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Elaine karen · Dec 16, 2020

Hello everyone I'm a new member joined today. Any help would be really appreciated feel very overwhelmed at the moment. I was told 6 months ago by my GPS nurse I was type 2. Was on metformin for month then put on gliclazide. After having 4 blood tests done in 6 months with each hbc1 coming back higher everytime, and me begging to see a endocrinologist, I finally see him beginning of november. My hbc1 was 104 I've lost 5 stone since may. I was sobbing, dr couldnt believe I'd not been admitted to hosp. In the meantime I cut carbs right down drink lots to keep kidneys flushed and eat healthy. But I now worry about eating and dietician involved now. I'm depressed, head all over the place with worry. I'm coping with the injections and testing, and dr see me last week and looked at sugar readings and said he was pleased, even though sometimes it's been 10 or 12.5 after I've eaten 2 hours later. Jus want to ask is it normal to be like this.

JoKalsbeek · Dec 16, 2020

Elaine karen said:
Hello everyone I'm a new member joined today. Any help would be really appreciated feel very overwhelmed at the moment. I was told 6 months ago by my GPS nurse I was type 2. Was on metformin for month then put on gliclazide. After having 4 blood tests done in 6 months with each hbc1 coming back higher everytime, and me begging to see a endocrinologist, I finally see him beginning of november. My hbc1 was 104 I've lost 5 stone since may. I was sobbing, dr couldnt believe I'd not been admitted to hosp. In the meantime I cut carbs right down drink lots to keep kidneys flushed and eat healthy. But I now worry about eating and dietician involved now. I'm depressed, head all over the place with worry. I'm coping with the injections and testing, and dr see me last week and looked at sugar readings and said he was pleased, even though sometimes it's been 10 or 12.5 after I've eaten 2 hours later. Jus want to ask is it normal to be like this.

Can you tell us exactly what you eat and drink in an average day? Some people think they're low carbing when they're not, or they have other medication that up blood sugars like statins or steroids for other conditions. If you're truly very low carb, and we can't find any pitfalls, it is a possibility, seeing you're dropping weight while still seeing relatively high numbers, that you're not a T2, but a T1 variant. T1/LADA/Mody are usually misdiagnosed as T2 because even docs assume it's just kids that get that kind of diabetes... They don't test for it in adults from the get-go as the tests are expensive. They only do 'em when there's obvious discrepancies. If you see your endo, ask for C-peptide and GAD tests to rule out, or in, as the case may be, a different type of diabetes. It's important to know what type you are for you to get the right treatment.

Hugs,
Jo

Elaine karen · Dec 16, 2020

JoKalsbeek said:
Can you tell us exactly what you eat and drink in an average day? Some people think they're low carbing when they're not, or they have other medication that up blood sugars like statins or steroids for other conditions. If you're truly very low carb, and we can't find any pitfalls, it is a possibility, seeing you're dropping weight while still seeing relatively high numbers, that you're not a T2, but a T1 variant. T1/LADA/Mody are usually misdiagnosed as T2 because even docs assume it's just kids that get that kind of diabetes... They don't test for it in adults from the get-go as the tests are expensive. They only do 'em when there's obvious discrepancies. If you see your endo, ask for C-peptide and GAD tests to rule out, or in, as the case may be, a different type of diabetes. It's important to know what type you are for you to get the right treatment.

Hugs,
Jo

I'm up at 5.30 in the morning for work so I hav a small water coffee with milk. Then I have insulin at 8 and have rolled oats with milk, strawberrys chia seeds and crushed nuts. At 10.30 I have a piece if fruit and a skinny cappucino. Lunch time wholemeal bread sandwich , low fat yoghurt or piece if fruit. 3 oclock light snack and dinner at 6 oclock. Because I have 2 gallstones which at the moment dont play me up I have to watch fats. So dietician has told me to have 3 meals at 50g and 2 snacks at 15g. I drink water as well during the day. Dietician said I should be having for my height and weight 2800ml of fluid including tea or coffee. Endocrinologist had certain blood test done to see what type diabetes I am, and nurse phoned last monday and said its come back type 1. So dont know name of test. The endricrinologist has put me on atorvorstatins last week. So I'm an anxious person anyway so he said he wants to get me used to injecting and then they will put me on maybe 2 different insulin and it will be more controlled. Nurse did explain but coukdnt take it all in. Feel like my heads overloaded.

