Newly diagnosed type 1 - how many carbs

Hi @Jgibbo13 ,
From your other thread I understand you're on a mixed insulin.
Most of us use 2 insulins separately, the basal to keep us steady, the bolus to use before food.
This means we adjust our insulin doses depending on the amount of carbs we eat. You can't do that with mixed insulin.

Some of us eat just the regular amount of carbs we ate before our diagnosis and inject for it. Others choose to eat less carbs because it makes taking the correct dose easier.

Jgibbo13 said:

n addition, has anyone had any spikes with no added sugar squash/cordial? I think appel and blackcurrant or orange and mango give me a spike.

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It's not the added sugar what makes us spike, it's all carbs. As oranges and mangoes have lots of carbs I'd expect them to spike me.

Jgibbo13 said:

Hi all, so i am newly diagnosed type 1 and understand I need to reduce carbs. How many do people normally aim for per meal/day? I have done low arm diets in the past but wondered if people go full on low carb, or just reduce?

In addition, has anyone had any spikes with no added sugar squash/cordial? I think appel and blackcurrant or orange and mango give me a spike.

Thank you

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Some Type 1's find it easier to control their blood sugars if they go low carb, however many do not go low carb, it really is up to you, and if you do go low carb its all very personal as to how many to find works for you.

Since you are newly diagnosed do you know how to carb count? and do know how to adjust your insulin dependent on what you eat? are you on fixed doses? are you on mixed insulin (ie not basal and bolus)? whatever the answers you really need to discuss with your doctor/diabetic nurse consultant before reducing carbs (though especially so if no to either of the first two questions or yes to the last two) if you decide to do so otherwise you could easily hypo.

I drink (low sugar) orange squash quite often and it doesn't spike my sugar level, but many things affect people differently.

Jgibbo13 said:

Currently on mixed 70 30, 8 units in the morning 6 in the evening. Only been on insulin since Wednesday so nurses contacting every few days to advise on dose.

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Have the nurses told you you should reduce your carbs?

Jgibbo13 said:

They said it would help, when I was first diagnosed (doctor thought type 2 at first)

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Very good advice for a T2, but not necessarily for a T1. What you eat changes the amount of insulin you need, so don't change your diet without speaking about it to the nurses!

Hi, I have no experience of mixed insulin, so it is definitely best to talk to your diabetes team for advice.

Something which really helped me when I was diagnosed was hearing these few repeated messages:
- routines/habits etc might initially change while you're getting used to how your body reacts to insulin/different foods/hormones/exercise/illness etc etc etc
- after the initial period of getting used to the condition, type 1 diabetes shouldn't restrict you in how you want to lead your life.

Namely (for me) I was initially put on fixed doses and told what I should eat. It was hugely different from what I had eaten before and often really didn't match my appetite. The take home message was always that this was only temporary. I was (and still am) on a basal-bolus insulin regime, so once I'd gained confidence with the condition, there was no reason why I couldn't eat or drink what I wanted, when I wanted.

Definitely talk to your diabetes team, but mine were very good in repeatedly asking me if I was doing things differently after I'd been diagnosed, and if so why? They were very keen to try and get me back to my usual way of life pre diabetes, with the diabetes management just slotting in. It will take time, but I found it useful to know that lots of changes were temporary.