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Hi to everyone a, type 1 finally coming to accept it

R

Richy777

Newbie
Hello all im a type 1 diabetic, i was diagnosed about 20 years ago, (im 44 now) with 3 young children and this is the first time i have really had a look into the diabetic thing as it were, theres a lot i dont understand on the forum after a quick look tonite..but anyways here the bad stuff..i still smoke and drink and have a very high stress job, a morgage and i dont test as much as i should (dont ask) am i still sticking my head in the sand? possibly...lol but anyways any advice will be gladly taken on but not lectures or abuse thank you.
 
Hi,
my 1st time too..is not me but my daughter that is type 1,diagnosed in may this year. She was 10 then now just turned 11 & she has coped with it so much better than i could have hoped for but i am expecting anger,denial etc..in the future. As for me I'm doing that for her (she doesn't see that bit) & am trying,not always successfully,to change my habits so am not doing the whole double standards thing. Not going to preach cos i still have the odd ciggy & a drink but in my job, NHS, i see all the negative sides of diabetes;transfer people on dialysis,people who've lost feet & legs etc & although most of the people are elderly there are more than a few our age & when you consider that could be avoided is very sad to see.
Glad your coming to terms with it & any advice that i can pass on to my daughter in the future will be gratefully recieved.
Make the most of everything. :)
 
Hi,
me again,sorry.
Got all caught up in my thoughts before. My advice to you is think of your kids & the dad you are to them cos they will want you for a long time..even if is only to bail them out(joking).Gonna go now before talk anymore rubbish. Look after yourself
 
Hi Richy and welcome to the forum :) I'm glad you have decided to look into diabetes and see how you can look after yourself better. Here is the information that we give to new members and I am sure you will find something useful in here. Please ask as many questions as you like as someone will usually be able to advise you.

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 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.
Click to expand...
 
Diabetes has really changed in the 20 years that you have been challenging blood sugar levels. Have you moved with the times and got yourself a fancy new meter, a computer program that graphs your results and on a type of insulin that suits your lifestyle? Without the knowledge of what your levels are day to day it would be hard to know if what you are doing is fine (except for the smoking and drinking) or you need to make some changes to improve your outcome for the next 20 years. All the best with discovering what has been going on while your head has been in the sand :)
 
Thank you for all the replies and please accept my apologies in advance as to how you use forums but anyway on to the replies....due to my nature and things that happened in my childhood i have always sort of expected the worse so to say ermm.. i expected not to live past the age of 27, why?? no idea a weird statement i know, i have started to skip meals just recently though still having my injections then having problems the following day with hypos as expected, i feel im failing on every level at the moment which i am and getting really ****** off with me as a person, what can i do to get away from the past or is there no hope.
 
when i was diagnosed with type 1 i was assigned a diabetic nurse who was brilliant and after a few visits she was suddenly no longer employed by the nhs,i had no letter about this,nothing at all.
 
Do you see your GP or go to a clinic? If your GP, you could ask for a referral to a hospital clinic. They have much more expertise there and there should be a diabetic nurse on the team too. If you're already at a clinc, maybe you need a change if you're not getting the help you need? My type 1 uncle has switched to a new consultant recently and is finding it helpful, even after 50 years with diabetes. (my son is also type 1, which is why I'm on here!)
Re. getting away from the past ... sorry you're feeling so low. GP should also be able to refer to counselling or whatever's most appropriate ...
Best wishes.
 
hey there,

you are not alone. I've met lots of t1s who like you have been through what you are describing (and come out the other side). It sounds to me as if finding a sensible source of practical help and advice (another good specialist nurse who understands that it ain't easy) is going to be a priority if you possibly can.
are you in an area where you can get referred to a DAFNE course? they do give some very practical advice and you get to meet others with t1. I think quite a few people use dafne as a source of support for a 'new start'.
have a look and see if there is a dafne centre near you: http://www.dafne.uk.com/downloads/DAFNE_centres_uk.pdf

good luck
 
Hi there,

I two did try to bury my head in the sand and forget that I had Diabetes, but I do know a person who acted the same and now has lost his leg ! - I always thought I was doing okay until this year, I had to have laser eye treatment and thought okay maybe now it might have caught up with me after 30 years !! - and this was my wake up call, please dont let it get that bad before you wake up.
 
Hi I am really sorry if this seems inappropriate, but I think it is important to point out that using insulin does not make someone have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are very different and they are not different because of the use of insulin. See here for more info:
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Type-1-diabetes/?gclid=CMH7gPGY0q4CFYwMtAod5i9BAg
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Type-2-diabetes/

People with type 2 diabetes can use diet to control blood glucose levels, or tablets or insulin (or a mixture etc.). It just depends on how much insulin your body is producing and as you get older it could mean that your body is producing less etc.
 
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