Newly diagnosed LADA - clueless and confused!

[Bambi0410]

Hi everyone! Before I start, please let me apologise for not knowing the correct terminology/abbreviations etc., I'm pretty clueless!

I am newly diagnosed with LADA Type 1 diabetes and am feeling very confused and slightly scared to be honest. I have had various appointments with my local Diabetes clinic and was given a blood glucose monitoring machine this week but not really given much info on when to use it etc. I'm not yet on insulin because they want me to monitor my BG for a period of time first but what time of day is best to check it? They didn't say... just told me to do it a few times a week or when I feel unwell.

Until recently, my symptoms had mainly been extreme fatigue, thirst and needing the toilet all the time! But in the last few weeks, I have experienced some episodes of feeling really dreadful - heart racing, headache, dizziness, feeling cold, being close to fainting and crying for no apparent reason. When I've looked online, it would appear that this is a hypo... am I right in thinking that? This happened again this morning so I made myself eat something and felt better (albeit weak and wobbly) within about 15 mins.

I guess I need to learn to recognise the symptoms of this and act quicker but it's all so new to me, I'm not sure what I'm doing! haha!

Any guidance or reassurance would be greatly appreciated In the meantime, I'm off to trawl through this forum for tips and pointers...

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi Bambi,

I'm not LADA, (Just a T2 with a T3c cat, so yeah, there's all sorts out there. ) so useless for the most part when it comes to insulin and the like, but.... Are you on ANY medication right now? Anything that'll drop your bloodsugars other than insulin? Because you shouldn't be getting hypo's if there's no outside help that's lowering your bloodsugars. Oral medication? Anything? The moment you feel like that, grab your meter and check where you're at. There's no such thing as over-testing, well, unless it becomes obsessive of course, but... Information if good. If you're still above 4, or 4,5, say, you're alright. It could be a false hypo, meaning your body THINKS it is going hypo because it's going lower than it is used to. You'd get all the symptoms, without actually being hypo. Your body'll get used to lower numbers eventually, so it won't freak out like that all the time. If your bloodsugars are high you can experience the same symptoms though, but they don't usually go away when you eat, those'd just get worse then... So... Keep your meter with you AT ALL TIMES, because you really need to know what your body's up to. Did anything change in your diet at all? If there are no meds at this moment, did you go low carb or something, which might explain lower bloodsugars than you're used to? In any case... You want to keep that meter handy. It's your new best friend. Test if you feel unwell, test in the morning before you start your day, test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite, and before bed. That's a lot of testing in a day, I know, but it does tell you an awful lot, especially if you combine it with a food diary (also add if you had a bad night's sleep or stress or exercise) and the more data your doc has to work with, the better. (Random testing throughout a week doesn't really tell you anything).

And if at any point you feel really sick, and your numbers are really high, call for help. No shame in it. But just keep in mind a lot of people live with diabetes in some form or other. You've found a bunch of them here, so... You're not alone in this. I don't usually reply to people with a different type than mine, but... You're going to be okay. And don't worry about the jargon, none of us knew it when we started out. It'll become second nature in no time.
Good luck!
Jo

 

[Rachox]

Hi Bambi and welcome to the forum!
First let me post the link to our useful info post:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
If you could fill in your profile or let us know on this thread any meds you’re on, that will help us to help you. I’ll tag in a couple of members with LADA who may be able to help better than I can.
@Antje77 @Daibell

 

[Rachox]

Oh also forgot to add there is a LADA subforum which you can find here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/type-1-5-lada-diabetes.41/

 

[Bambi0410]

Thank so much for the replies. The only medication I’m taking is the contraceptive pill but I’ve been on that for most of my adult life.

After the episode this morning, I feel better than I did but still very detached from myself if that makes sense... a bit like I’m drunk! And I’m very aware of my heart beat. Not a nice feeling...

 

[Antje77]

Hello @Bambi0410 , and welcome to the forum!
Are you on any medication for your diabetes?

As for when to test, I think it would be very helpful and informative to both yourself and your consultant if you tested right before meals and 2 hours after, to see what the meal did to your blood glucose, and perhaps upon waking and before sleeping as well.
The more information you have about how your diabetes behaves, the better they can assess what medication you need and how much.
If you log what you've eaten next to the numbers you may find out different kinds of food give you different rises in blood glucose. It's very useful to get a feeling for this, as in the future you will need to adjust your insulin to the amount of carbs in your food.
It may be you'll be starting insulin soon, it may be you'll be able to manage for months or even years without, just wait and see.
I asked for insulin within a couple of weeks after diagnosis, as it was clear my bg stayed over 10 most of the time, even with tablets and a lot less carbs than before. Hadn't I tested as often as I did to find patterns, I wouldn't have known.
And please test next time when you feel dreadful again. Without testing there is no way to know why you feel dreadful!

