new diagnosis and really struggling

[Jonno1980]

Hi all I've been diagnosed with type 1 and it's completely screwed my life up it's been 6 months I've lost my job through it I just can't seem to get my head around it , I'm completely shattered all the time feel awful. How long did it take others to start moving on

 

[Jonno1980]

Hi all I've been diagnosed with type 1 and it's completely screwed my life up it's been 6 months I've lost my job through it I just can't seem to get my head around it , I'm completely shattered all the time feel awful. How long did it take others to start moving on

 

[himtoo]

Hi there @Jonno1980
welcome to the forum !!

getting Diagnosed with T1D is not a lot of fun.

Have you spoken to your diabetic nurse for some support ?

have you managed to get your blood sugars under control at all ?

 

[Jonno1980]

Hi there @Jonno1980
welcome to the forum !!

getting Diagnosed with T1D is not a lot of fun.

Have you spoken to your diabetic nurse for some support ?

have you managed to get your blood sugars under control at all ?

I have but I struggle to talk to anyone I've suffered terrible neuropathy in my feet for ages and finally diagnosed with type which resulted in two weeks in hospital with ketoacidosis .
I just can't seem to move on struggle to get out of bed just had enough

 

[AM1874]

Hi @Jonno1980 .. and welcome
You are in the right place here .. so ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need ..

 

[Lord Midas]

Sorry to hear that @Jonno1980
Initial diagnosis is certainly a shock. It all feels so unfair. However, it's not the end, you ought to have good support from your diabetic nurses and doctor. Don't be afraid and speak to them. Though your best support can be on forums like this. I've only posted a few messages here myself, so far, but read plenty.

I was constantly questioning what should I eat? How many drugs do I take? How does all this monitoring malarky work?

I've been a diabetic for 11 years, switching from metformin to insulin only about 7 years ago. I've not really changed my eating habits in all that time, as I was a pretty healthy eater (still getting a Friday pizza and pudding though ).

One thing that is important is to monitor your bloods. Especially in your early years. I did get to a stage where my monitoring was based on what I was going to eat (you get practised on how carby foods are) and "how I felt". Though this is rather inaccurate!

As of this week I have moved to a low carb high fat diet (LCHF), and I've never felt better. I have certainly had to monitor myself much more closely, which I've been doing once or twice every couple of hours (this is probably too much for regular diet)

Er, I think I went off on a tangent there

Anyway, don't fret. Diabetes, if managed well, is just a daily routine you do, much like brushing your teeth. We all forget our insulin pen or have a hyper/hypo from time to time (well, I do at any rate). Don't let it get you down and certainly don't let it rule/ruin your life. We can all be awesome even with diabetes, just look at Olympic Gold Medalist Sir Steve Redgrave.

And enjoy the forums here. Everyone is in the same boat and willing to help

 

[Lord Midas]

p.s. sometimes doctors and nurses don't actually have diabetes and only give advice that is certified by the NHS. Which can, at times, be outdated or plainly incorrect. I can't recommend enough on doing your own research.

Ketoacidosis is very bad though and I'm sorry to hear that.
But getting your blood sugar down is the key, and cut out the carbs.

Carbs are the enemy

 

[Jonno1980]

p.s. sometimes doctors and nurses don't actually have diabetes and only give advice that is certified by the NHS. Which can, at times, be outdated or plainly incorrect. I can't recommend enough on doing your own research.

Ketoacidosis is very bad though and I'm sorry to hear that.
But getting your blood sugar down is the key, and cut out the carbs.

Carbs are the enemy

Thanks mate I just finding it so hard

 

[Lord Midas]

Thanks mate I just finding it so hard

What part are you finding hard? Can you describe what you are struggling with?
Is it the monitoring? How much insulin you need for the food you're eating? Or just the plain old bastardness of the whole situation?

If it the last one, and you understand how to control your bloods, I can only say kick that diabetes in its ****, punch its stupid face and say "you're not the boss of me"

 

[DiabeticDadUK]

I have but I struggle to talk to anyone I've suffered terrible neuropathy in my feet for ages and finally diagnosed with type which resulted in two weeks in hospital with ketoacidosis .
I just can't seem to move on struggle to get out of bed just had enough

Hi Jonno,

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Being diagnosed and then losing your job, pretty brutal double whammy.

So now the gloves are off. You have two choices really:
- Get educated, learn from others. Baby steps to start with. Get your blood sugars under control. If you're struggling to talk about things then use this community, social media, etc. There are millions of diabetics and I'm pretty sure we've all been through some **** times because of it.
- You do nothing. You give up. Life becomes intolerable for you.

I'm pretty sure you don't want option two, right? Sorry if that sounds a little blunt. I've been fighting this for 32 years. It is a lifelong fight, you can't avoid it.

OK, so you're shattered all the time. I'm sure we can do something about that. What are your blood sugars like? What is your HbA1c latest?

DO NOT GIVE UP!

 

[slip]

well said @DiabeticDadUK !

 

[Jonno1980]

Hi Jonno,

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Being diagnosed and then losing your job, pretty brutal double whammy.

So now the gloves are off. You have two choices really:
- Get educated, learn from others. Baby steps to start with. Get your blood sugars under control. If you're struggling to talk about things then use this community, social media, etc. There are millions of diabetics and I'm pretty sure we've all been through some **** times because of it.
- You do nothing. You give up. Life becomes intolerable for you.

