Diabetes type 1 for 2 weeks

[Catarina Gomes]

Hello,
My name is Catarina and I am sixteen years old. First of all I want to apologize if my English is not the best, but I am Portuguese.
So, I was diagnosed with diabetes type one two weeks ago and I had to stay an entire week at the hospital, learning how to deal with the insulin, food, glucose tests, etc. I always had this big idea that only fat people get diabetes, because where I live we don't get educated about this kind of diseaseas (now I think we definetely should!)... that thought ended up not being true since I'm only 156 cm and my weight is 40 quilograms (88,1 pounds, 5,11 feet, 61,4 inches). None of my friends are diabetic, so I always feel insecure and nervous when I have to leave during the midle of classes to measure my glucose, do some math in order to calculate the amount of insulin, take the insulin and then eat... Not only I'm missing important subjects (even though classes are 90 minutes and I "only" leave about 10 minutos), but also my classmates stare at me like they are disgusted or, most of the times, feel pity for me. I really don't like that... I'm going to have a b-day party soon, at a restaurant, and I still need to use my balance to measure rice, pasta and other carbs... Hopefuly I will be able to learn how to count carbs without a balance until then, but I'm still really nervous with the idea of not knowing that the dinner is going to be and having to leave the room to go to the bathroom and do my medical procedures. What if my glucose levels are high and I have to wait 15 or 20 minutes until I am finally able to eat? I will have to stare at everyone while they're eating and then they'll be staring at me. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I think it's kind of normal since I only have this disease for about two weeks. By the way... My main symptoms were huge hunger, thirst and lots of urine (even during the night). I scheduled an appointmet at the doctor for 15 of May, but then, on 7 May I went to the dentist (I have braces) and he told me that my breath was typical of diabetes, so on 9 May I went to the pharm to measure the glucose and it was 303, which I consider very high. They immeadieatly told me to go to the hospital where I ended up being diagnosed with this damned disease. As I said before, I stayed there for an entire week, everyone was super nice and I always felt good, but now that I'm at home I feel constantly sad... Why me? I have to be so careful now... I can't eat whenever I want, whatever I want... And I'm this super skinny girl! My major problem is that only my parents understand the effort because they are the only ones who know all the procedures I have to do during the day. I take Humalog 6 or 7 times a day and Lantus 1 time a day. I measure my glucose about 10 or more times a day. Today I already had two hipoglicoses and I've been have at least one per day since thursday. Sugar is good, don't get me wrong, but I'm not planing on eating packs of sugar everyday, you know? By the way, about the diabetics breath... Is it permanent or what? Is it supposed to stinck? My doctor told me it smells like fruit (apple, mainly) but I can't understand why it is so evident...
I'm not sure if anyone is going to read it entirely, but I appreciate your time, thank you very much.
I'm sorry again for my lack of English.

 

[noblehead]

Things will get easier in time, the first few weeks and months are hard as there's so much to take in, try to relax and read up as much as you can about diabetes and how to control it, hopefully in time your friends will adjust to the fact that you have diabetes and will be very supportive for you.

The bad breath is associated with ketone production, once your bg levels are stabilised it will soon go away.

 

[Catarina Gomes]

Things will get easier in time, the first few weeks and months are hard as there's so much to take in, try to relax and read up as much as you can about diabetes and how to control it, hopefully in time your friends will adjust to the fact that you have diabetes and will be very supportive for you.

The bad breath is associated with ketone production, once your bg levels are stabilised it will soon go away.

Thank you very much for your time and attention, I really hope so!

 

[lizdeluz]

Your English is pretty good, Catarina! You did a really good job of explaining your diagnosis and your feelings about it! I wish I could use Portuguese that well!
It's very understandable to feel sad and overwhelmed at this time: there is so much to learn and you have to be able to look after yourself - at school and in social situations like parties. However, in time, you will be able to explain your diabetes to your friends and they will probably be very helpful and supportive. Hopefully your school knows about your diagnosis and hopefully there is support at school from teachers or admin staff in order to give you time and space to do your blood tests and injections?
I'm sorry you've had to put up with hypos. I know it's annoying to have to eat glucose tablets to deal with them but make sure you always have those glucose tablets with you. Soon you will find that you can avoid the hypos by balancing your food and insulin.
Keep posting, people here will listen and help you with any problems.
Luz
X

