Type 2 > Type 1

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with T1 last week. My HbA1c was always ~35 and normal during my pregnancy so when it was 49 a year after giving birth (routine test) I was quite shocked. A GP diagnosed me with T2 and advised me to lose weight and I went onto the low calorie diet programme of soups and shakes. Lost 15kg in 12 weeks, hurrah! I asked for my HbA1c to be repeated at that point and to my surprise it had gone up to 97, strange because with the weight loss I expected it to improve. Anyway BG levels were (and still are!) out of control, I was put on metformin and increased up to 1.5g daily over a few weeks but no improvement in BG levels, didn't think much of it and neither did GP, was advised another drug would be added if on max dose and no response in a few more weeks. The GP then noticed that my lipase level was raised and said that actually he's not convinced that I have typical type 2 diabetes and thinks I instead have a subtype of type 2. I of course googled and couldn't find much info. Anyway he proceeded to get advice from a diabetes specialist who wanted to see me at the hospital immediately so off I went. I was told that given my history, which includes autoimmune hypothyroidism, and the severity of my symptoms that I was most likely T1. My BG was sitting at ~25 but no ketones thankfully. I was given lots of info and went home with a new kit and insulin (lantus 12 units in the evening and novorapid 3 units 15 mins before meal containing carbs). I had the GAD blood test to confirm but it will be a few weeks until the results are in. I ordered a sensor and am using that to monitor my BG levels, I did fingerprick for a few days. There was no change to my BG levels for 4 days. Today my dose increased to 18 units of lantus and 5 units of novorapid, and it looks like my BG levels are now starting to decrease but the nurse said it's not something we want to happen to quickly as it can disturb my vision. Here is a screenshot *separate post* of my BG levels for today, as you can see I went off the scale to 30 after a sugar free costa (didn't think milk would have thst much of an effect?!) and then came down really fast after the increased insulin dose. Gone to bed with sweets next to me incase I experience my first hypo, kinda scared but glad my levels are closer to the normal range. Slightly overwhelmed with the diagnosis and new lifestyle and worried about the future but grateful for insulin and the diabetes community!

Any advice is welcome

Antje77 said:

I think you're doing absolutely brilliant, starting to work out cause and effect of what you eat and drink right away!
This is a marathon, not a sprint, and finding out the correct insulin doses for you takes time.

The doses you use now are only starting doses to help you and your diabetes nurse work out your insulin to carbs ratio (how much quick acting insulin you need for how many carbs, which may vary depending on time of day as well), and you basal dose.

So the way you use insulin right now (fixed doses per meal) is a band-aid, it prevents you from becoming dangerously ill, it keeps you safe for now.
It's also a tool to work out the next step, adjusting doses to your personal needs.
With the way you're looking at what's happening and why, using your libre data, you've made a nice headstart to learning to carb count and base your doses on that, which will likely be how you'll manage your diabetes in the future.


What is a sugar free costa?
Guessing it's a beverage, there could be two things going on:
Sugar free is not carbs free. Diabetes doesn't care much if the carbs come in the form or sugar or other carbs, they'll raise your blood glucose although the sugary ones raise you quicker.
The other possibility is that a mistake was made, especially if this was a drink out and not a prepackaged thing.
Beware the diet coke and its friends when out and about if not served in the bottle.

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Thank you for your advice. It is a latte with sugar free syrup. I usually have oat milk but theirs contains added sugar so I went for cows milk instead but I guess that is just as bad if not worse judging by what happened after! I will have to have a cappuccino in future when I have a coffee out, less milk. Good to know about the carb content, I was focusing on the 'of which sugars' instead.

My sensor alarm went off last night! I had 2 boiled sweets and 2 small chocolates which brought BG up but abit too much! I was worried the alarm would go off again hence the chocolate too, then read you shouldn't have chocolate, oops. Do you think it is wise to have a slow release carb too in the night if I have a hypo? I could take some crackers to bed...

Thanks,
Lucy

Resurgam said:

If the 'sugar free' coffee contained milk then surely that would contain lactose - which is a sugar, just not the stuff found in sugar packets.
There are some really weaselly words and descriptions when trying to deal with diabetes - it isn't at all easy.

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It was just the syrup that was the sugar free element. I knew that milk would contain some sugar but didn't think it would contain that much. I don't usually drink cows milk. At home I have no added sugar oat milk and I do not drink lattes but instead tea. So lesson learnt, no more lattes for me when I am out and about!

mariavontrapp said:

I can relate to what you are experiencing - a sudden increase in HbA1c, wildly swinging glucose readings. My vision is a mess. I'm slowly increasing glimepiride but it's not helping much at all and I wouldn't be surprised if I landed up on insulin

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Sorry to hear this. My BG was consistently at 20-25 and I wasn't feeling well (really thirsty, dizzy, dry mouth, nocturia) so I pushed for blood tests. If my lipase level had came back normal then I would still be classed as type 2 and on metformin. Next thing I will be asking for is a scan on my pancreas. It was also my age (32) and the rapid weight loss that lead to the T1 diagnosis. It's worth asking. Hope you feel better soon, one day soon we will have this BG under control!

finzi1966 said:

Have you checked the carbs in oat milk? I’ve never bought it but I was definitely under the impression it was pretty high in carbs?

I’m wondering whether they definitely used a sugar free syrup - did you see them put it in and which bottle they bused? I’ve only once got caught out like that, sent my sugars absolutely soaring. Normally I’m 100% fine with lattes (although I know not everyone is - I’m lucky in that milk has zero effect on me)

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Alpro no added sugar is 5.6g carbs per 100mL so about the same as cows milk. You know the guy made me the wrong drink originally, vanilla oat latte, so it's possible... I did ask before he handed it to me if he definitely used sugar free syrup and he confirmed but it's possible. Scary how people making errors can affect your health. I will try it again in a few weeks and see if I have the same response, eek!

How tonight is looking. Hmm! Haribo at the ready. Considering a bed time snack in future if have another hypo tonight. Dread to think what was happening before I was diagnosed, would often wake up covered in sweat

EllieM said:

Non diabetics do have hypos but it's pretty rare. I would be quite surprised if you were having night hypos before insulin. Are you in touch with the nurse so that you can adjust the dose should night hypos become a habit?

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I didn't realise non diabetics didn't (rarely!) have hypos! Now I understand. A few weeks in and things are much more settled now, it's like a switch went off overnight. Suppose this is the honeymoon period and I should enjoy it whilst it lasts!