bad diabetic.. Type1.

[jamie1131]

I was diagnosed about a month ago with type 1, and for about five years because of work and one thing and another I only seemed to eat once a day. around midnight when all my duties where done and I had an hour to unwind, I would then have my meal.
of course now this has all changed but I'm finding it hard to conjure the appetite at the right times i.e breakfast and lunch.

has anyone else had a similar experience with diab and borderline eating disorders?
many thanks.

 

[himtoo]

hey @jamie1131
welcome to the forum

it would help a lot to find out a bit more about your routine

for example what insulin / or insulins are you taking ?

if you are taking a long acting ( basal) such as lantus or levemir
along with a quick acting ( bolus) such as novorapid or humalog........ then keep reading

as long as you have your basal insulin set correctly you should stay fairly flat in your blood tests
and then just inject fast acting when you eat
your diabetes care team most likely won't approve of this but as all of us are different and some people do have eating issues they should be trying to assist you to be as controlled as you are able( not judging you for things you can't help ) so I would ask your diabetes nurse for help on this

( i know that some may say this is not easy to achieve but then again all of us with type 1 can struggle to get our levels spot on all the time )

all the best !!

 

[jackois]

I think that initially when you eat matters less than controlling your blood sugars and making sure that you take whatever medication you've been prescribed as needed.
Whilst it's hard to change your eating times, you can work at it. Start small and get your body used to eating at different times & go on from there.

I agree that if it is an eating disorder rather than a habit. himtoo is right and your doctor/diabetic clinic will be able to get you help with this. I'm sure that being diagnosed only a month ago you still have a lot of contact with them, so mention it and see where you go from there.

again, good luck with it all, there's lots of good help on here.

 

[noblehead]

Welcome to the forum @jamie1131

As himtoo says if your on a basal/bolus insulin regime you can skip meals and eat when you want, but whether one meal a day is sufficient to fulfil your nutritional needs is a different matter and perhaps it would be best to seek help if you believe you have a borderline eating disorder.

There's also a support group for people with diabetes who have a eating disorders, here is a link to their website:

http://www.dwed.org.uk/

 

[jamie1131]

yes I'm taking 14 units levemir before bed every night and I just inject 6 units of novo rapid when I have my meal.
my bg was in the high 20s when I started, now It floats about the 12 mark all day and then spikes to around 19 after my meal...I was thinkin that this was because I was fasting through the day or my dosage was too low, and I don't want to up my dose because hypos sound scary lol.

this website is helping though. and all your comments and advice are greatly appreciated. thank you.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Hi

Welcome to forum.

I used to only eat once a day for best part of 35 years!! Not a problem providing your basal rate is right....

I used to see my eating once a day simply as checking my basal rates. On a constant basis.

I don't necessarily think it matters what time you eat either providing that your bolus injection is correct.

NHS staff though like to see you eating 3 square meals a day laden with carbs, so they will not agree to you eating like you do.

I haven't got an eating disorder, I'm just never hungry....

 

[jamie1131]

I'm so glad you said that @donnellysdogs lol.

 

[azure]

yes I'm taking 14 units levemir before bed every night and I just inject 6 units of novo rapid when I have my meal.
my bg was in the high 20s when I started, now It floats about the 12 mark all day and then spikes to around 19 after my meal...I was thinkin that this was because I was fasting through the day or my dosage was too low, and I don't want to up my dose because hypos sound scary lol.

this website is helping though. and all your comments and advice are greatly appreciated. thank you.

It's good your blood sugar is gradually coming down Do you have good contact with your diabetes team to help get your blood sugars within normal levels eventually? You mentioned that you thought your insulin doses might be too low. Have you asked your DSN for their opinion and help with control?

It sounds like you have a demanding job what with not having time to relax and eat until midnight. I'm not sure if you eat and then go to bed soon after, or if you're actually working shifts or working late so keep 'non-traditional' hours? If that's the case, again, your team might be able to help you make allowance for that.

You asked about increasing your appetite so you can eat breakfast and lunch - my tip would be to choose times for those meals, stick to those times to build up a kind of routine for your body to get used to, but start small with the food at those meals and build up gradually. You'll then find you get hungry at the right times

If you think you may have an eating disorder, do speak to your GP. An eating disorder plus diabetes isn't a nice combination.

 

[jamie1131]

yes. I work 14 hour shifts most days as a chef so working with food all day.but then when it comes time for me to eat I really just don't feel like it. you would think working with food all day would make you want to eat but...allas not in my case lol.

 

[azure]

Ah, that makes sense. Would it help to plan out what you're going to eat the day before? That way you wouldn't have to think about what you fancied, you'd just be eating something as part of your routine.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I'm so glad you said that @donnellysdogs lol.

Even I at 50+ years have had to now change to 3 small (very small) meals a day. Mine also have to be timed around medicines now so 9am, 1pm, 5pm and no eating anything after and no milk .... Ggggrrrrrr!!!

A routine definitely helps. Like at lunch I just have a large ramekin with kiwi in with coconut lactose free yogurt, sometimes with melon etc... But that is my lunch.

However my DSN's and consultant for past 7 years has been happy with me eating once a day because we talked about the nutrional value in my meal.
They also said it was important to my life that I ate when I wanted to. I explained that I never feel the need to eat and that my hubby leaves my dinner in the fridge otherwise I wouldn't get any hunger to eat... They knew I eat healthy when I do eat.

I've just had to change for past few months and I don't know long term whether I will continue or not but its a case of having to at the moment for me.

You need to gain some confidence to increase your insulin. Get this under supervision from your DSN. Have you got 1/2 units pens? These help enormously. Have you got a meter that calculates your bolus for you? This is also handy to have.

For me, I used to be able to garden all day without eating until 6pm. Its just a case of getting your basal right with your lifestyle and activities.

 

[jamie1131]

well most nights I have something like steak and chips with a salad and a couple of pieces of fruit. but I have a really sweet tooth so I admit I do eat a bar of chocolate or something....but that's me cutting back, before diagnosis I would think nothing of cooking a full roast dinner at silly o clock followed by a FULL....yes FULL! chocolate fudge cake WITH cream and probably a few blue ribands, all washed down with full sugar coke...at my biggest witch was probably about 3 years ago, I was around 23 stone but I was well built with it so I wasn't what you would call fat, slightly chubby maybe but not fat. I am now 12 stone. I know I'm going to have to make major lifestyle changes and start looking after myself a bit more, I just want to do it gradually because I'm no health nut lol.

again thank you for taking the time to read and comment.

 

[mibby]

I often go 24 hours between meals, and I'm still a fat git! Your glucose is high though - maybe try gradually pushing your doses up and see what happens.