Fairly Newly Diagnosed

Rumpo · Oct 4, 2011

Hello in May I was Diagnosed with Type 1,

for about a week I couldn't stop drinking any form of liquid. My muscles were so sore, felt like they were floating and my eyes were going blurry. So I went to the doctors and they checked my urine and my blood, not sure about the urin but my blood was at 33.3 (Which I think is the maximum most readers go to)

So I get told and given lots of stuff to take home with me, numbers, appointments the works. I started taking my insulin, going to appointments and following a diet. I am not a stupid person, so I latched on to the terminology and even my diabetic nurse / dietician was pleased at how well I took to having diabetes. I think this was because it was almost a novelty "Hey Hey I get free prescriptions".

About three weeks ago, I decided I had enough, this is something I do not want. I stopped taking my insulin, which made me ill. I started eating almost pure sugar, which made me ill.

I have calmed down a bit now, still struggling to get used to it and getting really fed up with friends and family not understanding but assuming they know what they are talking about. I was eating scrambled eggs the other day and my sister came in the room and took my eggs away and said "Nope you're diabetic". This would be understandable but I have been told eggs have very low carbs in it and what was really annoying is my sister doesn't live with me, she just came in!

Anyways, My name is Roy but my friends call me Rumpo. I am 22 yrs old, like I said I have type 1 diabetes. This is somethings I really do not want anymore so any suggestions on getting rid of it would be great

daisy1 · Oct 4, 2011

Hi Rumpo and welcome to the forum I hate to disappoint you but once diabetic, always diabetic, at least for the foreseeable future. But you can help yourself to feel better by looking after yourself. BTW eggs are perfectly alright for you to eat. It's carbohydrates you have to monitor carefully and take the appropriate insulin after eating them if you are put on that regime. If you are offered a place on a DAFNE course then seize the opportunity as this will help you to do that.

Here is some basic information that should give you a better understanding of diabetes and help you get started on good control so that you feel better. Once you know a lot about diabetes you can start to educate your family and friends! Ask as many questions as you like as there is usually someone here who can help.

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.

Rumpo · Oct 6, 2011

I have not been offered DAFNE but I have been offered to go on a BIANCA course, where they teach you various stuff, they wanted me to wait a while till I get used to having Diabetes before they teach me to "Carb Count".

I think I need this "Carb Count" because like I was saying a lot of family members assume I cannot have Carb's or sugar at all, but I used to excersise a lot when I was younger and the body needs energy to run.

Also a quick question, why do the doctors act like they are giving you a death sentence, the diabetic nurses act like its serious but not death and then others who have been diagnosed for a few years act like its nothing at all. I do not know how to feel. One of my fathers friends is Type 2 and says as long as you keep pumping yourself full of insulin you can eat as much as you can. But basing on the fact his health has seriously deteriorated over the past couple of years, that is not advice I would like to follow. One of my customers at work has Type 1, we even have the same diabetic nurse, I have tried to speak more to him about it, but because he has been diagnosed for 25 years he just gets on and doesn't see it as a big deal for my self, so he doesn't offer much advice apart from when I did a sugar test at work and he saw it was at 25.6 he yelled a bit at me.

My diabetic nurse has said she is not giving me all the information straight away because it is a big adjustment but surely it would be more beneficial for me too know everything so I am not confused to change things in the future?

Royston

LadyD2 · Oct 6, 2011

hi Rumpo

I am newly diagnosed type 2. I have seen my diabetic nurse twice and she gave me no information or encouragement. When i told her i want to monitor my blood sugar level her reply was you were panicking. She added eat 3 times and mind your portions and carbo intake (it should be the size of your fis, which i agreed to). But the way she treated me was to say the least patronising. So, dont rely on professionals, learn about diabetes and participate in forums like this more.

My diabetic nurse told me that i can exercise anytime day or night and as much as i like OOPs! I bought a book on carbs and proteins and also going to the meter and all to monitor my suger leverl before and after exercise and anytime i feel i have to.

Rumpo · Oct 6, 2011

My main focus is getting back to the excersise. Since being diagnosed I have put on tones of weight, I have always been a big guy, but it was never fat, now I can see clear fat on my body which I am almost affraid to excersise. I love going to the gym but I don't want a hypo when at the gym, also to add when I go to the gym I go hard. I used to go to the gym 3 times a week and excersise hard, that to me was fun. Now, like I said I am too scared to even renew my membership.

Shall I eat lots of carbs before and work it off, or do I keep topped up while at the gym with lucazade or somthing? I used to know an olympic cross runner and when she used to try she would get up at 6 have a bowl of pasta and a marsbar to work off, now she didn't have diabetes but could that method be of any use?

One of my Diabetic nurses was really really good too me, If I forgot to get some needles for my pen she would give me boxes full of them, sadly she resigned two weeks ago and the other diabetic nursers at my hospital seem like they don't want too be there. My customer who I mentioned before with T1 was talking about the doctor I am going to see on friday, we have the same doctor. My customer said that he is a really nice guy, he is firm but fair and he will get you too understand more. This is my "full MOT" as they put it, where they check everything. I am quite nervous about it actually :-S.

I have an appoitment with the hospitals Diabetics Psyciatrist to make sure I am coping ok with the condition, I am pleased about this because I don't think I am coping very well, I have had just enough of it all.

@LadyD2 WhenI was diagnosed I was thrown a meter in my face almost, and about a month ago I lost my clicker to prick my finger, I asked my diabetic nurse for another and she gave me a whole new testing kit? Is that because of the difference with T1 and T2? Because when someone finds out I am diabetic and they ask which type and I say one they always oooooo thats the bad one, but I didn't think there was really a worse one they both seem pretty bad in my eyes.

phoenix · Oct 6, 2011

Hi,
I'm glad that you've got over your bit of denial, I don't think that's unusual, it's a big change in your life.
As for exercise, I think it's the most useful tool in the box it helps to keep weight down and means you often need to take less insulin as it increases sensitivity. I was over double your age when I developed T1 (rather a shock to get juvenile diabetes :lol: ) but within 14 months I ran my first marathon. I've carried on exercising and over six years later I have a very low HbA1c without a very restrictive diet.

When you start you need to take lots of glucose measurements, before, during and after exercise. You may need to reduce your insulin for the meal before and sometimes after. If you exercise very frequently you may find the need to lower your basal insulin.
Some people find the need to eat some carbs, such as a cereal bar before they exercise and/or to top up frequently with small amounts of glucose (dextrose/jelly beans) during a session. I find I need to eat about half a cereal bar before a long run and I took in about 100g of carbs in various forms during a marathon in April.
On the otherhand if you do anaerobic exercise (like weights) you may find your glucose actually rises during exercise.
Its very much a matter of trying it and seeing what happens, hence the need to check levels frequently...and to make sure you have something with you to raise your glucose if it falls too low.

It's perfectly possible to achieve good results in sport as a diabetic, there are at least 4 Olympians that I know of including SIr Steve Redgrave who won his last gold medal whilst taking insulin.
His doctor, Ian Gallen has produced a website about diabetes and sport. Some of it might be a bit too detailed for you at this stage but its worth having a look at
http://www.runsweet.com/

Fairly Newly Diagnosed

Rumpo

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daisy1

Legend

Rumpo

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LadyD2

Newbie

Rumpo

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phoenix

Expert

Fairly Newly Diagnosed

Rumpo

Member

daisy1

Legend

Rumpo

Member

LadyD2

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Rumpo

Member

phoenix

Expert

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