17 newly diagnosed type 1

[Ellieroseh]

Hi! I'm Ellie. I got diagnosed on the 30th of June, So it hasn't been long at all and at the moment I'm trying really hard to get used to what's going on! I'm 17 and I've literally just finished my A-levels and I was expecting the best summer of my life, but that kinda went out of the window when I was diagnosed. ( I know I can do whatever I want, but it's just such a downer!)
I've come to terms with injecting myself and pricking my finger a few times a day in just this past week and a bit because I have a cousin with diabetes who is 7 and if he can do it all at his age and put on a brave face, I can too. But I'm confused!!
My sugar levels are all over the place and the doctor keeps upping my dosage of insulin but they haven't gone down all that much. For instance, last night before I injected myself with the insulitard. My level was at 7.8, which I was chuffed with because that's the lowest it's been so far. Then I injected myself with the long lasting insulin over night at a 20 dosage but in the morning, before breakfast. My blood level was at 15?!?!!!? I mean what is that about!
Also my eyesight is all blurry and i can barely read what phone says!
That's the end of my rant! Thanks!



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[robert72]

Hi Ellie and welcome

Your eyesight will take a little while to settle back down to normal - it depends how long it takes to get your blood sugar levels under control.

The only way to find out why your BG is high in the morning is to so some tests during the night. It might be that you are dropping low and your body is releasing (too much) glucose to compensate. If that's not the case then you will need to increase your long lasting as advised by your doctor.

Hope you manage to get things under control soon.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. It can take a while for the insulin to settle. A rough and ready way of getting the long-lasting right is to check the morning fasting reading which should be between 5 - 7. Only make small changes each time and wait a day or so before further changes until your long lasting (Basal) is right. You can then adjust the Bolus (fast-acting) based on your carb ratio which you may still be trying to get right and as we all find you can never get the carbs and ratio dead right.

 

[jack412]

Hi has the nurse booked you onto a course yet? There is an online course and workbooks to download on this link for background and practice till you get onto your course
www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/newly-diagnosed.60873#post-583801

 

[Paul J]

Hi Ellie,
How long before you tested your 7.8 had you eaten, and what did you have, ?and did you have sufficient insulin(fast) to cover the carbs,?
Your B.G. Potentially could have been on the way up, and could have also explained a high morning reading,
Do you carb count? its so important to get this bit right, once mastered, life gets slowly back to a better level,
Sorry, lots of questions , also do you keep an accurate diary of what you eat, by way of accurate, I initially weighed all foods before I ate, then looked up the carb values and then dosed insulin accordingly, its a tough regime but totally worth it, and after 3 years I can now look at a plate of food and know how much insulin I need, weighing only stuff I know I could get wrong to easily

Paul

 

[emsg]

Hey,

First of all welcome to the T1 club!
I was diagnosed in June last year at the age of 21 and still to this day I'm having trouble coming to terms with it and getting my levels stable. It's a massive thing to take on especially if you get diagnosed at the age we are.

Depending on what time you last eat before you inject at night can depend on the result of your morning level.
Also can take a while for the insulin to work with the body.
How many times a day do you inject and what insulin are you on? x


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[phoenix]

Hi,
It is really early days yet so don't worry, it does take a while and is probably better to increase insulin slowly.

As you gain control, keep records of what you eat, learn to count the carbs in your meals, glucose levels , exercise, and the insulin you take. It will help you to see patterns.
As said earlier, your eyesight will settle as you get things under control ( I remember that for a short time, my long sight became fantastic, I could see for what seemed miles in the distance but I couldn't see a nearby television clearly, it was really weird. )
However because it is early days things will change and after you think get things sorted you may then suddenly find you need less insulin for a while (the honeymoon period, happens to many but not all)

It will be a very good idea to go onto a course and no harm asking about it so they know you are interested. However, because of the changes during the first year you can't usually do a DAFNE type course in the early days. (I'm not sure about the minimum age either; it could be 18)


I think that this book is really good for people who are diagnosed at any age. It's a good primer but also good for reference when you really need it.
There are others that help managing insulin but maybe like the course that's better a bit further down the road.

 

[stinky25]

hiya,

i was diagnosed beginning of April, within a week of insulin i had gone from normal sight to 'milk bottle' glasses!!! was a bit of a worry, took around a month for my sight to go back to normal, my advice would be ...go to pound shop/similar and get yourself the a couple of pairs of really cheap glasses, you wont need them for long...unfortunatley i took the specsavers avenue...and now my glasses are sat in a draw at home, probably not be used again!!

my bloods were up and down a bit to start aswell...they do settle eventually, i found that low carb eating really helped, took the hassle out of thinking about what i was eating, i then slowly introduced a few carbs into my diet when i had a grip on things...

keep smiling

 

[Emmotha]

Hiya!
I was diagnosed June 9th, so 3 weeks apart. I'm 29 but still feel like I'm 18 so maybe I can help lol.

My insulin took a good while to start working properly, I guess there's a lot of in ur blood for it to break down? Write it all down and call ur diabetic nurse, have u seen one yet?

Once it started to come down my eyesight was awful! Couldn't see my phone or my work computer for about 2 weeks. Then one day I woke up and it was totally fine! Apparently it's very common

 

[Emmotha]

Also I think ranting is healthy! I've been trying to put on a brave face too but it's good to let off steam