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Is this a dangerous way of thinking/living???

A

Amaal

Member
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10
Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost 5 years ago now, when I was 16. I have a concern/question. Since I''very been diagnosed I haven't really changed my diet so much. I mean I know the obvious not to have sugary drinks, chocolate etc, I still help myself to cake and biscuits though. Basically I've put in my head, because my hba1c levels are usually good as their around 5 or 6, then this means that I must be doing good for myself. This must mean that I can get away with eating what I desire so long as I correct it with insulin afterwards. Although my hba1c levels are usually good, my sugar levels on a daily basis are usually sometimes all over the place due to unnecessary things I eat and corrections that I make.

I basically need someone to give me a wake up call and tell me the ill effectives of this way of thinking and living. I need you guys's support. I know no one else who is a type 1 diabetic, hence why I am here on this forum.

Regards, Amal
 
I used to do similar things to you, though avoiding the blood tests. I now have proliferative retinopathy and undergoing laser treatment for my eyes. It's not pleasant and side effects have meant I have poor night vision and losing my peripheral vision to boot. I coasted along fine for years, unaware what damage I was storing up in my body. I would love to be able to rewind the clock and have wised myself up many years ago, but of course now it's way to late for that.

The quicker you get things properly under control, the less damage will be going on in your body unknown to you. x
 
Thankyou for your reply. I really do hope things go well for you. Your reply has definitely woke me up.

Tbh i wish my doctors had shes some light on the ill effects of poor control of one's diabetes. They tend to shed more light on the positives how one can live a perfectly healthy life with this illness given that one take their meds, exercises and diets. Whilst this is good as their building hope for us, but at the same time they have to balance it out and let is know of the negative effects so that we're not too hopeful and naive like i am. That way if something were to happen to me at least it wouldn't come by surprise etc. Will definitely speak to them about this when i go in for my next appointment


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Hi. I have found this really interesting, I completely agree with you. As a parent of a T1 child I have basically been told by the healthcare professionals that you can carb count what you want and cover with insulin, which I think is the way a lot of people have been told. Your Hb1Acs look great, and to a doctor I can see they probably wouldn’t be worried as there are patients who have a lot higher. So this would either mean you are pretty stable or you’re fluctuating with alternate highs/lows which is what I think your saying. In that case the Hb1Ac result, although good, isn’t enough and it’s the amount of time spent in range and the standard deviations are important – this isn’t spelt out enough. Are you on MDI? I have found a really good table in this article which I think is great –http://integrateddiabetes.com/Articles/gen/Strike%20The%20Spike%202.pdf - it tells you when to bolus according to the GI of foods and whether your BG is in range. So I’m trying to follow this.




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MDI is multiple daily injections..
If you wish to get a good heads up about type 1 diabetes I would recommend you ask your hospital to put you on a carb counting course like DAFNE or something similar if you havent already done one.
As well as covering carb counting which it seems you have already got sorted you also learn more about diabetes in general. Also if you consider using a pump in the future having done the course is usually a requirement for approval.
I found the course interesting even though I did one after being t1 for almost 30 odd years.
 
I'm fairly similar. I was told to basically just eat whatever and count the carbs. The DAFNE sort of promotes this, carb count and inject accordingly. I thought, this is just too easy. I used to check before meals and pretty much within desired range. Out of curiosity, I started doing a few tests 2 hrs after meals and I was always high. 10 or over. I had no idea. So, yes, inject accordingly but was never told about food "spikes" etc. I'm unaware how much of my day I have had high BG levels. I now realise that carb counting is not so simple. Need to look at GI, slow/fast release etc. Good luck !
 
Amaal said:
Thankyou for your reply. I really do hope things go well for you. Your reply has definitely woke me up.

Tbh i wish my doctors had shes some light on the ill effects of poor control of one's diabetes. They tend to shed more light on the positives how one can live a perfectly healthy life with this illness given that one take their meds, exercises and diets. Whilst this is good as their building hope for us, but at the same time they have to balance it out and let is know of the negative effects so that we're not too hopeful and naive like i am. That way if something were to happen to me at least it wouldn't come by surprise etc. Will definitely speak to them about this when i go in for my next appointment


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My mum did enough nagging and talking about complications, doom and gloom for them in my case. So much so that I tended to have the view that it was all going to eventually happen anyway, so why bother. Of course NOW I see the error of my ways, but as a teen this was all a LONG way off to me.

