Hello!

[Wayward Blood]

Hi All,

I've used the forum before, but I'm starting a new profile with a particular goal in mind. I want to keep my Type 1 Diabetes under great control, and I'm going to start a blog here soon to keep me accountable. It'll probably be little more than regular posts showing my blood sugar results taken from my Freestyle Libre, but I may add some opinions or feelings about how I'm doing.

I'm 32 and was diagnosed with Type 1 in 1990 at the age of 3. I'm set to become a dad in a few months, and I want to be in this for the long haul! I already follow a low carbohydrate diet (since 2014) and my healthcare team tell me my HBA1C is fine (40 in January). However, I know there's more I can do.

So far I've collected background retinopathy (diagnosed January 2013) and I have mild neuropathy in my feet (slight tingling/ pain here and there). My aim is to keep my levels in the 4–6 range without hypos, and when I put the effort in I manage this. I've got until July to get into great Diabetes shape, so I can enjoy parenting without fearing for the future. The steps I'm taking are as follows:

• Follow a low carbohydrate diet.
  
• See a nutritionist.
  
• Monitor blood sugar levels carefully and regularly.
  
• Avoid knee-jerk reactions (over-treating hypos and highs with glucose and insulin). IN PROGRESS
• Don't snack for the sake of it. IN PROGRESS

So that's me . Wish me luck, and I hope you're all finding things okay with managing your own diabetes!

 

[Daibell]

Hi. You're adopting the right approach apart from seeing a nutritionist. Sadly many of these haven't a clue (the last one was on my lunch table on a cruise a few weeks back!). If you follow the diet advice around these forums you should find all the guidance you need unless you have other medical conditions. If you do see a nutritionist and they advocate carbs with every meal or having low fat food then just walk away.

 

[Wayward Blood]

Thanks for the support on the whole. However, you make a huge assumption that seeing a nutritionist is just bad, full stop. In actual fact, the nutritionist I saw was extremely supportive of a low carbohydrate diet. Before I booked their services I stated that this was something that I was set on; that I was was specifically looking for help managing diabetes using a low carbohydrate diet. They agreed about the benefits, and I was extremely pleased with the session.