Most people have days when they feel a little under par. Diabetics and non diabetics alike get colds, flu, upset stomachs, and other common ailments. When this happens, rest, relax, and make the best of the day. However, keep in mind that, as a diabetic, these minor ailments can be more serious for you than for others because illnesses of any kind can temporarily interrupt your control of your disease.

Illness of any type promotes stress, and stress in turn can raise your blood sugar level and cause a loss of control. If ,you are unable to eat or drink because of illness, you will learn to make certain adjustments in your insulin therapy. At some times you will be able to make these adjustments yourself without calling your physician. At other times you will want to seek professional advice. Self-monitoring of your glucose level will be important at such times, and when you call your physician you may be asked about the results of your at home tests. Some specifics to remember regarding sick days are:

• Keep your physician’s phone number handy. Know how to reach other members of the health care team. Be sure others in your family also have these phone numbers.
• Ask your physician and health care team to prepare a sick-day menu plan for yolks during one of your routine visits. They give you several variations of your regular menu plan to follow when you do not feel well.
• Carefully record results of your home urine and or blood tests. Do not omit your home tests, especially if you do not feel well. Also record your fluid and food intake so that you can report these to your doctor when you call on a sick day.
• Take your usual dose of insulin. If your self-tests are high for sugar, test for ketones; if ketones are present, call your doctor right away. You may need extra insulin.
• Report vomiting episodes to your doctor right away. Keep available an anti emetic prescribed for you to control nausea and vomiting and use it according to your physician’s directions.
• If you are ill, your doctor’s advice may be to stay in bed for a few days, drink plenty of liquids,’ and take medication as advised. Your health care team will make individual recommendations to help you keep your diabetes under control. You should notify them when you are ill so that adjustments in your routine can be made.
• If you have a bacterial infection and your physician prescribes an antibiotic medication for you, be sure to take it according to directions. Antibiotics will not interfere with your diabetic control.

If you have to be hospitalized, you win have some special nutritional needs. For example, if you require surgery, you might be advised to consume more calories than usual for a while to build up your strength. At this time your physician may adjust your insulin dosage to accommodate for the extra food. Your diabetes health care team will work closely with your general or specialized surgeon to adjust techniques such as anesthesia and medications to meet your specific needs at this time.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Health Flash. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.