Well after having no problems with the flu jab last year i went in for my routine appointment, not expecting to have it there and then but nether the less, the good doctor insisted and all was fine and i forgot about it all.........until a week later!!!
Wow i have never felt so frustrated, angry, upset and ill!! I really couldnt work it out, i was doing everything right, dosing my insulin as normal and eating what i usually eat at the same time etc.. and i was getting readings like 12, 11, sometimes even in the 14's wheras normally they would be in the 5's! I remember at one point i went from 5mmols up to 14 after half a sandwich :o! I did control tests, changed my insulin cartridges and i was still getting the same results! I got so angry and frustrated, blamed myself and just thought well tomoro will be better...but it wasnt and this carried on for 9 days!! I was on half term thank god, as i really dont think i could have worked a week on those levels, i felt so ill and run down, stayed in all weekend and most of the week unable to do anything and scared to eat anything! The highest level (that i knew of that is) was 21 at one point and that did really scare me...i checked for ketones luckily none!
And then it occured to me about the flu jab i had the previous week, could this be the reason? Well i was fine last year? So I posted on the forum, asked friends and co workers and got replies with a range of opinions and answers and found out it had happened to a few diabetics i knew as well, including my friends son, who had experienced the exact same thing as me after his flu jab...Well i felt a bit better knowing that i could actually explain these high readings so just carried on upping my insulin to about 3 times what i would use normally waiting for them to come back down
...and sure enough they did :) It took 9 days but i am finally feeling alot better and back within the normal range :) It actually felt so good to have my first hypo in ages lol
So i dont know what i will be doing next year....is it really worth going through all this again?! i know we should get the flu jab as there is a risk of pneumonia and further complications but i guess i will just have to think about that next year!
