Dextrose fluids in hospital

Just an FYI, really.

I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.

Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a nurse
came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too low).
I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
difference."

Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
else,
and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.

Amy

x-no-archive: yes

amyky123 wrote:
> Just an FYI, really.
>
> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
>
> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a nurse
> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too low).
> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
> difference."
>
> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
> else,
> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>
> Amy
>
>

You raise a really important issue that hospitals always ignore, IME.

I always request plain saline, no dextrose when I or a family member
requires IV.

Susan

"Susan" <nevermind@nomail.com> wrote in message
news:5537rbF22i2rbU1@mid.individual.net...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> amyky123 wrote:
>> Just an FYI, really.
>>
>> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
>> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
>> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
>> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
>>
>> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a
>> nurse
>> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
>> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too
>> low).
>> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
>> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
>> difference."
>>
>> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
>> else,
>> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
>> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
>> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>>
>> Amy
>
> You raise a really important issue that hospitals always ignore, IME.
>
> I always request plain saline, no dextrose when I or a family member
> requires IV.
>
> Susan

I was pretty surprised at the first nurse's response. And replacing the d5w
with
something else (I think ringer's lactate?) definitely helped the high bg's.
Something else to keep in mind, I guess.

amyky123 <amyky123NOSPAM@insightbb.com> wrote:

: "Susan" <nevermind@nomail.com> wrote in message
: news:5537rbF22i2rbU1@mid.individual.net...
: > x-no-archive: yes
: >
: > amyky123 wrote:
: >> Just an FYI, really.
: >>
: >> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
: >> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
: >> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
: >> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
: >>
: >> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a
: >> nurse
: >> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
: >> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too
: >> low).
: >> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
: >> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
: >> difference."
: >>
: >> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
: >> else,
: >> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
: >> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
: >> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
: >>
: >> Amy
: >
: > You raise a really important issue that hospitals always ignore, IME.
: >
: > I always request plain saline, no dextrose when I or a family member
: > requires IV.
: >
: > Susan

: I was pretty surprised at the first nurse's response. And replacing the d5w
: with
: something else (I think ringer's lactate?) definitely helped the high bg's.
: Something else to keep in mind, I guess.

Wee you in contact both before and after the operation with your endo or
whoever you use for diabetic care? They should be able to help coordinate
your diabetes cntrol with the hospital. I know that sometimes when I am
at my endo's he is fielding a call to a hospital getting information and
giving inxtrucions regarding a patient who is if fo rsurgeyr or some other
issue. i alsoran into him (almsto leterally) on the heart floor when I
was there because my husband was in. He was visiting a diabetes patient
on the floor.

There should be instructions from your diabetes caregiver for the staff to
follow.

Wendy

"Susan" <nevermind@nomail.com> wrote in message
news:5537rbF22i2rbU1@mid.individual.net...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> amyky123 wrote:
>> Just an FYI, really.
>>
>> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
>> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
>> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
>> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
>>
>> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a
>> nurse
>> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
>> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too
>> low).
>> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
>> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
>> difference."
>>
>> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
>> else,
>> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
>> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
>> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>>
>> Amy
>
> You raise a really important issue that hospitals always ignore, IME.
>
> I always request plain saline, no dextrose when I or a family member
> requires IV.
>
> Susan

I went into surgery with plain saline -- I checked, I also emphasized to the
surgeon & attendants that I did not want or need dextrose -- but later on it
got replaced with dextrose. They do things to you while you're out that you
may not notice for hours.

I wasn't on meds or insulin. I had no problem with hypo's -- the lowest I
ever got was sometimes after vigorous exercise, which I certainly wasn't
doing then.

And the nurse said, in response to "I bg is high, probably because of the
dextrose drip" "But you're DIABETIC". It wasn't over 200, but I was ready to
pull out the needle myself (this was in the wee hours) but at least the
night doctor listened to me (he came around to check my incision); he agreed
to switch it out for "plain", but I ended up getting rid of the whole thing
(that nurse *knew* I'd been drinking water 'cause guess who had to keep
bringing it to me!).

My bg plunked right back down to the 80's within 1/2 hour and stayed
thereabouts until my all-sugar-the-more-the-merrier breakfast arrived some
hours later.
Next time, I'll know to take stronger measures on the matter.
bj

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:03:07 -0500, Susan
<nevermind@nomail.com> wrote:

>x-no-archive: yes
>
>amyky123 wrote:
>> Just an FYI, really.
>>
>> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
>> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
>> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
>> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
>>
>> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a nurse
>> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
>> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too low).
>> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
>> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
>> difference."
>>
>> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
>> else,
>> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
>> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
>> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>>
>> Amy
>>
>>
>
>You raise a really important issue that hospitals always ignore, IME.
>
>I always request plain saline, no dextrose when I or a family member
>requires IV.
>
>Susan

While wandering across the net looking at medical pages I
came across this from the American Academy of Family
Physicians web-site:

"Management of Diabetic Ketoacidosis"
http://www.aafp.org/afp/990800ap/455.html
It's interesting, but not directly to me because I've not
suffered from it.