DCUKMod · Dec 16, 2020

Elaine karen said:
Hello everyone I'm a new member joined today. Any help would be really appreciated feel very overwhelmed at the moment. I was told 6 months ago by my GPS nurse I was type 2. Was on metformin for month then put on gliclazide. After having 4 blood tests done in 6 months with each hbc1 coming back higher everytime, and me begging to see a endocrinologist, I finally see him beginning of november. My hbc1 was 104 I've lost 5 stone since may. I was sobbing, dr couldnt believe I'd not been admitted to hosp. In the meantime I cut carbs right down drink lots to keep kidneys flushed and eat healthy. But I now worry about eating and dietician involved now. I'm depressed, head all over the place with worry. I'm coping with the injections and testing, and dr see me last week and looked at sugar readings and said he was pleased, even though sometimes it's been 10 or 12.5 after I've eaten 2 hours later. Jus want to ask is it normal to be like this.

Elaine - I know you mention being diagnosed T2 6 months ago. I'm assuming ( so I could be very wrong) the injections you are now having are self-administered insulin?

Has your Endo looked into whether you might actually be Type 1?

Antje77 · Dec 16, 2020

Elaine karen said:
I'm coping with the injections and testing, and dr see me last week and looked at sugar readings and said he was pleased, even though sometimes it's been 10 or 12.5 after I've eaten 2 hours later. Jus want to ask is it normal to be like this.

Hi @Elaine karen, and welcome to the forum!

Do I understand correctly that the endocrinologist has re-diagnosed you with type 1 and you're now on insulin?
Being new at insulin, it's completely normal to see numbers like that after eating! It takes time to find exactly the right dose.

With your hba1c of 104 you likely had your average blood sugars at around 16, so seeing after meal numbers of 10 or 12 is a great improvement!

Elaine karen · Dec 16, 2020

Antje77 said:
Hi @Elaine karen, and welcome to the forum!

Do I understand correctly that the endocrinologist has re-diagnosed you with type 1 and you're now on insulin?
Being new at insulin, it's completely normal to see numbers like that after eating! It takes time to find exactly the right dose.

With your hba1c of 104 you likely had your average blood sugars at around 16, so seeing after meal numbers of 10 or 12 is a great improvement!

Yes I've been on insulin 5 weeks and you put my mind at rest a bit now. My sugars range from 6 going upto 12 very rarely it gets to 12 that's normally if I get brave and have a thin slice of fruit cake what dietician said i can have. Thanks for that trying to get used to using this forum

Antje77 · Dec 16, 2020

Elaine karen said:
Yes I've been on insulin 5 weeks and you put my mind at rest a bit now. My sugars range from 6 going upto 12 very rarely it gets to 12 that's normally if I get brave and have a thin slice of fruit cake what dietician said i can have. Thanks for that trying to get used to using this forum

Ranging between 6 and 10 with an occasional 12 within 5 weeks of starting insulin is pretty much perfect!

It would help avoiding confusion if you filled out your profile to say you're type 1, and add the insulins you are on as well.
Many of our members are type 2 and manage their diabetes with diet or tablets, and the answers to some questions are completely different depending on medication and type of diabetes.

Are you on 2 different insulins? And do you have set doses or are you counting the carbs in your food and adjusting your doses already?
On insulin, be careful when changing your eating pattern, don't ditch the carbs before you know how to adjust your insulin!

Elaine karen · Dec 16, 2020

Antje77 said:
Ranging between 6 and 10 with an occasional 12 within 5 weeks of starting insulin is pretty much perfect!

It would help avoiding confusion if you filled out your profile to say you're type 1, and add the insulins you are on as well.
Many of our members are type 2 and manage their diabetes with diet or tablets, and the answers to some questions are completely different depending on medication and type of diabetes.

Are you on 2 different insulins? And do you have set doses or are you counting the carbs in your food and adjusting your doses already?
On insulin, be careful when changing your eating pattern, don't ditch the carbs before you know how to adjust your insulin!

I'm on novomix I have to have 10 units in the morning and at the beginning they advised me to have 8 on the evening, but levels were dropping really low so went down to 6 and now down to 3 and the nurse told me to leave it like that. Its just the eating side of it, where I was told at the beginning to cut carbs right down to nearly nothing and now dietician has said I've got to have carbs, it's like omg what should I do. And also dietician said my stomach has prob shrunk so got to not overload myself. Thanks for advice

EllieM · Dec 16, 2020

Well, the good news is that T1 and T2 are very different diseases, albeit they both have the same symptoms (high blood sugar).