I'm pretty sure you don't want option two, right? Sorry if that sounds a little blunt. I've been fighting this for 32 years. It is a lifelong fight, you can't avoid it.

OK, so you're shattered all the time. I'm sure we can do something about that. What are your blood sugars like? What is your HbA1c latest?

DO NOT GIVE UP!

My bloods are up and down Monday woke up to 21.7 no ketones and didn't get below 14 all day.
Today around the 9-13 mark all day I've always eaten healthy to.
Have felt **** for years suffering neuropathy in my feet not being diagnosed ahhhhhh just feel useless

 

[DiabeticDadUK]

My bloods are up and down Monday woke up to 21.7 no ketones and didn't get below 14 all day.
Today around the 9-13 mark all day I've always eaten healthy to.
Have felt **** for years suffering neuropathy in my feet not being diagnosed ahhhhhh just feel useless

You probably just need a fresh approach to the condition. I doubt you're useless, try not to be too hard on yourself

Alright. So those blood sugars will explain why you've been feeling terrible. It's time to work with your diabetic specialist to get things right for you. It might take some tweaking but with some patience I'm sure you'll get those sugars down and reduce the super high spikes. You'll probably feel a bit better too and be less shattered.

You can lead a normal life with T1D. Have a job, family, go on holiday and enjoy life. But you have to face what you have and work on it every single day. After a while it'll be your normal to be monitoring sugars, carb counting, adjusting etc.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. You need to take it one step at a time and keep asking on the forum at each step. What insulin regime are you on? It should be Basal/Bolus. You should be counting the carbs at each meal (e.g. reading the packets and working out the amount in the meal) and adjusting the Bolus dose to match. You need to get your Basal balance right. If some of this is new to you do ask for clarification. Overall you must keep the carbs down as well

 

[Claire23280]

Hi Basal/ Bolus means long short acting insulin.
Lanctus is long acting , usually taken once a day , it covers you for approx 22-24hrs.
Novo Rapid : Short acting, taken if eating 20g or more of carbohydrate at one time.
I've been diabetic 42 years and been on these insulins for the last 10 + years. I went on a two day course to understand how to use them, I can assure you it's the best thing I've done to control my diabetes.. Fortunately I have no complications and I certainly don't want any either, therefore it's important you speak to your diabetic team asap to enable you to take control.. You control it, don't let it continue controlling you..

 

[TheBigNewt]

Look at it this way: you couldn't have been doing very well untreated, and now you're being treated. So that's a step in the right direction. It takes some time and trial and error to get your basal/bolus doses in order, and your diet regulated. I eat very very similar breakfasts and lunches in terms of calories and carbs. Dinners vary more, but I am mindful of how many calories I'm consuming and even though I am not a religious carb counter I try and minimize them and consume low glycemic index carbs. Good Luck!

 

[Chloesnavy]

Hi all I've been diagnosed with type 1 and it's completely screwed my life up it's been 6 months I've lost my job through it I just can't seem to get my head around it , I'm completely shattered all the time feel awful. How long did it take others to start moving on

Hi. It does get easier, trust me. I can't really remember my diagnosis much as I was only 6. (24 now) all I remember was wanting to be alone, not eating, being tired all the time and confused. It was an awful time for me. I lost 2 stone in a week...
but I promise it gets easier. Especially with today's equipment. It really doesn't need to affect your life so much. It only will if you let it. I pretty much love my life as everyone else, apart from getting my insulin out in public and people looking at me like I'm a crackhead.
You're so new to diabetes, it's gonna be scary. But there's so many amazing people out there who have diabetes and live life to the full! There's even a famous climber (can't remember his name)
Diabetes is what you make it.
It'll be fine. X

 

[Karenchq]

It is difficult at first because you have to learn how various foods and insulin doses affect you. After getting that figured out and getting a continuous blood glucose meter (if possible) it has become much easier, however, you will still have some highs and lows. It is a huge learning curve at first as you likely will have to educate yourself on type 1. Some resources in addition to this forum that helped me are are books "Think Like A Pancreas" and " The Diabetes Manifesto". Dr. Bernstein's book "Diabetes Solution" has some good information too. Also, check out Glucose Chef on Utube. He had many recipes that are low carb and taste good. For example, pizza crust made from cauliflower.

 

[Bluey1]

Everyone is different. The initial shock of D, then getting your life sorted can take some time. If you are not happy with your health care professionals look for new ones. Just don't let D boss you around. Occasionally it gets the better of all of us, but don't let it stay that way. Have a chat to your medical team and see if they can introduce you to a few other T1D as we are the only one that know what it's like, even though we are all different in how it impacts us, we all take insulin and test and most of the time are really careful with what we eat, when we exercise etc.

 

[Deleted Account]

Sorry to read about the problems you are going through, @Jonno1980.
Diabetes, is not fun ... but it doesn't have to stop us having fun.
And, unfortunately, diabetes is often accompanied by its best mate, depression.
Reading your comments, I wonder if you are struggling with both "Ds".

Diabetes, is difficult to get your head around: what to eat, when to inject, how much to inject, ...
And this is much much harder if your head is in the wrong place.
As the other responses have suggested, your diabetes team can help you learn about diabetes.
But there is nothing wrong with going for the two-pronged attack and try to sort out the feeing that you have "just had enough".
If you can, talk to your GP to understand if you also have depression which you need help with.

Good luck ... it takes a lot of effort, frustration and pain but diabetes does not have to rule our lives.