However, this snippet is relevant to this thread:

"When the blood glucose concentration is approximately 250
mg per dL (13.9 mmol per L), glucose should be added to the
hydration fluid (i.e., 5 percent dextrose in hypotonic
saline solution). This allows continued insulin
administration until ketonemia is controlled and also helps
to avoid iatrogenic hypoglycemia."

You'll have to read the full article for context.

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1000mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Epidaurus

"W. Baker" <wbaker@panix.com> wrote in message
news:eshvf1$ohs$2@reader2.panix.com...
> amyky123 <amyky123NOSPAM@insightbb.com> wrote:
>
> : "Susan" <nevermind@nomail.com> wrote in message
> : news:5537rbF22i2rbU1@mid.individual.net...
> : > x-no-archive: yes
> : >
> : > amyky123 wrote:
> : >> Just an FYI, really.
> : >>
> : >> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
> : >> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin
> several
> : >> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
> : >> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
> : >>
> : >> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is
> a
> : >> nurse
> : >> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids
> containing
> : >> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too
> : >> low).
> : >> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag
> only
> : >> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
> : >> difference."
> : >>
> : >> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try
> something
> : >> else,
> : >> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went
> from
> : >> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
> : >> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
> : >>
> : >> Amy
> : >
> : > You raise a really important issue that hospitals always ignore, IME.
> : >
> : > I always request plain saline, no dextrose when I or a family member
> : > requires IV.
> : >
> : > Susan
>
> : I was pretty surprised at the first nurse's response. And replacing the
> d5w
> : with
> : something else (I think ringer's lactate?) definitely helped the high
> bg's.
> : Something else to keep in mind, I guess.
>
> Wee you in contact both before and after the operation with your endo or
> whoever you use for diabetic care? They should be able to help coordinate
> your diabetes cntrol with the hospital. I know that sometimes when I am
> at my endo's he is fielding a call to a hospital getting information and
> giving inxtrucions regarding a patient who is if fo rsurgeyr or some other
> issue. i alsoran into him (almsto leterally) on the heart floor when I
> was there because my husband was in. He was visiting a diabetes patient
> on the floor.
>
> There should be instructions from your diabetes caregiver for the staff to
> follow.
>
> Wendy

I had met with my diabetes doc before surgery. He didn't mention anything
about
fluids, and it was only about 8 hours between me asking the one nurse about
the
dextrose drip, and the other nurse switching it out. If it had gone on any
longer,
I'd have called him. I'm just seeing my primary care doc for diabetes right
now,
trying to find a good endo that I like. So, I don't know if he routinely
does hospital
care.. I'm sure he would have if I'd asked.


Amy

Alan S wrote:
> While wandering across the net looking at medical pages I
> came across this from the American Academy of Family
> Physicians web-site:
>
> "Management of Diabetic Ketoacidosis"
> http://www.aafp.org/afp/990800ap/455.html
> It's interesting, but not directly to me because I've not
> suffered from it.
>
> However, this snippet is relevant to this thread:
>
> "When the blood glucose concentration is approximately 250
> mg per dL (13.9 mmol per L), glucose should be added to the
> hydration fluid (i.e., 5 percent dextrose in hypotonic
> saline solution). This allows continued insulin
> administration until ketonemia is controlled and also helps
> to avoid iatrogenic hypoglycemia."
>
> You'll have to read the full article for context.

Well, that's largely for recovery from ketoacidosis that's done along
with administration of insulin and very careful bg management - I have
never seen such careful hospital monitoring as what I got. When I was
recovering from DKA, they would up the dextrose whenever I refused to
eat the food they were trying to make me eat for the first couple of
days. That was in the days before fingerstick glucose tests and they
came to suck blood out of my vein every hour or two for several days
to send to the lab. Not fun! But they were paying very very close
attention to my bg and blood chemistry the whole time, which was the
right thing to do. I have never had such constant attentiveness to
every little thing, looking back it's remarkable the level of care I
got.

The first time I went to the ER with a hypo, they gave me dextrose via
IV, and while it certainly wasn't a good night, the next day went
fairly smoothly.

The second time I went to the ER with a hypo, they gave me glucagon at
home before loading me into the ambulance. Boy, did that glucagon make
me nauseous for the next day. I will take the dextrose any day over
glucagon.

Tim.

On 3/5/07 10:57 AM, in article
KvadnQO1UeyU9XHYnZ2dnUVZ_t6qnZ2d@insightbb.com, "amyky123"
<amyky123NOSPAM@insightbb.com> wrote:

> Just an FYI, really.
>
> I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
> past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
> times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
> 300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
>
> Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a nurse
> came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
> dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too low).
> I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
> has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
> difference."
>
> Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
> else,
> and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
> 280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
> Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>
> Amy
>
>

I have had 3 day surgeries in the last year (2 carpel tunnel and 1 trigger
finger). In each case I told the anesthesiologist that I had diabetes. Each
time they asked a few questions and gave me a saline solution only. As I was
conscious throughout I would have known if they tried to change it.

