new type 1 and hungry

[catapillar]

Hello,

I have lost half a stone since christmas and been mildly exhausted, when i googled these symptoms the resulsts were too scary so i decided to ignore it. However, last week when I was sat on the loo (its where i do all my best thinking) having a massive wee I thought hmmm diabetes. So I googled unintentional weight loss + diabetes and I could tick off all if the symptoms. To indulge my hypochondria i tested my sugars with my nans monitor - it was 25. This led to an exciting trip to A&E on saturday where they gave me 40 units of act rapid and sent me home to be referred to the diabetes clinic.

I was officially diagnosed as type 1 on tuesday and am on three novorapid and 1 lantus injections per day - my levels are going down, still too high and a bit all over the shop. I had a fake hypo on wednesday - dropped from 20 to 9 - and that was horrible (couldn't coordinate enough to open the shiny new packet of dextrose sweets) so I'm a bit scared of having a real one. I havent really been given any advice on diet, other than to stay away from chocolate and cakes. I'm starving (possibly because im bored, cant wait to go back to work) and confused about what i'm supposed to be eating/avoiding.

I've no idea when I will be getting to see the dietician, so does anyone have any advice on what I should be aiming for in the meantime?

My usual diet is:

6am - breakfast of branflakes, tea and applejuice. I have now scrapped the juice, and gone for wheatabix instead ofbranflakes on the basis they had less sugar.
1pm lunch -large baked potatoe with chilli or a thick vegatable soup with grainary roll
6pm snack - tea and biscuits. Well no more biscuits for me, maybe a rich tea?
7.30pm dinner - meat & two veg & potatoes balanced type meal
8-10pm - grazing on anything made by cadburys or mr kipling - yes i have stopped this too, maybe allowed a slice of wholegrain toast with peanutbutter?

Should I be cutting out carbs completely? Any ideas would be great, as i feel a bit in the dark atm.

Thanks a lot for reading!

 

[Clairslloyd]

Welcome.

Not really sure I can help but I am also starving all the time but am t2. Have been recommended to reduced carbs and sugar but not sure in your case. I now have a selection of seeds and nuts to use (low salt as got high cholesterol). Hope someone with more experience will come along soon to give you better advice

 

[sugarless sue]

Welcome to the Forum,

Once your Bg levels come down you will not get 'false ' hypos but it is good to be aware of the hypos symptoms so that you know when a hypo is starting. This is called hypo awareness and gives you warning so you can correct it before it becomes a problem.

Carbohydrate is the main thing to check up on in your diet, you don't have to eat NO carbs, just enough so that the dose of Insulin you use covers the carbs and keeps your blood sugar at a good level.

Ask the Nurse/Doctor about DAFNE courses in your area, this will teach you all about carb counting and adjusting your Insulin according to the amount of carbs you are eating.

Here is the basic advice Ken and I give to new Diabetics. As a new Insulin user you should be very careful when reducing the amount of carbs you eat as this can make you go hypo. You are possibly also in the 'Honeymoon' period where your Pancreas is still producing some of your own Insulin so every change you make must be carefully watched and tested till you get the hang of matching foods to your Insulin then Insulin to your foods.

I hope that an experienced type 1 will answer you when they read your post.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.

 

[lee39]

Hi im sry but im not a experienced type1 i was diagnosed this week all i can say is your not alone i feel exactly the same way but im sure in time we will both be alot more knowledgable and have things in control.i wish you all the best and good luck.

lee

 

[catapillar]

Thanks for the replies! I will definitely look into a DAFNE course. Sounds v useful. In the meantime I will continue to look baffled by nutrician lables and stab my poor fingers at regular intervals!

Thanks Lee - can't wait till it all make sense to me so I can get back to normal. Or new kind of normal anyway, I'm not in denial, honest!

 

[SophiaW]

Once you start getting insulin into your body it's normal to feel very hungry in the first few weeks. Don't worry about that, you appetite will gradually return to normal again. Your body is trying to refuel and replace all that weight you lost.

It sounds like you're on a basal bolus regime (lantus and novorapid). You should be able to eat a sensible balanced diet which can include carbohydrates and sugar, but keep the amount of sugar you eat sensible. So you can still have the odd biscuit, piece of cake or chocolate. But it's best to keep it as part of a main meal so that the sugar is diluted with the rest of your meal. Ask your diabetes team to send you on a course how to carbohydrate count, someone already meantioned DAFNE. Once you can calculate the carbohydrates in each meal you can adjust the amount of insulin to cover those carbohydrates.

