hopefully he won't be in long. Not suprised the GP is mad tbh. Dh has been diabetic over 50 years, we've been together 33 and he's been admitted only once in that time. He does have a lot of appointments if things aren't going right though. Just so u know diabetes type 1 is definitely covered under a disability form and employers perspective it time off becomes an issue.

I don't blame the Gp frankly i think that's negligent ,discharging with no plan in place, with blood sugars that went thst high I'm assuming he should be on insulin
When my son was diagnosed it was more complex and he was in hospital for a few weeks but he was seen by the diabetes nurse and taught how to inject himself before discharge
Hope everything goes OK for your dh.

So, another update! GP rang first thing - he doesn’t need to go to hospital thankfully - a diabetes nurse will come to our practise and see him today with a follow up next week.

Hopefully there’ll be a plan in place soon 🙈

So has your husband been able to eat since leaving hospital? Is he injecting?

@Headachequeen he’s been eating relatively normally on GP advice (avoiding sugar) but wasn’t discharged with any medication which they’re furious about.

He’s seeing the diabetes nurse at lunchtime and she’s going to sort his medication for him and get him started.

How strange you don’t know which type he is, it’s massively important! When DS was diagnosed (he was only 8) with type 1 he was in for a week while we learn to carb count and inject. It’s still a learning curve two years on.

I’’m assuming type 2 with the lack of urgency.

@chaiselozenges yep, the GP was really pissed off with the lack of communication and the fact that he’s been discharged with no medication or support.

They now have all his results from the hospital and the nurse is going to through everything with us later on, so I’m assuming we’ll find out then. I’m assuming Type 2 as well but you never know 🙄

That's more positive news, the advice to avoid just "sugar" is a bit wrong though. Sugars will rise based on any carbohydrate food so bread, pasta, rice, some sweet fruit, fruit juice just about anything that's not a protein or a lettuce leaf😄. I'm sue the nurse will be able to help. Alot are fabulous.

It was just the advice until he saw the diabetes nurse really - not something lifelong 🤣

He’s just feeling a bit scared and overwhelmed (understandably!) though he won’t admit it. Hopefully the diabetes nurse can give us both some advice and him some reassurance.

I’m utterly shocked they discharged him without insulin or teaching him how to manage this, it’s absolutely negligent! Also a bit surprised the doctor is advising to avoid sugar in the meantime, it’s a huge misconception but as someone else has already mentioned it’s actually carbs that’ll likely cause spikes and without any means of monitoring his blood sugars atm I’d be inclined to go low carb until he sees the diabetes team.

Not overly surprised he doesn’t know if he’s T1 or 2 yet. If I recall DH didn’t have it confirmed until a week after diagnosis. In the consultant’s words “it really doesn’t matter at this stage as management will be pretty much the same”. Obviously longer term management differs, but in the immediate moment we were just focused on getting his blood sugars under control.

At this stage I’d stick to Diabetes UK for any reading, do not do what I did and go down every possible google rabbit hole. Do try to attend any appointments/consultant meetings and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’ll be a lot for both you and DH to get your heads round initially but I promise it does get easier.

When Dh was diagnosed in December 2018 he got a call from the GP late in the evening to say he definitely had diabetes and to expect to hear from them in the morning for an appointment. However the next morning he had a call from the diabetic department at the local hospital asking him to come in immediately. They were extremely concerned it was type1 given how high his levels were (when he asked the nurse how bad they were she showed him the poster on the wall and he was beyond red danger zone). Fortunately his ketones were fine so he wasn’t admitted but they gave him medication, a blood sugar monitor and he saw the nurse at the hospital every day for a week (except New Year’s Day where she called him to check his levels). They diagnosed type 2 but kept a very close eye for a few months to make sure it wasn’t one of the more unusual types
It’s been hard and he still takes medication but for the last 2 years his annual hab1c came back as pre-diabetic and this year they came back as normal! As above Diabetes UK were invaluable when we were starting out.

