Hello from a 1.5

peterb6001

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello, and nice to meet you all.

I'm just introducing myself. (Sorry about the long intro in advance).

My name is Peter and I have been diagnosed with Type 1.5 diabetes two years ago now. I'm 41 years old, 62 kg and 5ft 6. I've pretty much always been this weight..... and height :D

I'd not been feeling right for a few years, had had many many dizzy spells, and my balance started to go to pot, but my hypo's and hypa's had previously been put down to anxiety as I wasn't in the category of your 'Typical Diabetic'. I also seem to have lost the ability to step over things or jump. :/ (Any feedback here will really be appreciated).

Luckily, for a couple of weeks, I needed to pee all night and had a never-ending thirst, so I was tested for Diabetes and thrilled to find out I was Diabetic, and may finally have the answers to fix how ill I was feeling.

After trying a sugar and carb free diet for two weeks, and tablets, I lost 13 kg (a lot for a person of my size) but my sugar levels were still well above 20. My antibodies were tested, I had about 6500 too many.

I started Insulin strait away, and am now carb counting. My Basal is 22 units per night, and my Kwik insulin is, for now, the usual unit, 1 for every 10 grams of carbs, plus corrections.

It's been a rocky road so far, as my levels were so high before (I was averaging about 25+ or off the scales on my monitor) but to add to this I've had other health issues to add to the pot.

Just when I thought I may be getting my sugar levels under control, I finished a 6-month work contract, then got pneumonia two weeks later, and was in intensive care for one week, (Other Anti Immune Diseases kicking in). Two months later, I was diagnosed with TB (Tuberculosis) and was kept in isolation in hospital for another month. Many of you probably won't know, but this lung condition is particularly aggressive and needs one to two years of medicine to cure.

The medicines I'm on for my TB are particularly aggressive, and symptoms of TB include chronic night sweats, being constantly out of breath, and permanent scarring and cavities on the lungs, so exercise is pretty much out of the question at the moment.

I'm back home now, carb counting 3 times per day, and testing my levels 4 times per day.
I'm super sensitive to hypos still. If my sugar goes below about 5.5 I can really feel it. I'm just hoping one that one day my dizziness and balance will improve.

But for now, I'm doing pretty good at controlling my levels. I know my Basal is correct from doing carb free breakfast and lunch tests, and my levels are pretty much staying even, so now, I just hope I can keep them under control with my other medical issues.
Well, that is me :)
 

NewTD2

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,563
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi Peter,

Welcome!

Andrew
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,018
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hi @peterb6001 Welcome to the forum :)

I can remember also feeling relieved that I knew why I was feeling so dreadful, it's good to get your doses sorted and to start feeling better, sound like you've been through the mill with all of is and the TB, so wishing you good health and good to have you on board.
 
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Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.

peterb6001

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @peterb6001 Welcome to the forum :)

I can remember also feeling relieved that I knew why I was feeling so dreadful, it's good to get your doses sorted and to start feeling better, sound like you've been brought the mill with all of is and the TB, so wishing you good health and good to have you on board.
Hi Juicyj, thank you and sorry for my slow reply, I'm still trying to find my way around the forum :) I hope you are well.
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I also seem to have lost the ability to step over things or jump. :/ (Any feedback here will really be appreciated).
I think I may be pre-LADA/1.5. Unbeknownst to me my A1c numbers have been deteriorating for a few years. I have long noticed that I can't trust my balance. Until recently I was doing regular mountain walking and I was aware that without my 2 trekking poles that would have been impossible for me. Even with them it was dodgy sometimes. I can feel wobbly walking around town, but until reading your post I had put that down to the Flecainide I take for my AF. Thanks for the info. and good luck. You seem to have survived an awful lot and I have no doubt you'll go on surviving really well.
 

Smallbrit

Well-Known Member
Messages
284
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I had symptoms a bit like yours last year, dizziness and random tripping over on flat surfaces, but I am also deaf so had attributed it to hearing and balance things, even though my hearing was exactly the same.

I have been carb counting and testing for a month, and what do you know? My balance is back!
 
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Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I had symptoms a bit like yours last year, dizziness and random tripping over on flat surfaces, but I am also deaf so had attributed it to hearing and balance things, even though my hearing was exactly the same.

I have been carb counting and testing for a month, and what do you know? My balance is back!
So maybe there's hope for me yet!
 

peterb6001

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
"I have long noticed that I can't trust my balance. Until recently I was doing regular mountain walking and I was aware that without my 2 trekking poles that would have been impossible for me. Even with them it was dodgy sometimes. I can feel wobbly walking around town, but until reading your post I had put that down to the Flecainide I take for my AF.

Hi Alexandra100. Like you I also used to do a lot of mountain walks on uneven surfaces, mushroom hunting etc. Even some Nordic Walking with the poles. In fact, when living in Spain, I used to build the stone walls that hold up the roads, so I was always hanging off the side of big mountain/cliff drops etc. My balance and vertigo were pretty much perfect. However, I should point out at this point, that my Diabetes Specialist, isn't convinced that my walking and balance conditions are directly connected to my diabetes.

Saying that, when my levels are low, I'm definitely more wobbly and dizzy, but I wouldn't want you thinking that it is another reason than the Flecainide that is affecting you.

Thank you for your kind words, and I hope you can get your balance back soon, and get back out there in the mountains, with or without your poles.
 
Last edited:

peterb6001

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I had symptoms a bit like yours last year, dizziness and random tripping over on flat surfaces, but I am also deaf so had attributed it to hearing and balance things, even though my hearing was exactly the same.

I have been carb counting and testing for a month, and what do you know? My balance is back!
That's fantastic news Smallbrit, I'm pleased for you, and it really does put the hope back into all of us that are suffering from these drunken feelings. I'll keep you all updated if my balance and dizziness get better with my sugar levels.
 

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,738
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Fingers crossed Alexandra100!
Thanks @peterb6001. Actually I'm not too fussed about those unsteady feelings, though it would be nice if they eventually went away, as other symptoms have done since I started low carb. If they are due to the Flecainide, well, too bad, I'm not about to give that up as it makes a huge difference to my quality of life. As for the mountain walking, that was in a very remote part of France where I rented an apartment half way up a mountain. For ten years it was wonderful, but now that is over, as in September I experienced 15 consecutive days of AF which made it uncomfortable even to walk upstairs. Previously I had only suffered occasional bursts of a few hours, and even that had not happened for years. The thing about AF, it can happen out of the blue at any time. There is no warning. I would not like to find myself trapped in that mountain valley unable to walk uphill without great difficulty. Well, it had to end sometime, and now I am embarking on a new phase of my life. I'll be able to focus more on my running and weight training, and I'm looking forward to walking in the bluebell woods in springtime.

How are you getting on?
 

peterb6001

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks @peterb6001. Actually I'm not too fussed about those unsteady feelings, though it would be nice if they eventually went away, as other symptoms have done since I started low carb.


Hi Alexandra100.

The mountains in France do sound amazing, and I'm sorry that you have had to stop visiting because of your AF, however, there aren't many more places more beautiful in the world than a woodland with bluebells, absolutely stunning.

I'm lucky where I live in my part of England, as at the same time the bluebells appear we also get wild garlic, so the woodland smells are fantastic, and with the contrast of yellow rapeseed fields, a walk through them is something very mesmerising.

I'm glad that you have your AF and Diabetes under control and are feeling better since you started low-carbs. I'm doing fine thank you, my levels are a bit up and down, but that is to be expected with my other health issues and medications.