Newly diagnosed- 1 month

The best advice I think is to ask questions ... from the diabetes uk forum and from your diabetes team - you are not alone.
Second to that, I would suggest to take it easy - there is a lot to learn about diabetes, you will probably never know it all and it will take years to know everything that could be useful
Thirdly, remember type 1 is different to type 2 - 9 out of 10 people with diabetes will have type 2 diabetes so a lot of what you will read and hear about diabetes is related to type 2 and not relevant to you
Fourth, be kind to yourself. Diabetes will not be controlled but it may be managed. A manager is not a sergeant major in the army and there are times when people that work for them will not do what they want or expect: diabetes is the same as those staff - it may vaguely follow rules most of the time but don't expect it to follow rules all the time.
Lastly, don't let diabetes control you. If you want to do something, most things can still be done with diabetes ... although it may require a little more planning, Looking at people in the public eye with type 1 diabetes, you can win an Oscar, you can score a try against Ireland, you can run a country, ...

And welcome to the club.

Hello @T1D.RosieKnowles Welcome to the forum.

There are fair few of us T1's around but the majority or T2's, so different condition.

What is that you want to know?

Welcome to the forum! I am a type 1 and was diagnosed last Aug. This forum helped me hugely. I read through every thread relevant to me and learned so much more than I ever did from my doctor. If you put in the effort to learn about your type 1 and don't let discouragement rule, things will get easier. That's what I found in my case. First thing to learn is how different foods affect your blood sugar. That's done by taking a meter reading before you take your insulin and have a meal and then again 2 hours after the start of the meal. In addition to cutting out all sweets, I ended up cutting all grains and starches too as they would make me spike. The carb counting gets easier too as you memorize the carbs for the foods you eat most often.

T1D.RosieKnowles said:

Was wondering if anyone has any advice??

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Yes, of course we have! Especially if you tell us about the things you're trying to comprehend or that are bothering you at the moment, so ask away!
It would also be helpful if you filled in the parts about medication used in your profile (what insulin regime and the insulins you use) so we won't give advice that has nothing to do with your situation.
My first bit of advice is take your time learning, you can't learn everything in a day, or a week or a month. And don't blame yourself for the mistakes you'll enevitably make.
Good luck!.

T1D.RosieKnowles said:

Was wondering if anyone has any advice??

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Hi, Rosie, T1 dx is always a shock, you'll likely go through a slew of emotions over the next few months: crying, anger, it's not fair etc. etc.

That's all perfectly normal, pretty much every newly dx'd T1 has gone through that, and it's good to get it out of your system, but it does wear off as time goes by and you start to see ways to deal with this "new normal".

I'd recommend getting a copy of Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner. It's on kindle. He's an endo and a T1 so he's dealt with it both personally and professionally. It's a good reference book to catch up on some on the things you might have missed when your DSN has been running you through things.

I'd also ask your docs/DSN about getting kitted out with libre. It's a small plastic disc about the size of a £2 coin which gets stuck on your arm and measures glucose levels continuously. The most frustrating thing about managing T1 with bg strips alone is that there's too much guesswork between tests and that can lead to you ending up hypo/hyper and those are messy situations to sort out. With libre, though, you can see in real time when you're dropping or rising, so can step in and take some corrective action to tail off a drop or rise. It makes a huge difference. A lot of us have "blinged" our libres to send the live readings to our phones and watches. Seeing how bg levels move around in response to food, insulin and exercise makes it a lot easier to decide on bolus dose amounts and timing.

I was dx'd at 21, a bit older than you. I thought that was it, my life was over, I was some sort of cripple. A few months later, I was back on a pair of skis in the Scottish Highlands, shooting around in small racing dinghies, cycling, have been away backpacking in Asia for 6 months.

It probably seems messy and uncertain at the moment, but rest assured, once you get some of the basic rules under your belt (for example, 1 unit of insulin tends to drop by 2 to 3 on bg meter, and 10g carbs tends to raise by 2 to 3), you can live a remarkably normal life and that includes eating normal food and going to the pub on a Friday.

You will have to think a lot more about what you eat and how you time your insulin doses for it, but that sort of stuff becomes second nature after a while.

This cartoon amuses me, you'll understand it in six months time!

Good luck!

Hi @T1D.RosieKnowles ,

Welcome to the forum.

