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New Diagnosis

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Benmyers

Member
Messages
15
Hi all,

I'm new to this diabetes lifestyle which life has decided to opt me into.
I'm a relatively healthy 31 year old male with no family history of diabetes.

It all started when I noticed I was drinking more than usual and getting up every morning around 2am and 4am to wee and also drink another pint of water, then I was finding myself eating around 3x more but losing weight.

After seeing the Dr and suggesting I could potentially have diabetes after looking on this website at the possible symptoms I was booked in for a blood test but was told it could take up to 5 days for my results. 2 days later I was I formed my HbA1c was 141 (15%).
Apparently this is very high but until I was told to go to A&E I didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until they struggled to reduce my levels that I started to get alarmed however, after sticking to the amount of carbs they've recommended and taking insulin injections for 5 days have I started to see my bloods drop from around the 27 mark to around 15.

My goal is to get to single figures which looks promising however my eyes do seem blurred which is alarming. How long until this should improve?
 
Hi @Benmyers,
Welcome to your new world and to this site.
If you are feeling shocked, or even slughtly overwhelmed that is expected.
But do know that long term prospects are good.
I have been on insulin for more than 50 years and my specialist tells all his new TID patients to ensure they have a good normal age retirement plan - the outlook is that good.
Your eyesight - most of us find that with blood sugar levels ( bsls) returning to near normal it takes several weeks for vision to return to normal. So we are told to avoid having eye tests and any glasses prescribed at this stage.
The reason for your eye troubles at present is that over prior ? months your bsls have been above normal and the brain adjusts vision when higher than normal blood sugars affect the lenses in your eyes. Then as bsls normalise on insulin the brain has to readjust your vision again..
Please avail yourself of information on the Home page under Type 1 diabetes and Living with Diabetics, including what diet options there are. And know that none of the diet options have been backed up by adequate research or what research has been done has failed to live up to expectations although one in particular is getting there!
No question you may ask is too simple, we have all been at the start of our own journey and need to find our way by asking directions at times. And some of us have made enough mistakes to help everyone else to avoid them!
Also use the QuestionBox right upper part on the Home page or Forum page to look up 'honermoon phase' as that term will be bandied about by others here and by one or more of your health team in the next while.
And 'hypoglycaemia' ( hypo- = low, -gly- = glucose, -aemia = in the blood, or hypo as we call it is another important thing to know about and no doubt you will likely have received info on that already.
I shall keave it there as too much info is as bad sometimes as too little.
Best Wishes and keep asking questions
 
Hi @Benmyers and welcome to the forum. Did the hospital do any other tests on you? Did they tell you that you are Type 1 diabetic?
 

Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum @Benmyers

Stick around there’s lots of friendly advice/support here, get a copy of ‘think like a pancreas’ which is very useful reading for increasing your knowledge.
 
Welcome to the T1 club @Benmyers
I remember being diagnosed at a similar age to you and remember it is a shock.
However, the best piece of advice I was given at the time was "diabetes should not stop you doing what you want".
I have tested that philosophy a lot over the years and, apart from a bit of extra planning, I haven't found anything that diabetes stopped me from doing.
When I think diabetes may be getting in the way, I realise a guy with type 1 diabetes scored multiple tries in the last six nations rugby, a woman with type 1 diabetes won an Oscar, and another woman with type 1 diabetes has tried to lead the country.

A few tips...
- read everything you can and be prepared for information overload.
- remember there are different types of diabetes. 90 to 95% of people with diabetes have type 2. This is a very different condition to type 1 so most of the time diabetes is mentioned, it is about type 2.
- if you have any questions, ask ... there is a saying on the forum, "there is no such thing as a stupid question" (another philosophy I have tested a few times).
- if you update your profile, you will not be asked "tell us about yourself. For example, what type of diabetes do you have?" every time you pose a question.
- diabetes is unpredictable; the trick is to manage it not control it. Think of yourself as a manager in an office rather than a sergeant major in the army.
 
It is early days and much to learn and experience.
I would counsel small steps and commonsense about future dreams and accomplishments.
There is a difference between what things you may want to do vs things
you may need to do with or despite of your diagnosis in future.
Each future decision about what you may attempt to achieve and do has, for commonsense, safety and consideration-of-others reasons to be carefully considered.
Not talking about wrapping oneself in cotton wool, just about one's integrity, sense of proportion and wisdom.
 
Just from casual observation of the forum messages - when you are going to leave home the first thing to do is check that you have the correct insulin kit to take, and the last thing you do before you leave is check that you have your insulin kit in your bag and the bag in the car if that is relevant.
I can offer no other advice, except that you file it away to ensure a future which lacks a certain element of panic stricken realisation.
 
