why cant i eat the same carbs as i did before and just take the extra insulin need for them ?
Within reason, you
can carry on eating as you did before.
Once you start learning carb counting and maybe go on a DAFNE course, what you'll be taught as a very rough rule is 10 grams of carbs raises by 2 to 3 on a meter, and 1 unit of insulin will lower by 2 to 3.
So, all other things being equal, your average punter will need to have 1 unit for each 10 grams to keep things stable. Remember, though, those are averages. I tend to need 1.5 for every 10 g, others will be higher, others lower. Your dsn will help you find out what ratio works for you (it can change during the day too...aargh!).
So, once you know how many units or parts of a unit you need for each 10 g, it's just a bit of arithmetic to figure out how much insulin is needed for it, whether it's a slice of toast or a plate of pasta (other dose adjustments would also be made depending on other factors like whether you're going to be exercising later on in which case you might want to lower it).
If you're eating a higher carb meal, you'll be taking more insulin, and the problem that sometimes causes is that if you've miscalculated and taken too much or too little there's a higher chance of a hypo or hyper., but you'll learn to watch out for those anyway, so it's not usually anything that a biscuit or two or some glucose for a hypo, or an extra unit (or 2 or 3)for a hyper won't sort out, so I think the risks are overstated.
The other thing with hig carb meals is they can spike your levels high quite sharply, but over time you'll learn how to pre-bolus, taking your shot a while before the meal to let the insulin get to work before the food hits it. And you'll maybe find that you're fine with some high carbs and not others - white rice and potatoes are crazy with me, but brown rice and egg noodles are fine.
Eating low carbs is a perfectly viable option, but it's not compulsory.
The other night I had some chicken broth with a slice of bread, then some lamb chops and steamed veg, them some raspberries. That's pretty low carb, but that's not why I ate it - I just fancied some lamb chops. The next night, I had some tortellini, and an eclair, which is fairly high carb. Net result over thr next few hours was pretty much the same as the low carb meal, because I'd taken the right amount of insulin and timed it right.
It"s not so much avoiding sugar altogether thst matters, more the rate at which it gets absorbed into your bloodstream. So, if you decide to hoover down a Mars bar on an empty stomach, you'll likely go high, but if you have a bit of cake at the end of a meal, likely not.
All in all, it's really not as restricted as you think. Best of luck!
