T1 and need help and support

Beverley2531

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
liver and onions, kidneys, offal
Hi everybody. I'm struggling with my diabetes at the mo and need some support and suggetions.

For the past few weeks I have been forgetting to take my night time Lantus and my readings have been high throughout the day, which is understandable. My problem is that part of my staple diet has always been bread. I have sandwhiches for either dinner or tea, cereal in the morning and since it has been hot I haven't wanted to eat tea, so again I either have a sandwich or toast. I need an alternative please.

Now I know that is a LOT of carbs and I still don't know how much Novorapid to take as it is hit and miss.

I went to see my diabetic specialist today and what a waste of time that was? All he did was ask me how I am coping and more or less said "there there. I'll refer you to the dietician and the diabetic nurse". It felt like he'd patted me on the head like a kid. And he wondered why I was a bit grumpy when I left.

Can anybody suggest recipes for one person because everything I have seen so far are for four portions and I don't like to freeze food.

Thanks for listening
 

billybadger

Well-Known Member
Messages
135
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Beverley

I would start by finding a way to ensure you take your night time background insulin, this will help with working out how much quick acting insulin you will need to take to match your carb intake. Do you always take it at the same time? Could you set an alarm to remind yourself to take it, some meters have an alarm you can set? I use a Timesulin cap on my quick acting pen, this has a read out to tell me when I last took the lid off to administer a dose but I don't think this would help as a reminder to take your night time dose.

I haven't got any tips for recipes I'm afraid, I haven't cut down greatly on my carb intake, I just carb count and administer quick acting to cover the carbs, but my diet has never been overly heavy on carbs. :)
 

jackois

Well-Known Member
Messages
391
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Beverly.

as BillyBadger says... you need to make sure you take your lantus. I have an alarm set on my phone to remind me.

As for eating, I use myfitnesspal and a good set of scales to work out how many carbs each of my meals contain. Initially, it doesn't really matter what you eat as long as you measure the carbs and then take enough novorapid to cover it. I managed to work out dosages by eating the same meals at the same time for a few days and working out a ratio of carb to insulin unit for each mealtime. I found this to be important as I need less insulin for mornings and afternoons while I'm active and then more in the evening when I laze about.

Hope this helps.
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. I put my Levemir on my pillow so I won't forget it! A slice of bread is typically 13 gm if thin so use that as one measure. I assume you understand carb-counting to get the Rapid right? Try to have protein and veg rather than always bread e.g. cheese, eggs, meat and perhaps salad?
 

Beverley2531

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
liver and onions, kidneys, offal
thankyou everybody for your great replies. I feel pretty alone with this disease as I don't know anybody personally who has it and I live alone. It is good that I found this site though. And thanks for oyur support, I really need it at times like this. :)
 

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
Beverly ,you must remember to take your basal insulin (lantus) otherwise you will never get your diabetes under control, as others have suggested try setting an alarm to remind you when to take it, the mobile phone alarm is a good suggestion as we are never too far away from our mobiles.

If you are sometimes unsure whether you have taken your lantus insulin then you can buy devices that fit on the end of pens such as Insulcheck, they display the time in which you last used the pen and are very handy for those moments of self-doubt.

As for your diet, the suggestion to see a dietitian is a good one and you should at least give it a go, diet is an individual choice and there's little point in following someone else's diet if your dietary preferences are somewhat different.

Not sure if a carb counting course such as DAFNE has been mentioned to you, if not then ask your DSN if you can put your name down for the next available course, there's an on-line carb counting course which is similar to the DAFNE and covers just about everything that is taught on the course, here is the link to the website:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 
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lizdeluz

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,306
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Instead of sandwiches you could try cheese and ham wraps? Roll up a slice of ham inside a slice of cheese ( ready sliced Edam or Gouda rolls up easily) then roll a salad leaf round that. Nice on its own or with a boiled egg or a buttered Finn rye crisp bread from Sainsbury's.

It's good that you have found this forum. There are lots of ideas here to help you cope better with things, Best wishes.
 

Beverley2531

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
liver and onions, kidneys, offal
Hi jack412, I have just looked on the bdec e learning workbook 1 and there is a lot of info there but it looks really informative. If I do an hour a day it won't do my head in and will help me with my problems. Thanks for the recommendation.

Starting to feel a bit better now. LOL
 

smcc

Well-Known Member
Messages
62
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Since I started using Lantus several years ago I have always used it in the morning after getting up. This routine suits me.
 

jack412

Expert
Messages
5,618
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi jack412, I have just looked on the bdec e learning workbook 1 and there is a lot of info there but it looks really informative. If I do an hour a day it won't do my head in and will help me with my problems. Thanks for the recommendation.

Starting to feel a bit better now. LOL
I'm glad it was ok. I'm trying to learn myself and came across a few good links when googling the net
 

Mrsass

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,188
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi Beverley, when I was on injections I had my night time injection in the bathroom so that when I brushed my teeth I also injected, it became routine. What about instead of sandwiches for your lunch you have crackers? I've cut down on carbs myself and would always have sandwiches or a mug shot when j was at work but now I have crackers and some cheese and a boiled egg. Fills me up great but less carbs. Or if you buy a big loaf of bread what about changing to a small loaf, the one I buy has 10g carbs per slice. Would you switch to something else instead if cereal for breakfast? I used to be a cereal addict, especially the sugary ones! I have various things now depending how much time I have on a morning, today I had a protein shake, yesterday I had strawberries and Greek yoghurt. When I'm off work I cook bacon n eggs. Hope that gives you some ideas xx


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Beverley2531

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
liver and onions, kidneys, offal
Just to let you all know how you have helped me these past few weeks. I have started taking my Lantus at 10.15 pm every night with the help of my alarm on my phone and this has helped greatly but I am still getting hypo's.
I am doing a food diary and trying to work out my insulin to carb ratio and I was suprised to realise that my breakfast ratio used to be 1:7 and have realised I am actually 1:20. There is no wonder I was going hypo 2 hours after my breakfast.

I am still trying to work out dinner and tea ratio and doing the course that jack412 recommended which has been very helpful and I can't thank everybody enough for all your support and help. :)
 
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