Newly diagnosed

Starstruck111 said:

Opinions of my diet. I do like carbs and I don’t want to lose weigh, nor can I afford too. Have I had good advice, should I be cutting all carbs and sugars? Should I be healthy? I’m not being silly. I have for my diet for years. Oh and I live alone with my 9 year old. What should I be telling him? Only worry is the hypo and feeling I will die in my sleep

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I saw your previous thread and wanted to tell you that if you were T1 (as I strongly suspected) you'd have much more freedom to eat carbs but I didn't want to give you false hope in case you were stuck with T2. The problem was that without insulin the only way to control your sugar levels was by reducing the carbs. (And at least you didn't go into diabetic ketoacidosis, which could have happened if your blood sugar levels stayed too high without enough insulin.)

So, the bad news, you're stuck with insulin and won't be able to control the diabetes just by diet. You'll have to learn how to juggle insulin and carbs.

So, the good news, you can eat normally and learn how to take insulin to manage your dietary choices.

I'm 50 years T1 and have been relatively low carb for the last few years, but that's more as a weight control and insulin resistance measure than anything else, because I do have a family history of T2 and I am carrying too much weight. You can choose low carb if that's what you want, but there's no need to do so unless you find it makes things easier. And losing weight is one of the symptoms of T1, most people put it back on reasonably fast once they are injecting the insulin that they need.

Yes, your blood sugars will likely be all over the place while you learn how much insulin you need. And because you are still producing some of your own insulin your needs are likely to be more unpredictable, at least till your honeymoon ends and your pancreas stops producing insulin. Just be patient on that one.

Hypos: yes, they are in my opinion the worst thing about being a T1 diabetic. Will you get them? Yes, you almost certainly will. ( I started this post on a 3.6, which is enough to make me feel really uncomfortable, but not enough to make me fall over.) Will they make you drop dead? Very, very unlikely. Luckily your pancreas sends out glucagon when your blood sugar gets too low and that makes your liver convert glycogen into sugar in a neat little feedback loop which should ensure that you still wake up in the morning, even though you might have a bad headache. Two problems with that: your liver isn't as good at the glycogen thing if it's busy processing alcohol, and if you've accidentally had an extra dose of insulin (eg injected fast acting insulin instead of your daily dose of long acting) there may just be too much insulin for your liver to cope with.

Most diabetics get to learn the symptoms of a hypo pretty fast, and you'll probably wake up if you get one at night. Shakiness, confusion, sweating, hunger,..... Make sure you've always got glucose tablets (or equivalent, jelly babies are popular) to hand and take them if you're hypo.

What to tell your 9 year old? Depends on the 9 year old. My kids grew up with me being diabetic so they always knew about hypos... You're not going to die (unless you're driving a car), but you might become confused and even unconscious if you don't have sugar when you go low, so if he can save you from a severe hypo he'll be doing both of you a favour. (Really bad hypos are actually scarier for the onlooker than the sufferer, who is too out of it to realise.)

More good news: the technology. If you find hypos become a problem (most people have good hypo awareness when they first become diabetic so don't have a problem then) then you can get continuous glucose meters with alarms that go off if your levels go below a certain point. They also make it easier to manage your blood sugar because you don't have to do nearly as many blood tests. The NHS is still quite stingy with handing them out, but as a T1 if you fit the criteria you can get one. If you're rich you can self fund, but they are not cheap.

Sorry for the wall of text.

Good luck, you have an excellent attitude which will make a huge difference to managing this.

Starstruck111 said:

Is it possible to speak to people on these forums one to one rather than an open group chat. Just seems I could have more in common with certain people etc x

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You can use private messaging by clicking on someone's name and hitting "send a private message" but that's only for 1 on 1 messaging. If you can develop a moderately thick skin (a few people can be quite evangelical about their dietary choices) I'd recommend posting on the main boards (T1 is probably best for you, though there is also a LADA one), as you get input from more people, and more chance that someone else will be able to comment on your issues from personal experience or general knowledge.