How do you learn to cope

[stephanie_jane]

Hi all i was diagnosed with type1 diabeties 16days ago im 21 years old 5.4ft tall and weigh around 9stone4. The only way they picked up i had diabeties was that i had ketones in my urine and my blood suagrs were over 40, im still in complete shock with my diagnoses the first few days were ok but now it hurts to inject my insulin and i get bruises on my stomach everything just seems so painfull and im finding it all very depressing

 

[daisy1]

@stephanie_jane

Hi Stephanie Jane and welcome to the forum It is certainly difficult and depressing when you first get diagnosed. There are loads of members with T1 here who will help you with their experience. You are not alone on here. Just ask questions about whatever you want/need to know.

This is the information we give to new members and I hope the extra knowledge will make things easier as there is a lot to learn.


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 over 130,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.

 

[stephanie_jane]

Thank you. It just seems like nomatter what i eat my levels never go down i go to bed in the 20 and wake up around 14 mark

 

[CollieBoy]

@stephanie_jane
For me it was a multi pronged attack:
1) Learn from as many sources as possible.
2)Ask questions.
most importantly
3)Don't let it get you down.You WILL get a handle on it!

 

[Butterflykeri]

Stephanie_jane I have been diagnosed almost 3 months and I'm still learning, was also a huge shock for me!
But it does get better! Still have some down days and get fed up of reading food labels to work out my insulin but in general I feel much better and like I can control this! If you want to chat message me anytime! X

 

[noblehead]

Thank you. It just seems like nomatter what i eat my levels never go down i go to bed in the 20 and wake up around 14 mark

Hi Stephanie and welcome to the forum.

Have you been in contact with your diabetes team about your bg levels, you need to make them aware that you are struggling so that they can advise you on adjusting your insulin doses and help with your injection techniques, ring your DSN in the morning and ask to be seen asap.

At first it can all be overwhelming as there's so much information to take in when your newly diagnosed, but rest assured it does all make sense in time and you won't feel quite so stressed as your bg control improves.

 

[stephanie_jane]

Thank you all im in close contact with my diabetic nurse they up my insulin by 2 every 2-3 days seems to be getting better im on 20 in the morning and 20 at night now raised from 8 in the morning and 10 at night

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. It's a shock for all of us but particularly with a surprise T1 diagnosis at a young age. The good thing about insulin is that it always works and can can be adjusted to get your blood sugar into the right range. In that sense it is better than a T2 on tablets. Have you been prescribed the finest/ shortest needles i.e. 4mm as these hurt least? I assume you have been given two insulins; over for 24 hour use and the other for mealtimes. I'm sure your nurse will shortly guide you into carb-counting for the mealtime insulin as this improves control. You may also be booked onto a DAFNE course to provide more guidance. Although the stomach is the most common injection area there are other places that can be used if bruising remains a problem; do discuss with the nurse. Do ask more questions as needed on the T1 forum.

 

[stephanie_jane]

I was given the 4mm needles but i dont think they were going into my skin properly as my blood sugar readings werent coming down they were going up so i changed back to the 8mm after 3 days of that. Whats DAFNE iv never heard of it iv got novamix 30 as my insulin they said they wanted to see how i went with this one to see if it needs to be changed i have an appointment with my consultant on the 26th so hopefully he will be able to advise me more

 

[anna29]

@stephanie_jane

It is a gradual process kind of thing .
A few months on the insulin at the units regime/routine you need
will gradually bring the high BG levels down .
Then you will start to feel much better in yourself .

The grasping of things is a real learning curve something
we all discover this to be the case - and I am still learning too .
All gradually starts to fall into place and makes more sense
over time .

The technique (bruise free) when injecting your insulin will improve over time .
Its still very much new yet .
At first there does feel like too much 'going wrong' before it starts to go right .

Too much information can feel overwhelming - but go at your own pace and level
you feel best with .
Bit by bit - feel your way there - kind of thing .
One step at a time best approach
Couple of weeks from now - you will start to feel more confident and less
overloaded or over whelmed (depressed?)

It is very much a gradual solo journey once you leave the hospital or diabetes
clinic care .
It can feel quite scary and depressing - I understand .
This is when the forum here is so helpful to provide support outside of
this .

Here you can ask any questions you feel or need to .
There is always someone who will be willing to help you .
Even if its just a chat needed with us .
We can certainly support and help you .

 

[noblehead]

Thank you all im in close contact with my diabetic nurse they up my insulin by 2 every 2-3 days seems to be getting better im on 20 in the morning and 20 at night now raised from 8 in the morning and 10 at night

Good, you will get there in the end, it all takes time for bg levels to settle down.

As for injecting insulin, see if there's anything useful in the following that might help:

http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7264

 

[stephanie_jane]

Thank you all for the information i will read through when i get some spare time im not looking foraerd to going back to work i work in a supermarket where do you guys feel comfortable doing this

 

[clarbarstar]

Stephanie, your blood glucose is very similar to what mine was for months after diagnosis. Don't worry about it right now! This time is for getting on with diabetes with what you know so far and don't let it over complicate in your mind, one thing at a time

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Thanks for the info. I think overall you will find the 4mm needles produce less brusing and are commonly used now for those who are not overweight e.g. me. There is a risk with longer needles that you will inject into the muscle which can be painful and cause bruising. The current poor blood sugar control will almost certainly be due to the dose and insulin type needing some changes which you say is happening. This is normal when starting insulin and I would expect the consultant to make some changes. Mixed insulin that you are on can be a good start point but in the longer term I suspect your consultant will move you to what is called the Basal/Bolus regime which uses two insulins and a few more injections but does provide better control. You can't carb-count with mixed insulin. The problem with the DAFNE course that all T1s will be offered after 6 to 12 months is that there is a long wait hence the delay. The course teaches you about food types, carb-counting and so on. Did the nurse give you any guidance on which of the two needle sizes to use?

 

[stephanie_jane]

Not as of yet but with the 4mm needles i was getting reading in the range of high 20 low 30 a few times i got a reading of hi so i used the 8mm needles and they went straight down my nurse told me to use what i thought best as the only way im going to no it to test and try different things