@kitedoc I think we need to bear in mind different personalities and motivation when you "counsel small steps and commonsense about future dreams and accomplishments".
When I was first diagnosed, I had just signed up for a 26 mile overnight walk. If I was told I could not do this, my relationship with diabetes would not have started well.
Instead, I was given some guidelines, advised to practise as much as possible to see the impact long distance walks would have on my BG and go for it. So less than 2 months later, I had no sleep and walked 28 miles with two packets of dextrose in one pocket and a BG meter in the other (and insulin somewhere else).
This was the start of some of my adventures with type 1. At no time was my life or anyone else's at risk as I camped at over 4,000m, clambered through a waterfall in the pouring rain on Christmas day, sky dived, sailed through a force 8 gale and more.
My career has not been held back in any way as I travel frequently for business and sometimes at very short notice for short periods of time such as a day trip to Seattle at less than 24 hours notice.

We are all different. The OP may have no desire to cycle through Jordan or become a tree surgeon but if he does, I really hope he finds a way to do so with type 1 diabetes whilst considering safety and consideration of others. I have yet to find anything which my type 1 and I cannot do together ... and we continue to strive for new adventures together.
 
Hi @helesaramay, your drive and enthusiasm are trult inspirational.
However over a personal time with diabetes and a professional one seeing many, many people i have seen disasters occur to fellow diabetics, sometimes despite the best preparation, sometimes because of poor planning or lack of judgement plus seen the effect on and risks taken by rescue teams.
I have seen a good friend and diabetic drown because of misadventure and place others at risk.
I have also seen others excel and achieve much.
My take on things has evolved through time and that is why i question people's motivation at times. Personañ kudos or glory is all very well but to take an example, hiw many people have died on Everest so far this year and why?
What waste of life, money, time, anguish and risk to others!
There will always be the element of luck in any adventure, whether one has a health condition or not and many of us strive to do what we want to do, rather than what we need to do.
That may seem a pedantic distinction but it is steeped in philosophy and religion, e,g Buddhism as a central tenet.
It is about wisdom, commonsense as overarching principles.
But each to his/her own.
 
@kitedoc - I agree wholeheartedly with @Knikki
There are many things which may stop us doing what we want but diabetes alone is not one of them.
Someone with type 1 diabetes who is well prepared doing the Marathon des Sable (like Roddy Riddle) is no more at risk than someone without diabetes who is well prepared doing the same thing. Preparation may be different but if you are prepared for what you want to do in life, you can do it.
I am sorry to read about your good friend but I would not want to put off the OP from achieving his dreams because he has type 1 diabetes. At 31, he has many years to continue to excel and achieve much.

I strongly believe a positive attitude is incredibly important for managing diabetes. For this reason, I am very keen to advocate a full life with the condition.
 
Hi @helensaramay, each is entitled to his/her opinion, but we also need to careful of generalisations.
There are some occupations still not open to TIDs, but orhers that with technology and careful evaluation have become so.
Most things are becoming possible but to all.,,
The idea of wants vs needs will always be debated but i am also concerned that some diabetics will feel disempowered because they cannot achieve what others have, and unreal expectations thus has negative worth sometimes, not positive.
Not saying the failure to achieve something is necessarily because their doctor or whoever said no, but because physical or mental attributes made it too dangerous or injury prevented it.
ALso a motivation can have social context related to advertising and abnormal cultural context.
E.g. Doing something for a dare or for fame, in and of itself.
We can easily be beguiled by racing of any sort but i take my hat off to Kniki Lauda when after a serious crash and injury he chose to not compete in a Formula One race in the mid 70s because of wet weather. - a race that was not allowed by the rules unless the drivers agreed to race.
Miraculously no one was seriously hurt but Lauder could not then overtake the points leader James Hunt in that season.
But sadly for Hunt he died at the age of ? 38 from heart disease, Launder survives.
Was Hunt's victory and well known thirst for fame and the good life worth it?
I just ask for commonsense and wisdom to prevail and for people to work out what the real motivation is for doing something and making sure they are not being selfish.
We can assert as long as you avoid arrogance, achieve as long as it is not at another's expense.
 
@kitedoc Feel free to start a new thread or PM me as this is an interesting debate but as we are de-railing this thread for someone newly diagnosed, I will back out from this thread now.
 
Thank you all for your words of wisdom.
Myself, I have a get up and go attitude, diabetes is just a minor inconvenience but not something that will hold me back.

The only thing I am struggling with is my eyes at present being blurry but after reading through the forum is normal.
I've had to pick up some reading glasses which seem to do a better job than my prescription glasses for now.
 
Yeah totally normal, and those reading specs are exactly the right move. You've really got this T2 thing down already!
 
JoKalsbeek said:
Yeah totally normal, and those reading specs are exactly the right move. You've really got this T2 thing down already!
Click to expand...
T1 lol. I do however have a close friend who is T2 who is helping me along the way though if we eat together that can be a nightmare as he has to have low carbs where I've been advised to have between 70-80g per meal due to my job and lifestyle.

 
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