My other advice would be to get yourself a good book about Type 1 and learn as much as you can about it. Your best tool to manage your diabetes well is knowledge. There's a lot to learn and it might seem a little daunting at first but it's well worth putting in the effort.

 

[lee39]

hi sophia thx 4 info i am type1 on 70/30 mix just gone up 2 22dose in morning and 24 teatime i know im only on day5 but my bs is averaging 15 im not eating anything like as much as before diagnosis they told me to eat pots/rice/pasta/bread this seems to the opposite 2 what alot of people say on forums.do you think i have been told this cause i lost about 1stone in 2 weeks,and they will adjust diet soon.
thanks again
lee

 

[SophiaW]

hi sophia thx 4 info i am type1 on 70/30 mix just gone up 2 22dose in morning and 24 teatime i know im only on day5 but my bs is averaging 15 im not eating anything like as much as before diagnosis they told me to eat pots/rice/pasta/bread this seems to the opposite 2 what alot of people say on forums.do you think i have been told this cause i lost about 1stone in 2 weeks,and they will adjust diet soon.
thanks again
lee

Hi Lee, sorry I forgot that I posted here and only just seen your post now.

As a type 1 you can eat carbs because your insulin will cover the carbohydrates that you are eating. Try to keep the amount of carbs at each meal consistent i.e. avoid having a high carb dinner one day and then a carb free dinner the next. With your mixed insulin you're injecting a set amount each day so you need to keep the carb content of your meals each day to a fairly consistent amount too.

Some type 1's are on a basal/bolus injecting regime which gives more flexibility and you can eat varying amounts of carbs because you inject the amount of insulin accordingly. If you find the mixed insulin too restricting you could speak to your diabetes team about a basal/bolus regime. But it does mean more injections each day and having to count the carbs in each meal i.e. more effort but more flexibility too.

People at the forum often talk about low carbing but often they are Type 2's who are trying to control their blood glucose levels through diet rather than with insulin. Although you can eat carbs, keep it in moderation as even although you can inject insulin to cover your carb intake it can be difficult for injected insulin to cover a very large amount of carbs. Also, try to keep with slow acting carbs (whole grains, rice etc) as opposed to fast acting carbs (sugary foods). Some Type 1's prefer a lower carb diet as it gives them better control but it's not necessary for everyone.

Your reading of 15 mmol/L is quite high still. It could be that your team are trying to bring your blood glucose levels down slowly to avoid too many hypos. But speak to them about the readings and they can adjust your insulin if necessary to get you into better numbers.

 

[cugila]

hi sophia thx 4 info i am type1 on 70/30 mix just gone up 2 22dose in morning and 24 teatime i know im only on day5 but my bs is averaging 15 im not eating anything like as much as before diagnosis they told me to eat pots/rice/pasta/bread this seems to the opposite 2 what alot of people say on forums.do you think i have been told this cause i lost about 1stone in 2 weeks,and they will adjust diet soon.
thanks again
lee

If you are trying to gain weight then more calories is what you want not more carbs. The carbs will increase your Bg levels, more calories don't.

Whilst you are a Type 1 and you can cover what you eat with Insulin if you wish, there are many Type 1's on the Forum and elsewhere who actually have reduced the carb intake and in doing so have also been able to reduce the Insulin required. That has to be a good thing.

I have a friend who is a Type 1 who was doing what the GP said.....eat plenty of carbs, progressively got worse because his Bg levels were way too high most of the time. The GP was also advising on his Insulin dose as well....... I got this man to reduce all the carbs in his diet and suddenly he has become a well controlled Type 1 Diabetic and reckons he has never felt better in over 50 years a T1 !

I certainly wouldn't recommend any Diabetic of whatever type to eat too many carbs but as usual it is your choice .

More carbs means more Insulin, less carbs means less Insulin...that isn't Low Carbing !

 

[lee39]

thx 4 advice you make alot of sense.
cheers
lee

 

[Snodger]

sorry to slightly hijack this thread (hi Lee, hi catapillar, welcome to the forum and don't worry, diabetes gets less scary and less bewildering over time)... but I was intrigued by this:

, there are many Type 1's on the Forum and elsewhere who actually have reduced the carb intake and in doing so have also been able to reduce the Insulin required. That has to be a good thing.

why do you say it's good to reduce the amount of insulin required? I don't understand. When my pancreas was working, my body produced insulin - sometimes lots, sometimes a little. Now I'm type 1 and I inject insulin - sometimes lots, sometimes a little. Surely it's not 'better' to be able to use less insulin, it's just different. If you need to put on weight after losing a lot (which many Type 1s have to do) then a balanced diet will include more carbs as well as more fat and protein. And if you are eating more carbs you'll need more insulin; it's a question of the appropriate amount, surely? Unless you mean, by using less insulin it costs the NHS less? That's the only reason I can think of.