For Drs it's about getting the balance between acknowledging the efforts the diabetic is already making to control the condition (even if that is making their first trip back to clinic in years!) and giving them the info, help and tools to manage the condition better. My last Dr just got bogged down in the numbers and didn't really see me as a person. The new Dr is so much better and his better attitude has made a huge difference to me managing my diabetes better than I had in years.

You are aware of the bad, but focus on the good, positive actions you can take to improve things for you and remember the diabetic team are there to assist you! :D
 
There are numerous tables and books about food GI values but I found this was quite comprehensive: http://www.mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk/research/g ... -and-files - click on the UK foods table. Yes Mo I think you are right – it’s not just the amount of carbs but the type of carb and then learning when to bolus. For example, pasta is low GI meaning it’s a complex carb and the body will break it down very slowly, so it’s possible to miss the insulin peak all together. You could try half the injection before the meal and half after (as the first half will deal with the portion of the food that is digested quicker, but the 2nd half will deal with the slower digested portion). Obviously the downside for this is having to remember, as well as the fact it means an extra injection.

High GI foods that are simple sugars are easy for the body to break down....usually happens in minutes and insulin would peak after the digestion…..and could mean you have a low later if that was all you had. That’s why the balanced diet approach is important – to have a bit of everything. Combining foods can also slow down their absorption. For example, rather than having a plain cracker, you could add some margarine or cheese to slow down the absorption. Vegetables, especially root ones, are full of fibre which can slow down digestion – it works by delaying gastric (stomach) emptying and lessening the postprandial (post-meal) rise in blood sugar. Or if you couldn’t resist a piece of cake then adding a small amount of cream will actually lower the GI due to the addition of fat. But obviously I wouldn’t suggest adding lots of fats to your diet!!! It’s all a bit of a balancing act and seeing what works for you – test and test again!!

My hope is that one day, hopefully not too far away…all diabetics will be able to have a form of continuous glucose monitoring so we can see what’s actually happening and manage it better.


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CambridgeLass said:
There are numerous tables and books about food GI values but I found this was quite comprehensive: http://www.mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk/research/g ... -and-files - click on the UK foods table. Yes Mo I think you are right – it’s not just the amount of carbs but the type of carb and then learning when to bolus. For example, pasta is low GI meaning it’s a complex carb and the body will break it down very slowly, so it’s possible to miss the insulin peak all together. You could try half the injection before the meal and half after (as the first half will deal with the portion of the food that is digested quicker, but the 2nd half will deal with the slower digested portion). Obviously the downside for this is having to remember, as well as the fact it means an extra injection.

High GI foods that are simple sugars are easy for the body to break down....usually happens in minutes and insulin would peak after the digestion…..and could mean you have a low later if that was all you had. That’s why the balanced diet approach is important – to have a bit of everything. Combining foods can also slow down their absorption. For example, rather than having a plain cracker, you could add some margarine or cheese to slow down the absorption. Vegetables, especially root ones, are full of fibre which can slow down digestion – it works by delaying gastric (stomach) emptying and lessening the postprandial (post-meal) rise in blood sugar. Or if you couldn’t resist a piece of cake then adding a small amount of cream will actually lower the GI due to the addition of fat. But obviously I wouldn’t suggest adding lots of fats to your diet!!! It’s all a bit of a balancing act and seeing what works for you – test and test again!!

My hope is that one day, hopefully not too far away…all diabetics will be able to have a form of continuous glucose monitoring so we can see what’s actually happening and manage it better.


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Thanks for that. Helpful post. It certainly can get confusing though lol !
 
Well done for wanting to do something about it.

I thought when I was diagnosed over a year ago that I could carry on as normal with my diet but also found my sugars all over the shop and out of control - lots of hypos and correcting and getting into a right muddle - way too complicated and time consuming.

I've done DAFNE and read Dr Bernsteins book on diabetes and have come to this conclusion now. I low carb in my diet, so take less short acting insulin throughout the day, I also dont correct anymore and only do so at mealtimes - avoid the temptation to do this as with short acting it can take up to 4 hours for this to leave your system. Eating sugar isnt good whether you are type 1 or not, so it's easier to leave it out - it also means by reducing your carbs that you are healthier as you're not eating breads/crisps/potatoes, rice etc but means you need to learn more about food to know what's ok and what's not,my typical daily diet is, porridge for breakfast with sweetner, omelette or salad with cheese or courgette for lunch and supper is meat and vegetables, I also avoid fruit, yoghurts as these contain sugars and fructose. It may sound boring some but i'd much rather be healthy and keep good BG than it consuming my life and me worrying about my future health.

Get on DAFNE as that is essential for good knowledge and control and good luck :thumbup:
 
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