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Type 1

Woods4059

Member
Hello, I got diagnosed in February after a really nasty illness over Xmas. I was drinking water like it was going out of fashon. Going to the toilet about 6 times a night. Then the weight started to fall off. I was 12.2 then all of a sudden I was down to 10 stone. It was only some friends and work colleagues that noticed how much weight I lost.

I couldn't understand because I was eating more food than normal. I went to the doctors for an unrelated mater and just mentioned about my weight loss. After a blood test my results were 19.2 and I'm 36.
So now I'm novorapid and levimer up to 5 times a day.

I have a very active social life that does include alcohol. I've tried to cut down on my alcohol intake. But when I do drink I'm drinking more than others and don't know when to stop. Once I get to that stage I start to feel really down and depressed and lonely. I know the easiest thing to do is just stop but if gives a release from the blood checking and injection. I do struggle with the whole carbs and insulin injections.

Apologies for longish post but I wanted to it out there.

Thanks

Sent from my E5823 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
 
Hi @Woods4059 A Type 1 diagnosis is a massive shock and a big change to your lifestyle. It took me months to come to terms with if - not that I think anyone completely comes to terms with it anyway.

So be kind to yourself and take things slowly. What you're feeling is normal. Do check out the Type 1 section here and ask as many questions as you want

Regarding the alcohol, it can put your blood sugar down, sometimes hours later, and can put you at risk of nasty hypos, so do test lots and even set an alarm to test during the night. You may also need to eat extra carbs.

I know it's obvious but have you tried alternating your drinks - one alcoholic, one non-alcoholic? Or maybe set yourself a limit beforehand? If you set a limit, you can then choose how you have your 'allowance' over a night out.

Things do gradually get easier, and you learn to fit diabetes into your life
 
Welcome to the forum @Woods4059

You can get as much pleasure by drinking alcohol in moderation, maybe try pacing yourself a bit more and try what @azure suggests.

With regards to carb and insulin, if you register with the following website it will teach you how to carb count and work out your insulin-to-carb ratio's:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

Also, do ask your DSN to put your name down for a carb counting course such as DAFNE,
 
Hi. Some may disagree but there are some ways to reduce the number of injections from 5 to perhaps 3 but it's your choice with your GP. I only inject my Levemir once a day at night. I know most do it twice a day as it only lasts around 18 hours but my DN said not to split and I agree with her. I make up for the evening Levemir fade by having the appropriate Bolus ratio then. I don't Bolus for breakfast as it's low carb and not worth bothering to cover the 8-9 mmol spike. This way I avoid any morning injections - nice.
 

That's really helpful, thankyou. I've just been given novorapid insulin to use with meals but with no other info, so that has helped me immensely!
 
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