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Hey everyone!

itsthatbecky

itsthatbecky

Member
Messages
6
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Rude people, people who abuse animals, diabetes, hospitals, appointments and strawberries (shocker!)
Oh God, for a starters I have virtually no clue how to use this site so bear with me!
So I'm 19 years old, look about 16 though, and have been a Type 1 diabetic for 15 years. Had bad management since about 11 years old and suffered with severe depression since I was about 8 (including symptoms) Also a sufferer of anxiety! Been a long journey and still is, recently had my bloods taken so waiting on results, my last percentage was 11% and before that 15% so not a good history for me! I really want to improve but seemed to have tried EVERYTHING and cannot think of other ways to continue my progress, seems I have a couple of good days and months of pure bad management! I want to make it so it's the other way around! My motivation seems to always be at a 0. I've been self harm free since 17th October 2013 and have been out of my suicidal/severely depressive stage since 27th October 2013!
So a part from my diabetes and mental health, I love photography. I really do enjoy taking snaps and have been doing so since I was 8 years old, it's a release for me and takes my mind off of day to day life. I'm really bubbly and love a good conversation, known for giving extremely good and useful advice and a big animal lover. If anyone needs someone to talk to or a friendly chat about things my inbox is always open! Also love Figure Skating and Badminton!
Not really sure what else to say... oh yeah... HI EVERYONE!!! :):p
 

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Hi & Welcome @itsthatbecky to the forum, you have certainly come to the right place for lots of help and information plus a lot of support.

I'm type 2 so cannot be much help to you but I will tag @daisy1 , she will be along with a long list of very helpful information we give to all new members.

Please look a round the forum and don't be afraid to ask what ever questions you need to.

Neil
 
Welcome Becky, you have come to the right place for help. Type 2 myself and only recently diagnosed so still in a bit of a dark place, but improving.

You seem upbeat and positive so no doubts with a little good advice and a sprinkling of fairy dust we will have you on track, optimistic and looking forward to a healthy future.

Daks
 
@itsthatbecky

Hello Becky and welcome to the forum :)

Although you are far from being newly diagnosed, here is the information we give to new members and I hope this will help you in improving your management and that you will feel better in every way. Ask as many questions as you need to, unload your problems on us, and someone will be here to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 over 130,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Welcome to the best place for your health.
You'll get the hang of it.
 
Hi Becky. Nice to have you onboard the god ship let's beat this.
You'll get lots of help from other in similar situations, so stay with it & you'll be fine.
You've come along way with your depression etc & that is a place of no return, only onwards & upwards is the way.
You have some great interests. I like photography & ice skating but here in torbay we are not lucky enough to have a full sized rink in the area but now working on showing the local council that it will be an investment in the area that will bring a lot of sporting & public trade to the area.
 
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Oops the above is by my four year old granddaughter who I just found tapping away!
 
Hey thank you everyone for your kind words and advice, I look forward to being part of the forums and being a member on here! xx
 
A warm welcome to the forum itsthatbecy, just take your time and have a good read around the forum, especially the type 1 section where you'll find loads of information and advice.

If you've not done a carb counting course such as DAFNE you may find this useful in getting to grips with your diabetes, it not only teaches you to count carbs and match your insulin accordingly it also covers other aspects of type 1 diabetes management, ask your DN/ DSN to enrol you on the next available course if you haven't done the course already.

Also, if your just under the care of a gp practice ask them to refer you over to the care of a hospital diabetes clinic, they are more specialised in dealing with issues with regards to type 1's, good luck.
 
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