I cannot eat my favorite food anymore.

@Gabrielle_Tai I assume someone has told you not to go to the gym etc if your BG is high, as it increases the risk due to the risk of dehydration. DKA is very unlikely provided there is some insulin in your system unless BG has been high for a long time, drinking lots of water reduces the risk.

Gentle exercise is good as it (e.g. a normal walking speed) decrease insulin resistance while you are doing it and for a few hours after. Hence the benefit of walking to the chip shop

NewTD2 said:

I want to know from T1s, how come you can eat “anything you want” as claimed by many T1s?

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Someone with Type1 can eat anything just like a person without diabetes and can expect to get the same health results after a few years of doing so. Being a diet controlled Type2 eating many carbs give me a high BG for a few days, and there is nothing I can do to bring it down, the very high level of insulin made by my body due to the carbs also does me damage.

But if someone with Type1 eats a lot of carbs, they have to use lots of insulin, and hence any errors are also big...... (both on the up and on the down.)

ringi said:

Someone with Type1 can eat anything just like a person without diabetes and can expect to get the same health results after a few years of doing so. Being a diet controlled Type2 eating many carbs give me a high BG for a few days, and there is nothing I can do to bring it down, the very high level of insulin made by body makes due to the carbs also does me damage.

But if someone with Type1 eats a lot of carbs, they have to use lots of insulin, and hence any errors are also big...... (both on the up and on the down.)

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In that case, T1s should understand how to do carb counting properly and bolus for insulin otherwise there will be ups and downs.

I’m T2 and I totally agree with you. I’m on a lchf diet and if I slip with carbs, it is difficult to bring the high bg readings down and does take time.

I just avoid carbs completely.

This is an interesting talk from Dr Roy Stapleton.

He’s T1 on lchf diet -

NewTD2 said:

In that case, T1s should understand how to do carb counting properly and bolus for insulin otherwise there will be ups and downs.

I’m T2 and I totally agree with you. I’m on a lchf diet and if I slip with carbs, it is difficult to bring the high bg readings down and does take time.

I just avoid carbs completely.

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If only it were as simple as carb counting. It’s not. The other components such as protein and fat also effect the timing, delay and speed of digestion among other things. Marrying the timing of your food and insulin is the tricky part. If your food gets there before insulin you spike, if insulin before food you hypo. Then begins the rollercoaster of injecting to lower the spike and eating to raise the hypo. VLC in’s for me. Keto actually.

In that case it might best for T1s to follow the rule of small numbers -

Small carb = small insulin, less hypo / hyper

Do you agree?

NewTD2 said:

I want to know from T1s, how come you can eat “anything you want” as claimed by many T1s?

Is that statement correct?

I’m curious to know.

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Technically, we can. But in practice, we make some accomodations.

I think it is important for newly dx'd T1s to understand that, after being told that they will now have to inject every day for the rest of their lifes, they can actually eat well, go out to restaurants, have a few beers. When I was dx'd I had this vague notion I was going to have to eat special "diabetic food" from then on, but it proved not to be the case.

Learning that was important for my peace of mind. It's meant that when I was backpacking many years ago, I could happily tuck into some Tibetan momos while in Darjeeling, and some fried pierogi when I'm holidaying in Krakow, knowing that I could have a fair stab at matching the insulin dosage to the carb content.

When T1s say we can eat anything we want, it's sometimes misinterpreted as us saying we can absolutely gorge ourselves on 15 doughnuts, 3 kebabs and a pizza every day. But that's not what we're saying. Technically, we could figure out the required amount of insulin for that, but no-one really wants to eat like that.

"We can eat anything we want" is more properly stated as "anything we want in moderation, and some carb options such as white rice might be more bother than they are worth, so accomodations such as brown rice instead might be considered." But that's not a very good soundbite!

helensaramay said:

I find when my BG is above about 14, I become temporarily insulin resistant and need more insulin to correct.
But if you do so, bear in mind you are likely to have some insulin remaining from your meal as it last about 4 hours. I simplify my calculations by assuming an even distribution. So after 2 hours, I would assume half your insulin remaining: about 4 units.

However, as you are type 1, you should still be able to eat sushi. It will take some trial and error to work out how much insulin and when. It may include multiple doses or taking insulin in advance.

