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Newly diagnosed with type 1 at 25

K

krisjwoody

Member
Messages
11
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Hi,

I was diagnosed with type 1 on 23rd March 2012 (8 days ago), which was my Dad's birthday so had some great news to ruin his 59th! I am 25 and was very shocked when i thought i was going into the walk in centre to be told i had picked up some infection/virus/food poising from being in Thailand days before, but actually to have a glucose reading on 31.1.

Diabetes was the first word which was mumbled between the nurses but i wasn't too concerned as i didn't know anything about it and i was pretty much out of it with exhaustion and dehydration. Immediately i was put on an insulin drip and took in an ambulance to the diabetic ward at Newcastle's RVI hospital. The doctors were amazed how i was still walking around as they suspect i was high 20's throughout my time in Thailand and the days following. Maybe something to do with the 10l of water i was drinking everyday. My body must of been parched because i sucked up 3 bags of insulin and 5 bags of saline solution in the space of a few hours!

Spending the following 2 days after being diagnosed in hospital, i slowly began to come to terms with my condition. The more i spoke to friends, family and fellow diabetics the better i felt. Talking with the professionals let me understand my condition and allowed me to start figuring out how it would affect me day to day. At first everything seemed like it would change.

After several more meeting with various NHS professional i now fully understand what needs to be done, my diet doesn't have to change (maybe a bit healthier) and my lifestyle doesn't need to be affected. The only differences are i need to structure my eating more and understand what i am eating. I will also need to carry my insulin around with me all the time and be able to plan ahead a bit more.

I think the biggest thing i will miss is the spontaneous decisions i use to live my life by. Things will need more planning and thought. Being young i also can't help but think, big drinking sessions are a thing of the past now!! :(

Currently, i have been absolutely fine with dealing with my condition. It hasn't overwhelmed me or get me upset yet. However i am concerned that once real life gets going again (since i have been living with my parents for a week while i sort everything out) and move back to my house and start work i feel it might hit me more then. Mainly when i start to see the little things that diabetes might restrict me from doing. Has anyone else been the same?

All i can think for now is there are a lot of positives to take from this, one being that its the only chronic disease that is fully manageable. And if i do manage it then the chance of complications are reduced. Allowing me to life the same life as i intended.

Back to the NHS, can i say how excellent my care was throughout the whole process. I feel extremely lucky to have a public health service where care comes before insurance or cost.

Not to bore you too much with my story but i just wanted to put it out there for anyone who is in a similar situation or has been. It would be great to meet some people on here and hear their experiences and how they coped. Any advise or wisdom that anyone has would be much appreciated.

PM me if you want to chat.

Hope it helps. Kris :)
 
Hi Kris,
glad to see that you're handling it all so well. :) No doubt a lot of questions will eventually turn up. Don't hesitate to ask them here. Somewhat new to this myself (a bit over 2 years since dx) I've found this forum to consist of a friendly and helpful bunch!
 
Hi Kris

Welcome to the forum,

I'm type 2 so not able to add much for your experience.

Keep reading, learning and asking questions.

Mary x
 
Hi Kris and welcome to the forum :) Here is some information that we give to new members which I think will be helpful to you. Ask as many questions as you like as there is always someone here 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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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

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 blood glucose 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
Great post Kris, pleased your looking at the positives rather than the negatives :)
 
HI Kris and welcome
I am a type 1 diabetic and have been for 37 years. I was diagnosed at the age of 6.
I am glad to hear you are looking at this on the positive side.
I see daisy has given you some good info.
The only thing i wanted to add was please follow the advice from any medics as i never when i was in my teens and through both my pregnancies, i always put others first and never thought much about myself, but i because of thinking i know best i never listened, always thought i would get away with the complications but unfortunately i have some.
Please pm me if you wish to chat and make sure you keep asking the question even if you think they are minor.
We can only give you advice from our own experiences, but hope this will help you.
Take care and good luck, keep us up to date with your progress.
Tracey
 
Hi Kris,

I have a lot of parallels to you. I was diagnosed on 21st December 2011 at age 31 with type 1 on my mum's birthday. I didn't have to be taken to hospital luckily though. I went straight back to work the next day, which was a bit much, but I've been fine about it every since. I live quite spontaneously and haven't found this needs to change much, I just make sure I have my glucose monitor and insulin on me. I still drink quite a bit - a session does mess with your sugar levels but I have found that if I eat before I drink and then make sure I eat something before I go to bed as I think drinking makes you crash overnight (I had a bad night time hypo once) and carefully monitor the next day, I'm fine (I can't get wasted though as I worry about not remembering to eat before bed and not recognising a hypo)

So 4 months in and I don't find I have had to make many changes and my GP and DN are really happy with how I'm doing and it's all really positive. For me it's been about getting to know my body, what insulin I need according to what I'm doing and what I'm eating but really I haven't found it that bad, just glad to be feeling well again.

I also think the support I've received from the NHS has been great and the Exeter diabetic clinic have been brilliant.

Good luck Kris, sounds like you're positive about it

Rach x
 
Rachle said:
Hi Kris,

I have a lot of parallels to you. I was diagnosed on 21st December 2011 at age 31 with type 1 on my mum's birthday. I didn't have to be taken to hospital luckily though. I went straight back to work the next day, which was a bit much, but I've been fine about it every since. I live quite spontaneously and haven't found this needs to change much, I just make sure I have my glucose monitor and insulin on me. I still drink quite a bit - a session does mess with your sugar levels but I have found that if I eat before I drink and then make sure I eat something before I go to bed as I think drinking makes you crash overnight (I had a bad night time hypo once) and carefully monitor the next day, I'm fine (I can't get wasted though as I worry about not remembering to eat before bed and not recognising a hypo)

So 4 months in and I don't find I have had to make many changes and my GP and DN are really happy with how I'm doing and it's all really positive. For me it's been about getting to know my body, what insulin I need according to what I'm doing and what I'm eating but really I haven't found it that bad, just glad to be feeling well again.

I also think the support I've received from the NHS has been great and the Exeter diabetic clinic have been brilliant.

Good luck Kris, sounds like you're positive about it

Rach x
Click to expand...

Thanks Rach, nice to hear someone in a similar situation! Diagnosed just before christmas must of been hard!
 
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