• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

am now type 1

C

Curleous

Well-Known Member
Messages
85
Location
Hereford
Dislikes
bad manners and rudeness
Hello all ..

after a week of metforminand gliclazide 160mg twice a day after initial diagnosis by gp, a visit to the diabetic clinic today to see the nurse and consultant i am type 1 diabetic .... have been prescribed a dose of 12 in morning and 6 in evening so just had my first shot. Have got to go back in a couple of days. This all new and pretty scary. History below.

expect i will be posting a lot more qustions in the coming few weeks...

Many Thanks

Curleous

Follow on from my first post..
Hi there
just been diagnosed...i will be asking you all for your advice and help over the next few months so i hope you dont all mind. This looks a relly good and useful forum and am hoping to benefit from everyones experience. Thanking you all in advance..

My History
Male 43 years old, 13st 4lb 3 months ago and now 11st 10lb 1 metre 72cm

i have just been to the doctors as i was experiencing rapid weight loss 18 pounds in 3 months and the doctor found glucose in my urine. He took an armful of blood and my results came back as 25mmol. He has referred me to see the nurse next week but in the meantime have got my own tester. My results throughout the day have been between 22 and 27. Only done 3 so far.

Update.

Was unhappy that my GP only referred to me the nurse after a blood test that showed a reading of 25. I have been taking my readings all weekend and they were often in high 20's and the lowest was 14 one morning after 12 hours with nothing to eat. I am feeling very anxious and also sweating profusely even in an air conditioned enviroment. I went to see the gp this morning and showed him the readings and after testing urine and finding ketones and glucose as put me straight away on Metformin 500mg 3 times a day. I still have to see the nurse on Wednesday to get the full run down but am wondring when i will see any improvement in readings with the prescription i am on.

There seems to be so much information out there on diets etc and i am confused of a starting place. The doctor said just avoid sugary and fried foods eat wholemeal bread and skimmed milk and watch the fat intake which is all stuff that i was doing before diagnosis . I will start with breakfast and take one meal at a time... what would be the best option bowl of porridge with banana or other fruit or 2 weetabix with milk fruit... will come back for other advice soon. This has been such a shock to me and feel dazed and confused and a little bit let down my GP.
 
Sounds like you nearly need a hospital bed for a few nights. Hope you are feeling better and getting some lower blood sugars. It takes a while to get the hang of and most people need to make a few adjustments to what and when they eat. You can still look forward to a long and healthy life and enjoy the things you love.

All the best, Jen.
 
Hi

Now they've decided you're type 1 and will get insulin you'll be surprised how quickly you start to feel better, then the whole situation will start to feel better. It's a huge shock and does take a while.

I was diagnosed type 4 months ago and am absolutely fine and fit so you will get there!!

Loads of helpful people here so never mind asking!

Take Care
Cath
x
 
thanks for the replies. I still dont get this have now taken two doses of insulin and blood sugars are still aup in the 14 to 18 range. What is going on and beginning to wonder if they will ever come down? :?
Curleous
 
Hi.

A quote from Jen&Khaleb's previous post in this thread.
. It takes a while to get the hang of it and most people need to make a few adjustments to what and when they eat. You can still look forward to a long and healthy life and enjoy the things you love.



There is no better advice at the moment. It takes a little time to settle down. Plenty of T1's here to give more advice later.

Ken.
 
Hi Curleous,
Welcome to the forum. Thank goodness you have been put on insulin. I am amazed that your Dr put you on Metformin when you had ketones - this meant that you were developing Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a life-threatening medical emergency. On no account stop taking your insulin, and read up about DKA. I cannot believe how many GP's assume people have Type 2 when, like you, they are young and displaying all the signs of Type 1, it is truly frightening.

Anyway, you have your insulin now, and are on the steep learning curve that a diagnosis of Type 1 brings. Your blood glucose readings will take a while to settle down, so try to be patient. In the meantime, you need to know that ALL carbohydrate is converted to glucose by your body, so it's not just the obviously 'sugary' things you need to cut down on. Have a read around the forum about what people eat and don't eat and how they balance their food with their insulin doses. Although it is a contentious issue ( :shock: !) around here, I believe you would benefit from reducing your carbohydrate intake. However, your insulin also needs to be carefully adjusted as this is done or you will hypo (go low). Are you being referred for any specialist help?
Best wishes,
Sue
 
Hi

If your blood now in the 14 - 18 range then it is coming down from the 20's!!

I was told when diagnosed that they have to bring it down slowly and controlled otherwise you can feel like your having hypo's as your body not used to it. My other half who was understandably upset at the time was getting very stressed with the hospital staff that they should be curing me instantly!! I can't honestly say how long it took as I can't remember an awful lot about the 1st week but I know I felt a **** sight better after a week.

