Type 1 Newly diagnosed, few questions

[Gardevoir]

Hi there, I have a few questions!

- How much insulin is too much? Are you able to eat "whatever" you want as long as you take enough insulin to balance it out? If not, why not? How does that work? Is it different from the "Don't eat too much KFC" argument?
- As someone who's admittedly very skinny, I find it difficult to pick a new spot for my Libre 2 as I was advised to not re-use the same spot twice in a row, but I also don't know if I should simply switch arms each time. Any suggestions?
- Even the day before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I'd snack throughout the whole day. Now that it'll affect me way more, I still want to be eating throughout the day. It's more so for the activity than for the purpose of consuming food. I'm sadly also a picky eater. Can you think of something?

Thank you in advance!

 

[becca59]

Welcome @Gardevoir
-No insulin is too much if it is what you need. My needs are smallish, my brothers the exact opposite. We need what we need to stay healthy. As time proceeds you will settle into your own doses.
-I just switch arms with my Libre 2 and just move up/down very slightly. Been wearing 6+years
-I have to admit I was never a snacker before diagnosis. And now I would find it way too difficult. Snacking per se is not particularly healthy. But you could snack on meats, nuts, olives, cheeses, prawns, cucumber, red pepper, pieces of cauliflower. They may raise levels slightly as if eaten on its own protein very slowly converts for energy use.
- I found my diagnosis at the age of 54 a wake up call for eating as healthily as I possibly could. I am now 64 and the same weight as at diagnosis and fit and active. I am convinced I am better off than I would have been and as I want to live to a ripe old age that must be a good thing.
Good luck on your journey.

 

[In Response]

Welcome @Gardevoir
You have asked some great questions. Based on these, it looks as if you have a great attitude. I find managing diabetes much easier if I work out how to fit it into my life as I want to live it rather than how to fit my life around it.
Like you, I am slim (when I was a kid, "skinny" was one of the insults the other kids called me so I try to avoid it) and a grazer.
@becca59 has answered most of your questions but I wanted to expand on her answer about snacks.
I have found no reason to avoid snacks and the only reason to avoid carby snacks is to avoid another insulin injection. Personally, I prefer to jab to a constant stream of nuts and cheese. In fact, I find eating protein without carbs (or with few carbs) such as these snacks will still cause my BG to rise as, in the absence of carbs, our bodies convert protein to glucose. So I snack biscuits, crisps, etc. Basically, a healthy diet for someone with Type 1 is the same as a healthy diet for someone without diabetes.
The usual advice when starting out is it is ok to eat 10-15g carbs between meals without injecting. This could be a cracker with cheese or a finger of Twix or a bag of lower carb crisps such as Quavers and Skips or an apple or small orange.
The great thing is that you have a Libre (yes, you can switch arms which is the easiest way to move it each time) so you can see how your body copes. It does take some trial and learning but when it comes to food and exercise, I am happy to experiment.

I was diagnosed in my late 30s and made little changes to my life. I already ate a health (grazing) diet, I am lucky to have never been overweight, I love exercise, I travel a lot, I enjoy my job, ... I am determined to do my best to live to a good age and not let diabetes stop me. But I would rather "live" than survive. Hence, the need to continue what I love.

 

[EllieM]

Different people tackle T1 in very different ways. You just have to find a way that suits your lifestyle and your body. Some people low carb to minimise insulin injected, others don't. You just have to experiment and find out what works for you. I don't think there is a single answer here.

 

[Gardevoir]

Thank you for your responses! I'll see what works best for me in the long run when it comes to injection frequency.
I'll change arms when swapping out my Libre and will slowly look at how my body reacts to different smaller snacks. I'm very happy to hear about how well your years have been and how well you've been managing them. Thank you for the inspiration

 

[SimonP78]

I alternate arms but use roughly the same location - I try to avoid getting exactly the same place each time though

Taking large doses of insulin for large quantities of carbs is a bit tricky as carb absorption rate is limited, but insulin tends to be absorbed at the same rate, this means you may well need to split dose for large meals, also the larger the insulin dose the higher the chance of going too high/low if you misjudge the exact timing of dose + food. These are simply things to be aware of, it's certainly possible to eat large meals, I prefer to eat <80g carbs at a time for the above reasons.

One reason to avoid snacking is so you can monitor whether your insulin sensitivity and carb response are correct (so you can then dose appropriately, these can also change across the day, making it more complicated), if you snack between meals it becomes complicated to work out whether a snack or delayed absorption of a previous meal is causing a blood sugar rise. With that said when I'm cycling often I am always hungry (when at home) so I do snack, and go back to a bit more of a reactive way of dosing - taking a bit more insulin than I think I'll need for a meal and expecting to have a snack afterwards and/or correct with some more food/more insulin/a quick ride. I try to avoid this too late in the day though as I want to try to get my post-supper blood glucose on track so I'm stable overnight (I am singularly failing on the latter point right now though as recently my evening insulin sensitivity seems to be very low for some reason).

 

[Rokaab]

Thank you for your responses! I'll see what works best for me in the long run when it comes to injection frequency.
I'll change arms when swapping out my Libre and will slowly look at how my body reacts to different smaller snacks. I'm very happy to hear about how well your years have been and how well you've been managing them. Thank you for the inspiration

One thing to note, it can take a while to work out how much insulin you need as you ratios can be different at different times of the day, different seasons, different times of the month (if female), and about 5 million other things can affect it as well (ok slight exaggeration) it will take a fair amount of trial and error.
And don't expect perfection, otherwise you will more than likely be disappointed, just try your best

 

[EllieM]

One thing to note, it can take a while to work out how much insulin you need as you ratios can be different at different times of the day, different seasons, different times of the month (if female), and about 5 million other things can affect it as well (ok slight exaggeration) it will take a fair amount of trial and error.
And don't expect perfection, otherwise you will more than likely be disappointed, just try your best

And don't forget the fact that new T1s sometimes have a honeymoon period where they need less insulin for a while.

Honestly, I often think that bg control is more of an art than a science

 

[MommaE]

I’d also to be aware that in addition to food so many other things can and will affect your blood levels, seemingly even different reactions to the same foods some times depending on exercise, stress, weather, the list goes on. So, check and recheck frequently with your libre. I thought it seemed excessive at times and was ruling life but you do gradually get to know yourself and how you typically react.I still check frequently so that I can stay on top of a time in range. I found a big benefit of low carb diet was the need for smaller doses of insulin and therefore less chance of a dramatic high or low, seemed easier to manage to me. also, from being a constant snacker I‘ve found I snack far less if I’ve had sufficient protein and fat with the meal. Good luck with it. I found it well worth the hassle of the managing everything closely to be able to feel so well.