I often eat sushi and do a rough calculation of 1 unit per plate (2 pieces of rice-based sushi) and none for sushimi (which does contain fat). I can take this at the time of eating but all bodies are different.

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It's quite complex you all need to learn what's working for you. When I was on the insulin for almost two years, only injected 6 units slow release just for evenings.

I had a similar experience (only spiked to about 10-12 though), but I found a solution! I ate small slices of sushi one by one during exercise - so eat a sushi (about 7-8g carbs probably), exercise (I walked on a treadmill for 10min), eat another, exercise, and so on. I ate the same amount of sushi as the time I'd spiked to 12, but this time I remained in the 5's and 6's. Keep testing your blood sugar while you do this. I would also recommend eating a smaller amount than usual because it will take some time before you figure out how to cope with sushi, and you don't want to be spiking too much in the meantime. Also, I did all this with my pump switched off and without bolusing for the sushi. This is because exercise makes my blood sugar drop really quickly. If you are not affected by exercise so much, then you probably should give a bolus (maybe not the full bolus you would usually give though.)

Highs are never fun, hope you feel better soon. And MERRY CHRISTMAS!

NewTD2 said:

In that case it might best for T1s to follow the rule of small numbers -

Small carb = small insulin, less hypo / hyper

Do you agree?

Click to expand...

Limiting carbs certainly works for some, and I'm happy for them, each to their own.

But I think the "rule of small numbers" can lead to unnecessarily restricted eating options, so I don't agree that it is a required aspect of managing T1 safely.

Higher carbs and higher insulin does not inevitably lead to rollercoasters. Failure to properly understand how insulin works does.

These discussions often happen without putting them in context. What sort of numbers are we talking about here? A lot of my meals need about 9 units. Is that regarded as too high an amount? I really don't feel I'm putting myself at risk with that.

One point which is often missed in these discussions is that although the insulin amount might be high, there's a broad correspondence (provided the carb count and ic ratios are ok!) with the carbs on board, so if a mistake has been made or some random T1 unpredictability appears, the consequences are usually little more than a couple of biscuits will sort out. While it's not a lot of fun having a hypo, or dragging a hyper back into range, we're not talking about life threatening situations here (I am conscious in saying that that being seriously out of range for extended periods is damaging, but in the present context, we're talking about random short term flyers), so these are risks worth running.

Cgm is becoming more widely available, mainly through self-funding, and, fingers crossed, eventually through nhs funding, although I'm not holding my breath on that. I think cgm makes a major difference to the small numbers question. Simply being able to see bg moving in more or less real time and proactively responding to it means that many of the perceived risks of not small numbers disappear.

NewTD2 said:

In that case, T1s should understand how to do carb counting properly and bolus for insulin otherwise there will be ups and downs.

I’m T2 and I totally agree with you. I’m on a lchf diet and if I slip with carbs, it is difficult to bring the high bg readings down and does take time.

I just avoid carbs completely.

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That is in an ideal world and takes practice and experience. I believe the OP has only been diagnosed a matter of weeks!

NewTD2 said:

In that case it might best for T1s to follow the rule of small numbers -

Small carb = small insulin, less hypo / hyper

Do you agree?

Click to expand...

A million times over!! Laws of small numbers is awesome for me. I no longer fear hypos and dying. I feel comfortable in ,y own skin. I certainly KNOW how insulin works but I also KNOW it has a mind of its own.

Low carb/ keto is by no means mandatory but I thrive on it. Not only for Diabetes but my over all health. I also believe in very clean healthy eating and the best quality foods and I’m not sure biscuits and sweets nor pizza and pudding fall into that. I’m by no means criticizing anyone who eats it. However not only will my bg not tolerate it to keep me in my goal ranges but my stomach will buck at me bad and not let me forget it. So there’s another additional obstacle for me. And yes, it is very frustrating somedays

Kristin251 said:

A million times over!! Laws of small numbers is awesome for me. I no longer fear hypos and dying. I feel comfortable in ,y own skin. I certainly KNOW how insulin works but I also KNOW it has a mind of its own.

