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Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnosed?

Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I was diagnosed in '89 and my OH in '79

We were both started on the same regimes but I wouldn't call is carb counting as such...

As your diabetic team prescribed your carb amounts per snack and meal, then prescribed an insulin amount to be injected twice a day... The only counting you really did, was ensuring that you were eating the prescribed amount of carbs..

Mind you there were ways around this :roll:

Easier when you were actually injecting for a meal, which in those days, was at breakfast and tea time, if you wanted a little more carbs then you added a little more insulin to your dose...

And the one never admitted to the nurse, was the old occasion such as Christmas day, when a Christmas dinner and trimmings were too appealing, so had another small dose of insulin...
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I was diagnosed Sept 2010, so not that long ago. For the first couple of weeks I was on a fixed dose of Novorapid with meals, and Lantus at night. I saw the DSN every couple of days for those couple of weeks who did alter the doses occasionally. It was always the intention that I would count carbs and I was told the fixed doeses were just for a short time to get the hang of injecting etc.

I think it was around 3 weeks after that that I saw the dietitian with my food diary and she worked out my first set of ratios and recomended buying the carbs and cals book.
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

This is a note for Pheonix :)

Thank you for the information re carb counting courses in the UK. I contacted the nearest one to me and have just recieved a reply They do 4/5 x courses a year and over 3/4 days. The lady said I was the 1st to ask about it outside of the area but I would probably need to be refered by my Consultant and see the Consultant at that hospital first. Although she doesnt see there being a problem :D I have a appt at my hosp on 26th April so will ask them to refer me

Thank you again Pheonix you are a STAR!! :D
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

When I was diagnosed in 1972 I went into hospital for 7 days, but after hypoing on the first day I was put on tablets. I was discharged on the 7th day with no treatment, only a very strict diet and ordered to lose weight. After a while, the diet wasn't working and 3 years later I finished up on 8 tablets per day and weighing 6st 13 lbs. I pleaded to go onto insulin, and was put on 1 long acting dose per day and little or no advice on carbs. I am consequently desperate to lose weight and can't find a diet that will help me with a steady weight loss. I have requested a DAFNE course but am considered a Type 2 (because I started off on a diet) but my GP now says he thinks I ama Type 1 and has asked if I can go on the Course. Here's hoping!

JMM
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

Fingers Crossed for you JMM..xxx
:thumbup:
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

shop said:
This is a note for Pheonix :)

Thank you for the information re carb counting courses in the UK. I contacted the nearest one to me and have just recieved a reply They do 4/5 x courses a year and over 3/4 days. The lady said I was the 1st to ask about it outside of the area but I would probably need to be refered by my Consultant and see the Consultant at that hospital first. Although she doesnt see there being a problem :D I have a appt at my hosp on 26th April so will ask them to refer me

Thank you again Pheonix you are a STAR!! :D
Click to expand...

:oops: :oops:
( just occasionally I manage to find things that are useful to others)
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I had gestational diabetes in 91 but in 97 it came back I was never told about carbs. When I eventually went onto insulin I was just given a fixed dose to take before meals. No carbs mentioned. It wasn't until joining this forum that I knew about low carb/carb counting. I was referred back to the hospital in 2010 after having DKA and the carbs weren't talked about till 2011. I am now slowly trying to change my diet although I'm finding it very difficult. I have made a salad to go with a couple of meals this week and I must say its the most unappetising food I can imagine. Certainly is never gonna make my mouth water!
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

i was diagnosed t1 in jan 2010 . i was told in the hospital it is all about carbs,carbs ,carbs! i was never told to carb count just to have no sugar . i was in hospital 6 weeks ago with dka and still no mention of carb counting. in fact the only time i have heard of carb counting is on this forum .my blood sugars fluctuate between highs and lows 20's-1.6 . i actually would no where to start with carb counting. after reading all the posts i think carb counting would really help get my bgs under control. i use novoradip 3xdaily and levemir 2xdaily. n/r 22-18-24 lev 20am 20pm. how much carbs should i be having at each meal?
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

Marie - once you learn to carb count and adjust your dose you can choose how many carbs to have at each meal. Just inject more for a bigger carb meal and less for a lower carb meal.
In the beginning it may be easier to stick with a certain dose of carbs to get your insulin dose sussed though.
The problem I find, is that my insulin resistance can fluctuate from week to week, which throws my carb ratios out, but that could just be me.
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

If you can try to get on a DAFNE course, Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating, it is absolutely brilliant, you will learn how to count carbs and match insulin, how to look after your blood glucose during illness, exercise, and any eventuality. It is the best thing I have ever done, I have had T1 for 15 years and until DAFNE had never understood how to manage my condition, There are courses all over, it really is like the holy grail of diabetes management. Good Luck :)
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I have been post surgical type 1 since 1989 and I only heard about carb matching on this site on joining a couple of weeks ago! :crazy:
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

Hi, just seen this post and am probably late for a valued reply - I was shocked to read that some of us had never been taught to count carbs and adjust insulin accordingly. I was taught in the early 1970s and everything I ate had to be weighed and calculated for carb counting or 'portions' as they were called then. During the 1980s the system for controlling blood sugars changed and suddenly I was told not to bother with carb counting but just eat a normal? diet with lots of wholegrain bread and pasta????? As a result my blood sugars escalated so I went back onto the carb counting and still do this today. I feel that I know where I am counting my carbs - it means I dont bother with cereals but small slices of grainy bread is fine for me in the morning.
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I was diagnosed in Sept.1991 and put on tablets for the first week which didn't do any good so they put me on Insulin and told me the amount to take, they also told me how to adjust the insulin intake to the BM readings and that was it.
In fact that was about it for many years I've never been taught to carb count (and still havn't).
The total lack of education from the HCP's over the years I believe has been apalling, there have been many times where my Doctor has commented "your not keeping tight control of your diabetes" yet very little education to go with the comments except for a few leaflets and stereotypyical stock answers quoted from the text books. (If only I lived a textbook lifestyle).