Martha T2 Canada

On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:14:01 GMT, MI <quilchenapark@shaw.ca>
wrote:

>I have had 3 day surgeries in the last year (2 carpel tunnel and 1 trigger
>finger). In each case I told the anesthesiologist that I had diabetes. Each
>time they asked a few questions and gave me a saline solution only. As I was
>conscious throughout I would have known if they tried to change it.
>
>Martha T2 Canada

Totally OT - remind me - when are you headed this way?

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1000mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Epidaurus

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:12:49 GMT, "bj" <bjones44@bellatlantic.net>
wrote:


>I went into surgery with plain saline -- I checked, I also emphasized to the
>surgeon & attendants that I did not want or need dextrose -- but later on it
>got replaced with dextrose. They do things to you while you're out that you
>may not notice for hours.
>
>I wasn't on meds or insulin. I had no problem with hypo's -- the lowest I
>ever got was sometimes after vigorous exercise, which I certainly wasn't
>doing then.
>
>And the nurse said, in response to "I bg is high, probably because of the
>dextrose drip" "But you're DIABETIC". It wasn't over 200, but I was ready to
>pull out the needle myself (this was in the wee hours) but at least the
>night doctor listened to me (he came around to check my incision); he agreed
>to switch it out for "plain", but I ended up getting rid of the whole thing
>(that nurse *knew* I'd been drinking water 'cause guess who had to keep
>bringing it to me!).
>
>My bg plunked right back down to the 80's within 1/2 hour and stayed
>thereabouts until my all-sugar-the-more-the-merrier breakfast arrived some
>hours later.
>Next time, I'll know to take stronger measures on the matter.
>bj


That is really scary. What stronger measures could you take?

Tim, they gave me dextrose via IV with my little trip to the ER two weeks
ago. It went smoothly, but did take a while; like about three hours to
finally get me stabilized. Took forever to get it up to normal, and then it
wouldn't stay there.

Being unconscious for as long as I was, and my bg beginning to rise with the
initial administration of the glucose, it seems like it would have been in
my best interest for Jim to have been able to give me glucagon (we have some
on hand now) while waiting for the ambulance. We are only three blocks from
the hospital, but with a bg of 16, it seems like every minute would be
counting, and suffering some nausea would be the least to be concern (some
phenergan would take care of that . Indeed, they did tell us my brain was
already in dangerous territory; I had fluid collection in my lungs which
started coming up (my first memory when I started wakening). What if my
transport time had been very much longer, which in a large city, it would
have been. We cannot be sure how long I had been unconscious, nor how fast
my bg was dropping. Our evenings are usually quiet; I was reading, he was
watching TV, so no reason for him to be aware of when I passed the point of
*dropping off for a nap* to unconscious. The first time this happened,
several days prior to this even, it took a while, but he *was* able to
finally wake me, and I was able to drink/eat then. He said this time it was
evident I was not going to waken as soon as he looked at me, though he did
give it a few good tries. I was so drenched in sweat that my clothing and
hair was still wet when we left the hospital hours later.

Gosh, two weeks later, and I still am coming up with questions! I hope to
NEVER need that glucagon, nausea or no nausea. LOL

Billie

<shoppa@trailing-edge.com> wrote in message
news:1173137567.537660.256270@h3g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
:
: The first time I went to the ER with a hypo, they gave me dextrose via
: IV, and while it certainly wasn't a good night, the next day went
: fairly smoothly.
:
: The second time I went to the ER with a hypo, they gave me glucagon at
: home before loading me into the ambulance. Boy, did that glucagon make
: me nauseous for the next day. I will take the dextrose any day over
: glucagon.
:
: Tim.
:

On Mar 6, 2:55 am, "Billie" <mynewsacco...@swbell.net> wrote:
> Gosh, two weeks later, and I still am coming up with questions! I hope to
> NEVER need that glucagon, nausea or no nausea.

I have been told that my super-nausea reaction to glucagon is unusual
and that most folks do not suffer any such after-effects. They also
like to remind me that nauseous is better than dead!

Tim.

LOL My thoughts exactly!!

You are not the first I've heard speak of the nausea, but I guess I'd not be
in any position to argue about it if Jim were the one standing over me to
inject. *s* After all, he said he slapped me for the first time in 45
years that night. He said my head just wobbled when he did. LOL

Billie

<shoppa@trailing-edge.com> wrote in message
news:1173185118.885042.89130@c51g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...