Take a steady slow but sure learning curve.
Formulate Your questions as they arise & don't be afraid to ask for clarity on any responses you might get.
Bit size chunks.

You may feel whilst perusing the board that most members on this forum acquired the experience on the day we were diagnosed? You may feel overwhelmed by some rather "alien" terminology right now..?
We just chat, discuss & exchange aspects of living with this shared condition, sharing these insights from others.

You are most welcome to join us & ask "what on earth are you on about??"

I've no doubt you will be fantastic.

Best wishes.

@T1D.RosieKnowles . Welcome to the forum.
You’ve come to the right place for everything T1 related. Great advice already from some great and knowledgeable fellow T1’s as is the norm around these parts.
You will have a lot to learn and you’ll still be learning for many years to come. This is why it’s vitally important not to become stressed when things don’t go to plan, they’ll always be someone here who can help and advise.
One thing that is certain is this......no one understands what living with T1 is like unless they are T1. Don’t be to hard on family, they will support as best they can but you will soon realise that they don’t really understand.
As a fellow T1 I fully understand where you are and how you feel. I don’t need to know specifics, just knowing that you’re T1 is all I need to know. I’m sure this applies to most of, if not all the T1’s here, especially those who have been doing the diabetic stuff for years and years.
Feel free to talk to us, nothing is trivial or silly or pointless around here.

Scott-C said:

(for example, 1 unit of insulin tends to drop by 2 to 3 on bg meter, and 10g carbs tends to raise by 2 to 3)

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Just to make extra extra sure, this is an example. Might be very different from your body. Fully agree with the rest of of Scotts post!

Hi. This my first time to reply but have been reading on here since DX 2 years ago with type 1 at age 68. A shock hardly begins to describe the emotional and psychological experiences. Even with an emergency admittance to hospital I was still convinced that they had the wrong personBut GAD antibodies ruled. So 2 years on I'm still here still vertical and injecting has become a natural part of my days. As a vegetarian of 50 + years it has been quite a challenge but cutting carbs has been my best decision. So know you are not alone - yes it is a chronic condition but manageable and members here have so much to offer- not just advice but humour and camaraderie. We are stronger than we used to think we were.

Hi T1D. RosieKnowles. I've had T1D since age of 8. now mid 40s and still learning!
T1resources.uk is a website with resources and links to social media and websites all relating to the many aspects of living with T1D. All of the content is checked by someone with T1D and a healthcare professional before it goes on there. You can go on and look for an answer whenever a question arises. Family members can also find helpful info about understanding type 1 and what it is like to live with it, and supporting someone who has been recently diagnosed.
T1D for me is a bit like one of those relatives you might not choose if that was an option, but you find a way to get along together because it's a better option than pretending they don't exist or having constant battles.
Sometimes everything is fine, sometimes you fall out, they definitely don't always do what you expect or would like, but with time you understand them a bit more and can adapt to that. You still love 'em anyway!
You're definitely not alone in having a 'special' pancreas, but that doesn't define you. Take your time, ask anything you want to know, and someone somewhere will help
Much love
AliB73

I was also recently DX T1(Dec 18) and have found things quite straightforward when they are explained well.
All the points here can be debated both ways however so its also what works for you!
Be strong, take things slowly and don't expect miracles however good things do come along, sooner rather than later if you stick with it!

T1D.RosieKnowles said:

Hi, i’ve had type 1 diabetes for a month and have been struggling with it, i never heard of it before so i am totally overwhelmed. Not many people in my life understand it or know much about it.
My family and friends have tried to help me. They don’t really know what to do because they don’t understand any of what is going on so i am feeling completely alone.

Was wondering if anyone has any advice??

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Dear Rosie, I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and wish you well in these first few weeks as you struggle with it all. (I was 66yo at diagnosis 5 years ago) There is so much to get your head around, isn't there? I hear you when you say that you feel alone, I think that's the first thing we feel in a situation like this. Please be assured that you will cope but we need time to absorb the shock of the diagnosis and to recover from being poorly. Also, people who don't know about T1 can make very unhelpful and discouraging remarks so we need to be careful who we tell at the beginning.
May I suggest that you invest in a copy of the book 'Carbs and Cals,' it's an excellent source of information about food and it's values.
I send you my best wishes and look forward to hearing more from you. Let us know how you are getting onb,if you would like to.
Hilary.