Dealing with Type 1

[CalGra84]

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I’m new to this and this is my first post, so be gentle.

I was diagnosed in Feb this year with Type 1, within a week I was back playing football, work within 2 weeks, my bloods have averaged 6% since, no sideline issues have been diagnosed either and generally I adapted well... But the last couple of months things have changed!

I have now lost more weight ( I was twelve and a half stone for 10 years prior to diagnosis) and I am now 11st. To quote Mike Myers I look like a Orange on a tooth pick. I was 11,5 at diagnosis.

Next is the fatigue... I’m pooped. I’ve gone from attending the gym regularly, playing football, working hard and not being ill to an old man overnight! I’ve had so much blood taking in the past couple of months I reckon that accounts for the weight loss and everything is in good working order according to the doctors. I have now missed two months of work. Which is frustrating given the start I made to empowering myself to manage my diagnosis.

The advice I have had is be patient and slowly build back up. Good advice but is there anything else I can do to boost myself and strengthen back up? I want to return to being active and enjoying work soon.

Please help, thanks Callum.

 

[Diakat]

Hi Callum,

It may be that tour honeymoon period is coming to an end. Have your levels changed? Weight loss is a sign of high sugars so your ratios may need changing.

Have your team said anything about the fatigue?

Merry Christmas and welcome to the forum.

 

[therower]

Hi @CalGra84 . Welcome to the forum Callum.
Obviously none of us on the site are in a position to offer medical advice or diagnosis.
What , as @Diakat as alluded to, is the fact that diabetes evolves and changes overtime. You could well have come out of your honeymoon period, a time when things are relatively easy. Not that diabetes then becomes uncontrollable but daily treatment needs reassessing.
Do you know your current HbA1C? A good indicator of HbA1C is what your own personal daily bs checks are like. If you are constantly in double figures then there's a likelihood your HbA1C will be high.
Diabetes as an autoimmune condition can make us more susceptible to other conditions, for me that was an under activethyroid, symptoms at the time being lethargy and erratic levels. This is something easily managed with tablets.
You say tests have been done and results are fine. Is this a GP or a diabetic consultant/specialist nurse telling you this?
Other things to consider may be diet, I'm not saying your diet is wrong, but certain diets can lead to significant changes in how we feel and cope with life, even more so when diabetic. Are you on any specific dietary regime to control your diabetes?
Stress and worry can also have big impacts where diabetes is concerned. Vicious circle this one, you worry about it, it gets worse, you worry more.
These are just a few of my ramblings after being T1 for awhile. Ultimately your answers are out there, you just may need to ask louder and push harder for information.
Don't give up and have a Merry Christmas.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Note that around the time of T1 diagnosis the body may be burning fat for energy hence weight loss. For diet I would suggest keeping the carbs under control and having enough fats and protein to keep you feeling full. Your weight should start to balance.

 

[CalGra84]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have been tested by both the diabetic specialist and the GP and my TSH (Thyroid) is 4.9, not massive but high normal.

Regarding the HbA1C it has been 42/6% since May. It has been very steady which is great.

I already had a decent diet but I tweaked it recently to increase my calorie intake on the advice of my GP who is also Type 1. However I lost a pound .

So far I’ve been advised to reduce my insulin and I’m only on meal time, due to the honeymoon period. They have suggested my pancreas might be working a bit more at the moment giving me lower blood sugers.

Does anybody use anything in their diet or supplements to give an energy boost? The fat thing is defo interesting and will try that out.

 

[urbanracer]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have been tested by both the diabetic specialist and the GP and my TSH (Thyroid) is 4.9, not massive but high normal.

Regarding the HbA1C it has been 42/6% since May. It has been very steady which is great.

I already had a decent diet but I tweaked it recently to increase my calorie intake on the advice of my GP who is also Type 1. However I lost a pound .

So far I’ve been advised to reduce my insulin and I’m only on meal time, due to the honeymoon period. They have suggested my pancreas might be working a bit more at the moment giving me lower blood sugers.

Does anybody use anything in their diet or supplements to give an energy boost? The fat thing is defo interesting and will try that out.

It's a little over 3 years since I was diagnosed diabetic.

Recently I've started to experience similar things and have had blood tests for the various symptoms including tiredness, muscular pains and the rapid onset of muscle fatigue when attempting any kind of exercise. Haven't heard anything back from doc so I'm assuming that nothing has shown up. All very frustrating.

 

[CalGra84]

Thanks for the above and yes it is frustrating and it sounds very similar.