I'm not being disrespectful to those who choose to eat less carbohydrate, whatever works for you works for you and more power to your elbow. I just don't see that it's a question of 'good' or 'bad' to use particular amounts of insulin, as long as you are getting your blood sugar to healthy levels.

 

[cugila]

Snodger.
Surely anybody on medication should aim to try and reduce any medication if at all possible ? That has to be better than just keep on pumping drugs into yourself all the time, at ever increasing amounts. Of course a T1 has no choice but to use Insulin, the amount is variable, but should be kept to a minimum don't you think ?

If by simply reducing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet allows you to do that.......I can't see why anybody would question that method. It's a valid method of achieving good Bg control and improving the HbA1c. There are as I stated many T1's who use that method without any problem whatsoever. One of the reasons why carb counting is a good idea is not just to cover the foods but also to allow better control and a better diet. I would always recommend that some carbs are eaten......just not as many as some of the dieticians or other HCP's would say you should eat.

The friend who is a T1 was using more and more Insulin because he had to cover the amount of carbs he was consuming, I persuaded him to lower the carb content and he has now halved the amount of Insulin required throughout the day. He feels better and I can see he is actually improving, but he is happy to have a couple less injections each day. There are many who have done the same.

If someone wishes to just eat the same amount of carbs as before diagnosis then they would have to cover that level of carbs with Insulin, possibly more and more Insulin. I wouldn't tell anybody to increase their medications unless of course it was medically necessary.

The more Insulin you use then the more likely it is that it could end up as stored fat, the more Insulin resistant you may get........that could lead to what is known as Double Diabetes where a T1 can become a Type 2 as well........

Everybody has a choice... :|

 

[noblehead]

And if you are eating more carbs you'll need more insulin; it's a question of the appropriate amount, surely?

Yes it certainly is and finding the correct ratio for each meal is more important than anything else.

Up until 2 years ago I was eating 200-250g of carbs a day but now eat between 100-130g , now one might expect my insulin usage to be half the previous amount on 250g of carbs... well not really but it has reduced by a third but in all truthfulness my insulin usage was never a issue as I never used a lot in first place. What I have found though is my hypo's are very few now and this in is due in part to injecting less insulin per meal and my ability to match my insulin correctly to the carbs I eat (thanks to DAFNE). So from my own perspective less insulin means fewer hypo's and less eratic bg which in turn makes life more pleasurable living with type 1.

Nigel

 

[Unbeliever]

I am sorry if this is not the right place to post this or if I am interrupting the ongoing discussion but I hope that my story will encourage others.

I am t2 diagnosed nearly 4 years ago. I have never been overweight , take regular exercise but unforunately suffer from retinopathy through my BG having been lowered oo rapidly/
Over the last few years my HBA1C has been rising slowly. My meter readings are generally quite low but i have unexplained "spikes"
I have had little help from my DBN who thinks insulin is the answer to everything but forunately my eye surgeon is more undersanding and arranged for me to atttend the diabetic clinic in the hospital. He id not want to waste his ime . I think he felt the same sense of frustration tas I did.
I have been told that my condition is mainly genetic but nothing seemed o work - no medication incresed exercise etc.

I have eaten low GI for a number of years and never ate a high carb diet but decided to reduce the carbs a few months ago. I was given sitaglyptin about 4 months ago but there was no appreciable difference in my readings. In desperation , knowing I had to reurn to the hospital today I decided o "go for it" and reduce my carbs as much as i possibly could. I knew hat if my results were not greatly improved this time I would be put on insulin and I felt hat this was not the right ime. if i could only find the proper balance it should not be necessary.
Reading he posts and advice on here encouraged me greatly. I was almost in despair when i found this forum.
Today I was given the good news that my HBA1C had gone down by 2 points, that everything else is fine and consequently I have been discharged from the hospital with their congratulations!
T I even had my medication reduced. The doctor commened hat I seemed o be the sort of person who liked to take control of my own health. I do not think I would have bothered to research and low-carb if it had not been for this forum. I just felt that I was powerless and although I knew he advice and reatment i had received was wrong for me I did no know what to do about it.
So THANK YOU! to everyone posting here, old and new and to the moderators . Please go on doing what you are doing . !

 

[cugila]

Well done Unbeliever.......

That's what this place is all about, help and support and great advice from 'real' Diabetic's.......

Bet you wish you had changed your user ID.......now you have been converted, you can believe !!!

ATB. :wink:

 

[Unbeliever]

Well done Unbeliever.......