: They also like to remind me that nauseous is better than dead!
:
: Tim.
:

<dumbfishie99@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uc4qu2h66runrej1v5mb2ebilaee5do6s8@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:12:49 GMT, "bj" <bjones44@bellatlantic.net>
> wrote:
>
>>I went into surgery with plain saline -- I checked, I also emphasized to
>>the
>>surgeon & attendants that I did not want or need dextrose -- but later on
>>it
>>got replaced with dextrose. They do things to you while you're out that
>>you
>>may not notice for hours.
>>
>>I wasn't on meds or insulin. I had no problem with hypo's -- the lowest I
>>ever got was sometimes after vigorous exercise, which I certainly wasn't
>>doing then.
>>
>>And the nurse said, in response to "I bg is high, probably because of the
>>dextrose drip" "But you're DIABETIC". It wasn't over 200, but I was ready
>>to
>>pull out the needle myself (this was in the wee hours) but at least the
>>night doctor listened to me (he came around to check my incision); he
>>agreed
>>to switch it out for "plain", but I ended up getting rid of the whole
>>thing
>>(that nurse *knew* I'd been drinking water 'cause guess who had to keep
>>bringing it to me!).
>>
>>My bg plunked right back down to the 80's within 1/2 hour and stayed
>>thereabouts until my all-sugar-the-more-the-merrier breakfast arrived some
>>hours later.
>>Next time, I'll know to take stronger measures on the matter.
>>bj
>
> That is really scary. What stronger measures could you take?
>

Just being aware of the problem is already a start.
I can discuss it with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and my primary & endo
doctors & anyone else who may be concerned, and set some ground rules.
Orders written on my chart.
A live guardian who can look at the bag and complain if it's wrong.
A note in indelible ink on my face. :-)
(maybe to go along with the one that says "Have you washed your hands?")
( :-) or maybe not such a joke....)

For the food -- self cater something. I did learn this lesson in time for my
next overnite stay a few weeks later, but it might not always be possible to
carry in several tote bags of stuff or the stay might be longer than
expected -- need to have helper bring something in later.

But at least I know about these gotchas now!
bj

On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:09:30 GMT, "bj" <bjones44@bellatlantic.net>
wrote:


>Just being aware of the problem is already a start.
>I can discuss it with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and my primary & endo
>doctors & anyone else who may be concerned, and set some ground rules.
>Orders written on my chart.
>A live guardian who can look at the bag and complain if it's wrong.
>A note in indelible ink on my face. :-)

I think I'd go for that one too.

>(maybe to go along with the one that says "Have you washed your hands?")
>( :-) or maybe not such a joke....)

and that one!

>
>For the food -- self cater something. I did learn this lesson in time for my
>next overnite stay a few weeks later, but it might not always be possible to
>carry in several tote bags of stuff or the stay might be longer than
>expected -- need to have helper bring something in later.
>
>But at least I know about these gotchas now!
>bj


Thanks, bj. It's incredible that hospitals are such uncoordinated
places, and the bit about the food - I just don't get. Why don't they
know how a diabetic has to eat, for crying out loud? It;s not
like it's a rare obscure disease.

I didn;t know much about diabetes at the time my father was
in the hospital, but they didn't bother to give him diabetic food.
They knew enough to put him on insulin, and I knew enough
to know that he wasn't supposed to be eating what they gave him.
They were like: "oh." Duh! I wouldn;t be suprised if they gave
him saline with dextrose in it too. Well it was a real nightmare,
I'd rather not go there, very far. I just didn't know as much as I
know now.

This is not on the same level, but recently I went to a family thing
at an Olive Garden, and asked the waitress to leave out the pasta
and give me only the chicken and vegetables. I told her why I can't
eat pasta, and she still tried to get me to take whole wheat pasta!
Even without any pasta the food had an effect - probably something
in the sauce. I hate eating out any more. I don't have to worry about
all this if I just make my own food.

On 3/6/07 6:23 PM, in article ci7su2pps2bfjjo2aper5tsgc48r5i8h0o@4ax.com,
"dumbfishie99@yahoo.com" <dumbfishie99@yahoo.com> wrote:
<snip>
>
> Thanks, bj. It's incredible that hospitals are such uncoordinated
> places, and the bit about the food - I just don't get. Why don't they
> know how a diabetic has to eat, for crying out loud? It;s not
> like it's a rare obscure disease.
>
> I didn;t know much about diabetes at the time my father was
> in the hospital, but they didn't bother to give him diabetic food.
> They knew enough to put him on insulin, and I knew enough
> to know that he wasn't supposed to be eating what they gave him.
> They were like: "oh." Duh! I wouldn;t be suprised if they gave
> him saline with dextrose in it too. Well it was a real nightmare,
> I'd rather not go there, very far. I just didn't know as much as I
> know now.
>
<snip>

You know we complain, quite rightly, about the food they serve diabetics. My
husband just spent six days in hospital and they didn't seem to serve food
that followed anyone's food pyramid. The food was awful. Mashed potatoes
from dried potatoes, mushy green vegetable (1) and something that usually
looked like meat! Lunch one day made me ill just to look at it. It was
supposed to be macaroni and cheese but it looked orange rubber. If they
can't feed ordinary folks, how can we expect to feed us?

