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State Of Shock

Shilts

Shilts

Member
Messages
5
Hi all,

I have decided to sign up here and post, mainly as I am still reeling from the week's events. I have given a precis of my situation on my welcome post, but just for clarity (my own more than anything) I will recount it here too. Apologies in advance for the long post, you might want a cuppa.

I had a rather painful spot under my armpit that began growing about a fortnight ago. I also had noticed that I was excessively thirsty and needing to pee a lot recently, but as we have had the joint hottest summer on record here in the UK, I had put much of this down to the weather. The weekend before last (August bank holiday) I drove my family to Disneyland Paris, which from where we live amounts to about a 6-7 hour drive plus a ferry in between. I did all of that with this pain developing under my arm.

Things came to a head on Wednesday last week (the day after we arrived back home from France) and I went to see my GP, who declared that I had an abscess and prescribed antibiotics, with a instruction to go to A & E if it got worse. Thursday cam, and after a horrendous day at work, with the pain getting steadily worse, I headed to my local hospital, where I was triaged and then sent to the surgical assessment unit.

As the nurse was taking some blood samples from me, she mentioned that my blood was very thick. She then said that as a matter of routine, everyone who comes in gets a blood sugar test done. She did the first one, and did that thing that you don't like to see medical professionals do...she did a double take at the meter.

"Have you had anything sweet or sticky on your hands" she asked, and after getting me to wash my hands, she repeated the test. 23.1 and 22.9 on the readings. "You aren't going home tonight" was the next statement. I knew then that something strange was up.

After being admitted, around 1am, I tried to get a bit of kip, and I was put on a fast drip, 2 bags in 2 hours through my blood. I was then seen by the surgeon first thing Friday morning, and he said that normally they wouldn't operate on an abscess like mine (! - it killed!), but they said becuase of my high blood sugar, and the fact that I was already in hospital, they decided to get me done. So without any time to dwell on things, about an hour later, I was prepped for theatre, given a general, and the next moment I was awake, with my abscess treated.

Back to the ward I went, and regular blood sugars taken, while I waited to be spoken to by the diabetes doctor. He came round in the afternoon, to deliver the news that in their opinion, I had got diabetes, and in all likelihood it was Type 1. This was a huge shock, and although I knew the blood sugar wasn't right, it still is hard news to process. Fast forward a few hours, and around comes the diabetes nurse, with all the equipment under the sun, about a day's worth of information packed into 15 minutes and off she went.

I was discharged the next day, and have had to have my dressings changed daily on my abscess ever since. I booked in to see the GP on Monday this week, and have been issued with a boat load of stuff. I'm still getting my head around testing my blood sugar levels, insulin twice a day, low carbs, fluctuating levels, ketones...

I feel shell shocked to be honest. I've got a young family, two children aged 5 and 8 months, and a very caring wife. I've also got amazing parents and a good support network around me. My head is all over the place, and I have so many questions, but then on the other hand, I haven't as I my brain can't process it all.

I was very tired all day yesterday, and I'm suffering a lot with my vision. My glasses don't seem to work any more, and everything is blurry right now. My levels are fluctuating between 15 and 4, higher first thing in the morning, and lower at night.

I have had so much trouble with the glucoject pen they gave me in hospital for my blood sugars. I have bought myself some Unistik 3's online, as I have done much better with those, but my clinic didn't seem to want to prescribe those. I thought I would take the bull by the horns on that one and just order some.

Can I eat sugary things, do I need to quit? Can I still drink alcohol, do I need to quit? Should I never again let a potato cross my lips? Why do I struggle between 9-10pm for hunger - what can I eat? Fruit juice, gone forever?

So many questions. Sorry to rant on, but i'm still coming to terms with things, and I'm sure others have been there. Looking forward to understanding more. I want to learn (I am an academic, after all!), but I've got to get my head right first, if that makes sense.

Thanks for reading, if you made it to the end...
 
Hello @Shilts and welcome to the forum, albeit under a very stressful situation.

Sadly type 1 is a shock, it's sudden and the diagnosis can feel incredibly surreal, I remember mine all too well over 6 years ago after going skiing one week, losing alot of weight and drinking copious amounts of coke and ending up in hospital the day after I got back, I was also mum to a youngster, working full time so there was huge pressure on me anyway without the delight of the diagnosis. The shock is the hardest part to deal with as it's so sudden and mentally it's alot to cope with. Needless to say 6 years on, it's do-able and yes you will cope, however knowledge is a powerful tool, get a copy of 'think like a pancreas' on Amazon it's useful and written by a type 1, talk about your feelings and how you are coping, communication is important, lean on your DSN and keep a good dialogue going with them.