I keep pretty good control these days but not because of what I was taught but from trial and error and 25 years experience. In my opinion the education and care from the NHS regarding my Diabetes treatment has been a little lack to say the least, most of the time.
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I started injecting insulin in November. I'd been taking gliclazide, and doing OK, but my blood sugar suddenly went through the roof over a couple of weeks, and they said my pancreas had more or less packed up and I'd need insulin. For the first month I was on fixed doses (Novorapid at mealtimes and Lantus before bed), and it took a loooong time to get me up to the right dose. Then I saw a dietitian who explained all about carb counting and encouraged me get the book Carbs & Cals (I actually got the app for my Blackberry). I started off diligently, but then cracked a rib just after Christmas, and being inactive threw my blood sugar out, so I gave up before we got to the point of working out my insulin/carb ratio.

But without actually doing the maths all the time, I seem to be doing OK on guesstimating - I generally give myself between 7 and 10 units, depending on what my current BS is, and what my next meal is going to be, and I'm managing to keep my BS between 5-8.5 (apart from a few occasions when I've been a bit careless about eating crisps of an evening). I've got a fair idea of what's carb-heavy and what's carb-light, and adjust accordingly. If I'm doing anything unusual (like a long walk) I check my sugar in between to make sure I'm not getting too low; if I'm going out for a few drinks, I check partway through the evening to see which way my BS is going.

I saw the diabetes specialist doctor at the hospital the other day, and he was pleased with how well I'm controlling my sugar - he said I could start carb counting properly if I wanted, but since I seemed to have the hang of it, it didn't really matter.

I think it's like bread-making - some people measure everything diligently to get a good loaf, others throw the ingredients together by feel and it still comes out right :D
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I do the guesstimating thing too, if you are testing regularly I think you develop a kind of sixth sense for how many units to inject. My hba1cs have been under 7 so I must be doing something right.
I think it is appalling that those diagnosed in a period that seems to be the 80s and 90s were not told to carb count. It seems it happened in the 70s when people had a rigid amount per meal, and then in the nougties, dafne took off and people matched insulin to carbs. But those diagnosed in the 80s/90s like myself were just told to eat a healthy diet and avoid sugar! I am really hacked off about this, as I have developed complications and whilst maybe 2/3 of this was due to my own irresponsibility/denial I'd say 1/3 I blame on the doctors. I was literally just given some insulin pens and told to take a certain amount, no follow up or anything to see how I was getting on, well not that I remember anyway. I blindly accepted the sugar bad wholemeal carbs good mantra. I should not have used the word 'blindly' there as that's what it nearly led to when I developed retinopathy.
I can't do anything about hte past now and can only look to the future, but I have permanently diseased retinas now, and whilst the disease can be contained nothing can bring my healthy eyes back now, I just have to learn to live with it. :(
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

Much the same - Diagnosed in 1992, taught carb 'portions' which were pretty fixed, then discarded/out of fashion without any further info until last year (20 yrs after diagnosis) when I did DAFNE!
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

I was diagnosed in 1996 and they told my mum (i was 9 so didn't really pay much attention) that I could just eat a normal diet and the set insulins can be adjusted to compensate. I was on all the actrapids and human mixatards back then, one in the morning and one before tea. As I got older the insulins changed to the novorapids but they never mentioned anything about carb counting or DAPHNE courses until about 2009 when they put me on an insulin pump. Since I've learned to carb count I'd never go back. It's so much easier. You remember the doses for meals you eat regular so your only really weighing or working things out for new meals. The only time I guestimate is if we're going out for meals in restaraunts but I'm so used to that now I can look at the plate and figure out what most of the carbs are. I think it's shocking that they ever stopped carb count teaching.
 
Re: Were you told how to match insulin to carbs when diagnos

the_anticarb said:
This may be a bit more relevant to some of the more established insulin users, I don't know what it's like these days for newbies. I was just thinking about why my control was so poor over the years, and whilst some was undoubtedly my fault a lot was to do with what wasn't explained to me.

When i went on to insulin for the first time (late 90s) I was never told how to match it to carbs. I remember a not very friendly nurse just being a bit like 'here you go take this' and leaving me to get on with it. Now, I did not go straight on to insulin when diagnosed - perhaps that's why? I am a mody so was on metformin for the first 5 years. But after this first, unsuccessful attempt I went back on metformin for a few more years.

When it became clear that wasn't enough, I again went on to insulin - this time basal bolus. Again, no mention of carb counting/matching/balancing. Just told to take 4u of novo rapid with every meal. Of course, some times I hypod but a lot more of the time I just ran high.

As an out of control diabetic, one doctor took me under his wing a few years later and really tried to get me to control my sugars. But AGAIN no mention of carb counting and I did try, but on a fixed bolus dose it was never gonna work so I kept going hypo which was interfering with my life. I was told by the DSN that this was normal and to be expected. DAFNE had just taken off, so I was finally referred to a dafne course and managed to get on one about a year later.

Looking back I'm astounded, and quite angry, that i was never told how to match my insulin to my meals - not even to have a set amount of carbs with each meal, which would make sense in the pre dafne days when they didn't like patients manipulating their own doses. Of course I went up and down like a bucking bronko.

No wonder I 'failed'!!

Did anyone else have this or is it just me?
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hi me too it was the same to same story as mine. it seems u are relating my own experience but now this year, i by myself is trying to conmtrol it by surfing on the net n tryign to count hte number of carbs which is difficult n ht ewholetime i am starving !! :lol:
 
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