New Type 1

[empink]

Hi guys! Happy Friday! I was diagnosed with Type 1 last Tuesday after a few weeks of waiting for test results to come back. I'm 23 and have never had any major health issues my whole life so the whole thing has come as a bit of a shock!

I've been told that I'm still in the Honeymoon Period and producing some insulin. I'm on a low dose of insulin in the evening and before meals. I'm wondering what other people's experience with the HP is? I know everyone is different but how often did you need to increase the amount of insulin you take? It's a lot to take in at once and I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Of course I wouldn't do anything without speaking with my DSN but just curious to know.

Any other general advise for dealing with the initial diagnosis?

Many thanks in advance! xx

 

[noblehead]

Welcome to the forum @empink

TBH I don't recall the term Honeymoon Period being used when I was diagnosed with type 1 (35 years ago), however I do remember starting on a high doses then lowering them to a ridiculous amount then gradually increasing it again, don't remember the amounts but experienced the HP nonetheless.

Advice, a book that often gets a mention on the forum for good reasons is Think Like a Pancreas, it covers most of the basics and is a good book to refer back to when bg control goes astray.

Take care.

 

[ElkBond]

24 when diagnosed here, one year in now. I am still in my honeymoon period, but its faltering slowly.

Take your time, start on lower carb intake to get used to it as lower carbs means less damage control when you make mistakes (and it happens!). It will also help you establish ratios and sensitivity, or if you are anything like me help control the mad fluctuations of insulin sensitivity I put down to the honeymoon period.

Techwise, get yourself a good meter, this thing is poking holes in you so make sure you like it. My personal favourite has been the Accu chek mobile, but you can find your own. One thing I will say is get the Accu Chek Fast clix lancet, it is the most painless one out.

Dont want to overwhelm you but lastly, CGM or continuous glucose monitor, try and get a trial from you DSN or purchase one, it will be invaluable even if you only use it temporally while you get used to the good old t1.

Give me a message if you want any more advice, I've not long been through it so its pretty fresh

 

[Bakerjass]

Hi 1 and half year's and still in honeymoon Period.

 

[therower]

Hi @empink . Welcome to the forum. Was diagnosed 27 yrs ago and like noblehead I can't really recall much about HP and insulin dosage. Do remember though that I was on a totally different regime to now. Mixed insulin ( mixtard pork 30/70 ) twice daily. No basal or bolus, no carb counting and in all honesty not a clue what to do. Horrendous low sugars, unexplained highs and general bewilderment. But know a bit more nowadays, basal/ bolus daily injections, DAFNE course attended and simply more experience. Try not to worry about adjustments at the moment let your DSN help you there. Best way to control diabetes is to know as much as possible which is why this forum may well be your go to place for advice and help.
Again welcome and try not to do to much to soon.

 

[AM1874]

Hi guys! Happy Friday! I was diagnosed with Type 1 last Tuesday after a few weeks of waiting for test results to come back. I'm 23 and have never had any major health issues my whole life so the whole thing has come as a bit of a shock!

I've been told that I'm still in the Honeymoon Period and producing some insulin. I'm on a low dose of insulin in the evening and before meals. I'm wondering what other people's experience with the HP is? I know everyone is different but how often did you need to increase the amount of insulin you take? It's a lot to take in at once and I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Of course I wouldn't do anything without speaking with my DSN but just curious to know.

Any other general advise for dealing with the initial diagnosis?

Many thanks in advance! xx

Hi @empink .. and welcome
I'm new here (diagnosed T2 Feb 17th) and I don't know enough about diabetes (yet) to be able to comment on your T1 situation. What I can say, though, is that you have joined an extremely welcoming, informative and friendly forum .. so, ask your questions and you can be confident that you will get the answers that you need ..

 

[Dairygrade]

Hi empink welcome I agree with what other members are saying don't rush things over time you will adjust it's just a learning process till you get it right when I was diagnosed 43yrs ago I had to draw up insulin with a syringe and a vial and test blood sugars with urine sticks and not really advised on much information how times have changed thank goodness for the better all the best to you

 

[katmcd]

Evening @empink! I'm 30 and was diagnosed 3 weeks ago so I know a little of what you are going through regarding the shock. I too have been told I may well go through a honeymoon period for the next 6 months. My diabetic nurse calls me twice a week for my BG results and has adjusted my insulin according to that. My night time lantus has certainly been reduced but only on her instruction. So far the advice has worked well.
Take it easy. My mam bought me a hypo lunch bag with supplies in (very pretty). I got some diabetes wristbands just because I'll be adjusting and might be a bit off if I get it wrong. I bought a Frio wallet (holds 2 pens) for if I'm out and about. I got the diabetes:m app which I've found super useful for tracking my BG. I also am reading the Think Like A Pancreas book.
And because I like to be useful (and I'm not good at being off work), I subscribed for the ADDRESS2 trial. They link you to trials for diabetes. I'm hopefully eligible for a trial in Cardiff, Leeds and Sheffield. The Cardiff one especially needs people who have just been diagnosed to look at immune response.
And just take it day by day and ask tons of questions if you need to. You'll soon get a grip of it! I hope this is in any way helpful and Good Luck!!!
Kat x

 

[Catherine4188]

Hello, I'm 28 and was diagnosed 4 weeks ago. I'm also on very low dose of Glargine (8 units a day) and novorapid at 0.7 units per 10 grams of carbs until 5pm and then 0.3 per 10g after that. My levels are doing great and I've had far fewer hypos this week and been below 6.5 all week too.

I've been given the accu check expert and it's brilliant. It does all the hard work for you like working out correction doses, active insulin, and insulin needed for carb intake. It also has a reminder alarm when to test after food or a hypo. I also agree that the fastclick lancet is great, less painful and you only change the needle cartridge every 6 times. I have a trial for the freestyle libre next month too. Looking forward to that.