Good luck, and please keep asking questions!

 

[Antje77]

After the episode this morning, I feel better than I did but still very detached from myself if that makes sense... a bit like I’m drunk! And I’m very aware of my heart beat. Not a nice feeling...

Have you checked your bg yet?

 

[Bambi0410]

Hello @Bambi0410 , and welcome to the forum!
Are you on any medication for your diabetes?

As for when to test, I think it would be very helpful and informative to both yourself and your consultant if you tested right before meals and 2 hours after, to see what the meal did to your blood glucose, and perhaps upon waking and before sleeping as well.
The more information you have about how your diabetes behaves, the better they can assess what medication you need and how much.
If you log what you've eaten next to the numbers you may find out different kinds of food give you different rises in blood glucose. It's very useful to get a feeling for this, as in the future you will need to adjust your insulin to the amount of carbs in your food.
It may be you'll be starting insulin soon, it may be you'll be able to manage for months or even years without, just wait and see.
I asked for insulin within a couple of weeks after diagnosis, as it was clear my bg stayed over 10 most of the time, even with tablets and a lot less carbs than before. Hadn't I tested as often as I did to find patterns, I wouldn't have known.
And please test next time when you feel dreadful again. Without testing there is no way to know why you feel dreadful!

Good luck, and please keep asking questions!

Thanks so much! No, I’m not on any medication for the diabetes at the moment.

I will take your advice and test my bg regularly in order to gain some knowledge of why I’m feeling this way. It sounds silly but I’m scared of needles so just the finger prick is proving hard enough... I’m a complete wimp!

 

[Antje77]

Thanks so much! No, I’m not on any medication for the diabetes at the moment.

I will take your advice and test my bg regularly in order to gain some knowledge of why I’m feeling this way. It sounds silly but I’m scared of needles so just the finger prick is proving hard enough... I’m a complete wimp!

You'll be fine, the needles for insulin are so small they're quite hard to see and you'll get used to it, believe me

Sooo, have you managed to use the finger pricker yet to test your blood yet?
Try it on a low setting first and turn it up until you manage to get a drop of blood. Don't squeeze the tip of your finger but start at your palm massaging up to the tip of your finger, rather like milking a goat.
Many people find it doesn't hurt (or only very little) when they use the sides of their fingers and not the middle of the pad.
Good luck!

Here's a picture of an insulin needle, it's nothing at all like a regular injection

 

[Bambi0410]

You'll be fine, the needles for insulin are so small they're quite hard to see and you'll get used to it, believe me

Sooo, have you managed to use the finger pricker yet to test your blood yet?
Try it on a low setting first and turn it up until you manage to get a drop of blood. Don't squeeze the tip of your finger but start at your palm massaging up to the tip of your finger, rather like milking a goat.
Many people find it doesn't hurt (or only very little) when they use the sides of their fingers and not the middle of the pad.
Good luck!

Here's a picture of an insulin needle, it's nothing at all like a regular injection

No, not yet. The nurse did it for me on Tuesday and told me I didn’t need to do it until today/tomorrow so I hadn’t attempted to do it but after feeling so unwell this morning I’m going to start doing it regularly to build up a record

Just need to get over the initial reluctance to press the button haha!

 

[Daibell]

Hi. It's very unlikely you are suffering hypos but quite possible your blood sugar is too high i.e. Hypers. Do use the meter 2 hours after a meal to check your BS. Ideally it will be below around 10mmol. If it's nearer to 20 or higher you need to contact the nurse, keep testing, drinking water and keeping the carbs down that you eat. Being in the 20s or higher may need urgent attention so call 111 or go to A&E. Hopefully the BS will be OK even if above normal

 

[Circuspony]

Try the following for testing.

First thing in the morning before breakfast.
Two hours after breakfast
Middle of the day
Before evening meal
Two hours after evening meal

If you can keep a diary of what you ate in those meals that would help too.

If you BG levels are consistently in double figures then please get in touch with your medical team.

The finger prick thing isn't too bad. You don't need much and they usually have settings which means you can start on the lowest and see if it gets a big enough drop of blood. I hated it too but it's routine now.