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Teachings of diabetes

B

bos5

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14
I would like to know if anyone on here has been told by the dietician that as a type 1 diabetic you can eat anything. I feel this is madness as it is misleading to the young. Yes we can all eat whatever we want but with consequences, putting on weight, heart disease etc. I cant believe that Carbs are being pushed as being such a big part of the diet. The GI diet seems more reasonable to me. My daughter has just been newly diagnosed and I have done nothing but research on diabetes. The attitude is eat what you want just take more insulin, what??? I have cut her carbs down and she is using 12 units less of fast working insulin. Any advice would be appreciated. We will be going on a carb course in the future however this cant come soon enough. There just seems to be such a relaxed attitude to this illness with no urgency to learn units per carbs asap, not even a mention of it to us. I have purchased books carbs and cals etc and reading all food items. But it seems even in hospital they were letting her eat whatever even syrup sponge, heaped sausage and Mash etc We have always ate a healthy all round diet and checking it with what is healthy for a dieabetic means I only need to tweek a few thing however I feel the carb counting is essential and if possible to cut down on insulin intake. Please help thankyou
 
hi

we dont restrict dylans carb intake but i wouldnt say he has an unhealthy diet he has choc or ice cream as occasional treats as i found if we restricted things he would sneak food all the time this way he knows if we say no its for a reason and tomorrow might be a yes.

he loves pizza and i cant say no never again but its not something he will eat regularly but every now and then we have pizza for tea, he is a child and i wont put him on a strict diet so he resents his diabetes i feel he leads a normal life being able to have treats every so often but the pump has made this alot easier on MDI he would never have a choc biscuit in his packed lunch and he used to longingly look at others lunches now he can have one.

everyone is different and we all do what we feel is best

anna marie
 
Hi

1st off, sorry to hear of the recent diagnosis for your daughter.

I think that we often forget that medicine hasn't been around that long really, perhaps 100 years, and that along with medicines changing and improving so does the knowledge of foods etc...I certainly remember Edwina Currie scaring the heck out of people with eggs.....and I was the same when I was diagnosed I was told to eat with what was then called 'exchanges' on a basis of 1 unit of insulin to 10g of carbs, and with the insulin I had I had to eat snacks (digestives) in between main meals etc.

I wholeheartedly agree that carbs need watching in adults. I don't know enough of childrens diets, other than that should be balanced....but what the balance should be I do not know!!!

I think that the NHS and their way of thinking about carbs is still a little backward, and I still cannot fathom out why they should be telling us d's to eat unlimited carbs when so many of us say we are better off eating less carbs........being type 1 myself, I see why type 1's are told to eat carbs, as obviously we have to control our insulin and avoid hyos...but I can't reason why carb's are so low down on the list of prioritys-why dafne courses aren't a standard for a new diabetic-immediately.

I'm not overly empowered with my brain cells, and I do realise that diabetes is a huge shock to adjust to when first diagnosed, but the more we know when diagnosed the better...

Not an answer to your question I know...but just that I agree that being told you can eat anything is not a good answer to controlling our diabetes.
 
Hi Everyone

Thankyou so much for your input. I completely agree that nothing should be out of the question in moderation. The problem we have is that the nurses are deciding what insulin should be given and its the same at every meal 10 units of fast acting breakfast, lunch, dinner. My daughter was and is finding it hard to eat this amount of carbs to keep sugars level. I have had to argue to get reduced at lunch time as she only usually likes say soup bread and a bit of fruit. She does eat well at other time but needs much less insulin and took a hypo the other night because she cant manage all those carbs, re my previous post, carb counting should be an instant right and being taught how to manage insulin v carbs and sugar taught right away. I wasnt disagreeing that she should not be allowed to eat anything like we are just that if she did it she would suffer as we do, she still has the occasional sweet and crisps although quavers, however not a massive change in the diet she was on previously as she did eat healthy. My daughter is an Adult and does not need as much carbs as a child. She exercises and has been told not to do so at the moment without any other info. We only found out about the ration of insulin to carbs through online research, we have no support, thats the way we feel. She was just diagnosed 2weeks ago. Thank you for your information we appreciate all help received xx
 
When diagnosed I was taken into hospital on the Tuesday and spent 3 days being taught everything I needed to know, and also to get stabilised. It seems that things are very differentl nowadays, personally I think this is short sightedness for type 1 diabetics by the hospitals.

Makes me very grateful for such brilliant information from websites, especially this one.