Martha T2 Canada

MI wrote:
> On 3/6/07 6:23 PM, in article
> ci7su2pps2bfjjo2aper5tsgc48r5i8h0o@4ax.com,
"dumbfishie99@yahoo.com"
> <dumbfishie99@yahoo.com> wrote: <snip>
>>
>> Thanks, bj. It's incredible that hospitals are such
uncoordinated
>> places, and the bit about the food - I just don't get.
Why don't they
>> know how a diabetic has to eat, for crying out loud? It;s
not
>> like it's a rare obscure disease.
>>
>> I didn;t know much about diabetes at the time my father
was
>> in the hospital, but they didn't bother to give him
diabetic food.
>> They knew enough to put him on insulin, and I knew enough
>> to know that he wasn't supposed to be eating what they
gave him.
>> They were like: "oh." Duh! I wouldn;t be suprised if
they gave
>> him saline with dextrose in it too. Well it was a real
nightmare,
>> I'd rather not go there, very far. I just didn't know
as much as I
>> know now.
>>
> <snip>
>
> You know we complain, quite rightly, about the food they
serve
> diabetics. My husband just spent six days in hospital and
they didn't
> seem to serve food that followed anyone's food pyramid.
The food was
> awful. Mashed potatoes from dried potatoes, mushy green
vegetable (1)
> and something that usually looked like meat! Lunch one day
made me
> ill just to look at it. It was supposed to be macaroni and
cheese but
> it looked orange rubber. If they can't feed ordinary
folks, how can
> we expect to feed us?
>
> Martha T2 Canada

When my daughter was in hospital recently after giving birth
you would have thought the hospital had gone low carb and
low calorie all at the same time. One meal was a slice of
pressed meat, a scant dessertspoon of gravy, green beans and
a bit of mashed sweet potato. Twice her dinner was taken
away untouched before she had time to get out of the shower.

"Ozgirl" <are_we_there_yet@maccas.com> wrote in message
news:12usfr9d151u50e@news.supernews.com...
: MI wrote:
: > On 3/6/07 6:23 PM, in article
: > ci7su2pps2bfjjo2aper5tsgc48r5i8h0o@4ax.com,
: "dumbfishie99@yahoo.com"
: > <dumbfishie99@yahoo.com> wrote: <snip>
::
: When my daughter was in hospital recently after giving birth
: you would have thought the hospital had gone low carb and
: low calorie all at the same time. One meal was a slice of
: pressed meat, a scant dessertspoon of gravy, green beans and
: a bit of mashed sweet potato. Twice her dinner was taken
: away untouched before she had time to get out of the shower.
:

*shrug* I guess I'm liked then.. when I was in the hospital for
my last surgery the meals that I got were very diabetic friendly.
It was almost all low-carb/low-fat. It actually tasted pretty good.
They would drop me off a menu in the afternoon for the following
day and all I had to do was mark what foods I wanted which included
the calorie/fat/carb counts on each item. I had roasted chicken breast,
fresh oven baked cod, cube steak, fresh veggies, red potatoes, 100%
whole grain wheat bread, scrambled eggs w/fresh veggies & cheese
mixed in and sausage and/or bacon (could have had both), coffee,
SF OJ (was crystal light) then for desert all the SF jello or SF pudding
I wanted. They also brought me in a huge coffee pot so I could have
coffee in my room without having to go to the cafeteria. I was taken
care of quite well.

--
Reisa, T1
dx-5/00 asd-7/00
Animas IR1250 pumper
Currently taking a pump vacation
Daily CHO: 100-130gm
TDD: 36-38u
Last A1C: too damn high!

rk wrote:
> "Ozgirl" <are_we_there_yet@maccas.com> wrote in message
> news:12usfr9d151u50e@news.supernews.com...
>: MI wrote:
>: > On 3/6/07 6:23 PM, in article
>: > ci7su2pps2bfjjo2aper5tsgc48r5i8h0o@4ax.com,
>: > "dumbfishie99@yahoo.com" <dumbfishie99@yahoo.com>
wrote: <snip>
>::
>: When my daughter was in hospital recently after giving
birth
>: you would have thought the hospital had gone low carb and
>: low calorie all at the same time. One meal was a slice of
>: pressed meat, a scant dessertspoon of gravy, green beans
and
>: a bit of mashed sweet potato. Twice her dinner was taken
>: away untouched before she had time to get out of the
shower.
>:
>
> *shrug* I guess I'm liked then.. when I was in the
hospital for
> my last surgery the meals that I got were very diabetic
friendly.
> It was almost all low-carb/low-fat. It actually tasted
pretty good.
> They would drop me off a menu in the afternoon for the
following
> day and all I had to do was mark what foods I wanted which
included
> the calorie/fat/carb counts on each item. I had roasted
chicken
> breast, fresh oven baked cod, cube steak, fresh veggies,
red
> potatoes, 100% whole grain wheat bread, scrambled eggs
w/fresh
> veggies & cheese
> mixed in and sausage and/or bacon (could have had both),
coffee,
> SF OJ (was crystal light) then for desert all the SF jello
or SF
> pudding I wanted. They also brought me in a huge coffee
pot so I
> could have coffee in my room without having to go to the
cafeteria.
> I was taken care of quite well.

