Hi, I was sent to hospital in a coma at 40 years of age (8 months ago)and found out I had type 1 diabetes. I had blood sugar levels of 178 mmol which is the highest the doctors had ever seen. I had been drinking litres and litres of fizzy drinks and orange juice all the time and going to the toilet every 15 minutes etc for almost a year, around the time I had COVID. I am not sure if this is linked or not or if I had prediabetes at that point. I'm on a long waiting list for diabetes team so can't get any answers and my gp doesn't seem to know much at all. I have had a bad back for years that comes and goes but has not gone since my diagnosis, I now have really bad knees and have shooting pains in my calf's, my gp has gave me exercises to do which only make things worse, I am also on a long waiting list for physio. Could my pains be due to having high blood sugar for so long and causing nerve damage or something else?
Type 1 Possible damage
- Thread starter danielrowlett
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Hi @danielrowlett and welcome to the forums.
We can't give you any medical dagnoses here but I may be able to make some comments.
Extreme thirst is a well known symptom of diabetes so yes it's possible that you had diabetes for some time before diagnosis.
There is evidence that viruses can trigger T1D
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
but to be honest no one is quite sure what causes it so I suspect you may never know whether covid was a factor in yours.
I am concerned that you are on a long waiting list for a diabetes team because as a new T1 you need help with your diabetes now.
Your profile says you are on toujeo and novorapid. Are you getting any help on adjusting your doses? Have they given you a libre or dexcom so you can check your blood sugar without finger pricking?
I'm not a doctor so I don't know whether your current issues are related to your diabetes (usually diabetic complications come after years of blood sugars that are too high) but I can comment that there is a condition called treatment induced neuropathy which can happen when people's blood sugars are brought under control very quickly. Though painful it is supposed to be temporary. But to be honest your symptoms sound like they could be caused by any number of things, and you really need access to an endocrinologist to determine whether your diabetes is a factor.
Once more welcome, and please don't hesitate to ask questions.
We can't give you any medical dagnoses here but I may be able to make some comments.
Extreme thirst is a well known symptom of diabetes so yes it's possible that you had diabetes for some time before diagnosis.
There is evidence that viruses can trigger T1D
COVID-19 as a Trigger for Type 1 Diabetes - PubMed
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is usually caused by immune-mediated destruction of islet β cells, and genetic and environmental factors are thought to trigger autoimmunity. Convincing evidence indicates that viruses are associated with T1D development and progression. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cases...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
but to be honest no one is quite sure what causes it so I suspect you may never know whether covid was a factor in yours.
I am concerned that you are on a long waiting list for a diabetes team because as a new T1 you need help with your diabetes now.
Your profile says you are on toujeo and novorapid. Are you getting any help on adjusting your doses? Have they given you a libre or dexcom so you can check your blood sugar without finger pricking?
I'm not a doctor so I don't know whether your current issues are related to your diabetes (usually diabetic complications come after years of blood sugars that are too high) but I can comment that there is a condition called treatment induced neuropathy which can happen when people's blood sugars are brought under control very quickly. Though painful it is supposed to be temporary. But to be honest your symptoms sound like they could be caused by any number of things, and you really need access to an endocrinologist to determine whether your diabetes is a factor.
Once more welcome, and please don't hesitate to ask questions.
I am not trying to diagnose but just giving my experience. I think it unlikely that your aches and pains are diabetes related. The reason I say that is because I, also, have similar problems with my joints and back, but so do my non-diabetic siblings. However, if some of the pains are of neurological origin, there is something that you can do. Dr Richard Bernstein wrote in his Diabetes Solution that when diabetics lowered their HbA1c, even those with previous neuropathy damage found that their symptoms were reduced. Good luck.
Great thank you, that's something I will be able to suggest to my GP. I wish I found this forum sooner. I have worried about having low sugar during the night also, but since I have had the Libra sensor I have found that my blood sugar increase itself while I sleep. I'm still getting my head around why I need to avoid carbs, as I lost 4 stone before I was diagnosed and I have put 3.5 back on so far. I adjusted my tujeo from 14 to 16 units and now I have a better understanding of when to take my novorapid and how many units now I have been using the Libra for a couple of months, seeing a graph and knowing the direction and speed my sugar is heading is so much better.
- Messages
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- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
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- hypos and forum bugs
If it helps, this course on T1 management may be useful
www.bertieonline.org.uk
Welcome - BERTIE Online
CatsFive
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- Type of diabetes
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- Diet only
Hopefully you've ditched the fizzy drinks & fruit juice, but take a good look at how many carbs you are eating.
Weight lose is a sign of diabetes so it makes sense to me (not a T1) that getting control will lead to regaining your original weight as your body can now use all the carbs you are eating. When you were piddling lots your kidneys were moving the sugar into your urine - diabetes was called 'diabetes mellitis' as the urine was sweet, like honey.
Think carefully before ditching. Both of these are great hypo treatments for people with Type 1.
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Yes I have ditched them now. I never used to like them before. I just have the odd one of I'm having a hypo
CatsFive
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But not as a normal day to day part of one's diet
As has been said many times, the diet for someone with Type 1 is the same as someone without diabetes.
I do not judge the diet of someone without diabetes and would certainly not suggest anyone ditches fizzy drinks and juice ...especially if juice is the only fruit that person is consuming.
If someone is just diagnoses with possible Type 1 diabetes (as the title of this thread suggests), the advice is often "do not change your diet due to the diabetes". There maybe other reason for changing diet (e.g. wanting to lose weight) but this is not related to Type 1 diabetes.
Personally, I chose not to drink full fat fizzy drinks or juice unless I am hypo when they are incredibly useful. Hence, they are often found in my fridge.
But others with Type 1 or without diabetes may consume both as part of their normal day to day diet. For example, my healthy parents drink fruit juice as part of their daily breakfast.
I think we are derailing this thread by focusing on these drinks so I will say no more on the topic ... at least not within this thread.
