Newly diagnosed.

bluenose1972 said:

Hello all.
I'm newly diagnosed type 1. (only over a week ago.) bit of a shock, at 44. Still trying to get my head around it. Could do with a bit of advice, or ideas to help.. Thanks and keep well. Sean donnelly..

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Hello @bluenose1972, and welcome to the forum!

I'll tag @daisy1 who provides some great info to new members and also recommend that you get your hands on the following book. It really is of great help with regards to getting your head around the condition. It's a bit of "a Bible" when it comes to T1 diabetes.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Thin...naging-Diabetes-Insulin-Completely/0738215147

What I will say though, is that it's early days so one step at a time. It can be overwhelming at first with floods of new information to get your head around, strange routines and different approaches to everything you do in your day to day life. But I can assure you that within the year, you'll think you've always lived this way.

Once again a very warm welcome to the forum and we look forward to seeing you around

welcome here bluenose1972

Hi @bluenose1972 . Welcome to the forum.
27 yrs with T1 and it still catches me out occasionally, you'll probably never fully understand it.
One tip........ control and own your diabetes, use it to focus your life, respect its power but never let it have power over you.
Lots of great advice on forum, keep asking and you'll do just fine.

hi @bluenose1972
I also was diagnosed with type 1 at age 27, so it was a shock for me too.
But now, year ago since dx, I think it's not that bad. I started to do sports every day, cut on **** food, no drinking/smoking. I'd never do all this without diabetes, so for me it was like invisible hand saying please do something about your health. Overall my life is much better now year ago after diagnosis, than it was before.

Something from my personal experience:
1) Once you stabilize your blood sugar after diagnosis, you may not need any insulin for a while. In my case it was 19 at dx, down to normal range in just 2 days with insulin, and then around half a year without any bolus insulin and very low dose of basal.
2) Try low-carb diet, if you eat up to 10 grams of carbs per each meal you won't need any bolus insulin for a long time (note that you'll still need basal insulin, but it's not a big deal to inject once a day and it doesn't cause any hypoglycemia)
3) Endurance sport (long distance running, cycling) helps a lot. It not only brings down your bg to very low value (this without any insulin), but also has an effect long after exercise.
4) Order FreeStyle Libre, it may not be that necessary in the beginning when control is easy, but later it helps a lot.
5) Read internet on diabetes complications, it will keep you focused on good control

Hello @bluenose1972 Welcome Sean to the Forum .

Indie1 said:

hi @bluenose1972
I also was diagnosed with type 1 at age 27, so it was a shock for me too.
But now, year ago since dx, I think it's not that bad. I started to do sports every day, cut on **** food, no drinking/smoking. I'd never do all this without diabetes, so for me it was like invisible hand saying please do something about your health. Overall my life is much better now year ago after diagnosis, than it was before.

Something from my personal experience:
1) Once you stabilize your blood sugar after diagnosis, you may not need any insulin for a while. In my case it was 19 at dx, down to normal range in just 2 days with insulin, and then around half a year without any bolus insulin and very low dose of basal.
2) Try low-carb diet, if you eat up to 10 grams of carbs per each meal you won't need any bolus insulin for a long time (note that you'll still need basal insulin, but it's not a big deal to inject once a day and it doesn't cause any hypoglycemia)
3) Endurance sport (long distance running, cycling) helps a lot. It not only brings down your bg to very low value (this without any insulin), but also has an effect long after exercise.
4) Order FreeStyle Libre, it may not be that necessary in the beginning when control is easy, but later it helps a lot.
5) Read internet on diabetes complications, it will keep you focused on good control

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@Indie1, thanks for contributing to the forum - it's advice from fellow diabetics that help us all move forward in the right direction

I'm not taking anything away from what you've contributed - but I'd like to stress the fact that points 1 and 2 may not be applicable to the OP.

1) We're all different in terms of our insulin requirements, what you're describing is the "honeymoon phase" and not all T1's have such a generous one as you have had by the sounds. Although you have said that there "may" be no need for bolus insulin and minimal basal, that's very much dependant on the individual's pancreatic functional state at the time of diagnosis. Personally, I required a 1:10 ICR immediately on my release from hospital, and a basal dose that wasn't all that "low".

2) Again, this isn't the case for everyone, especially the newly diagnosed. Some of us T1's (me included) don't function well on a low carb diet. A lot of us here need to bolus for protein when eating low carb, that can make for quite complex macronutrient evaluation when it comes to insulin dosages. I'd rather recommend a moderate carb intake for the OP, it tends to get them back to a similar diet that was had before diagnosis. This allows for a gradual dietary change rather than a severe one which low carb is.

I definitely agree that the Libre is an excellent piece of kit, especially when it comes to sorting our basal requirements (specifically overnight).

Further, exercise is encouraged for every walk of life - diabetic or non-diabetic. We all need that in our lives

@bluenose1972

Hello Sean and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 well over 147,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

bluenose1972 said:

Thank you for the advice, it will take time, but I will get use to it..

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Hey there
saw your post
Like you,diagnosed in my 40s last September. Just wanted to reassure you that, yes it is overwhelming, but it does get better and easier with time. I've discovered I'm better at mental arithmetic than I thought and the beauty of it all is (I know, a weird choice of phrase), as you start to figure out what works for you, the better you feel. It's like a really odd loyalty scheme with your own body!
Good Luck with it all and go gentle.

Hi @bluenose1972 and welcome to the forum. It will take time to get your head around it all after the shock of receiving that diagnosis, but you will get a lot of good advice and support from Type 1s on here. Just ask anything you want to.

Hi, Sean, welcome to the T1 club, although you didn't really have much choice about membership!

Always carry some fast acting sugar around with you, e.g. jelly babies, Jelly Belly beans, Gluco-juice, and have a bottle or two of lucozade dotted around the house and at work, and keep some near your bed as well.

If you have a bad hypo, your brain's not going to be working that well due to the low sugar, confusion is common, and in those sort of situations, hoping there's a nearby shop open and then queing up to buy a Mars bar or whatever can quickly turn into a very messy situation, so always carry some around wth you. A couple of 50 gram packs of Jelly Belly beans don't take up much pocket room. Twix, Mars bars etc would obviously do in an emergency if there was anothing else around, but the fat in them will slow down absorption of the glucose.

Don't overdo hypo treatment either. A lot of people will panic and just keep eating till they feel better without realing that the glucose takes a few minutes to show up in the blood, and end up overeating, sending it rocketing too high, and then you've got the hassle of having to take a correction dose to nudge it back down - it's called a rollercoaster.

Most modest hypos will only take about 10 to 15 gms to sort, literally only 2 or 3 jelly babies, or 10 to 15 Jelly Belly beans (they conveniently weigh 1 gm each, 90% carb, so are great for very small nudges for Sugar Surfing, another useful book, by Stephen Ponder). then wait ten to fifteen minutes, and repeat if it's not sorted. More serious hypos, obviously might take more especially if it's still dropping, you'll get a feel for how much you need as time goes by.

I second the views above on the Freestyle Libre.Not on the NHS (yet) and costs £100 per month if using all the time, but compared to strips which only give a snapshot in time, the libre shows you the whole movie in real time 24 hours a day. Makes it much easier to predict what's going to happen next and do something about it before it happens, makes life much easier, it's almost like cheating! There's others called Dexcom and Medtronic which cost more but ring an alarm to wake you up if you go too low. People have figured out how to hack a Sony Smartwatch to make the Libre do the same - LibreAlarm. And there's a program for a phone GlucoNightWatch which will do the same if you can be bothered sleeping with a phone on your arm!