Type 1'stars R Us

[hh1]

@Knikki, no apple carts upset here, love the let's just enjoy life approach - until the next *** gets me

@Cumberland, where's bandit country?

@slip that's a fascinating thought. I don't think about what might be in the future as it sets up hope for a cure; I'd rather just get on with it, accept any improvements that come along, and maybe I'll get the great surprise one day!

 

[jane1950]

I have mostly normal blood sugar levels, but sometimes it goes higher, just wondering if it is possible to follow a low carb diet, and reduce the insulin I take

 

[smc4761]

@Knikki here here! with you all the way.

So we've looked back at the past and shuddered at the archaic devices and protocols some of us had to endure, do you think in 20yrs time we'll be looking back and laughing at the fact we had to inject using 4mm ultra-thin pen needles, stick funny looking CGMs and clunky pumps to ourselves - what would you image would be de rigueur by then?

I was just about to post the same thing. All this talk of heres what it was like 30 years ago, got me thinking how much things have improved in past 10 years or so.

The next question will be what will type 1 look like in 10/15 years time. Will we we look back in horror at the fact that we had to inject ourselves numerous times per day. The primitive finger prick testing we did maybe 10 times a day. The constant struggle with highs and lows.

Amazing progress has been made in past 10 years, with insulin pumps, CGM, even better insulins, long may the progress continue

 

[LooperCat]

Blimey, I missed a lot of torture instruments! I was diagnosed in 1998 so was straight onto pens, but I had to buy my own needles. As a student, having to pay £20 a box was beyond me, so I used to make mine last as long as possible. Blood testing took ages and the results were read from a colour chart on the tub!

Interesting shift today, an elderly gent with heart failure. I must be getting used to this, I’m not getting the massive adrenaline spikes every time we get an alert. Although this one came in just as I was pulling up my trousers after a toilet stop and made me jump!

I walk my hound every evening, 45 min to an hour, 3-4 miles, and I find a 0% basal for the hour beforehand does the trick. I'm still surprised that my body seems to favour glucose as its energy source after nine months on keto, but hey ho.

I’ll try that, thank you! Got yoga tonight, but it’s a stretching and gentle class and doesn’t seem to affect things too badly.

 

[smc4761]

Thank you for the replies, yes I only got the insulin pump back in September so still adjusting the basal rates, my biggest annoyance is at night! A few nights on the trot night my BS shoots up, so increase my basal to counteract or try a temp basal, the following night I’m hypoing! My control is rarely above 10 during the day but nights are a pain!! Think I need to invest in a Miaomiao!

I’ve seen a lot of people post about low-carb diets helping them so thought my New Years resolution could be to give it a go, but do tend to have hypos quite regularly...I do like jelly babies!

As much as I could do with losing some weight due to other relating health conditions (Addison’s Disease), I’m fed up of feeling rubbish so feel it’s worth a shot!

Been diabetic 24 years (since 8 months old) so you would think I’d be a pro at this by now but still learning everyday!

Hi @XCheesyToastyX , dont worry there are folks on here who have been type 1 for 40+ years and like me are still learning. I have learned more in past year than I did in my previous 37 years by using this forum. This thread in particular is brilliant, very friendly and helpful.

I have cut my carbs right back this past year from around 240g per day to around 100 g per day, simply by cutting out the 4 nasty carbs, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. I am however not too strict and maybe follow this 5 days out of 7

Most important with cutting back on carbs is regular testing of BG. All you are then doing is adjusting your insulin dose to amount of carbs taken. Hopefully you will know what your ratio of insulin to carbs is, eg 1 unit of insulin to 10 g of carbs, it could be more or less. Once you know that all you need to do is work out how many carbs you are eating say 20 g of carbs, so on a ration of 1:10, you would take 2 units of insulin. Does that make sense?

As for going low and having a hypo, if I am really low, eg below 3, I will take a sugary drink, eg regular coca cola. If it is slightly higher many swear by jelly babies/ jelly beans/fruit pastilles

 

[Jaylee]

Thank you for the replies, yes I only got the insulin pump back in September so still adjusting the basal rates, my biggest annoyance is at night! A few nights on the trot night my BS shoots up, so increase my basal to counteract or try a temp basal, the following night I’m hypoing! My control is rarely above 10 during the day but nights are a pain!! Think I need to invest in a Miaomiao!

I’ve seen a lot of people post about low-carb diets helping them so thought my New Years resolution could be to give it a go, but do tend to have hypos quite regularly...I do like jelly babies!

As much as I could do with losing some weight due to other relating health conditions (Addison’s Disease), I’m fed up of feeling rubbish so feel it’s worth a shot!