Jasmine was in the same hospital last year as her sister was
for the birth. In kid's ward the food was great Mini
pizzas, mashed potato and 2-3 other veggies, good serves of
meats. Hot chocolate at snack time, nice desserts. Totally
different ball game to maternity. There was actually enough
food for me to share with a supplement of a cup of soup or
yoghurt or garden salad I kept in the parents' kitchen. The
hospital cafeteria was hugely expensive and not open at the
hours more suitable to parents having to sit with kids all
day and half the night. And as always, you usually wind up
in kid's ward in an emergency with no time to collect
clothes and foodstuffs.

In the kid's ward she was in a room with 5 other kids, on
the second day a 15 year old girl came in to have her
diabetes control brought back into line. Jazz makes these
strange noises and flaps her hands at the same time. The
girl complained out loud about it to her parents quite a few
times that day. Just after dinner that night Jazz got
transferred into the infectious ward because she started
throwing up. Private room, bed came out of the wall for me,
our own bathroom I met the mum of the diabetic girl in
the kitchen late that night and she was beside herself,
apologising for her daughter's rude remarks thinking that's
why Jazz was removed, lol.

She was so relieved that it wasn't the reason but still
apologised profusely for her daughter's behaviour. I was ok
with it, I could see that the parents were horrified at the
time the remarks were made. I am usually quick to jump in on
Jazzy's behalf when people are cruel but the girl looked
pretty scared to me as well so I let it slide that time.

[Default] On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 13:57:29 -0500, "amyky123"
<amyky123NOSPAM@insightbb.com> Giggled into the madness of usenet:

>Just an FYI, really.
>
>I'm 3 weeks post-op, and was having horrible problems in the days
>past my surgery with controlling my bg's. I was getting insulin several
>times a day, with absolutely no effect. My bg's were staying around
>300, no matter what I ate, or what insulin they gave me.
>
>Finally (and I can't believe I didn't notice this), my sister who is a nurse
>came to visit, and noticed that they still had me on IV fluids containing
>dextrose (I know they give them during surgery so bg doesn't get too low).
>I asked my nurse about it, and she said (quote): "Oh, the whole bag only
>has about as much sugar as two life savers.. that wouldn't make a
>difference."

well she was wrong about the amount and it was going directly into
your blood stream. send the nurse back to school.

>
>Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
>else,
>and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
>280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
>Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>
>Amy
>


never forget that you are in charge of your diabetes, even when you
are in the hospital. Sadly, those of who have had multiple trips to
the hospital for various reasons know that regular nursing and doctors
on non-diabetic wards don't have a clue most of the time. If you are
running a 200 to 300 BG the entire time you are there, they are
actually okay with it.

Glad you are doing better.

--
Mâck©® Deltec CoZmore Pumper
Type 1 since 1975
http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org
http://www.diabetic-talk.org
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org
http://www.pandora.com enter "Jason & Demarco"



"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
President, or that we are to stand by the President
right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile,
but is morally treasonable to the American public."
....Theodore Roosevelt

(o ô)
--ooO-(_)-Ooo--------------------

"I don't know half of you
half as well as I should like;
and I like less than half of you
half as well as you deserve."
....Bilbo Baggins


DISCLAIMER If you find a posting or message from me
offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
If you don't know how to ignore a posting, complain to
me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate...
..

[Default] On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:55:31 GMT, "Billie"
<mynewsaccount@swbell.net> Giggled into the madness of usenet:

>Tim, they gave me dextrose via IV with my little trip to the ER two weeks
>ago. It went smoothly, but did take a while; like about three hours to
>finally get me stabilized. Took forever to get it up to normal, and then it
>wouldn't stay there.
>
>Being unconscious for as long as I was, and my bg beginning to rise with the
>initial administration of the glucose, it seems like it would have been in
>my best interest for Jim to have been able to give me glucagon (we have some
>on hand now) while waiting for the ambulance. We are only three blocks from
>the hospital, but with a bg of 16, it seems like every minute would be
>counting, and suffering some nausea would be the least to be concern (some
>phenergan would take care of that . Indeed, they did tell us my brain was
>already in dangerous territory; I had fluid collection in my lungs which
>started coming up (my first memory when I started wakening). What if my
>transport time had been very much longer, which in a large city, it would
>have been. We cannot be sure how long I had been unconscious, nor how fast
>my bg was dropping. Our evenings are usually quiet; I was reading, he was
>watching TV, so no reason for him to be aware of when I passed the point of
>*dropping off for a nap* to unconscious. The first time this happened,
>several days prior to this even, it took a while, but he *was* able to
>finally wake me, and I was able to drink/eat then. He said this time it was
>evident I was not going to waken as soon as he looked at me, though he did
>give it a few good tries. I was so drenched in sweat that my clothing and
>hair was still wet when we left the hospital hours later.
>
>Gosh, two weeks later, and I still am coming up with questions! I hope to
>NEVER need that glucagon, nausea or no nausea. LOL
>
>Billie
>

some suggestions that might help.