I would also suggest that if you can go to the appointment with him and take notes or suggest he takes notes. DH missed half of what the nurse was saying to him as there was just so much to take in.

Thank you so much @FluffytheGoldfish and I’m sorry your DH has struggled. I’m definitely going to his appointment with him - I won’t be able to make all of them as we’re both self-employed and can’t afford to both rearrange or cancel jobs constantly, but I’m definitely going today.

Would you suggest he takes next week off to adjust to everything? He hates taking time off but I think he needs it or he’s going to just make himself so stressed and overwhelmed.

I haven’t read all this thread…l but hope he’s doing well and back home xx

Do they really give toast to a diabetic in hospital? My diabetic DP was told to eat very low carb-no bread, pasta etc.

@Leo800 yes, they just wanted him to eat something as it had been over 12 hours at that point.

@tumblingdowntherabbithole he may find a few days helpful to get used to everything and some of the medication DH was on to begin had side affects he took a bit to get used to. One of the drugs he started on could cause hypos but fortunately DH didn’t get one. Biggest issue he had was problems with his vision, apparently it was an unusual one from cutting his sugars so suddenly and drastically. Not a common issue but one that caused problems with work as he couldn’t drive or use a screen for a few weeks.

Thanks again @FluffytheGoldfish that’s really helpful. His appointment is in an hour so hopefully we’ll have some more information soon!

Dh has just been in and had free choice of menu and some dubiously labelled “healthy” options like creamed potato!

Glad things are progressing OP even if not smoothly.

Look everyone and his dog will have advice for you, remember one thing, our bodies are individual so pay attention to DH's body.

I'm type II so I'm not entitled to a CGM on the NHS but I got a free sample and then bought one and I used it to monitor how my body reacts.

Yes carbs do increase glucose in my blood the the thing that gave a huge spike was a banana of all things. I know fruit contains a lot of sugar but the banana suprised me.

I found it useful while I was 'learning'.

Hey

I was diagnosed t2 last summer with a hba1c of 86 - so definitely not as high as your dh but my diabetes nurse was and is ace.

I was prescribed a libre sensor straight away as well as mounjaro, though I'm aware this isn't common practice. I have been on metformin for a few years due to pcos and that was keeping it at pre diabetes level but obviously it stopped working, which is why I was put on mj and given the sensor. I also have other health conditions which added weight to be prescribed those. Given how high his sugar levels were, I would definitely try and push for a sensor as it'll mean he is able to constantly track his levels and try and gauge what is causing such big spikes. The GP and nurse will also be able to look at the results on their end which would help with figuring out treatment further down the line if there are still big spikes.

I would suggest joining some FB groups as the community are really helpful and you suddenly don't feel so alone.

Re taking time off work, I'd highly suggest it. I was diagnosed in July 24 and by September I ended up being signed off work as it completely threw me.

I'm glad the GP is on the ball and when you're able to, if you're able to, contact PALS as your husband should not have been discharged without the relevant information and medication.

Wishing you both luck

Thank you so much to everyone for all your answers, experience and support

We saw the diabetes nurse yesterday and she was fantastic - she’s started him on insulin (twice a day) until his sugars are more controlled. We’re still not sure what type we’re dealing with but she suspects it’s Type 2 - we’ll find out for certain when we get the antibodies test results back on Monday.

So, for this weekend he has to test his sugars morning and evening (coming down which is good), and then do his insulin. She also wanted him to keep a food diary and cut out sugary drinks, but nothing else so far as she doesn’t want his sugars coming down too quickly.

She’s equally pissed off at how we’ve been treated by the hospital staff and from what I can tell had a rather angry phone call with the doctor who treated us 🙈

How is everything OP? Hope all sorted and under control now?

Thank you for asking!

DH was eventually diagnosed Type 2 and is on insulin and metformin - his sugars are pretty stable now and he has one of those monitors on his arm to let him know if his levels are going wrong.

It was a big adjustment at first but he's doing well :) he has another review with the diabetes nurse coming up next month.