Type 1 Please help

Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I was diagnosed four weeks ago with type 1 diabetes and given insulin (humalog mix 25). This has been such a roller coaster and complete shock, the dr diagnosed me with anxiety and depression yesterday. The problem is mainly that I stopped taking my insulin at the weekend due to having tonsillitis so I couldn't eat and was fed up with the hypos. My bs have been lower than usual (not ideal numbers) and after eating meals they go up to between 10-14 but then my body is lowering them back down to between 8-10.
I really don't know what is happening? Do I definitely have diabetes? I'm really so fed up of it all.
I know I am being stupid not taking the insulin but I would appreciate helpful posts not people having a go at me.
 
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Engineer88

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2,130
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hey @Charlottelucy44 unfortunately you def have diabetes. you have something called honeymoon period where you still produce enough isnulin. How much insulin are you supposed to be taking and when?

I know its difficult now but trust me itll get a hell of a lot easier. thats 24 years of experience talking there!
 
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alliebee

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Hello charlotte welcome to the forum @daisy 1 will be along soon with some information to help and they are a great bunch of people on here that will answer all your questions...@Spiker is one I know but many others will be helpful to advise you about your insulin...I'm sorry you are having a hard time taking it all in...it is such a shock I know. Take care
 
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Ive been having 6units before breakfast and 6 units before tea. But having to eat just to take the insulin is so frustrating
 

alliebee

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Any chance if you rang your surgery your practice nurse could talk to you...I've done rhat before..she may tell you the best thing to do. I'm type 2 so don't know much about the mix of your 2 insulins.. but It doesn't seem right to eat for your insulin. Esp if you are having hypos ...I think maybe the tonsillitis isn't helping.. just keep an eye on your blood sugars. Make sure you are taking in plently of fluids esp if you don't fancy eating much. One of the type 1 members will reply v soon I promise
 
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Dillinger

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Type 1
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Hello Charlotte,

It is a hell of a shock so I'm not surprised that you are feeling a bit overwhelmed.

You are on a steep learning curve.

I would say do the following (not necessarily in this order or all at once);

Read as much as you can about diabetes; start on here and then get the book 'Think Like A Pancreas' (I've forgotten the author's name) and 'Blood Sugar 101' by Jenny Ruhl at the very least. The best book I read about diabetes was The Diabetic Solution by Richard Bernstein.

Scream fight and kick to get on a DAFNE course; that will show you the very basics but it's outrageous how many people don't even get that.

Get your GP to refer you to the best local diabetes clinic that they can find; do not accept whichever is the closest. Ideally you want a large teaching hospital. Get an appointment as soon as you can.

Get off mixed insulin and onto basal/bolus - that means that you take insulin to match what you eat and not eat to match your insulin.

Keep taking the insulin! You really do need it and if you don't take it you can get very ill very quickly.

Keep testing your blood sugars.

Last but not least don't panic - it seems overwhelming but it is manageable and you will be able to do pretty much everything that you did before.

Best

Dillinger
 
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Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm seeing my dsn on Monday so I'm going to wait til then,she was suppose to have rang me between the last appointment and the one on Monday but not heard anything. I'm planning on doing carb counting and hopefully going on the insulin that is best for that.
 

noblehead

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I'm seeing my dsn on Monday so I'm going to wait til then,she was suppose to have rang me between the last appointment and the one on Monday but not heard anything. I'm planning on doing carb counting and hopefully going on the insulin that is best for that.


It's called a basal/bolus insulin regime that you need to be on to do DAFNE, there's an explanation about it in the following:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/insulin/basal-bolus.html
 
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daisy1

Legend
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26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
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Hello charlotte welcome to the forum @daisy 1 will be along soon with some information to help and they are a great bunch of people on here that will answer all your questions...@Spiker is one I know but many others will be helpful to advise you about your insulin...I'm sorry you are having a hard time taking it all in...it is such a shock I know. Take care

Hello Charlotte and welcome to the forum :)

To add to the good information you have already received, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Carry on asking questions 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 over 100,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
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spaceman

Well-Known Member
Messages
266
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I was diagnosed four weeks ago with type 1 diabetes and given insulin (humalog mix 25). This has been such a roller coaster and complete shock, the dr diagnosed me with anxiety and depression yesterday. The problem is mainly that I stopped taking my insulin at the weekend due to having tonsillitis so I couldn't eat and was fed up with the hypos. My bs have been lower than usual (not ideal numbers) and after eating meals they go up to between 10-14 but then my body is lowering them back down to between 8-10.
I really don't know what is happening? Do I definitely have diabetes? I'm really so fed up of it all.
I know I am being stupid not taking the insulin but I would appreciate helpful posts not people having a go at me.
well dont worry.about not taking that insulin,youll be in the Honeymoon period were your still making some insulin your self,take care next time your ill,remember taking alittle insulin is better than non do some walking the excercise brings your BG readings down..
 

