Diagnosed T1 aged 38, my son also T1

[cotty73]

I have just been diagnosed T1 at the age of 38 after feeling pretty naff since christmas time. My son is also T1, he is approaching 4 years old and was diagnosed Oct 2010. I went through a spell of drinking/weeing a lot and feeling very tired and thought I should test myself using my sons bm. After getting a few high 20's and various blood/urine samples later I was diagnosed. Just wondered if anybody else has experienced a similar sequence of events?

 

[Pneu]

Morning Cotty,

It is relatively unusual to be diagnosed with type I later in life however we do have a number of members on the forum that have been. The symptoms you describe are quite normal and once you have your blood glucose under control will subside.

I would suggest the best thing you can do over the next few weeks is immerse yourself in the vast amount of information that is available! It will all seem a little daunting at first but I suspect with your son being type I you should pick things up pretty quickly.

 

[daisy1]

Hi cotty and welcome to the forum As Pneu mentioned, here is some of the information on this forum that might help you to get started, written for new members. Ask as many questions as you need to as there is usually someone here to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Cotty,
I was also 38 when I was diagnosed 2 years ago. Had the same symptoms but ignored them for as long as I could - you're obviously a lot smarter than I was :wink: Since you have a child with type1, I guess you know a lot already but if you're looking for support here's plenty to go around!

 

[artofmany]

Hi

I had very similar symptoms: feeling rubbish gradually over what must have been a year where I caught bugs constantly culminating in over two months of excessive urination and fluid intake, headaches, blurred vision, weight loss, loss of appetite, forgetfulness and confusion.

Luckily I was seen by a doctor who smartly recognised that high ketones (3 or 4) and blood sugar of 17mmol/l means I need to be sorted out right away.

I was only diagnosed a week ago, and I've got a cold now, probably my body adjusting to the shock of it all. By shock I mean actually having insulin to process sugar into energy. I bet it thought Christmas had come early