Low carb/ keto is by no means mandatory but I thrive on it. Not only for Diabetes but my over all health. I also believe in very clean healthy eating and the best quality foods and I’m not sure biscuits and sweets nor pizza and pudding fall into that. I’m by no means criticizing anyone who eats it. However not only will my bg not tolerate it to keep me in my goal ranges but my stomach will buck at me bad and not let me forget it. So there’s another additional obstacle for me. And yes, it is very frustrating somedays

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Hi
I have been trying all different ways to manage my Diabetes since 1989. Once I was led to believe that the body needs carb to give you the energy especially active lifestyle but it gave me spike in BG.To get it down;I used to ran around the blocks. About 7 wks ago,
I remembered reading about the LCHF Diet and one of the videos clip:
This Dr. said ," Diabetes is the problem which comes from FOOD.It gave the high BG reading so we should be dealing with food".His words were good enough for me to start this LCHF Diet.
Since I have been on it, my reading stay within the target, I rarely go above 8 mmol/L ,exception when I'm unwell. I feel so much better during the nights no more hot sweat and the need for bathroom.
Last week I was in a garden centre ate a child's portion of fish &chips for lunch. I was suffering the whole afternoon. It seems to me that CARB is a hidden killer for Diabetic patients.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,hope next year bring you a healthy i lifestyles and be free from medications or less if it.
D.J 001.

Down-Jai 001 said:

Hi
I have been trying all different ways to manage my Diabetes since 1989. Once I was led to believe that the body needs carb to give you the energy especially active lifestyle but it gave me spike in BG.To get it down;I used to ran around the blocks. About 7 wks ago,
I remembered reading about the LCHF Diet and one of the videos clip:
This Dr. said ," Diabetes is the problem which comes from FOOD.It gave the high BG reading so we should be dealing with food".His words were good enough for me to start this LCHF Diet.
Since I have been on it, my reading stay within the target, I rarely go above 8 mmol/L ,exception when I'm unwell. I feel so much better during the nights no more hot sweat and the need for bathroom.
Last week I was in a garden centre ate a child's portion of fish &chips for lunch. I was suffering the whole afternoon. It seems to me that CARB is a hidden killer for Diabetic patients.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,hope next year bring you a healthy i lifestyles and be free from medications or less if it.
D.J 001.

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Thank you. And Happy Holidays to you.
Unfortunately I will never be free of insulin as I am a type 1 now but my lifestyle and food choices allows me to take very small doses of insulin.
Yes, Fish and chips would make me suffer too. Not only the carbs but the grease it’s fried in. I just keep things very simple now and it all works out. My meals are basically built around protein and avocado. Add a few veggies and done.

Happy holidaysb

NewTD2 said:

I use Konjac.

It’s a tuber grown in the Philippines and manufactured in Japan.

It’s zero carb, zero sugar, zero calories.

They come as pasta or noodles available at Holland & Barrett.

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Wow, thanks for this. I will check it out!

Regarding rice as a T1, I eat basmati rice 6 evenings a week, cooked and very well rinsed to cool, then put in the fridge for 30 mins, I don't see a spike by finger pricking and the digestion seems to mimic the insulins uptake.

But...... If I use paella rice, or short grain etc I do get a spike, and egg fried rice from a Chinese restaurant for me requires a couple more units of insulin than basmati from an Indian and I avoid Thai fragrance rice as I spike high.

Gabrielle_Tai said:

Look like i still have a lots to learn.Hope for the best.

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We all have to start learning to care for ourselves and Drs and Nurses are very supportive when we show the initiative of self care first.

NewTD2 said:

In that case it might best for T1s to follow the rule of small numbers -

Small carb = small insulin, less hypo / hyper

Do you agree?

Click to expand...

As a T2 you probably discount eggs and a cheese omlette... me, as a T1 for a lovely 3 egg omlette with cheese I wpuld have to bolus for 12 carbs immediate and also either exercise a couple hours later or up my basal for overnight from 1 to 1.5 unit...

T1 is a lot more than just carb counting... if bolus goes up, and someone normally runs around 50/50 ratio normally and say, for Christmas that person may eat more-then they may well find that the basal needs to increase too.

Its far more than lower carbs, lower insulin...

I would like to know how T1 deals with exercise.

How much basal insulin do you need to take (or reduce) say for a 2 hour gym or playing sports?

And do you eat bread/carb to increase energy beforehand?

How do you avoid hypos afterwards?