Charles Robin

Well-Known Member
Messages
570
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Charlotte, I will try not to repeat the information given already (which has been excellent), and give you this advice: Never feel ashamed of your blood sugars. I was diagnosed at the age of three in 1990, so my parents managed my condition for me to begin with. When I got to secondary school, I had freedom I had not had before, and my control went to hell. As the years rolled by, I became shut off about my results, because they were bad. I refused to get help because I was ashamed. Thankfully at this point I am complication free, and have had time to learn from my mistakes. I mention this because you said you didn't want anyone to have a go at you. I would like to do quite the opposite, and applaud your openness about your experiences so far. If everyone discussed their diabetes in the way that you do then it would be far better understood by pretty much everyone.

You are probably focusing on what has gone wrong so far. Let's look at what you have done right instead. You have realised that you have not been given enough information, so you are striving to get more. Your mindset seems to be 'Ok, this is not working for me, so how can I fix it?' This is the best possible attitude to have. The important thing is to find a way of managing that works for you. And opinions on the best way vary massively. A fair few of us on this forum believe the key to great diabetes control is a low carbohydrate diet. It sounds extreme, but it's actually much easier than you would think. If you would like to know more, check out the following video. Dillinger pointed me to it when I was considering taking up low carb, and I can't thank him enough for doing so.

Diabetes is difficult, especially to begin with. You will take time to come to terms with it. But mastering it is a great feeling. Keep up the questions, check out the books mentioned above, and this time next year that feeling of helplessness can be a distant memory. You can do it. Always remember you can do it. And with perserverance, you will do it. Best of luck, and keep posting.
 
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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. Yes, it can be difficult maintaining BS when you are sick. With the mixed insulin you are on it makes it a bit more difficult as you have to eat the right amount of carbs otherwise hypos can result as you know. Most T1s will be on the Basal/Bolus insulin regime so do ask your nurse to move you over; I'm a little surprised you didn't start on that but may be she wanted to get you used to the simpler mixed first. Basal/Bolus can involve from 3 to 5 injections (1 or 2 Basal and 2 to 3 Bolus at meals) but gives the ability to adjust insulin for each meal by carb counting.
 
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donnellysdogs

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As a type 1 myself, I would recommend that you ask to be inder a hospital consultant for your diabetes.

Based purely on the fact that they specialise in diabetes, day in day out. gp's just are general practicing medicine.. They do not keep up with the changes that are occuring with diabetes medications. A DSN at a GP will still specialise in diabetes, but she will not be aware of all the new pumps for type 1's and the new technology. They do not see the reps from Accuchek, Abbott etc to see all the new devices etc.

Your gp practice could also be working to budgets... Ie you may initially need to test 8 times say. A day but because of costs the GP may try to give you the cheapest meter and strips. With a consultant you are more likely to get a meter that allows you to enter carbs etc if you go on to a bolus/basal regime. The consultant or a DSN at the hospital will also write to your doctor telling him how many strips you need...

Your GP's can give adequate care, don't get me wrong. However, hospitals can give you better care with more experience and more knowledge of specialising in the better future equipment for T1's.
 
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Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
For how much I told her I eat anyway I don't understand why I'm on the mixed insulin. My calorie intake isn't enough and I've had lots of hypos which make me feel even worse. I think she wanted me to see a dietician first which isn't until the 10th nov. It seems like a lifetime away.
 

Dillinger

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Type 1
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Insulin
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Charlotte,

You need to get referred to a diabetes clinic and not just have input from a diabetic nurse; they are not specislists.

Best

Dillinger
 
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Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm in to see the consultant this afternoon, I'm not what they want to do or what it's for but I'll tell him what's happening and hopefully get some answers
 
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noblehead

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Take your time Charlotte and explain everything to the consultant, also mention what's been said to you on the forum, hopefully they'll suggest a switch to basal/bolus and get your name down for a carb counting course.
 
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Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
It was a right waste of time seeing the consultant. He basically said I'm definitely type 1 but in the honeymoon period. They suggested I increase my mixed insulin doses. I'm really ****** off (sorry for swearing) I told him I'm struggling to eat and everything else, it just seems they've ignored me. If I increase them I'll be having more hypos. He says I'll be on basal insulin in the next few months but just not now! What the hell?! I'm so frustrated. It's not helping the anxiety At all.