I will perceiver and see what happens in the new year. I am absolutely determined to get past this but it is challenging in the sense you cannot beat what is not an obvious issue you can target like blood sugar.

Thanks again for the responses.

 

[joanneliz]

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I’m new to this and this is my first post, so be gentle.

I was diagnosed in Feb this year with Type 1, within a week I was back playing football, work within 2 weeks, my bloods have averaged 6% since, no sideline issues have been diagnosed either and generally I adapted well... But the last couple of months things have changed!

I have now lost more weight ( I was twelve and a half stone for 10 years prior to diagnosis) and I am now 11st. To quote Mike Myers I look like a Orange on a tooth pick. I was 11,5 at diagnosis.

Next is the fatigue... I’m pooped. I’ve gone from attending the gym regularly, playing football, working hard and not being ill to an old man overnight! I’ve had so much blood taking in the past couple of months I reckon that accounts for the weight loss and everything is in good working order according to the doctors. I have now missed two months of work. Which is frustrating given the start I made to empowering myself to manage my diagnosis.

The advice I have had is be patient and slowly build back up. Good advice but is there anything else I can do to boost myself and strengthen back up? I want to return to being active and enjoying work soon.

Please help, thanks Callum.

Yes, Callum, it does take quite some time to adjust to the very many changes you will have to make to your life,.
I was diagnosed at age 18 and have been through just about every crisis you can have with being an insulin
dependent diabetic. Have had it for over 30 years.

There is nothing we do about it so we just have to learn to live
with it BUT it will not prevent you from doing what you have always done -you just have to continuously have to aware of not eating things which will push your sugar level up rapidly.

Make sure you test your b/s first thing in the morning and depending on what type of insulin you
are on, once you learn how to adjust this according the b/s reading, you can control it reasonably well.
Do familiarise yourself with how quickly your body responds to quick acting insulin and how
it breaks down sugars in the blood . Things like WHERE you inject can affect rate of absorbtion.
You have got to get to know how your body functions in relation to what you are doing.

There is SO much you will have to learn and to be honest, the NHS, wonderful as it is, is not bang
up to date with the many changes going on in the treatment of diabetes.

High sugars make you tired, as do very low ones! Make sure you always carry something to
bring your B/S up again wherever you are - you probably know all this stuff already so sorry
for repeating the obvious. Be aware, though, that Lucozade nowadays has 50% less sugar
than the older brand - instead of 5 gulps have to take a bit more.

6% is not a bad HBA at all! You are doing fine but the body you are living is not the same
one you had before diabetes kicked in, you just have to get to know how what you eat affects
the B/S, and what you are doing affects your sugar levels, stress and mental activity can lower
blood sugars as well as physical exercise, get to know how it affects moods and deal with it. It makes you lead a healthier lifestyle if you are
following the rules correctly and exercise is key to keeping healthy. It is a pain in the **** but
there are worse things! You are doing fine ....it just takes time to adjust to it.

 

[Bic]

Hi, Callum, I have been Type 1 for more than 30 years and a few years ago I experienced quite a long a spell of fatigue. I was sent to test for TSH as well, but numbers were ok and I still hadn't a clue about the cause of fatigue.
To cut a long story short, it was the slow-release insulin I was then using, ie Lantus. When I started using Tresiba I recovered from fatigue and went suddenly back to my old, active self. It was like magic. If you are using Lantus, ask your doctor if that might be the problem and see if a change might be advisable.
Best wishes.

 

[Snapsy]

I have been tested by both the diabetic specialist and the GP and my TSH (Thyroid) is 4.9, not massive but high normal.

Hiya and welcome, @CalGra84 , sorry to hear about the changes you've been experiencing.

Just on the matter of TSH, TSH is produced by the pituitary and tells your thyroid how much thyroxine to secrete. If your TSH is at the upper end of the scale (the reference range for my own lab tests as a post-radioiodine treatment thyroid patient) is 0.27 to 4.2) it indicates that your pituitary is telling your thyroid that it needs to produce more thyroxine than it actually is. A high TSH is indicative of underactive thyroid, one of the symptoms of which is fatigue. 4.9 as you say is not massively out of range, but I just wanted to clarify any potential confusion that high TSH equals hyperthyroid - it doesn't.

Please note that I am not medically qualified and I'm just sharing my experience!

Love Snapsy

 

[Bluey1]

Hi Callum,
This may sound counter intuitive, but I find if I don't do a ridiculous amount of exercise, I have no energy.