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New to this and I have type one

Re: New to this and I have type one

Hi carpsniper and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members which will help you to get started. Ask all the questions you need to and I'm sure there will be many and Type 1 members will be along to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Re: New to this and I have type one

Hi Carpsniper,

You will feel a lot better in yourself when you are running lower BGs. In the early stages of treatment my understanding is the initial aim is to stay below 11 and then go for the better control. Who is monitoring you at this stage? All types of diabetes are serious but the treatment is different. I have found that many GPs and also some DSN (Diabetes Specialist Nurse) although knowlegeable on Type II are lacking on Type I. At this stage you should be under a hospital team.

Regards,

Stephen
 
Thank for the info guys very helpful :) I'm an under a DSN at the moment only been on it for a week and 2 days but finding it very hard to keep BG down and I'm missing na craving my doc pepper and coke not a fan of all the sugar free **** but I'm slowly getting my head round it, and is it me or is sugar free stuff more expensive I don't think I can afford to be diabetic :S


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Re: New to this and I have type one

My local supermarket charges the same for standard and diet drinks. It also does a BOGOF offer on 2 litre bottles of Coke - all variaties. When out the draught versions are much cheaper. However I would recommend getting a pack of DiaStix (used to check for urine glucose) to check non-bottled drinks as some staff are quite careless/disinterested not realising yours is a medical request and not just calorie counting. Burger chains are the worse! :( I usually have a few chips and throw the bun when I visit one (rarely) as not 8) for diabetics!
 
Re: New to this and I have type one

When i was diagnosed i remember being offered sugar in my tea and coffee and being surprised when people accepted. One bloke told me he has sugar but only two brews a day, that wasn"t an option for me.

I went from 2 sugars and all sugary drinks (i too thought diet was for girls) to none and diet. Now, i can smell if there is sugar in a drink and cant stand normal coke (occasionaly an emergency sugar need), it feels like i am drinking sweet glue.

Persevere, Dr Pepper Zero is pretty good, if in doubt then add vodka ;-)

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Re: New to this and I have type one

What injections are you on? Are you on the twice daily mixed insulin?

It does get better, and it takes a while to get your head round it all - also, stick to your convictions, don't let others (non diabetics) tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing. For the first two years of my diagnosis I stuck to a really low carb diet and was pretty happy with it - I hated diet drinks but now I love finding drinks that are zero that weren't previously!

I agree with Mr Happy - regular drinks taste like sugary glue to me - I have reindulged in my biscuit addiction recently, but so long as you are careful and you count how many carbs you are eating you can match your insulin accordingly. Keep with it and don't get disheartened, it does get easier - I promise!
 
Arrrrwww thanks guys its slowly getting better I'm on 4 injections a day 3 nova rapid and 1 lantus befor bed does are 10,16,20 then 30 my BG are starting to come down. Before dinner today i tested 2.1 and felt fine?? Had my dinner then tested 1 hour after I was 6.9 so was well happy :)


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Re: New to this and I have type one

Hi Carpsniper,

Awwh, good to hear that your blood glucose levels are going back down to normal... perhaps a little too normal! I'd suggest watching out for those hypos as you can lose awareness of your hypos... 2.1 was very low not to be feeling anything :shifty:. Usually at around 3.8 I can feel strange, sometimes even at 4.0- 4.1. So watch out for those hypo signs!

Perhaps because you have never had a hypo in your life before your body isn't used to it?

Izzy.
 
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