 

[Catarina Gomes]

Your English is pretty good, Catarina! You did a really good job of explaining your diagnosis and your feelings about it! I wish I could use Portuguese that well!
It's very understandable to feel sad and overwhelmed at this time: there is so much to learn and you have to be able to look after yourself - at school and in social situations like parties. However, in time, you will be able to explain your diabetes to your friends and they will probably be very helpful and supportive. Hopefully your school knows about your diagnosis and hopefully there is support at school from teachers or admin staff in order to give you time and space to do your blood tests and injections?
I'm sorry you've had to put up with hypos. I know it's annoying to have to eat glucose tablets to deal with them but make sure you always have those glucose tablets with you. Soon you will find that you can avoid the hypos by balancing your food and insulin.
Keep posting, people here will listen and help you with any problems.
Luz
X

Thank you so much, Luz! I'm glad I made it understandable... Sometimes it's even hard for me to understand my own problems and thoughts! Yes, every teachers know about my condition and there is time and space to do my blood tests and injections. However, there's this injection called Glucagon (I'm not sure how to spell it) which I might have to take if my glucose's levels are extremely low and I lose consciousness or something like that... and my school doesn't accept keeping the injection at the school. I can't have it with me because it needs to stay in a fridger... and they said "When something happens we call an ambulance", but an ambulance is not that fast and I'm really worried that if somethings happens they won't be able to reach school in time... My parents will try to insist some more but I'm afraid it won't work!
Yes, hypos definitely suck. I'm a bit stressed today, I already had 3 hypos... One is happening right now, I'm now waiting 10 minutes to see if it will get better and if it doesn't i'll have to eat some more.
Thank you once again, Luz!

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hello and a big welcome to the forum. It's such a lot to take in and can be scary and daunting to start with. Just take a little step each day as you can't learn or know everything in such a short time, I'm learning new things all the time and I'm a type 1 as well for 25 years.
There. are lots of type 1's on the forum, if you need any or help or advice and we try to be very supportive. Take care and I think your English is pretty good. Good luck

 

[Catarina Gomes]

Hello and a big welcome to the forum. It's such a lot to take in and can be scary and daunting to start with. Just take a little step each day as you can't learn or know everything in such a short time, I'm learning new things all the time and I'm a type 1 as well for 25 years.
There. are lots of type 1's on the forum, if you need any or help or advice and we try to be very supportive. Take care and I think your English is pretty good. Good luck

25 years? Wow, I sometimes forget this disease lasts forever, I still hadn't pictured me having diabetes as a grown up! Thank you very much, I wish you all the best!

 

[Bebo321]

Hello,
My name is Catarina and I am sixteen years old. First of all I want to apologize if my English is not the best, but I am Portuguese.
So, I was diagnosed with diabetes type one two weeks ago and I had to stay an entire week at the hospital, learning how to deal with the insulin, food, glucose tests, etc. I always had this big idea that only fat people get diabetes, because where I live we don't get educated about this kind of diseaseas (now I think we definetely should!)... that thought ended up not being true since I'm only 156 cm and my weight is 40 quilograms (88,1 pounds, 5,11 feet, 61,4 inches). None of my friends are diabetic, so I always feel insecure and nervous when I have to leave during the midle of classes to measure my glucose, do some math in order to calculate the amount of insulin, take the insulin and then eat... Not only I'm missing important subjects (even though classes are 90 minutes and I "only" leave about 10 minutos), but also my classmates stare at me like they are disgusted or, most of the times, feel pity for me. I really don't like that... I'm going to have a b-day party soon, at a restaurant, and I still need to use my balance to measure rice, pasta and other carbs... Hopefuly I will be able to learn how to count carbs without a balance until then, but I'm still really nervous with the idea of not knowing that the dinner is going to be and having to leave the room to go to the bathroom and do my medical procedures. What if my glucose levels are high and I have to wait 15 or 20 minutes until I am finally able to eat? I will have to stare at everyone while they're eating and then they'll be staring at me. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I think it's kind of normal since I only have this disease for about two weeks. By the way... My main symptoms were huge hunger, thirst and lots of urine (even during the night). I scheduled an appointmet at the doctor for 15 of May, but then, on 7 May I went to the dentist (I have braces) and he told me that my breath was typical of diabetes, so on 9 May I went to the pharm to measure the glucose and it was 303, which I consider very high. They immeadieatly told me to go to the hospital where I ended up being diagnosed with this damned disease. As I said before, I stayed there for an entire week, everyone was super nice and I always felt good, but now that I'm at home I feel constantly sad... Why me? I have to be so careful now... I can't eat whenever I want, whatever I want... And I'm this super skinny girl! My major problem is that only my parents understand the effort because they are the only ones who know all the procedures I have to do during the day. I take Humalog 6 or 7 times a day and Lantus 1 time a day. I measure my glucose about 10 or more times a day. Today I already had two hipoglicoses and I've been have at least one per day since thursday. Sugar is good, don't get me wrong, but I'm not planing on eating packs of sugar everyday, you know? By the way, about the diabetics breath... Is it permanent or what? Is it supposed to stinck? My doctor told me it smells like fruit (apple, mainly) but I can't understand why it is so evident...
I'm not sure if anyone is going to read it entirely, but I appreciate your time, thank you very much.
I'm sorry again for my lack of English.

