This is so depressing!

Yes but it's not all bad.

At least there ARE blood testers and multiple insulin injections. Could be much worse ;0

On the plus side since I actually started low carbing ive lost a stone and a half back to my Uni weight, NEVER binge any more (i used to be so bad with the crisps ) and have two people at my work on the same low carb diet who love it.

Maybe Ill even start exercising , who knows

Hi Claridge

It does seem daunting when you start but things will get easier for you. A lot of the posts in here are of a serious nature because the more information we have the better equipped we are dealing with diabetes.
So saying if you read the posts there is also a lot of light hearted banter sprinkled in there since we are a friendly bunch.

Stick with us, it will get better

Hi,

I guess you are still coming to terms with it. I was 11 when I was diagnosed (42 now) and cos I was a kid took it in my stride. Seems harder as an adult to excpt it.

I only joined yesterday and this seems the place to be. I realise how little I know and how much others know. It is confusing but this is a place to learn. Also to have some fun.

Remember you can lead the life you want to lead and do the things you want to do. Your slightly different life starts now. You are not alone.

Take Care

Pete

Yes it is confusing and you will hear wildly differing opinions from Drs, dieticians and people alike.

From what I've gathered on my own:

What it boils down to is that fat isn't necessarily bad for you. It's fat combined with refined carbohydrates that lead to all the problems such as obesity, heart disease etc. A while ago there was a theory that fat caused all this (and is still parroted to this day), so since diabetics suffered from heart problems etc the idea was to get energy from mainly carbs and limit fats.

The problem is that this "fat-causes-problems" theory was never proven, and you will find many studies indicating that low carb-high fat diets actually reduce chlo, heart disease and the rest.

Why this is relevant to diabetics is that carbs cause massive spikes in Blood Sugar levels that insulin just can't adequately cover, which is when problems start to set in. So what a lot of people do here is eat very little carbs and get their energy from the other two sources: fat and protein. (these dont affect insulin levels nearly as much)

And also because you are eating less carbs, you insulin intake will be less, so if you do mess up its only be very little and in general you will need less insulin to correct highs, and I found hypos easier to deal with too.

Of course, this is against the grain thinking at the minute unfortunately, although people are starting to take notice. It is not the only method of controlling diabetes, you may have success with a low-gi diet, but I can tell after 16 years of Type 1 rollercoaster-high-carb diets, it never worked for me and Im glad to find the low carb method.

Best of luck to you

Hi again Claridge

Just spent several minutes trying to type something about low carbing to find that mikeyuk has beaten me too it with a much better post so

What he says :lol:

Hi Jo,

Don't try and take everything in at once, you'll only end up getting confused and frustrated! I'm a year down the line and I've not yet perfected this. The low carb diet works for many people so, from experience I would definitely recommend it.

I've only just conquered 'the exercise thing' - lazy I know but I was also a bit worried about hypos etc. I took advice from a great thread on here a few days ago which made me finally get off my bum...I'll dig it out for you.

As far as drinking is concerned, you can still have a few drinks and enjoy yourself but do try and stay in control, passing out and forgetting to eat before bed is not recommended! If you drink too much you'll probably also find that you have hypos the next day - you'll need to take less insulin and / or eat a bit more carby stuff (brown bread etc). However, after a few bad experiences I've decided to 'drink in moderation' from now on!

Take care.

Jessie.

This is the info on exercise I found on here and have been following. I can't remember who submitted the post but thank you!

First try 15 mins and then build up so that I could make a note of how the exercise affected me. Different types will have different affects. Officially you should not exercise over 13 or 14 mmol

Some advice I was given when first diagnosed is to have a snack before the gym and take slightly less insulin than would be normally required to cover it. By doing this, your blood sugar is elevated slightly before you exercise, then drops to a normal value post-exercise. For example: I eat a peanut butter + jam sandwich and a banana before the gym. Normally this would be 8 units of Novorapid. I inject 6u, which allows for the drop during exercise. I exercise for only 30-40 minutes, so you may need a larger discrepency, or alternatively, take an isotonic drink with you. I take Lucozade sport or Powerade for football/cricket matches as they last a lot longer than 30 mins.

The danger (as already pointed out) is if you start with elevate bn level and it is some hours since your last insulin injection, that level will go higher... I've found that out the hard way. And if your bn level is fairly normal to low before exercise it's only going to go lower. By having a small meal about 1 hr before exercise and injecting, that insulin is used during the exercise to use the carbs and give you energy. I never exercise now without having a small meal 1-1.5 hrs before.


Jessie.

For the drinking sessions .... well, I asked a dietician about this and she told me that she doesn't recommend drinking sessions for anyone, diabetic or not. 4 hours and some beverages later she was throwing up behind the sofa ..

My point is drinking to excess (like most things) isn't good for anyone, but we're all human. I still drink more than I should when I go out, but I do keep a much closer eye on BS levels than I used to and stick mostly to vodka since it doesn't raise my BS as much as beer.

