Hi All :)

Hello and welcome to the board. Lots of good information here and there will be another type 1 along who can give you some practical advice on how you can manage your diabetes.

Hiya, I'm also 19, type1 for 8 years, and also struggling with my control these days! What insulin are you on at the moment? I definitely know the feeling of just being tired of diabetes, tired of trying so hard to keep things level and still not managing it! So frustrating. I'm happy to chat though I'm not sure I'd be any help! PM me if you like
Maggie

Yep the arrrrggghh feeling is very familiar! I'm on 3 injections of novorapid with 1 of lantus, thinking of changing though to see if I can get myself a bit more level. I hate that everything I do has an effect on my blood sugar, you'd think I'd be used to it by now but it still gets me down sometimes. Sigh. A little ranting does help though The pump does sound like it might be some kind of solution, though I don't really know much about it...have you talked to your doctors about it? Do they think it might help you?
xx

Laura,

The DAFNE course will undoubtedly be a turning point for you in improving your diabetes control, there are many members of this forum (myself included) who have attended DAFNE and seen a big reduction in their hba1c. Carb counting is crucial for all diabetics but more so for type 1's, once you understand the concept of insulin/carb ratios you will begin to notice improvements in your pre and post-meal bg readings.

Nigel

Hi

Dont know when Nigel will reply to yr msg but carb counting and ratios often come up on the forum as people don't always get told about the way to figure it all out by clinics or dsns :cry:

It's not hard at all to work it all out and you might feel that you won't need to go on a DAFNE type course, although by attending you will be able to meet up with other people and you will find out about what effect alcohol has on bg levels and also all the common today type food such as pizza etc.

For you to get somewhere near decent control of yr bg levels you need to be willing to test pre meal and post meal (2hrs). This means doing bg tests approx 6 times a day so you will have to make room for testing when you are at school teaching the kids. Next thing is to write all yr bg results in a good bg monitoring diary together with the amount of carb that you eat for each meal incl a snack and then start to adjust yr bolus insulin up or down so that yr bg levels are between 5-7mmol pre meal and then 7-10mmol post meal. If yr bg levels are on 7mmol post meal then you probably will need to eat a small snack (10g carb) but if they are 9-10mmol then you can leave the snack off and just let the bolus/basal insulin carry you through to yr next main meal when hopefully yr bg levels will be about 5mmol. People tend to need a higher insulin to carb ratio at breakfast time than they do at other times especially if using basal twice a day. If you haven't got them do get yrself some half unit insulin pens which are essential in fine tuning yr insulin doses.

Look at this thread Laura - it's all about carb counting, using ratios and also figuring out corrections.
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=18553&start=15

Also, there is an online carb counting course that you can look at
http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Loved your comment about wanting to go to clinic and just get a pat on the back and a "well done". I look after my son's diabetes and he's had hba1c's between 8.7 and 6.3 in the 3.5 yrs he's been diagnosed and they still seem to want to give me advice on how to control blood sugar :roll: .

By the way, carb counting really isn't hard and it makes the world of difference to getting good control.

Three cheers from me and a pat on the back - you're doing great!!!

I've been away at Camp Diabetes not long ago and it was really interesting having the diabetic educators (who have T1 themselves), teenagers and young adults talk to the parents of those of us with young children. All of the teenage group went through a really rough patch between taking over their own control and actually learning how to do it. They even said it was a rarity for that age group to have an hba1c below 10. I suppose it is a whole new learning curve and trying to find acceptance of something that isn't letting you quite do what your peers are doing. In hindsight they did have regrets about how they treated their bodies, not testing, only taking long acting insulin and ignoring what they ate/drank. Most of them didn't even realise how terrible they felt until getting glucose under control. It also caused them to lie to their nearest and dearest.

Anyway, just wanted to tell you that you are not alone and it'll all be okay. You just need the skills and some time to get your food/insulin/exercise balance in order.

LauraNoraLoo said:

Hi Nigel, thanks for the info
Is carb counting hard to get your head around? Ive just had the programme for the course and it seems pretty full on and they said that people do struggle with it.Laura

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No its not hard Laura and all will be explained on DAFNE. The course is set over 5 days and you will be shown how to count carbs, work out your insulin ratio and shown how to get your basal dose correct, there's ample opportunities to ask questions and food and scales are brought in so you can practice counting carbs under the supervision of the DAFNE nurse. I don't know of anybody who has not benefited from the course and results are seen in weeks rather than months. Good luck and hope all goes well!

Nigel