Already sick of this ...

[Mad76]

Welcome Mad76 As is always said, to the club no one wants to belong to. It is early days, and a lot to get your head around. It sounds like you are doing well so far. When you have your next appointment discuss the timing of your basal. It should be at your convenience and not interfering with an early night, or indeed an evening out. As others have mentioned come join the Type 1’stars R Us. Lots of lighthearted moaning and general life, but amazing support too.

I will do that. I was under the impression i had to take it last thing at night before bed, thats what i was initially told

 

[Mad76]

I love the libre too, and the best bit is the graphs and notice of highs and lows over the last days. It helps with adjustment. I do also use the finger prick to confirm a high or a low.
Glad you’ve got Carbs and Cals, and very glad you’ve found this forum!
All the info will become less overwhelming as you get used to it, and as someone diagnosed in the late 60s I’m a little envious of all the tech, food labels, advanced insulins, etc available to a newly diagnosed person today.
You’re in good company on this bit of the site, we’re happy to share.
Have you looked at T1 Stars are Us yet?

I have had a look at that thread ... just reading, seems like you all know eachother well so felt a bit awkward interrupting the conversation if that makes sense ...

 

[Fairygodmother]

I have had a look at that thread ... just reading, seems like you all know eachother well so felt a bit awkward interrupting the conversation if that makes sense ...

Some of us were new arrivals to the thread when @Robinredbreast created it and many have joined more recently. Just come along and get to know us, please. Sometimes a post isn’t part of a conversation, it just says what’s been going on in our lives. And people respond, or not, give advice, or not. It’s also a place to have a moan, have a laugh, go off topic, etc etc. Jazz, another newly diagnosed T1, joined us on the thread recently too.

 

[becca59]

I will do that. I was under the impression i had to take it last thing at night before bed, thats what i was initially told

Not at all. I now take mine at 8:45am. I moved it when I retired so that it fitted in with my new retired lifestyle. Have an alarm set on my phone to remind me. When I was working I had it in the early evening. It certainly shouldn’t be set in stone. It has to work for you, which you will learn as you go along.
As has been said, you are a mother, which requires lots of management, hard work and a myriad of decisions. Diabetes will eventually become like another child. An absolute angel some days, and a little devil on others. But you just start each day afresh.

 

[Deleted Account]

I will do that. I was under the impression i had to take it last thing at night before bed, thats what i was initially told

Lantus is designed to last about 24 hours. Therefore, as long as you take it about the same time every day (I was told I could take it between 22 and 26 hours apart), you are fine.

I used to take it before going to bed. I think was the advice because it is thought of as a time when you could make it a habit, like cleaning your teeth. But I used to go to bed at different times. So I moved the time to take it at the same time as my evening meal. If I was taking one lot of insulin, it was not too difficult to remember to take a second lot.

 

[porl69]

Hi @Mad76 and welcome to the club no one really wants to be in

I find my GP useless with diabetes and the nurse in the GPs is even worst!. If I have any questions/problems with my diabetes I will phone my DSN.....
Come and join us on the Type 1 Stars R Us thread, we discuss absolutely anything and everything, usually in a comical way......but can be serious as well

 

[Bluey1]

For the first few months you are dealing with shock grief and many other emotions. On top of that you are dealing with diet and medication, testing, getting back to health and it goes on and on. After a number of months you will find it gets much easier.. Although I’m now on a pump I can do change in under a minute and out the door and off to work. Excluding all that Sugary goodness D is just a minor inconvenience for most of the time. Yeah it rears it’s ugly head every so often. Most of us here that have had D or a few years, don’t let it get in the road of us doing anything.

 

[LooperCat]

Hi @Mad76 and welcome to the club no one really wants to be in

I find my GP useless with diabetes and the nurse in the GPs is even worst!. If I have any questions/problems with my diabetes I will phone my DSN.....
Come and join us on the Type 1 Stars R Us thread, we discuss absolutely anything and everything, usually in a comical way......but can be serious as well

Like how we think you could rock a Vivienne Westwood frock?

Hi, and welcome to a very exclusive club none of us wanted to join... I can’t add a great deal to what’s already been said, but do join in on the T1 stars thread, it keeps most of us (in)sane, especially if you don’t know any other T1s in the wild! You’ll probably find yourself going through a bit of a grieving process, and that’s totally normal - but you will come through it, promise.