1. teach him to test your BG. then when he finds you "asleep" and hard
to wake, his first step is to test your BG. Then he will know if you
need help.

2. he should know how to give you the glucagon injection and it is
best given in the abdomen.

3. call EMS. and when they arrive inform them of the glucagon
injection. and BG at the time of that injection.

Remind him, you will unconscious and unable to feel any pain. So
testing you and injecting you will not cause any pain nor will it even
be remembered by you.

My other half knows how to do all this and has found that being able
to do the right things is far less stressful and far less scary than
having to call 911 and sit and wait for EMS to arrive and then sit and
wait for them to assess, diagnose and treat and then pack you up and
transport you. Your husbands ability to do the first 3 things will
actually give them a head start and allow them to get you transported
much faster.

16 - 22 - 29 - 39 - 42 (20) <---- do you have that number for the
3-6-2007 $370,000,000.00 jackpot?


--
Mâck©® Deltec CoZmore Pumper
Type 1 since 1975
http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org
http://www.diabetic-talk.org
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org
http://www.pandora.com enter "Jason & Demarco"



"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
President, or that we are to stand by the President
right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile,
but is morally treasonable to the American public."
....Theodore Roosevelt

(o ô)
--ooO-(_)-Ooo--------------------

"I don't know half of you
half as well as I should like;
and I like less than half of you
half as well as you deserve."
....Bilbo Baggins


DISCLAIMER If you find a posting or message from me
offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
If you don't know how to ignore a posting, complain to
me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate...
..

On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 13:57:29 -0500, "amyky123"
<amyky123NOSPAM@insightbb.com> wrote:

>Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
>else,
>and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
>280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
>Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.

Good grief! Hope the recovery is proceeding apace?

Nicky.
T2 dx 05/04 + underactive thyroid
D&E, 100ug thyroxine
Last A1c 5.5% BMI 25

"Nicky" <ukc802466929@btconnect.com> wrote in message
news:4bhtu2t0kaf45ukkb39m1tt2892ge69dfe@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 13:57:29 -0500, "amyky123"
> <amyky123NOSPAM@insightbb.com> wrote:
>
>>Luckily, the next shift nurse was a little more willing to try something
>>else,
>>and switched me to fluids that didn't have the dextrose.. my bg went from
>>280 to 90 (!) in a matter of a few hours. What a fun ride that was.
>>Anyway, just goes to show.. everything can make a difference.
>
> Good grief! Hope the recovery is proceeding apace?
>
> Nicky.
> T2 dx 05/04 + underactive thyroid
> D&E, 100ug thyroxine
> Last A1c 5.5% BMI 25

It is.. thanks for asking. I've had a little trouble with my incision
opening
up and not wanting to heal, but I've been ridiculously careful with packing
and dressing to try and avoid infection, it's been successful so far.
I'll definitely be more aware of what they're putting in my body next time
I'm in the hospital.

Amy

No, I didn't win. I heard this morning that CA had some sort of
malfunction last night, but I heard that with the results so far, two
people did win. :-)

Cheri


Ma¢k wrote in message ...

>16 - 22 - 29 - 39 - 42 (20) <---- do you have that number for the
>3-6-2007 $370,000,000.00 jackpot?

Hi Mack. Been wondering where you've been. :-) Thanks for the info. He's
been instructed to call 911 first after determining he indeed cannot waken
me. Then, while waiting, he's to do the bg and glucagon things. Being
small town, where we are just a few blocks from everything, including the
ambulance service, and hospital (all three... they, us, hosp all on the same
street :-) things happen really quickly. haha The longest seemed to be
getting me from my comfy hole I'd burrowed into the couch these past four
weeks, and onto the gurney. Told Jim they should have been glad I'd lost 30
pounds. *s* Though I did not waken then, my bg *did* rise with the first
administration of glucose in the ER, so with one below 20, or in the single
digits, the doctor said I'd already be on the way up by the time they got me
to the ER. haha I told him what you said about the pain. Jack, who
trained him on the glucagon, told him about that and about the abdomen
injection. The ER doc was very knowledgeable about my pump, even helping me
with some resetting since I was having some double vision. My endo was
really excited that an ER doc knew how to operate a pump. I made Jim stay
downstairs here with me after we got home. *s* I was afraid to go back to
sleep.

I've been after him to learn everything, and believe me, after that night,
he now has done it all. I have become hypo-unaware, so neither of us
wants/lets me sleep uninterrupted for extended periods now, though he is not
up to par yet in checking on me as he needs to be. Yesterday, he woke me at
10:00, and my bg was 50 something, and he'd been up long enough to make
coffee and check his email. He just didn't think. I do not rebuke; just
said "You must have slept in this morning," and he said he sure did. Today,
he remembered to wake me as soon as he got downstairs, and even though I'd
already been awake since 7, but had fallen back asleep even after a snack,
it took a few calls for him to wake me. Some other things cause me to fall
asleep, so it is important that we know why.

