Newly diagnosed T1 on New Years Eve!

[Leight0n]

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking around for a few days until my email was verified and have spent a lot of time since NYE reading threads on here and learning anything I can about diabetes (still a hell of a lot to learn!)

I'm a 34 year old male and to call this diagnosis a shock is a massive understatement.

Things all started on the 13th December, which was the date my wife came out of hospital after a full hip replacement! I had a thirst I could not quench, visiting the toilet a lot and was feeling a bit drained. I put this down to the time of year, my wife's recovery and running around after our two boys. I basically thought I was stressed out.

A few weeks passed and I went to the docs on the 28th. Blood test on the 29th. Call back to the docs on the 30th and admission to hospital (we had friends over on this evening and I planned on drinking a good few beers!!) 31st diagnosed and sent home with Lantus and Novorapid and a bit of information and understanding. "6 units of this before each meal and 10 units of this before bed". With the the bank holiday and no doctors to visit or DSN to see I had a stressful and scary few days until yesterday when I saw my DSN (she said she'd have me sorted and in control before I go on a stag do next month which was nice to hear!)

Prior to that I've cried, being angry, a lot of self pity, I've wondered what I could have done to prevent it and had some level of acceptance. All this whilst trying to hold things together with my wife's recovery and making sure the kids had a nice Christmas. Christmas 2016, officially the worst ever!

BG on admission 21. BG before my evening meal today 5. BG two hours after 8. Had the start of a hypo on Monday as well and overcame that without any real issues so I'm feeling quite good and optimistic at the moment.

I'm determined to get a grip on this straight away. Eat healthy and not let it control my life. No point burying my head in the sand!

I'll have a load of questions but for now, what were some of the side effects you had when you first started injecting insulin? I've had a few aches and pains that's all. Also any newby advice would be appreciate.

Michael.

 

[Diakat]

Hi Michael,

Sounds like you've had a rough time. But great news that you are started on the correct treatment and seem to have the right attitude. Welcome to the forum.

Hope you and your family have a much better 2017.

 

[noblehead]

Hi Micheal and welcome

I'll have a load of questions but for now, what were some of the side effects you had when you first started injecting insulin? I've had a few aches and pains that's all. Also any newby advice would be appreciate.

I don't recall having any side-effects of taking insulin, it hurt a little but that might of been down to being tensed-up or possibly the huge needles we used back then.

The best advice is to keep in touch with your diabetes team, attend your regular check-ups and read up on type 1 as much as you can, a book that comes highly recommended by the forum type 1's is Think Like a Pancreas, it will teach you the basics of type 1 management. Best wishes.

 

[KezG]

@Leight0n Hi and welcome.. There's never a good time to discover that you have Diabetes.. and it sounds as though it couldn't have been a worse time for you. I'm newly diagnosed too! (14th Nov 16) so don't yet feel I can give good advice yet. Like you I still have lots to learn though I am finding things easier to cope with now than I did at first. This site has helped me and I'm sure it will help you too!

 

[himtoo]

Hi @Leight0n
I hope this helps --- 44 years ago when I was diagnosed I cried a fair bit for a few months. -- but the good news is I am still here and pretty much fighting fit

it is a massive thing to take in at first but trust me -- with your excellent attitude -- and perhaps getting hold of the book -- Think Like A Pancreas -- you will soon have the D beast back in its cage !!

all the best !!!!!

 

[Maggie/Magpie]

Hi @Leighton,
Type 2 here but thought I'd just welcome you to the forum anyway.
What you are feeling is quite normal no matter what type of diabetic you are so don't feel your on your own. Everyone on here is friendly and willing to help and support you. Ask any questions you need to theres always someone who can help.
@daisy1 Iv'e attempted to ask daisy1 to post you the information she gives to all newly diagnosed people, hope it works and it helps. Not done it before so anything could go wrong.
Have a look at the low carbohydrate high fat diet, it's working to keep my blood sugars, Hba1c under control and I'm also seeing weight loss. There are many others who advocate it here, it's easy to follow and more a life style change than a diet.
Good luck with your journey and keep up with your very positive attitude to take control of this.
Maggie

 

[Type1Bri]

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking around for a few days until my email was verified and have spent a lot of time since NYE reading threads on here and learning anything I can about diabetes (still a hell of a lot to learn!)

I'm a 34 year old male and to call this diagnosis a shock is a massive understatement.

Things all started on the 13th December, which was the date my wife came out of hospital after a full hip replacement! I had a thirst I could not quench, visiting the toilet a lot and was feeling a bit drained. I put this down to the time of year, my wife's recovery and running around after our two boys. I basically thought I was stressed out.

A few weeks passed and I went to the docs on the 28th. Blood test on the 29th. Call back to the docs on the 30th and admission to hospital (we had friends over on this evening and I planned on drinking a good few beers!!) 31st diagnosed and sent home with Lantus and Novorapid and a bit of information and understanding. "6 units of this before each meal and 10 units of this before bed". With the the bank holiday and no doctors to visit or DSN to see I had a stressful and scary few days until yesterday when I saw my DSN (she said she'd have me sorted and in control before I go on a stag do next month which was nice to hear!)

Prior to that I've cried, being angry, a lot of self pity, I've wondered what I could have done to prevent it and had some level of acceptance. All this whilst trying to hold things together with my wife's recovery and making sure the kids had a nice Christmas. Christmas 2016, officially the worst ever!

BG on admission 21. BG before my evening meal today 5. BG two hours after 8. Had the start of a hypo on Monday as well and overcame that without any real issues so I'm feeling quite good and optimistic at the moment.

I'm determined to get a grip on this straight away. Eat healthy and not let it control my life. No point burying my head in the sand!

I'll have a load of questions but for now, what were some of the side effects you had when you first started injecting insulin? I've had a few aches and pains that's all. Also any newby advice would be appreciate.

Michael.

Great attitude towards your diagnosis, Kudos for that, it really helps to have this attitude in my opinion
Check out T1 Resources website, I also have a site with lots of info on www.type1bri.com

 

[daisy1]

@Leight0n

Hello Michael and welcome to the forum Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[catapillar]

I'll have a load of questions but for now, what were some of the side effects you had when you first started injecting insulin? I've had a few aches and pains that's all. Also any newby advice would be appreciate.

Welcome to the club. Do get hold of think like a pancreas, it will help get to grips with it. Keep in close contact with your DSN while you get used to things. Make sure to read up on drinking with diabetes and tell your mates on the stag do what to do with a hypo - it'll be fine though.

Insulin doesn't have side effects, apart from the hypos obviously. Maybe your aches and pains are just being realised now but are a symptom of the exhaustion from having undiagnosed type 1 and high blood sugar, maybe they are from sleeping in hospital or maybe it's just stress from being diagnosed. If you really think it's insulin causing aches and pains maybe have a chat to your consultant/DSN about changing insulin.

 

[Leight0n]

Thanks for your replies. The book has been ordered!