New diagnosis and advice

[h4kr]

Well after a heck of a week I am now diagnosed T1. 3 months ago my 8yr old was diagnosed and we went through a bad time with ‘honeymoon’ period, lots of lows and a collapse.
I think I’m kinda prepared for my own diagnosis after managing the little ones for the last 3 months.
Couple of questions tho.
..My eyesight has been junk this week, I can’t focus correctly and can’t see too far (even with my contacts/glasses on) - will this go back to normal once my sugars come down?
..I’ve had a headache for near on a week, the DSN I spoke to today said she will check again tomorrow and also blood pressure check. this should go away as my bloods drop?
..I’m due to go away for 8 days skiing in jan, should I reconsider at this early stage? How do T1 manage all day activities like boarding/skiing, it’s a lads trip and we always do lots of miles and 9-5 on the slopes (followed by apres!)
Any advice welcome..

 

[paulus1]

yes it will but you must not drive until it does. up to you about the skiing no reason why you should not go if you feel upto it.

 

[Deleted Account]

What rubbish timing ... although I don’t think there’s a good time.

Regarding your eye sight, this should go back to normal. When you have prolonged high BG, your body tried to get rid of it. That is why you pee a lot, why dentists may notice tooth decay and why your eyesight is affected: sugary tears have a different focal length to salty tears. I remember tasting my tears when I was first diagnosed and being amazed.

I can’t say for certain about your headache but this is one of my symptoms for high BG. You may also be straining your eyes due to the problem above.

Whether you can ski in January is up to you. Physically, exercise is definitely possible with diabetes. Generally, you need less insulin when doing prolonged exercise so you will need to carry hypo treatment with you on the slopes. The bit I think is up to you is whether you are mentally ready to cope with changes to your daily life.
I did a 26 miles night time charity walk a couple of months after my diagnosis and found the challenge a way to focus.

You probably know more than most about type 1 due to your son’s diagnosis. It gets easier and shouldn’t stop you (or your son) doing what you want.

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi @h4kr - I know @tiredoftrying2017 is skiing currently and my colleague, @Juicyj also skis. They may, perhaps, have something to add on that front.

 

[mytype1.life]

Thanks @DCUKMod,

Hello h4kr,

Sorry to hear you’ve had a double diagnosis to deal with although like you say you will have learnt a lot dealing with your little ones diagnosis.

I am currently skiing at the moment so can do my best to provide some tips, but just a couple of questions for you..

What is your insulin/blood test routine at the moment? (Injections/pump/regular testing?libre?)
Also, can you recognise hypos at the moment?

 

[h4kr]

Heh..,I’m brand new. Diagnosed Wednesday. So currently running high in the 20s. My numbers will come down!
Doing 4 injections a day novorapid 5/5/5 and 16 Lantus. Testing every 2 hours.
I want to push for a libre as this made management of my daughter so much easier.
As to hypos.. I’m yet to experience that - so don’t know how I’m gonna feel.
Hence, is skiing in 3-4 weeks time too early?

 

[paulus1]

no.

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @h4kr I Wouldn't let your diagnosis stop you from skiing, however I would take it easy on the apres ski as combining alcohol with exercise could trigger some hypos and when I ski I aim to avoid hypos at all costs so tend to run a bit higher when skiing, so start the day with porridge/toast and reduce my bolus by 50%, then test at ski lifts when I can as there's usually some shelter there, I notice my bloods are good through the day but then I go higher at night time, I also ski all day but stop mid morning, lunch and mid afternoon so plenty of stops for testing. I also wear the Libre and providing the cold doesn't stop the sensor from working, it's a brilliant way to test when skiing, also keep your meter next to your skin during the day as the cold can stop it from working. We are off to Morzine next week just hoping there's some good snow as the Alps has been having a good dump everyday !

 

[Antje77]

Your eyesight will return to normal. With the skiing, yes, I would go if I were you, but only if things go reasonably good until then (no trips to a+e due to high or low blood-sugars etc.). I think I would do a try-out being very active for a day beforehand, it might give you some clues as to what to expect. And I would invest in a couple of libre-sensors. Blood glucose can behave quite funny when eating and exercizing differently then normal, and the cold and being outside all day affects mine as well. You will do all of these. Glucose-meters don't function when too cold, so you'll find yourself on the slopes multiple times a day getting rid of your gloves, fishing out your meter, put it somewhere on your skin for a minute, try to find it back under your clothes and then finding your hands have gotten too cold to produce a decent drop of blood while waiting. Very annoying. If you buy the sensors (I cover them with tegaderm, but there are other tricks), you only have to fish out your phone and scan your arm through your clothes. You still have to do a blood test occasionally, but not all the time. It made my life a whole lot easier when I went sailing for ten days shortly after I started insulin!

 

[catapillar]

I want to push for a libre as this made management of my daughter so much easier.