The important thing to remember is that your BS can drop rapidly during the night due to the liver processing all the alchohol, so until you are comfortable with your own body and hypos its better to eat something before you go to bed to be on the safe side.

The other thing is that a lot of symptoms of hypos are similar to being drunk, and you want to make sure your friends are aware of this. I've never been the sort to pass out from being drunk or from hypos either, but you should carry identification and again not overdo it until you're comfortable with how hypos affect you.

EDIT: As for exercise, again this differs between people like most things. I find moderate exercise such as shopping, even tidying up will drop my BS, whereas really high energy activity (hello morning sprint to catch my bus when im late) will elevate it due to the adrenalin pumping, the same goes for stress with me. You may very well be different, only time will tell

Does every one have to go on low carb diet to achieve good control… No they don’t

However a diabetic will need to know certain things and what factors effect control…

You need to learn your carb to insulin ratios
How exercise effects your bg
How stress effects your bg..
What are you limits of controlling certain foods types…

I eat normally type foods, just like most people how ever there are certain things that I don’t eat a lot of, if I have pasta or chips I have a very small portion as this is easier for me to control..

Today I went shopping with my oldest daughter and brought a cream slice to have with my coffee when I got home, took BG, 5.2mmol/l so I had 4 units of insulin and 2 hours later I was back to 4.4mmol/l so why should I treat myself to a cream slice?

At the moment you best advice will come from your diabetic team, as getting your BG back to there normal levels will still leave you feeling a bit lousy as the body has to readjust to normal levels this is one of the reasons why most diabetic teams take a little time to allow this readjustment to take place…

As is you start to feel worse as you adjust the less likely you are going to gain the good control that you need on a long term bases…

As to the exercise, it’s not that being above 13-14mmol/l stops you from exercising, but more so with for T1’s you might actually require extra insulin to exercise at these levels, and it would be wise to keep to minimum or moderate exercise rather than a full work out

Hey Claridge

Welcome to the club
You can have fun testing all your friends bs levels make sure you use a new pricky thing each time, obviously, but when I did it, it was great fun - all my mates wanted a 'turn' and it made them appreciate what I have to do everyday

Hi,
I'm 24 and was diagnosed 4 weeks ago with Type 1 so I guess we're kind of going through the same thing. The most important thing as far as I've found is to work out how you react to things like exercise, drinking, different foods etc, and don't stop doing what you were doing pre-diagnosis, just work out how you will adapt your life now. So I haven't stopped going out and drinking with friends, I just drink a bit less,test more often and have worked out now how many carbs I need to have for each drink to keep my BS more or less level, and how much I can drop overnight etc. Same with exercise, test before and after, work out how your body tends to react and don't overdo it.
Overall, I'm trying to see this as something that is just making me take better care of myself anyway, eating better, drinking less, exercising more. But i'm still new to it all too, so I guess it's just taking one day at a time at the moment!

Hi,
I also have been diagnosed for 4 weeks with T1 - 22 Yr old /Male. I thought I would throw my 2 cents in. Like most peeps have already explained it is trial and error and you need to know how your bs reacts to certain stuff such as; booze, food and exercise.

I ain't done the exercise at the moment, but I am on it tonight after work.

However, I went to the football on Saturday (MUFC Vs LFC) and I got absolutely a***holed all day starting at 10.30 am till about 10pm. I was doing fine until I got home and straight after finishing my chippy tea I went into a hypo (Straight after a starchy carb meal I was like ***?)

Then the next morning (Sunday) I had my bfast as usual with my insulin and took the dog for a walk, and bang straight down to 2.0 bs. Ha in the middle of nowhere with a small can of coke on me 150ml one. What a stupid t**t I thought as I was rushing back to my car. Corrected that hypo, two hours later bang again down to 1.8. But I am guessing I should of prob reduced my insulin intake because I just kept it as normal.

Any road what I am trying to say is I didn't have any problems in the time I was out, it was only when I got home and the next morn. (And hopefully I know what to do now)

So yes you can get wasted! Just be prepared for the bulls**t that goes with it!

Peace out

Hi Claridge,

I hope you're getting on OK. You should soon get an appointment with a dietitian (at least I did) who will help you to work out a carb - insulin ratio. I've started off on 1 unit of NovoRapid per 10g of carbs, but we are all different and I'm sure as the years go on I will find I need more insulin. I also find I need slightly more / less at different times of day.

I'm not sure how you work out how many carbs to have per alcoholic drink...maybe Franimal can help here...I just make sure I have a good meal before I go out, test regularly throughout the evening, and then have a snack before bed. If I do get on the low side whilst I'm out then I'll have some crisps or a biscuit which I keep in my bag. No chance of taking a little girly handbag out any more - I need a suitcase!

Take care. x