newly (ish) diagnosed

[jayy]

I've been diagnosed since the 6th March, and thankfully seem to have gotten into the swing of things! I really thought 17 was too old to be diagnosed as type 1, till it happened to me. I went from being a generally healthy person, to getting a couple of infections which (we are assuming) triggered it all! On the day I got diagnosed, my blood sugars were 27 two hours after eating a much smaller than usual breakfast. We think my levels were around that for a while, since at the beginning I began feeling shakey when hitting the 5s. Obviously this has improved since then! Also on the day I was diagnosed, my HBA1C was 97! My mum told me that wasn't great... (she's a nurse)

I have found that a few foods affect my blood sugar levels in different ways. Rice cakes seem to cause a slight spike, then a drop and every time (bar once) cause a hypo. Does anyone else have this happen or know why?

Also, heat seems to affect me quite a lot. When it hit 25°C over the weekend, I had probably the lowest hypo yet! On saturday I was walking in a shop, and my dexcom was reading 3.9, so I ate a few haribos. Next thing, I felt quite dizzy and sat down, checking my blood sugar levels manually for it to say 3.0! Luckily after some more sweets it climbed back up and I continued my day. A similar thing happened the next day but while I was sat in the sun at home. Even when I shower, my levels seem to drop. Does anyone else experience this?

I think I've been pretty lucky, being diagnosed before it got too bad and staying in range the majority of the time! With the help of insulin of course...
If anyone has any random tips I'd greatly appreciate it

 

[JAT1]

Welcome to the forums Jayy. I am also Type 1, diagnosed in my 60s! Do you take basal and bolus doses of insulin? If so, do you take the same amount of bolus(rapid-acting) before each meal? Every diabetic is unique and until you learn what amount of insulin works for you, hypos and hypers are common. At some point it becomes convenient to carb count and base the amount of rapid-acting insulin on the amount of carbs you will eat at the meal. The insulin-to-carb ratio that you discover works for you determines how much insulin you need. Too much insulin and not enough carb results in a hypo. Too little insulin and too much carb results in a hyper. Make sure you always have your hypo fix with you in your pocket and that you also have your hypo fix by your bed when you sleep. There's much to learn so don't become overwhelmed - a bit each day. Sounds like you have a good attitude which makes a huge difference in how you cope. Ask all the questions you have. This website is very supportive and rich in personal experience. Once again a very warm welcome!

 

[Paul_]

Hi @jayy, welcome to the forum! I'm a T2 diabetic, so the advice I can offer you is limited, but the forum has a lot of amazing T1 members with years of experience managing it. Fire away with any questions and someone will almost always be able to help.

 

[EllieM]

Hi @jayy and welcome to the forums.

I was diagnosed aged 8 (in the days before glucometers so the only way to check your sugars was to do a chemistry test to see if your urine had sugar in) so I've seen a lot of changes i diabetes care, and I can say that the treatments now are better than ever. But I agree with you that hypos are one of the biggest pains of being a diabetic.

As a new diabetic it is possible that you are in a "honeymoon" period and your pancreas is still pumping out insulin occasionally, just to make things more complicated for you, but to be honest there are just so many things that affect blood sugar, and it's a bit different for all of us.

It sounds like you're already following my most important tip, always keeping some sugary treats with you so you have something to hand when going hypo.

Good luck with it all and once more welcome.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I've been diagnosed since the 6th March, and thankfully seem to have gotten into the swing of things! I really thought 17 was too old to be diagnosed as type 1, till it happened to me. I went from being a generally healthy person, to getting a couple of infections which (we are assuming) triggered it all! On the day I got diagnosed, my blood sugars were 27 two hours after eating a much smaller than usual breakfast. We think my levels were around that for a while, since at the beginning I began feeling shakey when hitting the 5s. Obviously this has improved since then! Also on the day I was diagnosed, my HBA1C was 97! My mum told me that wasn't great... (she's a nurse)

I have found that a few foods affect my blood sugar levels in different ways. Rice cakes seem to cause a slight spike, then a drop and every time (bar once) cause a hypo. Does anyone else have this happen or know why?

Also, heat seems to affect me quite a lot. When it hit 25°C over the weekend, I had probably the lowest hypo yet! On saturday I was walking in a shop, and my dexcom was reading 3.9, so I ate a few haribos. Next thing, I felt quite dizzy and sat down, checking my blood sugar levels manually for it to say 3.0! Luckily after some more sweets it climbed back up and I continued my day. A similar thing happened the next day but while I was sat in the sun at home. Even when I shower, my levels seem to drop. Does anyone else experience this?

I think I've been pretty lucky, being diagnosed before it got too bad and staying in range the majority of the time! With the help of insulin of course...
If anyone has any random tips I'd greatly appreciate it

Just a diet-controlled T2 here, but you might require less insulin on hot days. Most people are a little more sensitive to insulin when it's hot, and yeah, even a steamy shower can lower levels a little more than anticipated. Keep an eye on your weather-app and always have hypo treatment ready, especially while you're heading into your first summer.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[jayy]

Welcome to the forums Jayy. I am also Type 1, diagnosed in my 60s! Do you take basal and bolus doses of insulin? If so, do you take the same amount of bolus(rapid-acting) before each meal? Every diabetic is unique and until you learn what amount of insulin works for you, hypos and hypers are common. At some point it becomes convenient to carb count and base the amount of rapid-acting insulin on the amount of carbs you will eat at the meal. The insulin-to-carb ratio that you discover works for you determines how much insulin you need. Too much insulin and not enough carb results in a hypo. Too little insulin and too much carb results in a hyper. Make sure you always have your hypo fix with you in your pocket and that you also have your hypo fix by your bed when you sleep. There's much to learn so don't become overwhelmed - a bit each day. Sounds like you have a good attitude which makes a huge difference in how you cope. Ask all the questions you have. This website is very supportive and rich in personal experience. Once again a very warm welcome!

I take both basal and bolus insulin, abasaglar and novorapid. My bolus insulin is on different ratios for different times of day, which has been adjusted a few times. My basal dose is very low (only 5 units at 9pm), but I expect with time it'll all go up!

 

[SimplyJason]

Also, heat seems to affect me quite a lot. When it hit 25°C over the weekend,

Hi, Jayy, great name btw!

Me Type 1 since the 60's and same as @EllieM to my check blood sugar when diagnosed back then involved a small chemistry test!

I have found that when summer comes along with increased heat hypo's do happen more often, think it;;s something to do with how the sun can increase blood flow to the skin. Pretty sure somebody else can confirm. Then we also have extra activity, granted you mentioned you were walking, however with the sun often comes extra activity such as swimming, walking further or other sport activities all of which can lower blood sugar levels.

On the flip side, there always is with diabetes I have found, you can also be at risk from hyper's because of heat induced stress or dehydration. Always drink extra water when the heat increases!

Your greatest friend here is your CGM and if the result does not confirm how you feel then, if possible, perform a blood test from your finger.

Hope the above helps and welcome to the club!