Been diabetic 24 years (since 8 months old) so you would think I’d be a pro at this by now but still learning everyday!

Hi again,

Every day's a school day as you can see from some of the guys posting on this thread.

With Addisons thrown in the mix for you too. I empathise that BG managment will have issues.
I've tagged a T1 with Addisons into your thread who hopefully may help?

I'm not sure if you're using something like a Libre sensor already? But @Scott-C 's pretty hot on the sensor addons & may point you in the right direction with the tech.?

Keep chatting & posting, we all have our T1 in different flavours.

 

[therower]

@Knikki . Rumpy pumpy?????????????. Diabetes is THE only excuse I have to avoid such unnecessariness.
“ not at the moment darling, I think my sugars are a little low along with a certain appendage “ .

Can’t go as far down memory lane as some, but do remember the plastic syringes, urine test strips, pork insulin and the only advice about insulin dosage being at 6 monthly meetings. If HbA1C was high inject a bit more, if low inject less. Oh the simple days.

 

[Knikki]

I have mostly normal blood sugar levels, but sometimes it goes higher, just wondering if it is possible to follow a low carb diet, and reduce the insulin I take

I think the answer is yes.

Most on here carb count, so if your only eating, let's say for arguments sake, 10 grams of carbs then you would maybe only need 1 unit of insulin ( assume your doing the 1 unit insulin to 10 grams of carb)

Unlike me, who will no doubt be eating pizza and garlic bread later on which will be around the 110 grams carb so 11 units insulin, maybe more later or even split dose say 5 when I eat maybe 5 - 7 later on to get the fats and slow digest carbs.

 

[Knikki]

@Knikki . Rumpy pumpy?????????????. Diabetes is THE only excuse I have to avoid such unnecessariness.
“ not at the moment darling, I think my sugars are a little low along with a certain appendage “

I don't know it all Spectrum Is Green here or nookietastic

 

[evilclive]

Blimey, I missed a lot of torture instruments! I was diagnosed in 1998 so was straight onto pens, but I had to buy my own needles. As a student, having to pay £20 a box was beyond me, so I used to make mine last as long as possible. Blood testing took ages and the results were read from a colour chart on the tub!

That's two now getting colour chart meters rather than the medisense one I had in 1997 - the NHS random lottery still

 

[XCheesyToastyX]

Hi @XCheesyToastyX , dont worry there are folks on here who have been type 1 for 40+ years and like me are still learning. I have learned more in past year than I did in my previous 37 years by using this forum. This thread in particular is brilliant, very friendly and helpful.

I have cut my carbs right back this past year from around 240g per day to around 100 g per day, simply by cutting out the 4 nasty carbs, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. I am however not too strict and maybe follow this 5 days out of 7

Most important with cutting back on carbs is regular testing of BG. All you are then doing is adjusting your insulin dose to amount of carbs taken. Hopefully you will know what your ratio of insulin to carbs is, eg 1 unit of insulin to 10 g of carbs, it could be more or less. Once you know that all you need to do is work out how many carbs you are eating say 20 g of carbs, so on a ration of 1:10, you would take 2 units of insulin. Does that make sense?

As for going low and having a hypo, if I am really low, eg below 3, I will take a sugary drink, eg regular coca cola. If it is slightly higher many swear by jelly babies/ jelly beans/fruit pastilles

Hi again! Reading about all the old technology (or lack there of), I know I was on syringes when diagnosed but obviously wasn’t doing it myself so really by the time I was old enough I was on insulin pens! I also (tried to find a picture but couldn’t remember the name of it) had an automatic blood glucose tester for the arm that did everything, it was a massive thing! They stopped selling them after a few years as they said ‘they were too expensive and people weren’t buying them!’ £100 at the time! Seems crazy now!

I think really I’m cutting out too many carbs...on about 40-50g of carbs for the day at the moment, but seems to be keeping my bloods fairly stable! I have a very high carb to insulin ratio of 1 unit for 4g it used to be even more than that but recently been put on Metformin.

For hypos I used to need quite a lot of food to bring me back up, but now it seems I don’t need very much at all, a couple of sips of lucozade and I shoot back up!

Just for info my Hba1C has drastically improved since getting the pump and Libre, went from 87 to 45 in 3 months! Mind you I do think all this technology is a curse and a blessing, I’ve become a bit obsessed. My aim is to get my Hba1C to below 40 so we’ll see!

 

[Jaylee]

That's two now getting colour chart meters rather than the medisense one I had in 1997 - the NHS random lottery still

Now that's odd, because I remember my GP issuing me with a meter in 1986/7? Which resembled an Accuchek Aviva...
I remember distinctly, because I stuck a vampire "clip art" style sticker on it over the branding..
Again to the disgust of the HCPs at the clinic at the time..

