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Newly diagnosed diabetes type 1

sonniek08

sonniek08

Member
Messages
9
Location
staines
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi everyone just wanted to say hello really as I'm new to this forum....i was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes I January this year...am coping ok but still adjusting really....was a bit of a shock but hey ho life goes on....would appreciate any advice and information anyone can help me with....as I said I'm new to this so all still a great learning curve..
 
@sonniek08

Hello Sonnie and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able 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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Hi @sonniek08
Welcome to the forum. It's a lot to take in at first and it does take time to adjust but hopefully by now you will have got to grips with at least some of it. Is there any specific advice you're looking for? You've come to the right place...ask anything you like...there is no such thing as a daft question round here.
 
sonniek08 said:
Hi everyone just wanted to say hello really as I'm new to this forum....i was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes I January this year...am coping ok but still adjusting really....was a bit of a shock but hey ho life goes on.
Click to expand...

It is a shock, but as long as you take control of your diabetes there's no reasons why you can't live a full, long & active life.

There's a really good book that often gets a mention on the forum called Think Like a Pancreas, it's a great read and would highly recommend you purchase it. Any questions just fire away as there's always someone around to offer help & support.
 
I'm really wondering why, if I was pre-disposed to type 1, that I managed to last until 36 before getting it. Does that mean I've never been in contact with the virus?


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Poll: hardest to keep a straight face
Once diagnosed, one will inevitably encounter well wishers hoping to help or trying to manage their own grief and fear. Following are the few types of reactions, pick the one you hate most:

1. The silver lining : eg, it's a good thing! Now you'll be more aware of your body
2. You're lucky : it could have been something worse
3. Is it contagious? : It's genetics right? It can't happen to me also right?
4. You must have done something to deserve it : must be due to your lack of doing xxx, must be because you did yyy
5. Opportunity to promote their cause : religion, kangen water, miracle cures
6. Cry and hug
7. Horrified : you have to stab yourself? Ew!
8. No big deal : all of us have something. I have high blood pressure.


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tinyfilosofer said:
I'm really wondering why, if I was pre-disposed to type 1, that I managed to last until 36 before getting it. Does that mean I've never been in contact with the virus?


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Click to expand...

What do you mean by "the virus"? I think the general theory on type 1 is you have a genetic predisposition (if you have someone in your family with type 1 you are, I think, 15 times more likely to get type 1 than the general population - but remember the chances in the general population is very small, so 15 X very small number = still a very small number). As well as having the as yet unfound on the DNA genetic predisposition, you have to have a "trigger" - there are identical twins where one has type 1 and the other doesn't, so it's not all genetics. No one knows what the trigger is. A lot of people can relate diagnosis to some point after an illness (like a virus) or trauma (like a solider returning from action, or a car crash) or stress (like divorce), for me personally I think my trigger was losing weight on a large calorie deficit diet that trod a line a little bit too close to being an eating disorder 6 months prior to diagnosis.

In summary, I don't think there is a "the virus". That would be too easy, it's a much bigger mystery than that :pompous:
 
@tinyfilosofer sorry, I'm concerned I've been misunderstood. I'm absolutely not suggesting that type 1 diabetes is something anyone willfully inflicts upon themselves. What I am saying is, we simply don't know what causes it - lots of things have been proposed as triggers - see the last couple of paragraphs in the link you posted. Tonnes of people with type 1 wouldn't be able to offer a suggestion as to what their trigger might have been & those that can are simply guessing.
 
tinyfilosofer said:
Oh ****. I was hoping it was a virus and not something i did to myself willfully.


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Click to expand...

It can be a virus that triggers the onset of Type 1. Or it may be another environmental factor. But generally it seems to be genetic tendency+trigger. We have to be unlucky twice over!


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No need to apologize! I'm just really guilty if it was due to me abusing my body. I enjoy the adrenalin rush from stress so usually work too hard too long, worry too much, travel too much for work. So was hoping it wasn't my willful disregard of everybody telling me to slow down and relax that caused it.


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That's a good point. Still very sorry to hear about your case. May all the best things happen for your little girl to make up for this.


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tinyfilosofer said:
Is it possible to hypo unaware and then show a high bg 2 hours later?


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Click to expand...

Yes, although it really depends on what happens in between the hypo and the hyper.

Hypo unawareness = no warning symptoms of your hypo. So you can drop below 4 with no symptoms.

If you had a symptomless hypo and treated it, perhaps the high blood sugar was caused by eating a few too many carbs to treat the hypo - it's very easily done!

If you have a symptomless hypo and don't treat it (don't do that, always treat your hypos, if you test and your under 4 have some carbs even if you aren't feeling it, if you didn't test and had no symptoms, how do you know you were hypo?) hopefully your liver will release some of its glucose stores to bring you back up. Your hypo causes a hormone called glucagon to prompt that liver dump and that hangs around in the system for a while after the hypo. So the liver dump could have caused a recount hyper. I would have thought that if you get to the stage where your body is triggering a liver dump and you are concious you will have some symptoms - I'm completely hypo unaware and, unfortunately, can drop under 2 while functioning fine but I will notice something is going on if I get under 1.5, which I think is how low I need to go before my body does anything (no this was not an experiment done on purpose and you should NOT try it at home - I strongly recommend against trying it glucogon + liver dump is the thing that keeps you alive, not a thing to be played with and also you feel awful afterwards).
 
My suspicion come from me having a good 6 reading in the morning, injected regularly, ate regularly and then having a reading of 11 four hours later.
I was expecting it to be a constant 6. So wondering.
Can a liver dump result in hyper? Shouldnt it just dump enough to bring one to a 6?


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tinyfilosofer said:
My suspicion come from me having a good 6 reading in the morning, injected regularly, ate regularly and then having a reading of 11 four hours later.
I was expecting it to be a constant 6. So wondering.
Can a liver dump result in hyper? Shouldnt it just dump enough to bring one to a 6?


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Click to expand...

As I understand it - and am very new to this myself - because our bodies don't make the insulin any more, they are less aware of our blood/sugar levels. While a non-diabetic's body would release enough sugar / insulin to always keep between 4 - 7 we cannot rely on that.
 
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