I take my bg whenever I start to become sleepy at unusual times, and ALWAYS
before nighttime, and always with some food in me to carry me through
because I tend to drop during the night, and early morning. No dp for me.
It is rare for me to sleep all night, though, usually waking around 2 or 3,
and checking is the first thing I do now. Jim sets me up with food and
drink, and my low recovery items; found the little Cokes (8 oz, 26 g carb)
work really swell without being followed by a high, then have some pb and
crackers. The Coke (idea from here) seems to work better than the Smarties,
and I had gotten so tired of the Smarties, plus I'm never tempted with the
Coke. LOL The crackers are low in carbs so do not add to the carbs I've
already taken, and boy, does that pb taste good then! Have some with
cheese, too, but right now seem to prefer the pb.

Again, thanks for your help, and if I run into any problems, I'll surely
give you a yell! So far, I'm dealing with my low recoveries pretty good.
The endo made some pump changes last week which has helped some. Have been
running higher bgs than I like (140 - 160s), but not extremes, except for a
few unexplainable between 200 - 400s. I take my readings enough to see that
my lows do not appear to be reactive lows. I'm to fax my bg reading every
two weeks and return to see him in six weeks.

Billie


"Ma¢k" <stopthespam@shootspammers.com> wrote in message
news:nk9tu2pu2pb73lvskr3sp7qqgiuf9ud820@4ax.com...

:
: some suggestions that might help.
:
: 1. teach him to test your BG. then when he finds you "asleep" and hard
: to wake, his first step is to test your BG. Then he will know if you
: need help.
:
: 2. he should know how to give you the glucagon injection and it is
: best given in the abdomen.
:
: 3. call EMS. and when they arrive inform them of the glucagon
: injection. and BG at the time of that injection.
:
: Remind him, you will unconscious and unable to feel any pain. So
: testing you and injecting you will not cause any pain nor will it even
: be remembered by you.
:
: My other half knows how to do all this and has found that being able
: to do the right things is far less stressful and far less scary than
: having to call 911 and sit and wait for EMS to arrive and then sit and
: wait for them to assess, diagnose and treat and then pack you up and
: transport you. Your husbands ability to do the first 3 things will
: actually give them a head start and allow them to get you transported
: much faster.
:
: 16 - 22 - 29 - 39 - 42 (20) <---- do you have that number for the
: 3-6-2007 $370,000,000.00 jackpot?
:
:
: --
: Mâck©® Deltec CoZmore Pumper
: Type 1 since 1975
: http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org
: http://www.diabetic-talk.org
: http://www.insulin-pumpers.org
: http://www.pandora.com enter "Jason & Demarco"
:
:
:
: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the
: President, or that we are to stand by the President
: right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile,
: but is morally treasonable to the American public."
: ...Theodore Roosevelt
:
: (o ô)
: --ooO-(_)-Ooo--------------------
:
: "I don't know half of you
: half as well as I should like;
: and I like less than half of you
: half as well as you deserve."
: ....Bilbo Baggins
:
:
: DISCLAIMER If you find a posting or message from me
: offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
: If you don't know how to ignore a posting, complain to
: me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate...
: .
:
:
:

<dumbfishie99@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ci7su2pps2bfjjo2aper5tsgc48r5i8h0o@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:09:30 GMT, "bj" <bjones44@bellatlantic.net>
> wrote:
>
>>(maybe to go along with the one that says "Have you washed your hands?")
>>( :-) or maybe not such a joke....)
>

I should add -- take off your tie before you come near me -- recent research
on doctors' ties shows they are cesspools!

> Thanks, bj. It's incredible that hospitals are such uncoordinated
> places, and the bit about the food - I just don't get. Why don't they
> know how a diabetic has to eat, for crying out loud? It;s not
> like it's a rare obscure disease.
>

We all eat differently & have different needs, meds, etc.
Sometimes "the computer" doesn't get the message that you are diabetic.
Sometimes the need for certain restrictions (for whatever you're in there
for) clash with even your own ideas of "how I [should] eat for bg control,"
or they may have a different version of the <whatever, but not dm> diet than
you do.
Some hospitals are better than others about individualizing meals.

> This is not on the same level, but recently I went to a family thing
> at an Olive Garden, and asked the waitress to leave out the pasta
> and give me only the chicken and vegetables. I told her why I can't
> eat pasta, and she still tried to get me to take whole wheat pasta!

I see no reason to explain why *I, the paying customer* wants a certain
adjustment to the way the dish is served, though I have found that "it's
part of my cancer treatment" can have a salutary effect on their attitude. I
have also found, once or twice over the years, if a server was overly
persistent about shellfish & if I was ticked off enough, "it'll make me
throw up all over the table" works well.

I don't go out that much anyway & usually to a limited number of places, so
it's not a problem I run into often.

"Diabetes" just isn't dramatic enough!
bj