Unsure whether type 1 or 2

[@lex]

Was diagnosed around 2 weeks ago after a week of drinking excessive water and flushing it back out at a high rate, and have been on lantus and novorapid since, have been told I will have to wait around 4 -6 weeks for endocrinology results so not definately type 1 but being treated as such I guess. I am 6ft and weigh around 67kg and have always struggled to put on weight, all still very new to me so learning every day and still getting my head round differences between each

 

[urbanracer]

Was diagnosed around 2 weeks ago after a week of drinking excessive water and flushing it back out at a high rate, and have been on lantus and novorapid since, have been told I will have to wait around 4 -6 weeks for endocrinology results so not definately type 1 but being treated as such I guess. I am 6ft and weigh around 67kg and have always struggled to put on weight, all still very new to me so learning every day and still getting my head round differences between each

Welcome to our club lex. It is all a bit daunting at the start but it gets easier mate. Hang in there.

 

[EllieM]

Welcome to the forums @@lex . Sorry that you have to wait so long for a definite diagnosis but it sounds as though you are getting treated as a T1 for now. A lot of T1s put some weight back on immediately after diagnosis as lack of insulin can cause weight loss, so you may find that that the insulin helps you with weight gain. There are other types of diabetes than T1 and T2 which they may or may not also need to rule out.

Are you in frequent contact with the diabetic team to adjust insulin doses? Do you have a way to test for ketones and have they talked to you about hypos?

The technology available for new insulin dependent T1s is amazing (eg insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors) and there's very little that diabetes will prevent you from doing. There is a steep learning curve at the start, but you don't have to learn it all at once. (I'm still learning stuff after 50 years of it.)

T1s need to balance their injected insulin to their food, exercise and metabolism because they don't make any (or enough, in the case of new T1s). T2s are insulin resistant and generally start out making too much insulin, Reducing carbs works well for them because they are literally carb intolerant, so a lot of the diabetics on here are on low carb diets. Bear that in mind when reading the forums and the T2 threads because although some T1s do low carb it is definitely a choice for T1s.

 

[@lex]

Welcome to our club lex. It is all a bit daunting at the start but it gets easier mate. Hang in ther6e.

Thanks for the welcome, appreciate it got alot of adjusting to do

Welcome to the forums @@lex . Sorry that you have to wait so long for a definite diagnosis but it sounds as though you are getting treated as a T1 for now. A lot of T1s put some weight back on immediately after diagnosis as lack of insulin can cause weight loss, so you may find that that the insulin helps you with weight gain. There are other types of diabetes than T1 and T2 which they may or may not also need to rule out.

Are you in frequent contact with the diabetic team to adjust insulin doses? Do you have a way to test for ketones and have they talked to you about hypos?

The technology available for new insulin dependent T1s is amazing (eg insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors) and there's very little that diabetes will prevent you from doing. There is a steep learning curve at the start, but you don't have to learn it all at once. (I'm still learning stuff after 50 years of it.)

T1s need to balance their injected insulin to their food, exercise and metabolism because they don't make any (or enough, in the case of new T1s). T2s are insulin resistant and generally start out making too much insulin, Reducing carbs works well for them because they are literally carb intolerant, so a lot of the diabetics on here are on low carb diets. Bear that in mind when reading the forums and the T2 threads because although some T1s do low carb it is definitely a choice for T1s.

So far I have spoken to one diabetic nurse whilst in hospital who initially gave me my medication and dosages, along with a freestyle libre sensor to make checking blood sugars easy. I have also been given a Gluco rx hct blood glucose and ketone testing kit as a backup (and to make sure the libre is working properly guess). Although I haven't been in contact with any specialists since being discharged my gp has requested on my behalf that someone contact me.

Have no idea what to expect from a hypo or hyper as I don't think I've experienced one yet and haven't let my sugars drop below 3mmol. Mainly struggle keeping levels in range at night at the moment as they seem to go up 17 when sleeping and back down when starting to wake.

Have heard alot about pumps and would much prefer using one rather than dosing with insulin before every meal if that's my only option going forward.

I do a fair amount of exercise with a fairly labour intensive job and go to the gym and it has been interesting/alarming seeing my glucose levels going up during high intensity periods and having not eaten anything with glucose for

 

[EllieM]

So far I have spoken to one diabetic nurse whilst in hospital who initially gave me my medication and dosages, along with a freestyle libre sensor to make checking blood sugars easy. I have also been given a Gluco rx hct blood glucose and ketone testing kit as a backup (and to make sure the libre is working properly guess).

It's great that they have given you a libre already, they can be very hard to get hold of via the NHS. (assuming you are in the UK). They aren't always accurate and lag behind sugar levels in the blood by up to 15 minutes, so be prepared to do back up glucometer tests if they read unusually low or high. Though always treat a hypo, which is anything under 4) because if you go too low you can become confused and even pass out (if really low, we're talking probably less than 3).

You do need contact with a nurse to advise on your dosages, because it's likely that they'll change. Long term (assuming T1) you'll be counting the carbs in your meals to get the dosage right for them, but you may or may not be doing this yet. There are diabetes education courses available, but you'll probably need a definite diagnosis first.

www.bertieonline.org.uk

is a good online resource for T1s