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Type 1 diabetes
- Thread starter Eliza1234
- Start Date
- Messages
- 9,291
- Location
- Worcestershire
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
- Dislikes
- Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hello @Eliza1234 and welcome to the forum 
I am tagging @daisy1 for new members information.
What type of help do you need ? You're in the best place at the moment, your team will guide you in regards to administering insulin and testing your blood glucose levels. Take it easy and look after yourself for the time being, knowledge will come in time, we can all help support you here too.
I am tagging @daisy1 for new members information.
What type of help do you need ? You're in the best place at the moment, your team will guide you in regards to administering insulin and testing your blood glucose levels. Take it easy and look after yourself for the time being, knowledge will come in time, we can all help support you here too.
D
Deleted Account
Guest
Take a look around this site (not just the forum). There is a lot of information.
A few things I would emphasise
- there really is a lot of information. Don't try to ingest and understand all of it at once.
- 90% of people with diabetes have type 2. Therefore, about 90% of people on the forum have type 2. Type 1 and type 2 are different conditions; what works for one may not work for the other so don't think everything you read here applies to you.
- diabetes is not the end of your life. There are some amazing people (and some less amazing) in the public eye with type 1 diabetes including professional rugby players, musicians, actors, politicians (some of the less amazing ... unless you realise you can lead a country with diabetes).
- the best advice I was given on my diagnosis was that diabetes should not stop you doing what you want.
- it may seem hard to believe but diagnosis is not a bad thing. You can now gather the tools you need to stop feeling rubbish.
- listen to what your doctors tell you. If it is possible to take someone with you for a second pair of ears, that 's good. Or you could record the conversation on your phone to play back later.
- look after yourself and try not to stress. You are not alone.
A few things I would emphasise
- there really is a lot of information. Don't try to ingest and understand all of it at once.
- 90% of people with diabetes have type 2. Therefore, about 90% of people on the forum have type 2. Type 1 and type 2 are different conditions; what works for one may not work for the other so don't think everything you read here applies to you.
- diabetes is not the end of your life. There are some amazing people (and some less amazing) in the public eye with type 1 diabetes including professional rugby players, musicians, actors, politicians (some of the less amazing ... unless you realise you can lead a country with diabetes).
- the best advice I was given on my diagnosis was that diabetes should not stop you doing what you want.
- it may seem hard to believe but diagnosis is not a bad thing. You can now gather the tools you need to stop feeling rubbish.
- listen to what your doctors tell you. If it is possible to take someone with you for a second pair of ears, that 's good. Or you could record the conversation on your phone to play back later.
- look after yourself and try not to stress. You are not alone.
Daibell
Master
When you come out let us know what insulins you will be using and we can answer any questions you may have. You will need to tell the DVLA and your car insurer that you are a diabetic on insulin. You will need to test your blood sugar with the glucose meter the hospital should give you shortly before any driving and every 2 hours whilst driving to ensure you don't have an accident thru 'going hypo' (low blood sugar)
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Eliza1234
Hello Eliza 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 need to and someone will 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:
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello Eliza 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 need to and someone will 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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
SueJB
Well-Known Member
Don't worry, see you back here later, big hug.
Daibell
Master
Thanks for info. Those are very standard insulins. If you didn't have carb-counting explained yet then do ask the nurse next time you meet. It means adjusting the NovoRapid to take account of the carbs you eat at that meal and gives the best and most flexible control.