You can eat chips/sugar etc, some choose not to as it's easier to regulate your blood glucose levels by not taking so much insulin but it's very much down to how you manage, I drink wine but not sugary alcohol drinks and I can control my glucose levels fine, you can either make it fit around you and your life or you can let it take over your life, it's really down to how well you can adapt and grow with it.
 
..... and BOOM you're in the club nobody wants to be. It will be a bit of a whirlwind in the first couple of weeks but things will settle down and your vision will come back to normal. Also with a little planning and in moderation you'll be able to eat and drink almost everything. Don't expect to learn everything at once and don't expect perfection. You'll be fine!
 
Thanks for the reply Petaluk, I've been put on Humulin M3, 14 units per injection, twice a day, before breakfast and before my evening meal.
 
Petaluk said:
You need to avoid sugar and starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Always check the carbohydrates value of anything you eat. The former are big culprits with hidden carbs which when consumed are converted by the body into sugar.
Fruit juice is a definite no no.
Click to expand...
As a type 1 things like rice, potatoes, bread and pasta don't need to be avoided as long as you can take the insulin to cover it - though as a newly diagnosed Type1 this may take some time to work out.
And in fact being on only 2 fixed injections a day a certain exact amount of carbs may be required to stop hypos - as 2 fixed injections is a lot lot less flexible than multiple ones.
 
Petaluk said:
While we wait for Daisy I will try to answer some of your concerns, although I’m not an expert.
From what I have learnt on here, your eyes will take up to 3 months to readjust after bringing your glucose levels down, so don’t get them re tested before then.

You need to avoid sugar and starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Always check the carbohydrates value of anything you eat. The former are big culprits with hidden carbs which when consumed are converted by the body into sugar.
Fruit juice is a definite no no.
You may be hungry in the evening due to earlier carbohydrates consumption, they spike the bg levels sharply and cause massive crashes, leading to hunger and sugar cravings.
Click to expand...
@Shilts has been diagnosed with type 1, not type 2 and is on a mixed insulin. Cutting carbs at this stage would be quite dangerous, and leave him liable to hypo.
 
Welcome to the club @Shilts
I suspect you will never look at Mickey Mouse the same way again after you recent experience.

Although I didn't have the abscess, reading your diagnosis experience brings back memories. It is certainly a shock. Thankfully, this was tempered by some fantastic advice from my diabetes nurse "Diabetes should not stop you doing anything".
Nearly 15 years later and I continue to test that advice with travels around the world (Venezuela, Ghana, Nepal, ... as well as USA and Europe), many different activities (climbing, sailing, sky diving, running, mountain biking, ...), the usual life stuff (dating, changing jobs/career, unrelated surgery, ...), eating and drinking what I want (after a bit of testing followed by lots of practice).
I suspect I push this further than most but my BG remains pretty good and I don't have any complications.
This is probably helped by being an engineer so having a logical way of looking at everything. However, this can be frustrating because diabetes doesn't always obey the rules.

This forum is great.
You may need to remind yourself every so often that 90% of people with diabetes have type 2. Therefore, 90% of the people of the forum have type 2 so some of the advice is not always relevant to someone with type 1.
As @Juicyj mentioned, some people with type 1 choose to eat a low carb diet but many find this is not necessary.

When I was first diagnosed, I too was put on a regime of 2 fixed doses of insulin per day. I think this is a "safe start".
I was happy when this changed to a basal-bolus regime as this allows you to eat when you want and change your diet every day/meal but requires more thought as you have to count the carbs and calculate the dose.
But we are all different - if your daily eating patterns rarely change, the two injections will suit you fine.

I think your academic mind will be satisfied - there is a lot to learn about diabetes now and this keeps growing. I am not sure it is possible to know everything ... and we are all different so some things apply more than others.

Finally, when diabetes frustrates me and makes me question whether I should stop doing something to make my life easier, I think of the people in the public eye with diabetes (Halle Berry, Henry Slade, Theresa May, ...) and decide if they can do their jobs, so can I.
 
Hi Shilts, apart from the abscess that is exactly how I was introduced to the world of insulin at the grand old age of 56. For the first few months at least you will be in a whirlwind of emotion, barely knowing what to do and wondering how you are suddenly expected to know everything about diabetes with a 15 minute lecture to go on. They send you away practically saying 'take this every day from now on or die'!

Right, here I am 12 months later and do you know what?, I am going about my business and managing my diabetes as if I was born with it. Don't get me wrong, it is still hard and I sometimes get it all wrong especially as I am still in the honeymoon period.