I'm not sure who you are planning on "pushing" for a libre. While they are available on prescription most CCGs are not allowing them to be prescribed. If you want one, you don't need anyone's permission, you just need some cash (and the right phone if you are planning on using your phone as reader, or a bit more cash if you will be buying the Abbott reader), just ring Abbott and buy sensors. No "pushing" involved.

 

[h4kr]

For my daughter we got the reader and our first sensor free.. been buying them since. I asked the nurse yesterday for the same reader/sensor kit she said I need to be more in control before they would give it to me (some bull about reader/blood discrepancies - I know this, but the blood reading before each meal is done whatever).
So my push is to get the reader and free one.. I already buy 3 a month for the daughter (always a spare in the cupboard that way). @£150 a month is not cheap.. it so worth it.
I did see someone post they ordered at boots at £34 each (after tax removed) - is this something common? Is it cheaper to buy through a pharm/3rd party?

 

[mytype1.life]

@h4kr I agree with the above comments.

My personal perspective would be ski but I would 100% recommend skiing with the Libre. I’ve skied before without it and I’ll be honest and say I neglected my diabetes - far too cold and inconvenient for a blood test. This is obviously really dangerous and foolish!

Even if you can’t get the Libre granted (like me) request the free trial or if you can pay for one sensor whilst you are away it will make the world of difference.

You’ll know exactly what your BS is doing and until then it’s hard to say. I haven’t had to lower my basal surprisingly - I think my body is confused with how cold it is but also the intensity of exercise.

Other than that I’d say swipe regularly, treat hypos sensibly and be careful with the apres ski. I’ve read this and also experienced... hypo symptoms sometimes seem to disappear, not sure if it’s the altitude or the cold but you will need to keep an eye on it and also be prepared to take an afternoon off if your body needs it.

Here’s my skiing related post from yesterday in case anything useful appears...

First day on the slopes with the Libre!
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/First-day-on-the-slopes-with-the-Libre!.131210/

 

[Scott-C]

I’m due to go away for 8 days skiing in jan, should I reconsider at this early stage? How do T1 manage all day activities like boarding/skiing,

Give the ski-ing a go, man, but learn a bit about the biology first. You've probably got a heads up on this from your kids experience but it's worth restating.

You eat carbs, they turn into glucose, it goes into your bloodstream, gets fed out from small capillaries into interstitial fluid between cells, then it goes into cells to be used as energy. Insulin works as a chemical gateway to allow that last step to happen - not enough insulin, glucose won't get into the cells and will just stack up.

But the thing to notice here in a ski-ing context is that there's another thing happening. There's other stuff going here - when you're exercising. Cells have stuff called Glut4 responders. Glut4 will let glucose into cells without insulin when you're exercising, which is what ski-ing is.

Your dsn might be telling you to use x units for that meal, but if he/she doesn't know you're going to be racking up some time on the slopes, that'll not work out too well.

You'll end up with a double whammy - insulin and glut4 both working to reduce bg.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't ski, far from it. It just means you should talk to your dsn about seriously tailing back your bolus shot for ski-ing days. And making sure you've got a backpack with lots of lucozade in it.

I'm not trying to discourage you from ski-ing (I've spent years post-T1 dx hacking around Scottish ski slopes - boilerplate ice: we're the guys to call!) but do be aware of how much glut4 response can affect things. It's not a bad thing. It usually just means you can substantially rake back your normal bolus dose.

 

[h4kr]

Thank you all.. appreciate your time and responses. I’m about a month away, so plenty of time to prepare.
Will go do a few hours at the snow dome - to get a feel for my body response, talk to my dn about reductions and get on the libre!!
Have a great Xmas all...

 

[mytype1.life]

Good shout with the Snowdome, it will provide some insight. I’ve found I suffer the lows 24-48 hours after exercise so bear in mind when you are away after days on the slopes you might be running lower and need more carbs or less insulin later on in the holiday.

With your plan above I think you will be fine. The best thing to do is attempt to be proactive (where possible) rather than reactive.

Keep us posted!

Happy Christmas

 

[h4kr]

Ok.. old post. But skiing last week was very successful! Dropped my lantus by a few units and didn’t take any novorapid while boarding.
No lows all week except for last day doing a 5 mile run and @2000 metre descent. The libre was a godsend!
Few thoughts, avoid the sauna! Beer is ok.. when not on novorapid and carb up.. burn it and it’ll be alright
Looking forward to run training and climbing now I’m home.. feel like I can do anything I used to now.

 

[mytype1.life]

Great to hear

 

[Scott-C]

feel like I can do anything I used to now.

Indeed, you can...just takes a bit more planning, which usually involves liitle more than tailing back insulin and carrying lots of sweets. Next time you'll know enough to do the master class: a whole day ski-ing, then getting wrecked at the bar apre-ski!