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my 1st year as a type 1

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Hello everyone I am 18 years old and about to have my 1st year date as a type 1. I have never really been taken care of to well by my local authority and I am now looking to you guys for help. I would love to learn how to carb count and adjust my insulin to do this. My results are ok but I have some foods like Curry with white rice the other night, large portion and my level went from 8 up to 19m/mol when I tested 3 hours after eating! I had taken 3 or 4 units of Novo rapid. I am on Lantus/Glarcygene for my long lasting insulin. Please can anyone help. Feel free to add me on msn or email me at [email protected]

Thanks
 
Be aware that if you get a takeaway then it'll be full of additional sugars. For example, I eat a lot of pizza but if I make one myself (well, if I get the pizza bases and add the toppings myself) I take about 7-8 units of rapid but if I order a Dominoes then I have to take 19! It's the same idea for Indian, Chinese and anything else you can think of but the differences aren't the same for each.
 
I am type 2 on insulin, curries are a nightmare to control. I take quite large doses and often take a top up. 2 hours later. My morning BS has only ever twice been under 6.5 after a curry.

Marty B
 
Hi Karl,

I was diagnosed as type 1 at 18 also. Bit of a blow, isn't it?

That was before the advent of web forums though, so you're much better off than I was. I had to screw up all by myself, but you show great promise by taking an interest so young!

As for the curry, it's much more likely to have been the rice that messed up your numbers. When I have an Indian meal, I always avoid the rice and the bread but have a couple of curry dishes instead. This keeps my numbers bang-on afterwards - never more than 5mmol/l.

In other words, it's the carbs you need to keep an eye on, not the cuuries!

All the best,

fergusc
 
Yeah, the white rice thing, I have heard of diabetics that can't eat white rice at all!

If you are looking to start carb counting (and keep eating carbs) you will also need to take into account the glycemic index, which is the speed at which the carbs are broken down into sugar and allowed to swim freely in your blood stream, it is at this point that you need insulin to allow the sugar into your cells.

For example, if I have brown rice for tea, I take my insulin (humalog) approximately half an hour after my meal as I found that it is converted to sugar very slowly and if I took it with my meal, I hypo'ed then corrected that and ended up very high later on. This is different for everyone and it is about trial and error to begin with; I am still learning myself and although I understand the theory behind the carb counting; it does not always work in practice.
 
There are no hard and fast rules, but start off by experimenting with 1u of novorapid per 10g carbs. This does mean that (initially at least) you will have to weigh or more carefully guesstimate the amount of carbs.

3/4 units for a curry and rice would NEVER be enough for me. On the ratio I've described about, I would have thought a typical takeway would require at least 8 units, perhaps 10 or 11. Don't be afriad to shoot more insulin - it is better to do that than run high levels.

Even sitting at 8 before a meal is pretty high. Aim to be between 4-6 before a meal.

BUT, everyone is different and carb counting etc is very individual, so you need to grab your meter (your best friend) and start figuring out what works for you.

I think you should contact your Diabetic Specialist Nurse and ask to go on a DAFNE course if they run them in your area.

LJ
 
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