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Type1. Newly diagnosed last week but cheerfully optimistic.

Specsquee

Specsquee

Active Member
Originally when I was diagnosed I was scared. I went to the doctor feeling fine but with a few symptoms. Dry mouth. Leg cramps and weight loss. The weight loss I thought was partially my doing as I had changed my eating habits and started drinking more water and have an active job (security). What I found out though was that I'm a type 1 diabetic. Had a overactive thyroid and was anemic.

So hello my name is Ben, I'm am 26 and a type 1 diabetic. Originally I was scared for my future as I thought that my life was just cut short. When I went in my blood sugar was hovering around 360-420 and I had high ketone levels. After being forced to go to the ER to forcefully bring down my levels I have begun the rest of my life and working with this condition. I have switched to a mostly low carb diet and currently eating very bare bones and healthy while I wait on an appointment for a dietician next week to get something a little better fleshed out. I have brought my levels down and currently wake up between 70-100 and hover between 100-140 the rest of the day. I do sometimes spike close to 200 since I am figuring out how my body reacts to thing (the biggest offender being steel cut oatmeal but I will make it work), but for the most part I changed all my eating habits for the better and have not looked back.

Currently taking 15 units of levamir twice a day, and I am supposed to be taking 1 unit of humalog (I believe it's the fast acting one) for every 15g carbs I eat for the three big meals a day. Although I am finding the levamir keeps me relatively balanced so it's very weird to me to use the humalog as the long lasting levamir does its job. Although my insulin might change as my insurance is throwing fits.

Day by day Iv been feeling better as the insulin and the medication have been bringing me back up to snuff (apparently my normal feelings before were me at a low as I feel great now). As Iv been feeling better the feeling of dread I originally had is going away and being replaced with a more positive attitude. While this is not what I would have chosen for my life I am working to minimize its effects and not let it hinder the plans Iv made for myself. My biggest problem is my inability to tell others close to me about what's going on. I have told my family and some close friends but I just can't bring myself to tell anyone else. It's a weird feeling.

Writing this took another weight off my chest as just branching out to others and reading the dialogue between people going through what I am has really helped. It made me want to make an account and share.
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Hi and welcome. Don't be afraid to tell your family and friends. Diabetes is so common and being T1 it's important some people know so they can help in case of a hypo. If you find you don't need to use the Humalog for meals don't worry as long as the Levemir is controlling you during the day. As always the meter will guide you. You may find that as time passes you may need to start using the Humalog and adjust the ratio of shots to carbs
 
Welcome to the forum Ben :)

Keep up being optimistic, type 1 diabetes needn't hold you back in life and we have members here who have lived with the condition for 30,40,50 & 60 yeasr and are still going strong.

As for telling friends, just do so in your own time, but I do think it's sensible to tell those who are close to you (on a daily basis) about your diabetes in case you have a hypo and need some assistance.
 
noblehead said:
Welcome to the forum Ben :)

Keep up being optimistic, type 1 diabetes needn't hold you back in life and we have members here who have lived with the condition for 30,40,50 & 60 yeasr and are still going strong.

As for telling friends, just do so in your own time, but I do think it's sensible to tell those who are close to you (on a daily basis) about your diabetes in case you have a hypo and need some assistance.
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What's a hypo? I'm still learning abbreviations and terms. Also thank you for the warm welcome and kind words everyone.
 
Wow my doctor and counselor gave me no warning or indication of this. Did not know to pick up things to remedy this....

I woke up today and got a reading of 83. Generally in the morning I have trouble focusing my vision. Could that be hypo?
 
@Specsquee, just had to check what 83mg/dl was in mmol/l, it's 4.6 which isn't technically a hypo but if you've been running bg levels much higher for some time it will feel like one, this is known as Fasle Hypo's (Google for more info), maybe do a bg test through the night just to be sure your bg isn't dropping low whilst your asleep, any issues discuss them all with your diabetes team.
 
noblehead said:
@Specsquee, just had to check what 83mg/dl was in mmol/l, it's 4.6 which isn't technically a hypo but if you've been running bg levels much higher for some time it will feel like one, this is known as Fasle Hypo's (Google for more info), maybe do a bg test through the night just to be sure your bg isn't dropping low whilst your asleep, any issues discuss them all with your diabetes team.
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I looked it up and that makes sense. From what I am reading from my meter I'll start getting close to a real hypo near 50. Just another thing to be wary of and something new to pack to bring with me on a daily basis.
 
Now after reading about hypos I am back to being terrified. I do not have someone to check on me while I sleep. What happens if I hypo and do not wake up in response? That's utterly terrifying and my doctor did not say a fricken word about it to me.
 
Hi. Yes, be aware of hypos. In 3 years since starting I've never had a full-blown hypo but got quite low a few times and felt spaced out - usually when mowing the lawn! It's very important to test before and during driving. In the UK it's the law that those on insulin must test within 2 hours of driving and every 2 hours during driving. If you are down to 4 mmol (72 mg) then you must take some glucose tablets and preferably not drive until you are up to 5 mmol (90mg)
 
Well I went out and made some necessary purchases of some glucose shots / gel / tablets. Shot for next to my bed and one to be kept at work. Gel in case of emergency and tablets just because.

I am still optimistic but **** its hard not be more worried after reading about Dead in bed....haha.
 
Specsquee said:
Well I went out and made some necessary purchases of some glucose shots / gel / tablets. Shot for next to my bed and one to be kept at work. Gel in case of emergency and tablets just because.

I am still optimistic but **** its hard not be more worried after reading about Dead in bed....haha.
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Sensible to keep fast-acting glucose by your bed, liquid glucose works fastest @Specsquee

DIB is a rare occurrence so don't worry yourself too much.
 
Specsquee said:
Now after reading about hypos I am back to being terrified. I do not have someone to check on me while I sleep. What happens if I hypo and do not wake up in response? That's utterly terrifying and my doctor did not say a fricken word about it to me.
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Hi

If you live on your own, although its important to try to get good bg levels, its also a good idea not to be too tight with your bg and insulin overnight so try to get bg levels to be around 7mmol as that should hopefully ensure that you dont go really low. The other way to make sure you stay ok, is to get up in the night (use the loo) and do a bg test to see if you are below 7mmol and if so, eat a small snack like 5-10g carb. Most of my low bg levels always happened around 3am but if I had done a bg test about 2am and had eaten a snack, the low would not have happened. I dont live on my own.
If you are newly diagnosed, theres a good chance that if you do go badly low, your pancreas will try to rally round to help you and should release the hormone glucagon which should make your liver find some glucose to make bg go up
 
Specsquee said:
Now after reading about hypos I am back to being terrified. I do not have someone to check on me while I sleep. What happens if I hypo and do not wake up in response? That's utterly terrifying and my doctor did not say a fricken word about it to me.
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Don't be terrified - it sounds like you've got organised with the hypo treatments, so that's good :)

Test your blood sugar frequently and never go to bed without testing it. If you do as iHs says and go to bed at a reasonable level, then that should be ok. You may want to set an alarm to check what your blood sugar is doing overnight as you've just been diagnosed. I set my alarm for around 2am when I want to check.

Also remember to take hypo treatments with you when you're out. That way you won't need to worry.
 
If I am safe with my nighttime levels can I avoid hypos for the most part. Or is their always going to be times when I just drop randomly and have to experience those effects even with careful dieting?
 
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