Type 1: August Diagnosis, Very lost and confused

[holliedolly]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed in August this year and I've been having quite a difficult time with it all. Not only did it come as a total shock but unfortunately for me, my needle phobia runs so deep I thought seriously about rebelling against the diagnosis and just saying no. I have come quite a long way in the last month or so as I can now administer my own injections which if you'd asked me before my diagnosis I would of said no amount of money in the world would make me do it.

Of course when you don't really know about diabetes, finding out that you have it is really confusing and i'm just looking for some answers to things I don't really understand fully. Any feedback you have would be amazing.

1. I have recently switched from Humulin M3 to Novarapid and Leveimer combined.. I understand the concept behind carb counting but there are grey areas. If I only have to administer an injection when I have 10g or more carbs, does this mean for 10g of carb as a whole throughout the day or for each individual item. As an example, if I have a yoghurt which is 6g of carbohydrates and then a small skinny latte an hour later which is 10g of carbohydrates and then a handful of blueberries, should I be administrating an injection to cover all of those things or as they don't individually go over 10g each, would my long acting insulin cover this?

2. I know it's not recommended but drinking alcohol. I am not a big drinker by any means but I really don't want this condition to fully take over my life and I would like to be able to have a couple when out with friends. If I am to go out, should i be taking a short acting insulin to accommodate for these drinks or would taking my long acting at the regular time be enough for the night. Would hypo treatments still work in the same way also if I was to drop while out?

3. Sorry last one. If I was to be eating a 3 course meal, would I get away with having 1 injection that covers the carbs in all 3 dishes even though I wouldn't be eating them one straight after the other or would I have to administer 3 separate injections once the meal is in front of me?

I'm sorry if all of this seems so obvious and basic but it's a lot to process and I think I only take in about 30% of what the doctors tell me.

Thanks

Holly

 

[himtoo]

Hey Holly @holliedolly
welcome to the forum !!

for starters here are my answers to your questions........

1 -- with the insulin regime that you are on ( usually called basal / bolus ) it can be a bit tricky to eat small amounts at different times ( grazing ) , your long acting most likely won't cover this , but every one of us is different too , so it is impossible to give you totally tailored advice -- sorry -- hope this makes sense, for any snack of 10 carb I would bolus
edit to add -- testing an hour and a half after a small snack will tell you too if your blood sugar rises much

2 -- alcohol needn't be a problem -- there are many threads on the forum about this -- when I go out for a drink I always try to space 1 alcohol with 1 water , I test frequently ( every hour ) and at bedtime have a small snack . I try to stick to drinks like gin and slimline tonic , red wine , rum and diet coke , dry white wine, etc . I would never drink alcopops for the sugar they contain. -- sorry -- better add -- that if BG's rise though the evening while drinking and eating I would do a correction dose.

3 - eating out can be a tough one to decide because we don't always know what we will be served ---- for me I never eat the dessert course ( personal preference ) but I always bolus for the first course when it arrives and bolus again for the main
( others might advise differently )

I hope this helps and hopefully you will get a load of support
if I can help any more do let me know

I wish you all the best x

 

[Shar67]

Hi welcome to the site I will tag @daisy1 to give you some info on the site.
The best way to eat is regular meals for some this might mean 3 meals a day or 6 small meals, you should inject for each meal, so if you are having a three course dinner inject once for whole meal. There is a insulin that gives half units sorry I cannot remember name but worth asking your DN about it.
It is a bit of a mare getting the hang of counting carbs it is worth getting on to a couple of course to earn how your insulin works with the way you eat.
I inject after a meal I found this better for me but everyone reacts different so it is very individual.

 

[daisy1]

@holliedolly

Hello Holly and welcome to the forum As mentioned above, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to answer.


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 210,000 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.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. If I'm grazing and the portion is below 30gm I won't Bolus for it but I try to avoid a succession of small meals with gaps between as the insulin management is difficult. If eating out I will try to work out whether I'm going to have dessert and then Bolus for the whole meal up-front. As the rapid insulin lasts 4-5 hours don't worry too much about time gaps within a 3-course meal. Alcohol is fine in sensible quantities but don't binge with high insulin Bolus shots as the liver will be busy getting rid of the alcohol and unable to do a glucose dump if you go too low.

 

[mist]

Welcome to the community..