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Where do I start..

R

Robert3975

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi

Details ...

I'm a type 1 probable and have been diagnosed for nearly 2 years and have been on gliclazide to levemere to humilin m3 . About 3 months ago my H1bc was 85 and increase from last time and a raised colesterol of 5.4 and 40 yrs old. Weight is now sitting at 10St 7 lbs. I'm taking 17 ml twice a day.

The blood sugar as been indifferent to say the least however after some frank talks with both wf and parents I've been told to stop hiding from this.

The sugar levels have been rarely in single figures and this week take like this morning have seen it 16 ml in morning and 18 before tea.

So I've been taking a sort of diary during the week and will now be speaking with nurse as I would like to try and at least get it into single figures.

It honestly seems to have got worse since increasing it where I thought it would decrease it.

I don't think I eat unhealthily as the wf cooks at lot from slim world and breakfast is pretty much the same coffee and weetabix.

I'm pretty fit but live on my nerves due to high pressured job.

It's taken me a while even to consider writing on this but thought it would be worth a shot also might give my wf a chance to see if there's anything to help me.

Apart from that thanks for taking the time to read this. And any pointerrors would be greatly appreciated.
 
hi robert
welcome to the forum
you have taken the right step joining here -- lots of great people and support.
keeping a diary is good as it will assist your care team to help you with adjustments to meds.

i am tagging @daisy1 for her great starter pack -- always worth a read !

all the best !
 
Hi. If you are a confirmed or even suspected T1 and the twice-a-day mixed insulin isn't holding your blood sugar then you need to ask to be moved to the Basal/Bolus regime. This involves two insulins, first a Basal such as Levemir and a meal-time rapid such as NovoRapid. You would need to carb-count with the meal-time rapid to match the number of shots to the carb content. You need to discuss this with the nurse as your blood sugar appears to be running too high. With regard to diet be very careful with branded diet products such as SW as they can be high in carbs which we need to keep well down; read the labels. I would avoid cereals other than very small quantities - have eggs and bacon instead. All cereals are made from flour which is a carb.
 
@Robert3975

Hello Robert and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Hi @Robert3975
You're in the right place...keep asking questions...no such thing as a stupid question here.
Stress can hugely affect your BG so it may be wise to consider ways of reducing your stress levels...I find a good walk with the dog after work helps to calm my nerves but try to find something that works for you.
Also...watch out for slimming world stuff...many of these things replace the fat with sugar so you may find that these could be spiking your blood sugar...so keep an eye on the carb content.
As @Daibell said...would be a good idea to discuss switching to basal/bolus insulin...you can get a lot better control this way...definitely worth discussing with your team.
 
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