 

[hh1]

@Mad76 all the above are right, the first few months are an adjustment to something none of us saw coming (well I didn't). But still here, 30+ years on and compared to some on here that makes me a newbie at it It's a great place where I've learned more in the past year plus than in a long time previously. And whatever the issue there's always someone willing to help. I post less than many on the Stars thread though I try to keep up with reading it all, and it's a very friendly place. Join in!

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @Mad76,
I too have got negative about life and diabetes on and off over the past 52 years on insulin.
Yep, another long-termer here.
We survive, we chafe, rebel, comply - rinse and repeat !
What i found was that directing blame towards this condition that was not my fault - only put my BSLs up.
But i could use exercise, with lots of trial and error to allow for the blood sugar level (BSL)-lowering effect of exercise, to deal with the frustation, outrage, and unfairness of it all.
Of course at age 13 in the 60's becoming an astronaut was a dream for many of us. The big D put the
kybosh on that!
Funny thing was that it did inspire me to test out what i could do within reason - sailing, canoeing as just two examples.
But .. This was before blood glucose meters, fancy insulins, insulin pumps or Libre devices, just two basic insulins, urine testing fir glucose, a basic diet and a glass syringe and needles to boil up on the stove.
Now .. I can understand if you find that there is too much choice or it is too overwhelming at the moment, but would you rather have my start and introduction to diabetes ?
These days my specialist recommends new diabetics such as yourself, make sure you have a good superannuation or normal age retirement plan worked out. By comparison i was given about 20 to 25 years, by which time eyes, kidneys problems and a leg off were the cheery prospects. Mind you it could all have been scare tactics, which seened to be the prevalent method to get you to comply with the treatment regime of the time!
I am not suggesting you have nothing to complain about in comparison, just that channelling the anger, despair, negativity into something positive is a better way to go. This will not be the first or last time you may feel like this and there are lots of years ahead.
Early on as others have said, it is a step by step process. If your cup, mug, or container is overflowing, tip some of that info into another container, the stuff about complications for starters and revisit sometime later, when you have sorted out the day to day, week by week stuff, managing exercise etc.
There is always more to learn, and things in terms of blood sugars often start to settle, and things seem easier after the hospital and GP experience. But things will still be raw and the future starts to seem like an endless routine.
We survive it by getting support, just as you are doing, working on your strengths, asking questions. You can gaurantee that between all the people who populate this site, even in their immaculate virtual forms have collectively made every sort of mistake, undergone every type of emotion and found a zillion ways ( exaggeration is encouraged in thr pursuit of humour) to solve problems.
Mind you no one is saying you have to prove yourself by running a marathon, climbing a mountain or swimming the Channel ( which could be illegal after BREXIT anyway)? ( just guessing)
The thing is finding some meaning to what you are having to do and that will take time, cannot be hurried, might change iver time. Meaning needs space and time and often dawns while you are doing other things.
Give it time, keep polishing the rough edges, note your victories and learn from your defeats . None of us is perfect ( and i seem to get more imperfect , but perhaps that is the fault if thecweather, season or the disbets gremlins who sabotage us at times.
Best Wishes, keep posting, vent, rage, rant if you need to

 

[Timostags]

Hi all,
Sorry in advance for being negative.... diagnosed 6 weeks ago after a really serious dka and im feeling really down in the dumps.
I hate being diabetic, losing the fredom to eat and do what i wamt without considering the consequences. Just thinking last night i cant even fall asleep early and not woery about not taking my lantus for over night ..

I know im sounding moany and feeling sorry for myself, but i just cant shake off this negative feeling

I find high blood sugars often give me depression.

It does get easier, you talk about losing control of what you can eat. I remember when I was first diagnosed I was told what to eat and when etc. I thought this was just down to older insulins at the time but by the sounds of your story it must still be going on.

When I was diagnosed I was put on pre-mixed insulin and told I must eat at certain times of the day and that I couldn't have any sugar.

Nowadays I'am on long acting and fast acting insulins. The only thing I have cut out of my diet since being diagnosed is sugary pop, I switched to sugar free and occasionally look forwrard to a full fat coke when I'm hypo . But thats the only change I have needed to make. I can eat whenever I choose, I miss meals all the time, I eat a whole family sized cake or giant cookie several times a week. Now I'm proberly not the perfect example of how to manage T1D, but I've had this for almost 20 years and have never had my health concerns related to diabetes.

