New Type 1 Help with a question

[blackie2711]

Hi everyone! Firstly i must say a great web site - has been a great help pre and post diagnosis. Only diagnosed 2 weeks ago aged 34 no family history accept for dad type 2 later years.

Leading the roller coaster of BS but know this is normal.

What I was wondering if i decide to say have a cup of coffee and a snack between meals or if i was having a late meal something to tide me over - what could you suggest and to I need to inject for this? Im currently on Novorapid 8,8,10 and 12. Levemair 14 at night. Havent been adjusting yet to suit my food.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Blackie and welcome to the forum. Some type 1s will be along soon to answer your question.

In the meantime, since you are newly diagnosed, here is some information about diabetes put together by our friends Sue and Ken our former monitors. I think you will find some useful things in here.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, 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.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

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!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

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

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......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 at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. 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.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[LittleSue]

Hi Blackie

Sorry you've had reason to join us, but welcome.

Coffee (caffeine) may raise your blood sugar slightly, or it may not. Different studies have shown different results. But everyone's different anyway, you've probably realised it'll take time to find out how different things affect you.

For snacks, its probably best to eat regular amounts at regular times in the first few weeks, so eat snacks regularly (or not) according to what you intend to do most days. You can be more flexible later when you've basically got your doses sorted out. For a snack to keep you going before a late meal, probably something of about 10-15 carbs unless you know you're prone to signficant hypos at that time. Again, something easy to 'count' is better for now than something you've never had before and don't know how to estimate the carbs for. Snacks and indeed bigger meals when you want them will be easier once you know how much Novorapid you need for every 10 carbs.

Are you carb counting yet? This is essential if you're going to adjust your dose to your meals rather than following a fixed regime.

If they offer you a DAFNE course or similar, say yes. This'll probably not be til a year after diagnosis, but it makes things much more flexible as well as giving you a good "lump sum" of education. There's usually a long waiting list too.

 

[SophiaW]

Most important, learn to carb count and with the help of your nurse find out what your insulin to carb ratios are for different times of the day. You then inject the amount of insulin needed for the amount of carbohydrate you're eating. With snacking inbetween meals, you can either have a carb snack and inject the right amount of insulin for the number of carbs that snack contains. Or you can opt for low carb or carb free snacks which may not have much effect on your blood sugars, these types of snacks usually don't need insulin injected for. I highly recommend buying a book called Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults: How to Become an Expert on Your Own Diabetes and learning as much about diabetes as you can. Knowledge is your most powerful tool in managing your diabetes well.

 

[AndyS]

Hi blackie,

As has been said, welcome and sorry you have ended up joining our ranks.
As per usual all excelent advice, try and be a little rigid at the moment until you get to grips with what a known amount of carb does to your bloods, what a known amount of insulin does etc.

It is not a quite process to get to grips with it but you will get there if you are patient and work at it. It will just become part of life and not really limiting. I too can strongly recomend DAFNE, if they haven't mentioned it yet you should ask about getting on the waiting list as soon as possible. It is a bit of a postcode lottery since some areas you can get on a course quite quickly, in mine I waited 2 years :shock:
In the meantime this http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/ is very good for getting you started with the basics. Also the forum obviously has a wealth of knowledge and experience.

The important thing you need to remember is not to take any instruction or advice about dosages at face value. You need to filter it through a bit of common sense and also good observation of how your body works. It has been said everyone is different and everyone responds differently. Black coffee for example makes my bloods drop slightly, though I know that caffine pushes other peoples BG up.

Take it a step at a time and you will get there.

Good luck

/A

 

[LaughingHyena]

It's a pretty big learning curve, but keep at it. I was diagnosed 9 months ago (also age 34 with no family history). I feel much more settled into my routines now and I have so much more energy than I did this time last year.

I remember feeling so hungry those first few weeks. I could have happily eaten everything in sight!. I did however try to avoid the carby snacks between meals trying to stick to cheese, cold meats, hard boiled eggs and that sort of thing. Once my sugar levels settled (about 5 or six weeks at least) I wasn't nearly so hungry and snacks haven't been an issue.

Has you're nurse talked about carb counting (ie adjusting insulin to match your food)? If not I would ask about it. Some hospitals seem to run courses, mine doesn't but my dietitian has been pretty helpful. My fisr appointment with her was about 3 or 4 weeks after I was diagnosed. I had been asked to keep a detailed diary of food, exercise and so on for a few weeks for my appointment with a dietitian. Then she was able to use that to help work out my insulin carb ratios. It's a pain keeping track of everything but the more detail the better.

 

[blackie2711]

Thanks everyoune for replies!

i am testing with a meter in fact was gifted with 2 one in the hospital and after seeing my diabetic nurse a smaller one for my handbag! Trial and error with insulin at the minute i am on set units but the nurse is going to make contact again on Friday and go through my results!

Can anyone tell me how many carbs are in a banana and suggest any yoghurts which are optional for us?

Has weight gain been an issue for anyone as I lost 6 stone a few years ago and would hate to start gaining weight - dont know if this will happen just curious what effect it has had on other people - i am a good excersier anyway and am continuing to do so!

Thanks for taking the time to reply!!

 

[SophiaW]

We use 23g of carbs per 100g of banana. The average medium size banana weighs about 100g but if you are able to weigh the banana (without skin) then you can calculate a more accurate number of carbs. Of all the fruits bananas are quite high in carbs but they do absorb slowly so it's not a bad fruit to eat but one you want to avoid as a snack unless you're going to inject with it. My daughter hasn't put on weight because of diabetes, obviously her weight goes up as she's growing but she's still an average size for her age, she hasn't become fatter.

 

[Snodger]

help with carb counting - lots of people on here have found this book really useful - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carbs-Cals-Carb ... 239&sr=8-1
(is it ok to post that link? If not and the mods edit it, just go on amazon and put in 'carbs and cal' - authors are Cheyette and Balolia) and you can also get it as a phone app, which in my opinion is more useful.

Yogurts - I tend to go for plain unsweetened, or Muller lights. But don't forget they DO have carbs in, so you must take insulin to cover that. They usually put the carbs on the outside of the pot. It's "total carbohydrate" you want to look at.

weight gain - you may put on a bit temporarily while you are working out how to match carbs and insulin, but personally I actually found I lost weight after diagnosis. (I am a bit odd though).

 

[LittleSue]

Don't get caught out by 'low fat' yoghurts, they're usually very high in sugar. Go for the very low fat or virtually fat free ones, such as Muller light, Weight Watchers, Shape or Irish ones. If you fancy banana custard but don't want that many carbs, Muller banana custard yoghurt is a surprisingly good substitute.

I have gained weight since diagnosis - not surprising because I was an 8 year old weighing less than 3 stones at the time :lol: Seriously though, in adulthood my weight has remained very stable apart from when I was on antidepressants. When I stopped those, my weight dropped right back to what it was before. If you overdo the carbs - and therefore the insulin - you'll gain weight, but that's not the fault of the insulin.

 

[Snodger]

Muller banana custard yoghurt is a surprisingly good substitute.

mm, yes, that's my favourite one too

 

[LaughingHyena]

I'm not a fan of bananas so no help there I'm afraid. The carbs and cal book is great though, especially for eating out when you can't easily weigh everything.

Greek yoghurt is my favourite. I usually buy the big tub of supermarket own brand stuff. Then a bag of frozen berries. Defrost the berries with a quick zap in the microwave (I'm never organised enough to get them out of the freezer in advance) and add yoghurt. Mmmmm