You've only had 2 lots of insulin... please please try and stop worrying and give yourself some time...

Like I say I'm only new to it but there's lots of old hands here who will know lots more than me!!

Take care
 
As the others say, it will take a while for things to settle down. I was 'lucky' enough to be in hospital and it took 4 days to bring my BS down. This was on an insulin pump with 2 hourly testing and adjustment of insulin rate by people who knew what they were doing. It then took them another few days to sort out dosages but that dropped by a third as my body got rid of the glucotoxicity and became more insulin sensitive over the following few months.
At the moment the docs have only your weight to go on, they certainly won't want to give you too high doses. Gradual reduction of your glucose level is much safer when you haven't the safety net of being in hospital.

It is new and scary, and if you're like most people you can't quite believe it, but you will still be able to do almost anything that you wanted to do. (I had to put almost only because there are some things like lorry driving that you're not allowed to do)
 
hi
now u are diagnosed as type 1 you should feel better soon, it will take a while to get good numbers, the nurse has started you where u are and will keep changing until you are on the right amount, keep looking round the forum and ask as many questions as u need
 
Thanks All

have just started feeling severley shakey and have taken blood sugar and is 4.1....have had to have some lucozade and a couple of bananas as feeling very faint...felt better within 15 minutes although quite scary. Just tested again 1 hour later and 21......

Cheers

Curleous
 
That is the reason that they bring it down slowly. I remember being very agitated when THEY took weeks to bring my son's levels down - but realise now that it is for a good reason.

Looks like way too much carbs there to compensate for the lowish reading. I was 2.7 2 days ago - took 1 glucose tablet then 1/2 slice of toast 15 minutes later and still overshot upwards. Good reason for trying to keep low insulin levels and low carbohydrate levels - it is easier to compensate.
 
Hi Curleous

So you are a T1 after all, but at least you got that confirmed without going into a coma first!!

Now you know what a hypo feels like. (4.1 isn't actually hypo, but fairly close and you felt hypo as your body's used to very high levels.) It'll take a while to get your dose sorted, partly because your body will become more insulin sensitive as it recovers from the stress of having had high sugars. You'll get used to the hypos after a while, and you'll learn how much lucozade/food you need to correct them without going sky high afterwards. Everyone's different, but I find I need far less to cure a hypo than the official DAFNE recommendations.

Welcome to the club!

Sue
 
Hi again!

Yep that's what coming down to your bodies normal level feels like!! made me too scared to come below 8 or 9 for a while! You do get used to it over a bit of time. Agree completely with some of the other comments around carbs etc.
Keeping a good track of what you're eating against the insulin and you will learn how much you need. Also you will find what you need to counteract a hypo as Sue says, I used to panic and have 3 glucose tabs then a sandwich. Now if I'm only in the 3's just a piece of fruit works just fine!

This will all seem sooo much information, I remember being told all this and thinking I'll never get it, there's too much to learn! Just concentrate on one bit at a time, just getting stable first worked for me! Then pick the rest up as you go along.

In a few months you'll be as much of a food / carb / insulin anorak as me and be back to a pretty normal life!

Cath
 
Thank you all so much for you replies. It is really re-assuring to know there is so much experience on these forums and that people take the care to respond and share their experiences. Have got to see the nurse and consultant tomorrow so hopefully should no more then. Will keep you updated and probaly loads more questions over the next few weeks. Am still a bit upset and concerned that the gp at my surgery who got the bs reading of 25 of my blood test only referred me to see the nurse 5 days later. Other gp at surgery was extremely good and very concerned .

Thanks again.

Curleous
 
Hi all

update from today as my first week as T1.

I saw the consultant today and he has changed my medication to 4 times a day with the slow release before bedtime and 3 in the day at meal times, three units for brekkie and three at lunch and four with evening meal and then 10 at night time slow release as my morning readings were still high. He was very good and i have confidence with him and he said we are just going to get down and stabilise sugar levels before we move on. I also had the result of my average test ( h1 something ) which was 12.8 :shock: The nurse said that this was quite high but she had seen considerably higher and that she expects my next one to drop considerably. Just hoping for my blurred vision to get back to normal.

Cheers

Curleous
 
When I was diagnosed my Hb1AC was around 14% and 6 months later was down to 5.8%, so you can quickly get it back under control. Since this is all new to you, my advice is to read online everything about type 1 diabetes, because there is a lot to take in and 1 hour sessions at the diabetic clinic never really cut it for me, I learnt most of the stuff googling questions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…