Type 1 problems??? Help please

viks3457

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 1
HI everyone,
I am really new to this, and this is my first post on a forum about diabetes.
My husband was diagnosed on the 17th december 2009, with type diabetes, at 32 year old!#
He has been taking novorapid 4 times a day and lantus once a day and has still been getting quite high readings (between 10-16), but over the last 3 days, he has had to be eating loads more food, as his blood sugars are plummetting. No change in activity, or eating habits etc, but tonight his blood sugar dropped to 2.2 just one hour after having tea, (half a plate of boiled potataoes, with carrots and Chicken, and gravy) and a cup of coffee with one sugar in (this is not normal, but he felt his sugars going low so had one)!!
Could this possibly be his "honeymoon period"?? I spoke with our nurse earlier today who told us to reduce his novorapid at meals, but to keep his lantus the same as his morning readings are still 10+ every morning!!
Is this a "normal" occurence in newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetics??
Sorry for seeming a little naive, but I suppose in this situation that is exactly what I am!
Thanks in anticipation.
 

gbtyke

Well-Known Member
Messages
97
Yes in the early days this is usual. He needs to check his blood before each meal and if the reading is high then inject a little more insulin, if it is low then inject a little less. Also he really needs to know how many carbs he is eating at each meal and adjust the insulin also to suit that. Very confusing at first but lots of information on the forum just spend time browsing.

Also have a look at this.


http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 

SophiaW

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,015
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
May I ask why your husband is injecting Novorapid 4 times a day, is he having 4 meals a day? I agree with the comments above, he needs to test before meals and if you carb count all his food you'll get a better understanding of how much Novorapid he needs with each meal. You want to get his insulin to match how much food he eats, not the other way around. I think in the early days it is more difficult to control so hang in there, things will settle down once the honeymoon period is over.
 

ham79

Well-Known Member
Messages
252
Dislikes
diabetes and cbeebies
It is hard to get the adjustments right but it will come I was diagnosed type 1 last September. The biggest help when it came to using insulin has been the carb counting course it gives you a good idea of what to use but testing is the key good luck.
 

viks3457

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi,
thanks for your replies.
He is eating four meals a day, that is why he is having the novorapid 4 times. His diabetes team have told him not to adjust the levels of insulin without their knowledge. They are doing all the adjusting at the moment and they have also told him that he will do the DAFNE course in about 12mth's time. Up until then, he is not to adjust his insulin himself. He tests before every meal, but the care team told him that as long as it isn't below 4 he should jsut have his normal dose of insulin!!!! Unless he is not eating any carbs at that meal! But I have no knowledge of carb counting other than 10g of carb = 1 unit of insulin!
He was only 11 stone before all this started and he lost about 3 stone in 2 mths, so that is also an issue.
I know that the care teams know what they are on about, but I only have access to his diabetes nurse 3 days a week between 9am and 5pm, and the problems don't always occur in those hours.
 

jameshallam

Well-Known Member
Messages
109
I was diagnosed in October 09 with T1.

In mid November I started getting a series of low readings, which was strange as I had just got the hang of carb counting. I remembered the nurse told me this might happen so i decided to experiment and reduce the amount of insulin i was taking.

I started on 1 unit to 10g carbs and 20 units of Lantus.

I now have 1 unit to 20g at breakfast, 1 unit to 10g at other times (or after 1pm) and 8 units of Lantus. Apparently still in the Honeymoon period 5 months on.

Get yourself a carb counting book (ask at WH SMiths or a book store), they will have carb values for most food types. Get a set of digital scales to accurately weigh your food so you know how much you are having.

I would also recommend having the same (size and type) for meals for a while - this will avoid any 'freak' results.

Then record everything - BG, insulin dose, # carbs.

With this information you and the care team will be able to adjust the amount of insulin to suit the person.

At my hospital, the care team arranged an appointment with the dietician to explain a bit more about carb counting - as an interim until I can go on DAFNE (roll on July!).

Good luck!
 

Nomi

Well-Known Member
Messages
151
Hi,

I found the collins gem 'carb counter' book( you can order it on amazon) an absolute godsend when i was first diagnosed. it basically lists different foods and their carb contents which is brilliant as it gives you an idea of the number of carbs you are eating. the basis of carb counting is to work out a ratio between the number of carbs you eat and the amount of insulin you take and then you can eventually adjust your insulin doses accordingly. i would hope that your diabetes team will advise you on this before you do the DAFNE as i found it a great help, but i know they all work differently...
if you try and keep a record of BG levels, carbs you eat, and amount of insulin you take then you should start getting the idea.

good luck!!! :D