 

[smc4761]

Hi again! Reading about all the old technology (or lack there of), I know I was on syringes when diagnosed but obviously wasn’t doing it myself so really by the time I was old enough I was on insulin pens! I also (tried to find a picture but couldn’t remember the name of it) had an automatic blood glucose tester for the arm that did everything, it was a massive thing! They stopped selling them after a few years as they said ‘they were too expensive and people weren’t buying them!’ £100 at the time! Seems crazy now!

I think really I’m cutting out too many carbs...on about 40-50g of carbs for the day at the moment, but seems to be keeping my bloods fairly stable! I have a very high carb to insulin ratio of 1 unit for 4g it used to be even more than that but recently been put on Metformin.

For hypos I used to need quite a lot of food to bring me back up, but now it seems I don’t need very much at all, a couple of sips of lucozade and I shoot back up!

Just for info my Hba1C has drastically improved since getting the pump and Libre, went from 87 to 45 in 3 months! Mind you I do think all this technology is a curse and a blessing, I’ve become a bit obsessed. My aim is to get my Hba1C to below 40 so we’ll see!

Wow well done @XCheesyToastyX an Hba1C almost halving is quite superb. At 45 that figure is also superb, you should be really chuffed with yourself.

A ratio of 1:4 is similar to my carb ratio, I have that for brekkie then 1:5 for other meals.

To treat hypos in the past I would tend to panic and down a bottle of Lucozade, then numerous biscuits and chocolates. Now I am a bit more sensible unless I am really low. I am sure you are aware, but be careful with fizzy drinks as the sugar content has come down drastically in past year. O bottle of lucozade used to be 17g of carbs per 100ml, its now about 8.5g of carbs per 100ml. The highest now is Coca Cola which is about 10.5 g per 100ml.

I am the same with Libre it has got me a little obsessed with figures but hey ho my HBa1C is down from about 72 to 59, still along way to go for me though

 

[therower]

D

I don't know it all Spectrum Is Green here or nookietastic

That’ll be the honeymoon period no doubt.

 

[Cumberland]

@Knikki, no apple carts upset here, love the let's just enjoy life approach - until the next *** gets me

@Cumberland, where's bandit country?

@slip that's a fascinating thought. I don't think about what might be in the future as it sets up hope for a cure; I'd rather just get on with it, accept any improvements that come along, and maybe I'll get the great surprise one day!

Just over the border Scotland

 

[Cumberland]

 

[SueJB]

I was DX'd in 1997, so missed the torture tools and chemistry sets, but did use plastic syringes, 12mm needles, and drawing up from vials of insulin, and very early on pee dip strips and matching the colour on the side of the pot. I can't remember my first proper blood meter but I know it seemed to require a lot of blood. I can't remember ever being told about CP, or anything else really - it was start at this dose eat that amount, speak to the nurse and we'll adjust the dose as and when. But I do remember that first dose of insulin was like a magic bullet. But the steel needles look horrendous - physically and psychologically life scarring!

How many of us will be dreaming tonight about 12 ft needles chasing us around an impossible maze of Mars bars (fun sized ones at that)!

@slip probably you and lots of more experienced/aka long suffering T1s here might remember me seriously asking if the length of the needles increased with time. I was certainly worried and was thankfully reassured by yous. I don't seem to be able to come up with a term to define all you great people who have been dealing with T1 for so long without causing offence so I'm trying out a few
How about.....?
wise T1s (but us new ones on the block can be wise too)
permanent prickers (but that's wrong coz you've moved onto pumps now

Give up, ideas on a postcard

 

[LooperCat]

@slip probably you and lots of more experienced/aka long suffering T1s here might remember me seriously asking if the length of the needles increased with time. I was certainly worried and was thankfully reassured by yous. I don't seem to be able to come up with a term to define all you great people who have been dealing with T1 for so long without causing offence so I'm trying out a few
How about.....?
wise T1s (but us new ones on the block can be wise too)
permanent prickers (but that's wrong coz you've moved onto pumps now

Give up, ideas on a postcard

Insulinators

Nice yoga session tonight, dropped to 3.8 this time after last week’s rise. Nice and consistent then

 

[Jaylee]

Insulinators

Nice yoga session tonight, dropped to 3.8 this time after last week’s rise. Nice and consistent then

Just a crazy thought...
Is this your second class? Maybe the stress of anticipation of the "unknown" last week caused a spike?
I know when I do venues I'm familiar with (gig wise.) I'm more level.. But the stress of finding the place & setting up show in a new booking... Though the routine is always the same prior to a gig.

 

[karen8967]

Goodnight everyone sweet dreams