Sorry, my mistake when hearing that your daughter was type 1, I just automatically assumed that she was a child. I hope that she gets on okay, everybody here will be able to give pretty good advice if you need it on anything!!!

It is a huge shock being diagnosed type 1, they are the most clearest images from my adult life. I really wish her well...
 
Thank you so much, my daughter is near 20 lol but does not want to put on weight and thats understandable at her age. I would have felt much better if we had only one day of teaching but nothing for a few weeks and the nurses controlling the insulin. She wants to live as normal a life as possible and obviously I want all of that for her as much of a full life as possible but without being taught how to control things responsibly we feel out of control. Maybe we are expecting things too quickly but life is fast paced now a days and she faces challenges ahead, she is going on holiday etc so worried.
 
Yep , I too diagnosed in my very early 20's. First off, I survived-and so will she. You will worry constantly, as does my Mum worry over me, and this is 26 years on!!! I certainly get treated differently to my brothers, as I think my Mum feels guilty from giving me bad genes (total nonsense of course).

Your daughter will cope, but I do wish that she had been given the knowledge that I was all those years ago. It is very, very tough nowadays for new type 1's.

My Mum and dad were with me all the time, and my then husband. I still remember my parents clearing out the cupboards before I got home of stuff I couldn't eat (in those days!!!) and Mum always making me foods that I could eat. Nowadays, everything has changed-diabetics are not told to eat diabetic chocloate-but a small piece of normal chocolate etc....

reading posts here will tell you all about how diabetics nowadays find their living better with a lower amount of carbs. It will take a good while for your daughter to work out how different foods affect her. Initally I think hospitals tend to try and keep type 1's out of hypo's. When I was diagnosed I was not allowed to go home from hospital without having a hypo and I was made to run up and down 4 flights of stairs until I did.....(I didn't!!!).

When she has a hypo-(and she will) just remember that you will find it more frightening for you, than she will feel. Often people trying to cope with a hypo find our attacks more stressful than us experiencing them.

Please don't get overwhelmed by the diabetes. Life is for living. She should try and control the diabetes, rather than letting it control her....

There is a huge amount of help here thank goodness....
 
Well I'm the same age as you then, she goes on holiday before the carb counting course thats why I'm ill with worry, a little more time would help. If she were more prepared then I would feel less anxious, your right I will worry no matter what. Its devestating to have your child diagnosed with this, I know that there is worse but I just dont understand how she has it, no history in our family at all. I keep thinking they are wrong, its a kidney infection went beserk or pancriatitis or too much partying two weeks ago, yes I am in denial however I am still treating as I should. Its just crazy.
 
Have sent you a PM....just make sure that whoever she is going on holiday with knows ahow to treat a hypo.....
 
p.s they are putting her into hypo by giving her too much insulin v carb that she eats at home as a normal diet, they are basing it on the diet in hospital which was excuse me cr*p. And she has had chocolate and a pudding though small from m and s. she eats about 50 carbs at breakfast, lunch about 30 dinner about 60 but told to take 10 units three times a day and also slow acting at dinner time. Blood sugars are at 8 but we have reduced it to 6 units
 
Not good....sent you a private mesage...Sharon
 
I've been trying to pm but cant seem to manage it god knows I've added you as friend etc but no sent messages. I have dogs also 5
 
Her reading are only at 8 because we reduced the insulin to 6 they were reading 2 with the hospitals advice of 10 I had to constantly make her eat eat eat
 
we had been battling diabetes for 4 years before we were offered a carb counting course i never realised there was such a thing we took the professionals words for things and when we were offered the course i asked why everyone wasnt offered it at diagnosis and was told it was all about cost and they would love to put everyone on it but it just wasnt practicle.

if u feel confident enough reduce her insulin one at a time and monitor the situation i dont check with the nurses what im doing as i feel i know how to cope with it all better sometimes well no not that i know better but i know dylan better. infact since being on the pump we have had contact twice, i phone if im worried or dont know what to do and go in for appointments. however in the begining i would have phoned for any hypo or change.

hope u mangae to sort it all out for ur daughter

anna marie
 
Just did a search on the internet and found out that its not even the DAFNE course they are putting my daughter on. Its some morning course, it doesnt last for a week. They said their was a course available 5 days but she would not get on this until she had been a diabetic for over a year. Is this correct or should I push for the course?? Thankyou for everyones help
 

I think they do that to make sure you get out of the honeymoon period first and so your daughter can get a bit familiar and used to everything.
 
we didnt do dafne we did choice which was the childrens version and lasted 2 days was good tho

anna marie
 
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