As a T2 you are carb intolerant, and generally the more carbs you take the worse it gets, while your body vainly produces more and more insulin to try to process them. So T2s get advised to avoid carbs.

As a T1 you are not carb intolerant, it is just that your pancreas has been damaged by an autoimmune reaction and gradually stops being able to produce insulin, which you have to inject. The good news about this is that in the long term you will have much more freedom about what you eat, as you're not carb intolerant, you just have to learn how to adjust your insulin for those carbs.

It sounds like you've done very well so far as a new T1. There will be set backs (at the moment you are probably still producing some insulin which can make it difficult to calculate your doses) but in the long run you will be able to learn how to manage your insulin so that you can eat what you want when you want (though some of us find it easier to go low carb, it really isn't a necessity).

Good luck.

Elaine karen · Dec 17, 2020

EllieM said:
Well, the good news is that T1 and T2 are very different diseases, albeit they both have the same symptoms (high blood sugar).

As a T2 you are carb intolerant, and generally the more carbs you take the worse it gets, while your body vainly produces more and more insulin to try to process them. So T2s get advised to avoid carbs.

As a T1 you are not carb intolerant, it is just that your pancreas has been damaged by an autoimmune reaction and gradually stops being able to produce insulin, which you have to inject. The good news about this is that in the long term you will have much more freedom about what you eat, as you're not carb intolerant, you just have to learn how to adjust your insulin for those carbs.

It sounds like you've done very well so far as a new T1. There will be set backs (at the moment you are probably still producing some insulin which can make it difficult to calculate your doses) but in the long run you will be able to learn how to manage your insulin so that you can eat what you want when you want (though some of us find it easier to go low carb, it really isn't a necessity).

Good luck.

Thank you

JoKalsbeek · Dec 18, 2020

Elaine karen said:
I'm up at 5.30 in the morning for work so I hav a small water coffee with milk. Then I have insulin at 8 and have rolled oats with milk, strawberrys chia seeds and crushed nuts. At 10.30 I have a piece if fruit and a skinny cappucino. Lunch time wholemeal bread sandwich , low fat yoghurt or piece if fruit. 3 oclock light snack and dinner at 6 oclock. Because I have 2 gallstones which at the moment dont play me up I have to watch fats. So dietician has told me to have 3 meals at 50g and 2 snacks at 15g. I drink water as well during the day. Dietician said I should be having for my height and weight 2800ml of fluid including tea or coffee. Endocrinologist had certain blood test done to see what type diabetes I am, and nurse phoned last monday and said its come back type 1. So dont know name of test. The endricrinologist has put me on atorvorstatins last week. So I'm an anxious person anyway so he said he wants to get me used to injecting and then they will put me on maybe 2 different insulin and it will be more controlled. Nurse did explain but coukdnt take it all in. Feel like my heads overloaded.

As others stated, treatment for T2 is completely different from T1. Which you're experiencing already, from the sound of it. While I can't help, as the only insulin I ever handled was for my diabetic cat, I can tell you this: It does get easier. It's not that insulin is hard: It's being diagnosed that is. You get to be in shock for a while and feel overwhelmed, while grieving over what you thought your life was going to be like, but it isn't. It's an adjustment, and it makes it all too much to take in. So please, give yourself some time, and take it slow. Eventually you'll learn to adjust basal and bolus units, and all the abracadabra around T1.... But it will come, and in time it'll become second nature. Take it slow, don't try to move mountains from the get-go.

You're going to be okay.
Hugs,
Jo

Elaine karen · Dec 20, 2020

Thank you I have good days and bad days. Its accepting it and the depression is quite bad at the moment. And now my area has gone into tier 4 I'm so anxious about getting covid. And to add to more stress I'm still finding it hard to eat without worrying. Dietician is involved and tries to reassure me I'm doing everything right, but I'm even scared to eat 1 biscuit a week, and when I do I sit worrying about sugar I'm putting in me, even though it's a digestive or rich tea what I've been advised to eat. I really hope it does feel better soon. I'm still trying to fathom out this forum so bare with me. Thank you