Things like missing lantus injections happens to all of us, proberly alot more that you think but it won't kill you, it won't make you go blind over night etc. I have a reminder on my phone for my lantus now as I have fallen asleep and missed my injection many times.

 

[Notorious]

Why not take your Lantus in the morning instead? That's what I used to do. I actually used to split it and have half in the morning and half in the evening for greater flexibility.

 

[Mad76]

Why not take your Lantus in the morning instead? That's what I used to do. I actually used to split it and have half in the morning and half in the evening for greater flexibility.

I didn't know this was an option - my consultant at hospital didn't give me that option when i was discharged ...

 

[EllieM]

Now .. I can understand if you find that there is too much choice or it is too overwhelming at the moment, but would you rather have my start and introduction to diabetes ?

I was the same as you, other than my mother buying disposable syringes so that I didn't have to use the NHS supplied ones, and I actually wonder if I didn't have it easier than today's young diabetics. I memorised the little blue book of "carbohydrate values of proprietary foods" when I was diagnosed at 8, and just got on with life, never feeling that diabetes was particularly in the way. Two injections a day, so I didn't have to carry any diabetic stuff with me, other than glucose tablets.

My parents probably worried (silently), but I didn't until my late teens, when I realised that I should probably worry about future diabetic complications. And running high (how high, I have no idea because I didn't have a glucometer?) meant that I rarely had a hypo, though of course I'll never know how much damage I did to myself with that lifestyle.

Admittedly, when I got my first glucometer and got swapped to a basal/bolus regime, it was life changing (inject for your food rather than eat for your injection !), but the initial harsh start meant that the change was liberating instead of overwhelming.

But though I've personally given up on the "cure in 10 years" that I've been promised for 50, I think that for younger T1s there's a good chance that medical technology or autoimmune studies will give them some sort of cure or near cure.

 

[kitedoc]

Early days for you @Mad76.
I hate to throw this into the mux but really your specialist is supposed to inform you about what has been prescribed:
Please read diabettech.com Lantus: Lethal or Saviour, for maybe discussing at your next appointment.
I personally do not hog down cake or whatever. It mucks up bsls and taking more insulin to cover it can lead to hypos later.
Please look at the diet options for Type 1s listed on Home page, under Type 1.
Also, when, you feel settled enough ....look up 'DCCT' in the question box upper right of the Home page, there are two results - ignore the dcct to do with blood test units and seek out the DCCT - Diabetes Control and Complications Trial - even just the conclusions reached is all you need to know right now about this trial. This is vital info for you to know for your future. It was not available in time for me but it is for you and for all recently diagnosed Type 1s.
If you have questions about it or what to do about it, how to discuss it with soecialust etc, please post questions or PM me.

 

[Notorious]

Early days for you @Mad76.
I hate to throw this into the mux but really your specialist is supposed to inform you about what has been prescribed:
Please read diabettech.com Lantus: Lethal or Saviour, for maybe discussing at your next appointment.
I personally do not hog down cake or whatever. It mucks up bsls and taking more insulin to cover it can lead to hypos later.
Please look at the diet options for Type 1s listed on Home page, under Type 1.
Also, when, you feel settled enough ....look up 'DCCT' in the question box upper right of the Home page, there are two results - ignore the dcct to do with blood test units and seek out the DCCT - Diabetes Control and Complications Trial - even just the conclusions reached is all you need to know right now about this trial. This is vital info for you to know for your future. It was not available in time for me but it is for you and for all recently diagnosed Type 1s.
If you have questions about it or what to do about it, how to discuss it with soecialust etc, please post questions or PM me.

I had a couple of nasty 'Lantus hypos' and would not use it now if I were to come off a pump.

 

[Justin04]

@kitedoc where can I find the dcct info on the smartphone mode? Haven’t heard of this yet but I would be interested in reading it. Tried searching threads but can’t find the info.

 

[kitedoc]

@kitedoc where can I find the dcct info on the smartphone mode? Haven’t heard of this yet but I would be interested in reading it. Tried searching threads but can’t find the info.

Hi @Justin04 ,
Probably best to look up the thread- The Golden 6 1/2 Years in the Soapbox forum. Please let me know if you need mire info but i think that will give the references you need.Best Wishes