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Type 1 diabetes

J

Jodie1988

Newbie
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4
Hi, newbie here.

So im 31 and recently been diagnosed with type 1. Im finding it really strange with how its come on all of a sudden. I lost over 2 stone and and then got diagnosed. There is antibodies in my blood test they done. So i got told iam a defo type 1. Im unsure what foods i can and can't eat ( no sugar obv). Im waiting to hear from dieticians. Any advise is appreciated.
 
Hello, @Jodie1988 , and welcome to the forum!

As a rule, with T1 you can eat whatever you fancy, as long as you take appropriate insulin for it. Which means learning how much insulin you need for how many carbs eaten.

In real life, many of us find correctly dosing for very high carb foods like regular coke, large pieces of cake, whole bags of sweets and pizza difficult so you may learn it suits you better to go a little easy on those extreme carby foods. Nonetheless, we do have members who regularly eat cake and still manage healthy blood sugars.

Learning how much insulin you need for what foods takes time. We're all different.
I don't know what insulin regime you have now, but in time you'll learn to dose according to what you eat, time of day, time of month, exercise or illness. Again, take your time, no-one can learn that all at once, and there is no need to.

Here's some basic information about diabetes. A lot of it is mainly aimed at T2's, but it's still very useful I think:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.26870/

Have a look around the forum, ask questions, chip in if you like, there's a lot to find :)

There is also the main website with a lot of information about diabetes, insulin, testing, blood sugar numbers etc.

Good luck!
 
Jodie1988 said:
Im unsure what foods i can and can't eat ( no sugar obv).
Click to expand...

Whoah, Jodie, sugar is still in the game!

T1 is not about avoiding sugar. It is about managing the rate at which it is absorbed into your bloodstream and matching that with your insulin.

This stuff takes time to learn and you're obviously not going to get this off pat straight away.

There are some things which are just way too "sugary" to be worth the effort, like full fat coke and sugary popcorn, but once you start learning about how insulin works, it's totally possible for you as a T1 to walk into any restaurant on the planet and eat anything on the menu, including dessert, provided you think ahead about the ways you will dose insulin for it.

You'll spend time learning about that stuff over the next few months, but, rest assured, once you've got the basic rules sorted out, you can still have a bit of cake every now and then if you want to.
 
Hi @Jodie1988 Welcome to the forum :)

You'll find many of us fell into this through falling ill suddenly and the diagnosis came as a great shock, mine was out of the blue but also had lost a lot of weight, was nicknamed Mrs Sticky Mouth by my mates as couldn't talk without needing to drink something first, I had been on hols and felt very unwell so went to the GP upon my return and was sent straight to hospital. Took a while to adjust mentally and physically but things do get easier in time. Get yourself a copy of 'think like a pancreas' written by a type 1, very useful book to get clued up and keep talking to those around you, lots here will know what your going through too so please shout if you need support :)
 
Hey all. So i had symptoms and went to the doctors and they said type 2 at first, but the tabs weren't working. So i ended up getting admitted and seeing the consultant. From there i ended up being type 1. They have called me a grey area as they aren't sure how i got T1 as no family history and haven't been seriously ill. The common cold yea but nothing serious. This is my insulin that im on at the moment NOVORAPID: 3 UNITS before breakfast, 4 UNITS before dinner and 4 UNITS at teatime. I then have 20 UNITS before bed.
 
@Jodie1988 anyone at any age can get Type 1. It is an autoimmune disease. You don’t have to have other family members with it, though some people, myself included, do. You may have had an illness or undue stress. The truth is they don’t really know.
As others have said, us Type 1s all tackle this disease in different ways as regards food consumption. Some go very low carb, some moderate, and others eat what they fancy. It is not about sugars but carbs. It is about finding out what works for you. As your journey progresses and you get into full carb counting mode you will decide for yourself. But please do not think that you just have to give everything up, check threads you are reading are not just about type 2 which has to be managed in a different way.
 
Jodie1988 said:
They have called me a grey area as they aren't sure how i got T1 as no family history and haven't been seriously ill.
Click to expand...
That's rubbish. As @becca59 already said, it's an autoimmune disease and no one really knows why people get it. A family history makes it slightly more likely, but plenty of people get it with no family history at all.
T2s are basically allergic to carbs, they can't process them correctly. If they don't go low carb they will produce more and more insulin in a (vain) attempt to process the carbs they are taking, and eventually wear out their insulin producing cells.
T1s are the opposite - they can cope with carbs but their bodies destroy the cells which produce insulin, so a lack of insulin is the issue rather than an inability to process carbs. So you actually have more dietary freedom as a T1, but you do have to inject insulin for the carbs you eat.
Having said all that, balancing insulin and carbs is a major tightrope walking act, so some T1s reduce their carbs just so as to lower the height of the tightrope, but it's your choice as to the option you take.
 
Hi @Jodie1988 No one has type 1 in my family so I am an anomaly too :) No idea how it happened, but not really that bothered about it now, when I first got diagnosed I wanted answers but there's none. It's best to tackle it head on and become as knowledgeable as you possibly can, it means you can cope with your management much easier and don't rely on your team as much, I found that by becoming more independent didn't mean I was always waiting for someone to call me back when things were going wrong, which was really frustrating on a Friday and not being able to speak to someone until the following week, most times that drove me mad.

Bit silly calling you a grey area, if the pills don't work then insulin is the best medication :)
 
No one in my family either and I hadn't had any illnesses in the run up to diagnosis - i was 43.

In time you'll move away from set doses of insulin to understanding how many carbs are in your meal and taking the right amount of insulin for them.
 
Welcome. It's a steep learning curve but you've come to the right place for support and advice. I couldn't have coped without dropping in here every day.
 
My T1 came out of the blue: had a cold, lost weight without trying to, extremely tired; no-one else in my family has it. As @ert says, the forum is great, lots of people with T1 who will understand and answer any questions you have. Welcome!
 
Hi. It's probably worth clarifying that late onset T1 (LADA) can be caused by other things than antibodies e.g. viruses. My LADA came out of nowhere and it's probably no coincidence that I had a high white cell count at the time but my antibody test was negative. The result is the same and is due to beta cell destruction. I would also add that for many, like me, you may have to control the amount of carbs you eat. Matching with insulin shots may sound fine but the insulin is enabling the body to use the carbs and you may start gaining weight so don't go too heavy with the carbs if you gain weight easily
 
Jodie1988 said:
Hi, newbie here.

So im 31 and recently been diagnosed with type 1. Im finding it really strange with how its come on all of a sudden. I lost over 2 stone and and then got diagnosed. There is antibodies in my blood test they done. So i got told iam a defo type 1. Im unsure what foods i can and can't eat ( no sugar obv). Im waiting to hear from dieticians. Any advise is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hi, I was diagnosed when I was 31 too, I had suspected colitis ( I was going through a lot of upset, stress, worry with shock too) before being diagnosed with type 1
 
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