JoKalsbeek · Dec 21, 2020

Elaine karen said:
Thank you I have good days and bad days. Its accepting it and the depression is quite bad at the moment. And now my area has gone into tier 4 I'm so anxious about getting covid. And to add to more stress I'm still finding it hard to eat without worrying. Dietician is involved and tries to reassure me I'm doing everything right, but I'm even scared to eat 1 biscuit a week, and when I do I sit worrying about sugar I'm putting in me, even though it's a digestive or rich tea what I've been advised to eat. I really hope it does feel better soon. I'm still trying to fathom out this forum so bare with me. Thank you

Biscuits should be comfort food. If they don't bring you comfort, just worry and higher blood sugars, leave them alone. Or make cookies that are low carb. There's lots of keto cookies, keto fat bombs etc out there that you can make, which could function as a true treat alongside a cup of tea. Or just keep nice cookies around for hypo-treatment. (Back when I was on gliclazide, I'd go for oreo's myself, though they might be a bit slow in the uptake).

It takes time. Your life is changing, there's adjustments to make, and all of that's hard enough without Covid haunting our lives. Adding that consideration in over these very, very strange holidays... Depression right now is absolutely normal, just keep in mind you will get a handle on all this, it will get less overwhelming, and it's not all as hopeless as it seems. Just be sensible about things to keep yourself safe Covid-wise, which is the most any of us can do, and trust that you can and will get the hang of this diabetes thing. Because you will. You're already in the process.

It gets better, I promise.
Jo

Elaine karen · Dec 26, 2020

Can I just ask what pancreatis is please. I have 2 gallstones which I never knew I had until I had a CT scan. Have never had no symptoms that I had them. Then couple weeks ago I ate fish and chips, jus handful of chips and took the fish out the batter. Then in the night got pain in my tummy and went to the loo and it subsided, then happened again about 3 weeks later with fish n chips again. So thought I'm not eating that no more. Then 2 days ago I made lasagne 3 hours later pain in belly cum on I was awake till next morning with it. Rang 111 told me it was a case for my GP to look into. GP phoned me in morning sent me for blood test, I'm confused because he said about pancreatis but didnt explain what it is. But then hes checking for inflammation of gallbladder, so are thy connected. Many thanks

EllieM · Dec 26, 2020

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. and one type can be caused by gallstones blocking a duct from the pancreas (according to Dr google). Pancreatitis can also cause diabetes, so I've no idea whether he's also looking into that as a possible cause for your diabetes (type T3c or diabetes caused by damage to the pancreas often get treated as T1s). But I'm guessing that at this point he's investigating multiple possible causes for your pain ( eg gall bladder issues) and he'll get back to you once he'sgot some answers from your blood tests.

Hopefully you're managing to put some of that weight you lost back on over Christmas? I'm sorry you're having such a stressful time.

Good luck.

Resurgam · Dec 27, 2020

Watch out for the Atorvastatin affecting your memory - I took it for just 5 weeks and had quite a severe reaction to it - not only did I become very depressed I became absent minded - could not find the car in the car park, and my memory failed. I spent some years relearning a lot of things, and being relieved when memories returned. I think that some people take it with no problems, but it was pretty catastrophic for me.

becca59 · Dec 27, 2020

It sounds to me with your anxiety levels high, worrying about eating a biscuit, you should be put onto carb counting with appropriate insulin’s as soon as possible. You are a mature adult and will be able to cope with it fine. I personally went straight onto carb counting within hours of diagnosis. I felt very much in control of my condition and it’s management.

Elaine karen · Dec 27, 2020

becca59 said:
It sounds to me with your anxiety levels high, worrying about eating a biscuit, you should be put onto carb counting with appropriate insulin’s as soon as possible. You are a mature adult and will be able to cope with it fine. I personally went straight onto carb counting within hours of diagnosis. I felt very much in control of my condition and it’s management.

My dietician told me 50g 3 times a day and 2 15g snacks, but because I've lost weight and dr wants me to put a bit back on it's hard because of gallstones. But I do watch my carbs I look at the carb n cal book.

Elaine karen · Feb 19, 2021

Hello everyone I've not long been diagnosed and still trying to work this forum out, so bare with me. I have posted something earlier but cant find it now

. Can I just ask are we now classed as extremely vulnerable as I work full time at the moment. I've seen something on google tonight as well, if so do we phone our GP for a letter or wait to hear. And is it illegal to work if yr advised to shield. Many thanks

Andydragon · Feb 19, 2021

Your post and answers are here: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/covid.179930/

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