Newly diagnosed T1 Diabetic

[Cjburny]

So it's been a week since I was diagnosed with type one diabetes, I'm 20 years of age, and it hit me hard... Always had a sweet tooth and was a big food lover but now it's all about finding out what I can and can't eat, a big learning curve for someone who used to just demolish an entire home made shepards pie that could serve six

Been managing it quiet well all things considering but I'm having some difficulty with the whole carbs thing, as in what's a good amount of carbs to eat per meal, what's slow releasing and what's fast releasing.

Sadly the Diabetic clinic I was sent to and the hospital I was admitted to are lacking in the diabetic knowledge and I've been told all sorts of things.

If anyone could help me out with the general basics of carbs and foods that are good for me to eat that would be amazing.

Foods and meals that can help me put on weight weight would be an added bonus as I need to put weight back on as I'm pretty much a skeleton.

Apart from that general tips and help would be greatly appreciated as I was quiet literally handed a booklet then discharged from hospital, Google has been my friend but sadly there's a lot of mixed info on the web.

 

[urbanracer]

Hi @Cjburny and welcome to the forums.

Things that are likely to spike your BGs are rice, cereals, potato, bread and pasta. Of course, sugary drinks like juices and full fat coke are quickly absorbed (good for hypo's).

Depending on your insulin regime (twice a day or every meal) you can in theory eat what you want as long as you know what the food is doing to you and you can compensate with injections. Many of us here have reduced our carb intake and find it easier to manage diabetes. Only you can decide the right amount. The reference intake is 260g per day, I'm at around 120g at the moment, some are below 50g.

Putting on weight is not always easy on this diet but if you lost weight uncontrollably during the pre diagnosis period you should regain this naturally over the coming weeks.

 

[noblehead]

Hi @Cjburny and welcome to the forum

Pleased to hear that you've been coping well, how many carbs to eat is a personal matter as some type 1's low-carb, some eat carbs in moderation and some eat as they did before diagnosis, once you get your diabetes under control you can then decide what amount of carbs you want to eat with each meal, the basal/bolus insulin regime is the preferred option for those who want to increase/decrease the carbs in their meals.

If you want more information on simple and complex carbs then have a look at the following from the University of Sydney:

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Can I assume you are on the Basal/Bolus insulin regime i.e. two insulins? You need to set yourself a sensibly low-carb diet to avoid weight gain with insulin; may be less than 150gm/day? Low-GI carbs are always best to minimise spikes. These include wholegrain flour-based products, beans/legumes etc. You adjust the Bolus insulin at each meal to match the carbs for that meal. The Basal should be adjusted over the first few weeks to provide a balanced background to match the liver's natural glycogen output. If you increase the proteins and fats you should find your weight goes upwards and once on insulin the body can start to use the blood glucose it was previously unable to do.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

You need to set yourself a sensibly low-carb diet to avoid weight gain with insulin; may be less than 150gm/day?

That's debatable. Plus, he specifically mentioned he wanted to gain weight. Remember, this is a 20 year old kid. He may have a lifestyle that requires carbohydrates in his diet. A low-carb diet MAY benefit him, but we don't know enough about his situation just yet.

I will say that a low-carb diet has been very helpful at managing my diabetes and it should be a strong consideration for many people. However, it's certainly not a diet most people associate with bulking (intentional weight gain).

Prior to my diagnosis this year, I had lost around 35-40 pounds. After my diagnosis, I wanted to gain it all back. Realistically, carbs HAD to be a part of my diet in order to gain that weight back in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, I'm not suggesting that anyone should do what I did. My point is: there isn't a "One size fits all" approach." I can burn through 300g of carbs in a single workout when some people might not eat that many carbs in an entire week.

 

[becky.ford93]

I had lost 5kg when I was diagnosed, and was told to just follow a regular, healthy diet with carbs included to help put the weight back on. I avoided loads of sugar. Maybe take a miss on desserts, and definitely sugary drinks, bit don't deny yourself starchy carbs. I know its hard when your team aren't much good, but at the end of the day they should be shaping your insulin to your diet, not the other way around

 

[Cjburny]

Thanks for all the replays, support and tips guys, greatly appreciated

For the people asking yes it is the Basal/bolus regime so I can work my insulin around what I eat, at the moment it's all touch and go with naturally a very steep learning curve for me.

Luckily for me however I have all these brilliant people on these forums who are answering all of my questions at astounding rates... Wish I could say the same for the NHS staff

Again to the people who were asking, I'm five foot eight weighing at around seven/eight stone, so as you can guess I'm basically a bag of bones as it took me over a year to finally get a GP to take my worries seriously and send of for a blood test, and yeah a one size fits all kind of regime really doesn't fit me as I spent over a year burning through my natural fat reserves :L

Again though guys thanks for the replays and help

 

[Daibell]

That's debatable. Plus, he specifically mentioned he wanted to gain weight. Remember, this is a 20 year old kid. He may have a lifestyle that requires carbohydrates in his diet. A low-carb diet MAY benefit him, but we don't know enough about his situation just yet.

I will say that a low-carb diet has been very helpful at managing my diabetes and it should be a strong consideration for many people. However, it's certainly not a diet most people associate with bulking (intentional weight gain).