What I am trying to say is try to calm down and learn everything you can, try to get into a routine of testing before every meal and again 2 hours after, if you feel off, test between meals, do as much testing as you can in order to ascertain how your body is reacting to carbs and insulin to begin with. You might then recognise a pattern (albeit that pattern can suddenly change for NO reason).

It is such a horrible thing to suddenly find out, my eyes went blurry the minute I started insulin (quite normal) and after a few months they went back to normal, this at least was explained by the nurse before I left the hospital.

You have found this site very quickly and that is a bonus. I would say don't rush to change your eating habits in an extreme way, the hospital will be trying to determine how much insulin to put/leave you on for the next few months so will want you to eat 'normally'. I sort of did that but cut out any obvious rubbish, ie sweets, cakes, jam, etc.

You WILL become more confident over the next few months I am sure, for the first month I never even went to work (!), I was scared of falling to the floor in public etc. Now I'm not because I have more of an idea of what I'm doing.

x
 
I was going to say it's odd they've put you on 2 mixed injections a day, but actually it makes sense - hopefully it'll gradually bring your levels down and have some semblance of 'control' for the time being, but I did come here to say it's a marathon not a sprint so just take some time to gather yourself, all those horror stories you may have heard about Diabetes are probably all wrong (depends on what you've heard ;))

keep a diary of blood tests, injections, food, exercise - it'll help your DSN to help you formulate a better regime.
 
Hello Shilts
I cant help you much re T1 however for the next few months I would strongly advise you keep a diary and record everything you eat and drink, showing BG at first bite and 2 hours later. We are all so individual what affects one person might not another but it will give you confidence in understanding how different food and drink affect you. I wish you all the best.
 
For the blurry eyesight - that is good - it means that your blood glucose levels are going down, that is affecting your eyesight, but it might very well go on changing for a while - a few pairs of reading glasses of different strengths might help - a few quids in Aldi, I saw some just now when shopping - as any new prescription you get now might be no use in a few days.
It might be useful to get hold of information on the amount of carbs you are eating at different times during the day - a heavy carb breakfast could be responsible for high numbers afterwards, but a salad type lunch could then drop you low - a bit of juggling could see a more even response. I made a card index with the foods I ate/still eat but I am sure there are electronic apps to give you the numbers far more easily - I used a sliderule.
 
Petaluk said:
While we wait for Daisy I will try to answer some of your concerns, although I’m not an expert.
From what I have learnt on here, your eyes will take up to 3 months to readjust after bringing your glucose levels down, so don’t get them re tested before then.

You need to avoid sugar and starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Always check the carbohydrates value of anything you eat. The former are big culprits with hidden carbs which when consumed are converted by the body into sugar.
Fruit juice is a definite no no.
You may be hungry in the evening due to earlier carbohydrates consumption, they spike the bg levels sharply and cause massive crashes, leading to hunger and sugar cravings.
Click to expand...


Avoid was the wrong word, sorry.
Balance is better.
My mother in law is type 1. She can eat more carbohydrates than me as long as she balances her insulin - by testing her BGS before and after, and adjusting her insulin accordingly - but, she is not on daily set injections.
If her bgs is too low she has a hypo.
Sorry, but not sure how it works with set injections.

Edited to include.. apologies to @daisy1 ,sorry I thought your tag was an auto responder :/
 
Last edited:
Resurgam said:
For the blurry eyesight - that is good - it means that your blood glucose levels are going down, that is affecting your eyesight, but it might very well go on changing for a while - a few pairs of reading glasses of different strengths might help - a few quids in Aldi, I saw some just now when shopping - as any new prescription you get now might be no use in a few days.
It might be useful to get hold of information on the amount of carbs you are eating at different times during the day - a heavy carb breakfast could be responsible for high numbers afterwards, but a salad type lunch could then drop you low - a bit of juggling could see a more even response. I made a card index with the foods I ate/still eat but I am sure there are electronic apps to give you the numbers far more easily - I used a sliderule.
Click to expand...
I think the eyesight generally improves quicker with type 1. This is because type 1 evolves/is diagnosed quicker so our bodies have less time to get used to higher BG.
However, the cheapest place I have found for reading glasses is Poundland ... not bad specs for £1 each.
As for carbs, with a fixed two dose insulin regime, I would suggest sticking with normal meals and seeing what happens with the dose. As the two insulin dose reacts at a medium rate (neither fast not slow acting), it is harder to see the impact of different foods with the dose.
The profile of the intensity of Humulin M3 has a peak upfront but is active for a long time.
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@Shilts

Hello Shilts 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 NEW MEMBERS

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 235,000 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 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. Most of these are 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.
 
Hi @Shilts ,

Welcome to the forum!

Advice wise from me. Don't fill your head with diabetes to fast too soon.