As for dealing with the diagnosis, just be super organised and get off on the right foot. That's all I've tried so far. Keep in touch and let me know how your doing.

 

[db89]

Hi @empink and welcome!

I am 27, diagnosed in October and am currently in the Honeymoon phase. I think I am still producing a bit of insulin in fits and starts - my doses slowly reduced after I started the insulin but I think I have found a level that works for now. I am also finding different ratios for different times of the day with my fast acting at the minute. I was told to expect erratic readings during this phase which has certainly been right at times.

It's a lot to take in at first and a good learning curve. Keep in touch with your DSN if you have any questions or concerns about your doses and ask any questions on your mind on the forum, there is a lot of knowledge here.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I've been on insulin for 4 years and still in the honeymoon period with my Basal needs still going up as my pancreas declines. I think it varies dramatically between people.

 

[Scott-C]

Hi, @empink , welcome aboard the good ship T1D!

My top tip would be to bear in mind that this isn't an exact science and you'll never get it right all the time (by getting it right, I mean avoiding hypos and avoiding running too high).

Many newbies (and, indeed, oldies) get frustrated when they've followed all the rules and it still messes up.

That happens. Don't sweat it too much. You'll eventually learn, after a lot of trial and error, how to get it right most of the time, so don't worry about the occasional screw up.

Mistakes usually teach a lot more than getting it right:" hmm, tried that, didn't work, sure as hell won't do that again".

You'll make a lot of mistakes in these first few months, listen to your DSN make adjustments. You'll reach a point where you'll be making judgment calls on your own and then just generally telling your DSN that it's working out fine.

 

[empink]

Thank you all very much for your advice!

 

[Kirst78]

Hi @empink

I was diagnosed as type 1 just under 3 months ago and my levels have only just started to sort themselves out. It was a bit shaky at the start as when I left the hospital I had my 2 insulin pens, a testing monitor, 10 needles and a bunch of leaflets but nothing else. My GP and the hospital were then arguing over whose responsibility it was to keep me supplied with meds/ancillaries but thankfully it is sorted now. At the start I was having hypo's a lot, at one point almost every 2 hours which was scary and made me worried about going anywhere or doing anything - and stressing over what food to have. For the first 6 -8 weeks my doses changed a lot but my last dose amendment 3 weeks ago seems to be doing the trick now.

 

[holliedolly]

Hi guys! Happy Friday! I was diagnosed with Type 1 last Tuesday after a few weeks of waiting for test results to come back. I'm 23 and have never had any major health issues my whole life so the whole thing has come as a bit of a shock!

I've been told that I'm still in the Honeymoon Period and producing some insulin. I'm on a low dose of insulin in the evening and before meals. I'm wondering what other people's experience with the HP is? I know everyone is different but how often did you need to increase the amount of insulin you take? It's a lot to take in at once and I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Of course I wouldn't do anything without speaking with my DSN but just curious to know.

Any other general advise for dealing with the initial diagnosis?

Many thanks in advance! xx

Hiya!

I couldn't help but notice your discussion and felt I should respond. I was diagnosed in August at 23 completely out of the blue! I, like you, had no problems medically up to this point and some days it still feels like this isn't actually my life. I found it really difficult initially to speak to people and ask for help as I have always been very independent and not reliant on anyone. You're already doing better than I was by posting on this forum as here is so much useful information here. It's so confusing when you first find out you have it, especially if you don't know anybody else with the condition as all information you get seems to be contradicted somewhere by someone else. You really have to understand your own body and it's kind of a trial and error process. I am 6 months in and still in the honeymoon period however I have noticed it starting to slow down as I had I have had to up my night time insulin by 2 units in that time to have normal readings in the morning. I really recommend writing down foods that don't give you a spike in levels, do your research though because a lot of foods you wouldn't think off often send me through the roof! Although it's dull, while I have been working out this regime for myself I have tried to stick to the same foods regularly for example the same breakfast every day and just occasionally treating myself to things that I know are going to be bad until I understand it better. I've also found that I get really stressed when I see a high reading - this doesn't help the high reading so if you are the same, try not to let them bother you, you are never going to have it down to a fine art and sometimes you just have to accept it's going to be higher for a little while! If you ever want to talk don't hesitate to message me. My shining light was a girl I met on a uni course who had type 1! She made me feel normal again and I'd love to be able to do that for someone else! Good luck - it gets easier x

 

[georgiamac]

Hi guys! Happy Friday! I was diagnosed with Type 1 last Tuesday after a few weeks of waiting for test results to come back. I'm 23 and have never had any major health issues my whole life so the whole thing has come as a bit of a shock!

I've been told that I'm still in the Honeymoon Period and producing some insulin. I'm on a low dose of insulin in the evening and before meals. I'm wondering what other people's experience with the HP is? I know everyone is different but how often did you need to increase the amount of insulin you take? It's a lot to take in at once and I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Of course I wouldn't do anything without speaking with my DSN but just curious to know.

Any other general advise for dealing with the initial diagnosis?

Many thanks in advance! xx

I just came out of my honey moon phase and I've had type1 for about 3 years now and I'm 20. Honestly it all comes down to playing around with insulin doses and seeing what works for you and what doesn't. Sometimes you'll get a great reading and then you'll give yourself the suggested dose of insulin and then s*** hits the fan. My suggestion is play around with it a little and see what works for you at the beginning but don't get hard on yourself when it isn't perfect cause your body is still producing some insulin so your numbers will be out of sorts sometimes. Hope this helps

 

[Juliet boxall]

Was you in honeymoon phase for 3 years