Prior to my diagnosis this year, I had lost around 35-40 pounds. After my diagnosis, I wanted to gain it all back. Realistically, carbs HAD to be a part of my diet in order to gain that weight back in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, I'm not suggesting that anyone should do what I did. My point is: there isn't a "One size fits all" approach." I can burn through 300g of carbs in a single workout when some people might not eat that many carbs in an entire week.

Point taken and I agree the poster needs to take account of his lifestyle. I was assuming that before insulin he would have lost weight as the body couldn't use glucose in the blood. Now being on insulin that should gradually resolve itself. Yes, my 150gm suggested target could be a lot higher at least to start with and more so if very active

 

[tim2000s]

As a kid who was a bag of bones when diagnosed, I was give a a diet containing 250g of carbs a day and it still took me 6 months to get up to the weight I should have been when diagnosed.

In your situation @Cjburny, I'd suggest that carbs are a good idea until you attain a weight at which you are comfortable and healthy.

Do you understand carb counting in relation to basal/bolus?

 

[Cjburny]

@tim2000s I kinda understand the very basics of it, but not enough to have a positive effect if that makes any sense?

Like I said, I was literally (not even joking, wish I was) discharged with a booklet, my pens, no needles for said pens I may add and a very loose and poor understanding of the basics, the advanced and everything else in between...

Fortunately I had the luck of having a lot of work colleagues that are T1's like me, so the basics weren't to hard to pick up.

The whole carb counting thing and how to compensate with dosages still eludes me however, kind of a grey area for me at the moment.

 

[tim2000s]

@Cjburny, check this topic out. Useful tools and links for T1Ds
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/Useful-tools-and-links-for-T1Ds.88209/

The link to bdec will help with the counting.

 

[jamesfitz]

I think the big thing to realise is that you can still eat what you want in moderation. No foods are off limits aslong as you carb count

 

[Kazlow]

Hi, I'm a newbie myself but wanted to say hello. I'm sorry to hear that your hospital is lacking in info especially in this day and age. It shouldn't. I've been type 1 for 35 years and am pretty clued up now over the years. This site has everything you'll need to know about diabetes and how to manage it well. Everyone on here offers great advice and it's a wonderful place for support. We are all in the same boat so welcome. Take care
karen

 

[TStine]

Hi @Cjburny
I was also recently diagnosed Type 1, just 1,5 weeks ago. (Type 1.5 to be specific, but they treat it as a type 1)

After a week in the hospital meeting only confused nurses and doctors, I finally got meetings with both the diabetes specialist and several meetings with a diabetes nurse.
I am, as I said, a newbie, but the general advise I got from the specialist in terms of insulin quantity to meals, is to use 1 iu of insulin per 10 grams of carbohydrate, as a starting point, and then adjust the dose as I gain experience. I don't know if all doctors give the same advice but this is what they told me.

Second, -adjusting the insulin dosage before meals: say my BG is 6.0 before lunch on an empty stomach: They said that if my BG is back to the same (6.0) before the next meal (3-4 hours after lunch) -then the dosage of insulin for this meal (lunch) was correct. The same applies if the BG before lunch was 10 and back to 10 before next meal (after 3-4 hours), even if 10 is to high before meals. (10 is too high but this must be adjusten using the basal dose, see the next section). They also said that the goal is that the BG should not increase more than 4-5 mmol/l after a meal (no matter what BG I have before the meal). This is difficult to achieve in the beginning I think, and it will be easier as one gets the hang of it (it is also easier if the meal is low carb)).

I was also told that if the BG before meals (on an empty stomach) was higher than it should be (max 7 mmol/l), -this means that the basal morning dosage is to small. For me, they told me to increase the number of units on my morning dose basal/Insulatard from 8 to 10 because I've had BG at 9 mmol/l 3-4 hours after meals/on an ampty stomach and it should be no more than 7. Note that they also warned about increasing the basal dosage to much too quickly, because the body must get used to the lower BG levels. I have had high BG for several months, maybe longer before being diagnosed, and it needs to be gradually lowered, or else the body will get a bit of a shock

Last, I was also told that if I wake up with a BG higher than 7, -my evening basal dosage is too small. The same applies here though; the morning BG levels needs to be reduces gradually over several days, maybee a couple of weeks, -from the high levels on the time I was diagnosed, to the ideal/target levels. If I get hypoglycemia during the night they said that the evening basal dosage is too high.

I hope this is helpful, and not confusing As I said, -I am a newbie, and I am only referring to the advice from the diabetes experts in the hospital in which I was admitted just a few days ago. Sad to hear that you did not get any training at your hospital Wish you the best of luck!

 

[Cjburny]

Thanks guys for the support! It's slowly getting there, bloods hardly ever spike into the no go zone and are within the optimal range almost all the time

Had a few highs but it's all just trail and error at this stage as I'm about two weeks in (plus I was testing a home made mince pie only spiked to 11.7 so not bad in regards to when I was in hospital spiking to around 28.5)

All the help on these forums is really helping in the long run, and I can't thank you enough for it...

Not to mention my work colleagues, who seem to have some sort of secret T1 society I never knew of

But I'm getting there, my fear of needles has diminished on the bright side, having to stab yourself has its perks I guess