Booze. I wouldn't try it while you're just getting your head round all this.. Beer is like liquid bread. But yes a tipple can be done.
We're diabetics not the temperance movement. ;)

Ask as you go. No question is too silly.. :)
 
Shilts said:
Hi all,

I have decided to sign up here and post, mainly as I am still reeling from the week's events. I have given a precis of my situation on my welcome post, but just for clarity (my own more than anything) I will recount it here too. Apologies in advance for the long post, you might want a cuppa.

I had a rather painful spot under my armpit that began growing about a fortnight ago. I also had noticed that I was excessively thirsty and needing to pee a lot recently, but as we have had the joint hottest summer on record here in the UK, I had put much of this down to the weather. The weekend before last (August bank holiday) I drove my family to Disneyland Paris, which from where we live amounts to about a 6-7 hour drive plus a ferry in between. I did all of that with this pain developing under my arm.

Things came to a head on Wednesday last week (the day after we arrived back home from France) and I went to see my GP, who declared that I had an abscess and prescribed antibiotics, with a instruction to go to A & E if it got worse. Thursday cam, and after a horrendous day at work, with the pain getting steadily worse, I headed to my local hospital, where I was triaged and then sent to the surgical assessment unit.

As the nurse was taking some blood samples from me, she mentioned that my blood was very thick. She then said that as a matter of routine, everyone who comes in gets a blood sugar test done. She did the first one, and did that thing that you don't like to see medical professionals do...she did a double take at the meter.

"Have you had anything sweet or sticky on your hands" she asked, and after getting me to wash my hands, she repeated the test. 23.1 and 22.9 on the readings. "You aren't going home tonight" was the next statement. I knew then that something strange was up.

After being admitted, around 1am, I tried to get a bit of kip, and I was put on a fast drip, 2 bags in 2 hours through my blood. I was then seen by the surgeon first thing Friday morning, and he said that normally they wouldn't operate on an abscess like mine (! - it killed!), but they said becuase of my high blood sugar, and the fact that I was already in hospital, they decided to get me done. So without any time to dwell on things, about an hour later, I was prepped for theatre, given a general, and the next moment I was awake, with my abscess treated.

Back to the ward I went, and regular blood sugars taken, while I waited to be spoken to by the diabetes doctor. He came round in the afternoon, to deliver the news that in their opinion, I had got diabetes, and in all likelihood it was Type 1. This was a huge shock, and although I knew the blood sugar wasn't right, it still is hard news to process. Fast forward a few hours, and around comes the diabetes nurse, with all the equipment under the sun, about a day's worth of information packed into 15 minutes and off she went.

I was discharged the next day, and have had to have my dressings changed daily on my abscess ever since. I booked in to see the GP on Monday this week, and have been issued with a boat load of stuff. I'm still getting my head around testing my blood sugar levels, insulin twice a day, low carbs, fluctuating levels, ketones...

I feel shell shocked to be honest. I've got a young family, two children aged 5 and 8 months, and a very caring wife. I've also got amazing parents and a good support network around me. My head is all over the place, and I have so many questions, but then on the other hand, I haven't as I my brain can't process it all.

I was very tired all day yesterday, and I'm suffering a lot with my vision. My glasses don't seem to work any more, and everything is blurry right now. My levels are fluctuating between 15 and 4, higher first thing in the morning, and lower at night.

I have had so much trouble with the glucoject pen they gave me in hospital for my blood sugars. I have bought myself some Unistik 3's online, as I have done much better with those, but my clinic didn't seem to want to prescribe those. I thought I would take the bull by the horns on that one and just order some.

Can I eat sugary things, do I need to quit? Can I still drink alcohol, do I need to quit? Should I never again let a potato cross my lips? Why do I struggle between 9-10pm for hunger - what can I eat? Fruit juice, gone forever?

So many questions. Sorry to rant on, but i'm still coming to terms with things, and I'm sure others have been there. Looking forward to understanding more. I want to learn (I am an academic, after all!), but I've got to get my head right first, if that makes sense.

Thanks for reading, if you made it to the end...
Click to expand...
 
@Shilts - welcome to possibly the most frustrating club in the world, it’ll certainly tax your academic brain (it’s giving my scientific one a workout)... you’ve come to the right place to talk to people who are in the same boat, hopefully we can support you through these baffling early days. Hugs, mate x
 
Hi Shultz,
I am a newbie too and fully understand where you're coming from. I've had a bad week being ill with a cold and sugars sky high but after speaking with my dietician today I feel better. I just wanted to say you will get there but it takes time to understand it all. I'm getting there slowly. Take care of you, lots of advice on this forum and your diabetes nurse and dietician will help. Dawn
 
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