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Diagnosed at 57 T1

I

iphs

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3
Hello all. My diagnosis was only yesterday. Came as quite a shock. First of all, I am celiac, diagnosed about 5 years ago.
Over the past 6-7 months I have been suffering with an urgency to pass urine. Thoght it was just a sign of getting older. But it became a real problem over the last 2-3 months because I could not get any ral sleep. I would be up for a wee every 20 minutes or so. Anyway I eventually went to the doctor just over a week ago. He gave me some medicine and arranged for me to give blood yesterday Friday 18th May. This I did and also provided a urine sample. The nurse almost fell over when she dip tested the urine, she did a second test, same result- BAD.

She went off to see a more senior nurse, who called me into her office and did a glucose test. I think the reading was something like 18.9, but can't remember exactly as by this time I was in a bit of a spin. The worry was the ketone levels, I was told.

The senior nurse took me in to see the Doctor. He looked at the results and immediatly hospitalised me.

Anyway, at the hospital I was given insulin within an hour of being there. Loads of tests later and by now looking like a colander, I was told I was diabetic, and very likely type 1.

happily I was allowed to come home last night after being given insulin and taught how to test and inject myself.

Feeling a little sorry for myself right now. Don't know yet how this will effect me at work. I do a lot of driving and can at times spend many hours away from home or office at a moments notice. This has played havoc with my Celiac diet in the past but that is just hunger, I fear Diabetes is a whole different story.
 
Hi iphs and welcome to the forum.

I also have T1 and coeliac. Am well used to the type 1 by now and just about used to coeliac ;)

Daisy will be along later with her info for new members. In the meantime ask as many questions as you want, there's usually someone to help.

All the best

Robert
 
Hello, and welcome.

I am type 2 myself, so I cannot offer you any specific advice.

I do use insulin though - which is something I have gotten used to quite quickly. It does take a bit of extra planning but it hasn't prevented me from doing anything I wanted to do. I personally feel much better after my diabetes is coming under some sort of control again - I was not able to tolerate the pills I was given, so had a period where my blood glucose levels would be around 30 and I'd be getting up several times a night too.

If you devote some time to learning it, my guess is you can drive as if not more responsibly on insulin than on next to no sleep. :***: :D

I hope you will adjust to these new conditions soon - it is a major change and being a bit confused and scared is normal. However, after some time, I am sure you will consider it 'normal' for you - that's where I am getting to at least. It becomes part of my day, my routine...

Good luck.
 
I can imagine yiur shock iphs. At least you were diagnosed T1 and not misdiagnosed T2 as might have been the case because of your age.

I hope it all setles down for you soon.
 
Hi iphs and welcome to the forum :) You have come to the right place here for help and understanding and there are other members with diabetes and coeliac who will be able to share their experience with you. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful bearing in mind that you will have additional restrictions because of your coeliac. Ask all the questions you like and someone will have an answer for you.

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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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 blood glucose 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,
It is rather a shock, I had a similar one 7 years ago when I was 52. Unlike you I spent quite a time in hospital which helped me get to grips with using insulin. It hasn't stopped me doing anything and I've been able to continue to lead an active life with no real problems.
A lot of the way you control your diabetes will depend on the type on insulin regime you are using. Some people use a mixed insulin two or three times a day.Others use two different insulins, one for background and one at meal times. If you have a varied lifestyle the latter tends to be easier as it is more flexible.
It's early days yet and hopefully you'll have some help from the nurses to adjust your insulin (at least they were on the ball enough to realise that you might not have T2).
If you've got any questions do ask, theres usually someone who can at least attempt an answer.
 
Welcome to the forum iphs :)
 
Hi iphs

Welcome to the forum.

Just a word of warning re the driving. You have to inform the DVLA if you are diagnosed diabetic and are on insulin, search direct.gov and DVLA.gov for info and find out what you need to do.

it may all seem daunting but it's better for you if you have the knowledge to deal with it early.

Mary x
 
As far as I know, the oldest newly dianosed T1 was something like 92 years old. however, you were lucky to get a correct diagnosis. They often assume that any newly diagnosed diabetic over 25 is type 2. It will have been the ketones which convinced them.
The important thing now is to get control of it. Read this forum. You'll get loads of information. I'll also recommend a book
Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution.
It's American, so the units are different [the conversion factor is 18]
the book isn't cheap, but it's comprehensive.My older edition reads a bit like a textbook.
Hana
 
Thanks to everyone. I have been reading non-stop for the last cpouple of days and I am now starting to feel less daunted by the diagnosis.
 
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