Type 1... dont think i need insulin
- Thread starter Louwilson00
- Start Date
TorqPenderloin
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,599
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
A lot of people feel the same way at this point in their diagnosis. In fact, I'd dare to assume MOST people feel at least some of the emotions you're feeling.
As far as feeling rough around 5/6, that's normal too. Our bodies seem to go into survival mode when our blood sugar drops below normal. When "normal" has been 20+ for a long period of time, you can experience hypo symptoms even at true normal levels (5-6). It's something that usually goes away after a few weeks of regulated blood sugar levels.
No one is going to yell at you here. All we want to do is help. Ultimately, you're going to have to come to terms with your diagnosis and that takes some longer than others.
As far as feeling rough around 5/6, that's normal too. Our bodies seem to go into survival mode when our blood sugar drops below normal. When "normal" has been 20+ for a long period of time, you can experience hypo symptoms even at true normal levels (5-6). It's something that usually goes away after a few weeks of regulated blood sugar levels.
No one is going to yell at you here. All we want to do is help. Ultimately, you're going to have to come to terms with your diagnosis and that takes some longer than others.
Cjburny
Member
- Messages
- 14
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
The feeling rough at around the 5-6 level is normal for someone diagnosed recently in my opinion, I've been Type 1 for just under 3weeks and I can vouch on that part.
I was walking around with my bloods in the thirties with severe ketoacidosis, when I was rushed off to the intensive care ward and hooked up to an insulin pump having my blood sugars drop to a normal non diabetic level, it honestly felt like I was going to die, it's different for everyone, some people just adjust straight away or in time.
Like Torqpenderloin said your body is bricking it because a blood sugar level in the thirties like you said is considered normal to you and your system.
When I drop into the 4.5 mark I can feel it, before that if I fell to about 7.5 it felt like a hypo was coming on and then naturally anything under 15.0 before that set me off.
If I remember correctly they call them fake hypos, which is where your body just isn't used to the level of or lack their of high sugar levels, naturally though always check if hypo symptoms do start as it may very well be an actual hypo...
At the end it all just takes time and patience, naturally what I will say is try not to stay in that high level area, co ordinate with your nurse and ask around here for some great tips and info, the sooner you get those levels down the better, honestly I've never felt better in my life since I got mine in check
The best place to ask for info is from the people who've lived with it most of their lives.
The only reason I'm as confident as I am about my T1 is because these guys and gals from the forum and beyond have helped me through it, answering my questions in lengthy replies and sending me links and generally being supportive.
Good luck buddy
I was walking around with my bloods in the thirties with severe ketoacidosis, when I was rushed off to the intensive care ward and hooked up to an insulin pump having my blood sugars drop to a normal non diabetic level, it honestly felt like I was going to die, it's different for everyone, some people just adjust straight away or in time.
Like Torqpenderloin said your body is bricking it because a blood sugar level in the thirties like you said is considered normal to you and your system.
When I drop into the 4.5 mark I can feel it, before that if I fell to about 7.5 it felt like a hypo was coming on and then naturally anything under 15.0 before that set me off.
If I remember correctly they call them fake hypos, which is where your body just isn't used to the level of or lack their of high sugar levels, naturally though always check if hypo symptoms do start as it may very well be an actual hypo...
At the end it all just takes time and patience, naturally what I will say is try not to stay in that high level area, co ordinate with your nurse and ask around here for some great tips and info, the sooner you get those levels down the better, honestly I've never felt better in my life since I got mine in check
The best place to ask for info is from the people who've lived with it most of their lives.
The only reason I'm as confident as I am about my T1 is because these guys and gals from the forum and beyond have helped me through it, answering my questions in lengthy replies and sending me links and generally being supportive.
Good luck buddy
azure
Expert
- Messages
- 9,780
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
Welcome 
Let me tag @daisy1 for you as she has some helpful info for people who are newly diagnosed
Yes, diabetes is a massive life change, and it is hard work having to control it all day every day. It takes a while to get your head round the whole thing, so it's still early days for you. It does get easier and you'll find you'll feel more like yourself as time passes.
It sounds like you're maybe having 'false hypos' at 5 or 6. They can be frightening and unpleasant, even if you know they're false. If you think about it, before you developed diabetes, you'd have had a blood sugar around 5 all day and you felt fine. It's only the fact that your blood sugar has been so high that's making you feel awful at normal levels.
My advice is to test your blood sugar if you feel weak or faint so you can see whether to treat it or not. If it's a genuine hypo a sugary drink is a good choice, but if it's not then it'll just push your levels high again.
No one will scream at you. The first few months are hard, and, added to that, some people have a 'honeymoon' where their body still makes a little insulin if it's own on and off, so that can make it harder to keep control or be able to predict what might happen with your sugars.
Let me tag @daisy1 for you as she has some helpful info for people who are newly diagnosed
Yes, diabetes is a massive life change, and it is hard work having to control it all day every day. It takes a while to get your head round the whole thing, so it's still early days for you. It does get easier and you'll find you'll feel more like yourself as time passes.
It sounds like you're maybe having 'false hypos' at 5 or 6. They can be frightening and unpleasant, even if you know they're false. If you think about it, before you developed diabetes, you'd have had a blood sugar around 5 all day and you felt fine. It's only the fact that your blood sugar has been so high that's making you feel awful at normal levels.
My advice is to test your blood sugar if you feel weak or faint so you can see whether to treat it or not. If it's a genuine hypo a sugary drink is a good choice, but if it's not then it'll just push your levels high again.
No one will scream at you. The first few months are hard, and, added to that, some people have a 'honeymoon' where their body still makes a little insulin if it's own on and off, so that can make it harder to keep control or be able to predict what might happen with your sugars.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Louwilson00
Hello Lou and welcome to the forum Here is the information, as recommended above, which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful in coming to grips with your levels and hypos. I hope you will soon feel more comfortable with the new routine that has been forced upon you. Ask all the questions 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 over 150,000 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 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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 bloodglucose 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.
Hello Lou and welcome to the forum
Here is the information, as recommended above, which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful in coming to grips with your levels and hypos. I hope you will soon feel more comfortable with the new routine that has been forced upon you. Ask all the questions 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 over 150,000 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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 bloodglucose 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.