Hi Catarina,
Wow! What an amazing job you're doing! Working out insulin requirements can be very difficult but you are just getting on with it. Well done you. Diabetes sucks - and there is nothing you could have done differently to avoid getting it. Keep your chin up - gradually you will become more confident in dealing with your diabetes. The thought of having a hypo must be really scary, but have confidence in your insulin calculations - if you feel concerned you might have miscalculated, just test again and make your adjustments. It sounds as though you are actually doing very well considering you have only just been diagnosed. As I say - an amazing job.
Diabetes breath will have been from your high blood glucose levels at diagnosis - this will get better as your bloods come down.
Keep up the great work Catarina, and try to keep a positive attitude. It is great that you have come on the forum for advice and support.
A big internet hug of support from me,
Becky.

 

[Catarina Gomes]

Hi Catarina,
Wow! What an amazing job you're doing! Working out insulin requirements can be very difficult but you are just getting on with it. Well done you. Diabetes sucks - and there is nothing you could have done differently to avoid getting it. Keep your chin up - gradually you will become more confident in dealing with your diabetes. The thought of having a hypo must be really scary, but have confidence in your insulin calculations - if you feel concerned you might have miscalculated, just test again and make your adjustments. It sounds as though you are actually doing very well considering you have only just been diagnosed. As I say - an amazing job.
Diabetes breath will have been from your high blood glucose levels at diagnosis - this will get better as your bloods come down.
Keep up the great work Catarina, and try to keep a positive attitude. It is great that you have come on the forum for advice and support.
A big internet hug of support from me,
Becky.

Wow, thank you so much for your full of positive comment! It definitely cheered me up!
I've been having a few hypos, yes, but I don't feel bad as I thought I would, I just start shaking a little bit, which is kind of helpful, actually! (so I know that my levels are low).
Thank you once again,
Virtual hug,
Cate

 

[jack412]

Also, your super skinny was because, the ketones was from you eating your muscles and such. Now that you are able to use the food you eat, you are going to quickly put on "healthy weight" mostly muscle.
This can be a bit of a shock as you get use to the new healthy you

 

[Catarina Gomes]

Also, your super skinny was because, the ketones was from you eating your muscles and such. Now that you are able to use the food you eat, you are going to quickly put on "healthy weight" mostly muscle.
This can be a bit of a shock as you get use to the new Beth you

Yes, I'm glad! I've already gained two quilos, which is not that much, but it's good enough to get me motivated! Thank you, I know understand!

 

[Daibell]

Hi. First your English is very good and you provided a very clear explanation of your concerns. Once you have become a little more used to having insulin I would expect you to start carb-counting which will make it much easier to avoid hypos and cope with a wide range of meal types. I've been on insulin for just over year now and no longer find it a problem. I just have to remember to have my insulin with me when I go out for a meal and to test before driving. By carb-counting I've been able to avoid any hypos but come close a couple of times. Testing 10 times day sounds a bit on the high side but that will come down as you have better control. Each of us varies and I'm lucky and only test between 1 and 5 times a day; lower than most as I'm quite predictable. Illness does affect your blood sugar as I have just found out and insulin needs to be increased. I nearly always inject for a meal at the table and friends get used to it and ignore it and I've never had anyone else look at me. So good luck. BTW I always carry a few glucose tablets with me and in the car.