That's what this place is all about, help and support and great advice from 'real' Diabetic's.......

Bet you wish you had changed your user ID.......now you have been converted, you can believe !!!

ATB. :wink:

Not at all! My scepticism about the advice I had received from the "professionals" led me here!

 

[phoenix]

Should I be cutting out carbs completely? Any ideas would be great, as i feel a bit in the dark atm.

And I expect you feel even more confused having read this thread. The amount of carbs or anything else you eat now you have T1 diabetes shouldn't be different to that eaten in a healthy diet by a person without diabetes If you eat too much you will gain weight. If you eat an unhealthy diet then there can be consequences, just as with someone without diabetes.

I don't 'get' the idea of keeping either carbs or insulin to the minimum, why? Insulin is as necessary to our bodies as oxygen, food or water. Insulin also has several functions over and above that of allowing us to use glucose efficiently. As someone earlier said out own bodies would normally supply what is needed. We could if we wished cut carbs and calories to the minimum for life and live with the restrictions that might impose but it is far from necessary and for most people not their idea of living life to the full. You certainly shouldn't be starving.
It is all about learning how to use insulin as effectively as possible.

Someone mentioned earlier the DAFNE course, DAFNE means dose adjustment for NORMAL eating; from everything I read it is worth trying to get onto course. In the meantime,there are also two excellent books either of which will help you understand insulin use.
Think Like a pancreas: Scheiner
Using Insulin: Walsh
If we live active lifestyles then we probably need more carbs to fuel that lifestyle. if our exercise comprises walking to the car, and lifting the TV remote then we don't need as many.
Here's an extreme example but I think makes the point. The swimmer below has T1, at one time he was eating 6000 calories of which 60% were carbs ... that's 900 carbs a day,and because of the type of exercise increased insulin to deal with it. He developed diabetes in 1999 and he won a total of 6 Olympic medals including 3 golds in the 2000 and 2004 olympics. He's now retired from swimming, but still competes in the odd triathlon.

 

[cugila]

phoenix I don't 'get' the idea of keeping either carbs or insulin to the minimum, why? Insulin is as necessary to our bodies as oxygen, food or water. Insulin also has several functions over and above that of allowing us to use glucose efficiently. As someone earlier said out own bodies would normally supply what is needed. We could if we wished cut carbs and calories to the minimum for life and live with the restrictions that might impose but it is far from necessary and for most people not their idea of living life to the full. You certainly shouldn't be starving.
It is all about learning how to use insulin as effectively as possible.

I agree you don't need to keep carbs and Insulin to a minimum but there is no reason why you cannot restrict them. As you say, eating too many carbs is not good you will probably gain weight, using too much Insulin can also cause weight gain despite the obvious health benefit's. A reduction of any medication has to be a good thing, nobody is advocating a T1 should stop using Insulin, just not use too much of it.

I don't see what's wrong with encouraging people to use less of both.......rather than the idea eat what you want and cover it with Insulin all the time. The T1's who do restrict the carbs and have reduced the Insulin aren't 'starving' and on the face of it have a varied and nutritious diet full of all the essential nutrients and certainly don't appear to have had any restrictions placed on them other than the usual management of the condition. Their view is obviously different to yours. Isn't that what life is all about, choices........

So, basically as far as I can see it's 'different strokes for different folks'.........that seems to be the message to the OP. The choice is theirs..........there is no right or wrong way, everybody is different. :|

 

[Snodger]

Snodger.
Surely anybody on medication should aim to try and reduce any medication if at all possible ? That has to be better than just keep on pumping drugs into yourself all the time, at ever increasing amounts. Of course a T1 has no choice but to use Insulin, the amount is variable, but should be kept to a minimum don't you think ?

No I don't agree, because artificial insulin is not a 'medication' like prozac or other drugs we don't have in our bodies. It's a (flawed) copy of a hormone that non-diabetics have anyway. Of course it's good to keep to a healthy weight, and it's vital to have an appropriate amount of insulin - which may well be a lower dose than you're used to. But it's not 'better' to be on less insulin any more than it is 'better' for a one-legged person to use a shorter false leg! it's just what's appropriate and fits your lifestyle.
We're probably going to have to agree to disagree on this one. :wink:

 

[CollieBoy]

Snodger,
like your one legged person's shorter false leg, it's a matter of balance :twisted:

You want to be balanced side to side :lol:
But neither like the stilted man :twisted: or Henri Toulouse-Lautrec IMHO :twisted: .
As a T2 I want to neither want to take in carbs to balance excess insulin and put on pounds :shock: or have too little insulin to cope with my BS. :shock:
Fergus