• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 1 @ 59

K

//k8t3//

Newbie
Messages
4
Location
Liverpool
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not a lo
Diagnosed type 1 @ 59yrs old ,no warning not even type 2 out of control
 
That's probably because Type 1 and Type 2 are very different conditions. There are quite a few people diagnosed with Type 1 later in life on the forum I'm sure they will be along shortly. In the meantime hello and welcome.
 
Hi //k8t3//! I'm 59 this month and was diagnosed T1 October 2014. Double edged sword really. Bummer of a condition but so very lucky we didn't get it till now!! Something just triggered our autoimmune system to go haywire. I think my trigger was a bout of shingles.
 
//k8t3// said:
Diagnosed type 1 @ 59yrs old ,no warning not even type 2 out of control
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear of our diagnosis, I hope you can find support you need from forum members, we are a friendly bunch who will try to help out as much as we can We are the same age, 59, but I was diagnosed at 31. Take care
 
Nice to hear from somebody who understands were I'm at, diagnosed Feb 2017, hospital recon I must of had a virus, I'm lucky I have good family support but the list of doe + don't is Long ,
 
It does get easier though I think it will always be frustrating! We all seem to have different ways of dealing with it but just keep browsing on here - every question you have will have already been asked and answered! It's a steep learning curve initially but stick with it!
 
Hey @//k8t3// - Welcome to the forum I was 39 and it all happened within a week, it is a shock but getting to grips and learning as much as you can helps hugely, settling into a routine and learning what works and what doesn't helps, remember we are unique and different even as type 1, so finding your feet with this and recording results will help on as you start to grow and develop in your management.

The forum is really helpful so learn from others and ask away, we are here to help
 
@//k8t3//
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you want 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 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 free 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. They're all 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.
 
//k8t3// said:
but the list of doe + don't is Long
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard, mate!

Once you get used to the rules for figuring out how much insulin is needed for a meal, you'll be surprised by how unrestricted it is. There's not really too many "don'ts". When I started out, I thought, no, no, no, I'll only be able to eat certain things, lots of things will be ruled out, woe is me, but I learned pretty soon that that's really not the case.

For example, in a few hours, I'll be popping out for my regular Sunday Indian luch, poppadoms, fish pakora and lamb jalfrezi, could have rice if I wanted, but don't like white rice, neither the taste nor the fact that it spikes my sugars like crazy, so I just dip the crispier bits of the naan bread in the sauce. Again, could eat the whole naan if I wanted to, but out of preference, I just like the crispy bits! Curiously, spices like ginger and chillies seem to stabilise my sugars for quite a long time afterwards, so it's win win: a nice curry on a sunny Sunday, and levels me out! There's been quite a lot of research done on turmeric, ginger etc on blood glucose levels.

I never had a sweet tooth before dx, so avoiding cakes has never been a problem for me,but if I wanted to have one I could, just need to make sure I take enough insulin for it. One thing to bear in mind is that you're not allergic to sugar, it's more a case of managing the rate at which sugar is absorbed into your bloodstream.The slower the better, If I was to eat a cake right now on an empty stomach, it would rush into my bloodstream very quickly, which wouldn't be good, and I would have had to make sure I had pre-injected a lot of insulin long before to deal with it. Whereas if I was to have a cake at the end of a three course meal, the fats, proteins and complex carbs from the first two courses would buffer the rate at which the fast sugars from the cake gets absorbed. Still, I tend to avoid cakes at the end of a meal: quite apart from having to figure out the insulin needed for it, I reckon the cheeseboard and a glass of port is just so much more sophisticated! Although if eclairs or profiteroles are on the menu, I'm a sucker for them, and they are surprisngly low carb.
 
Hi! I am only 30, just diagnosed. But I'm sure it's a similar feeling. Mine was triggered by extreme medical issues it seems (a week in intensive care, then a week later, all of a sudden 2 autoimmune conditions.)
Have to say I agree with the other post above - in one way we're lucky to get it later. I got to be a normal mischievous young lad.
 

Hurrah! Somebody living their life in the confines of diabetes without too much obsession.
 
Late onset T1 occurs far more commonly than the medics believe. It can come on very quickly resulting in DKA and a hospital stay or far more slowly (having a honeymoon period) as in my case over a few years starting as age 60. Although in most cases it's caused by auto-immunity which a GAD test will show, it can be caused by viruses, pancreatitis and so on. The end result is the same i.e. destruction of the beta cells.
 
becca59 said:
Hurrah! Somebody living their life in the confines of diabetes without too much obsession.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the vote up, becca!

There are no confines, just some planning ahead.

I still remember a day about 20 years ago when I was a youth and backpacking in Asia. Was sitting having a coffee in the main square of Darjeeling. Some Tibetan horse traders were doing their stuff across the square. Mountains all around me. The sort of stuff you don't see at home.

Anyway, was coming up for lunch, decided to pop in to a place which did Tibetan momos. This was years before carb counting, or maybe it existed and I just didn't know about it, so I'm looking at this plate of momos, thinking, hmm, how much for this, I know, they're kinda like tortellini, I take x units for those, so I reckon this much for these. Worked out ok.

I don't know why that day sticks in my mind. Probably because I was in the foothills of the Himalayas. But I mention it because, while carb counting is a part of my life after a DAFNE course, there's still a huge part of T1 which involves basically just winging it and making educated guesses based on past experiences. I enjoy the freedom that gives me to do unpredictable high carb stuff in strange locations! And also the fact that the amount of attention I needed to pay to my T1 that day was pretty damned small. I know I need to pay attention to it to improve my chances of avoiding complications , but overall, I can do that without impacting my life too much, and th time spent doesn't bother me because I know it's something I'm doing to help me.
 
Last edited:
I was 32. I consider myself lucky because I didn't have to mess with it when I was a kid like so many do. I am also of the medical profession (diagnosed myself lol) which helped quite a bit too. But at 59 you're gonna do well and are unlikely to get any complications before you get to the geezer age (lol). It's a drag though, I loved my ice cream!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…