New type 1

[gemma23]

hello there

Been diagnosed 6 weeks. I'm just wondering what bg targets should be am I right in thinking they are as followed... Morning : 5-7
during the day : 6-8
Before bed : 8-10
This what what my diabetic nurse said right at the beginning.
Thank you any advice welcome !

 

[grovesy]

Welcome!

 

[Mini-Vicki]

Welcome to the forum Gemma 🙂
What kind of insulin regime have you been put on?

 

[Stitch147]

Hi Gemma and welcome to the forum.

 

[Northerner]

hello there

Been diagnosed 6 weeks. I'm just wondering what bg targets should be am I right in thinking they are as followed... Morning : 5-7
during the day : 6-8
Before bed : 8-10
This what what my diabetic nurse said right at the beginning.
Thank you any advice welcome !

Hi Gemma, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis - how did it come about? What insulin regime are you on? It's still pretty early days for you, so each day will bring new knowledge and experiences - be sure to record everything including your BG before eating, an hour (or two hours) after eating, when you wake and when you go to bed. If you do this alongside details of what you ate (particularly the amount of carbohydrates in the meal, in grams) then it will help you to see if there are any patterns to how your blood sugar levels are responding to the food and your insulin doses. In an ideal situation your BG levels should be between 4-7 mmol/l on waking and before eating, and your meals should cause a rise of around 2-3 mmol/l after a couple of hours. However, this is an ideal situation, so don't be alarmed or disheartened if you find it difficult to achieve this - but use the information you have available to try and determine what might cause you to miss those targets. This takes time and there are lots of variables involved, not just food and insulin, but the more you record and the more experience you gain, the easier and more predictable things will become 🙂

I would highly recommend getting a ccopy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - whatever your age, it is the best and most comprehensive guide to all things Type 1 available - not cheap, but indispensable! 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be happy to help! 🙂

 

[gemma23]

Thanks for your reply, I'm carb counting and on humalog before meals and 14 units of Lantus at the moment! Came about after rapid weight loss, thirst and extreme tiredness but with two young children just carried on going and my partner finally made me go to the doctor where I was admitted to hospital with Dka. I feel I'm coping ok (I have no other choice) but with been quiet young - 24 I worry about the future so much it keeps me awake at night I get scared of my bg levels going even slightly high!

Thank you for the reply it's just nice to talk to people who are the same as well and don't just say 'you'll be ok' 'you'll manage' I know I will, I have no choice haha

 

[Owen]

Thanks for your reply, I'm carb counting and on humalog before meals and 14 units of Lantus at the moment! Came about after rapid weight loss, thirst and extreme tiredness but with two young children just carried on going and my partner finally made me go to the doctor where I was admitted to hospital with Dka. I feel I'm coping ok (I have no other choice) but with been quiet young - 24 I worry about the future so much it keeps me awake at night I get scared of my bg levels going even slightly high!

Thank you for the reply it's just nice to talk to people who are the same as well and don't just say 'you'll be ok' 'you'll manage' I know I will, I have no choice haha

As frightening as DKA is. It is rare for T1's after initial diagnosis due to insulin therapy. It is a huge thing to have at your age, but there are many things worse.
Most of the diabetics I go to in an emergency are hypoglycemic, and it is rare that they need any assistance past some help with fast carbohydrate. So really don't stay awake worrying. Listen to your diabetic team, ask as many questions as you want, you'll be be fine once you get your head around it all.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for your reply, I'm carb counting and on humalog before meals and 14 units of Lantus at the moment! Came about after rapid weight loss, thirst and extreme tiredness but with two young children just carried on going and my partner finally made me go to the doctor where I was admitted to hospital with Dka. I feel I'm coping ok (I have no other choice) but with been quiet young - 24 I worry about the future so much it keeps me awake at night I get scared of my bg levels going even slightly high!

Thank you for the reply it's just nice to talk to people who are the same as well and don't just say 'you'll be ok' 'you'll manage' I know I will, I have no choice haha

DKA is horrible, I had that at diagnosis as well 😱 As Owen suggests though, it's extremely rare once you have been diagnosed as long as you look after yourself, and (as you probably know!) it's caused by a complete lack of insulin, so you'd have to deliberately miss out quite a few injections before reaching that stage. One thing to be aware of is that, if you get poorly, your levels can go a bit haywire. Have you been given the 'Sick Day Rules' so you know how to deal with it? If not, print this out:

http://www.uclh.nhs.uk/PandV/PIL/Pa...ick day rules – multiple daily injections.pdf

Also, have you been given a meter that can test for blood ketones, and a prescription for blood ketone testing? If not, then get your GP to prescribe some. Some GPs precribe urine ketone test sticks, but they are not very useful as they show the situation a couple of hours later than when ketones show in the blood, and it's less precise guessing a colour than reading a number off a meter! Blood strips are more expensive than urine strips, but essential in my book.

Have you been offered a diabetes education course? If not, ask about going on one, such as DAFNE or BERTIE 🙂 Good luck and keep asking questions! 🙂 I always find it reassuring that there are loads and loads of people here who have had Type 1 for decades without problems, and the treatments and knowledge is getting better all the time, so try not to worry too much - just give it the time it needs each day and then get one with your life! 🙂

 

[gemma23]

Thanks for all of the information yes I have the testing kits etc it doesn't help when I'm awake at silly hours in the morning with my daughter which gives me plenty of thinking time haha I worry about the long term effects on my body as I've always been a very healthy person! I've heard of the dafne which I should be attending early next year. I like to be in control of things and I feel this is something that has more control aT the moment but as you say that will come with time 🙂

 

[Owen]

It will, insulin gives you much more control. People ask me if I get fed up injecting tbh, I don't mind it at all now that it gives me much more control. Oh the waking up for younglings, now that I don't miss.

 

[gemma23]

The injecting I don't mind actual its testing me bg levels and recording I find tedious. I'm really glad I've joined the forum thank you for your advice I'm sure I'll have more questions to be asked lol

 

[Carolg]

Hi Gemma, welcome to forum. The wee small hours are hard when everything goes through your head, especially the things you don't want to say out loud for fear of looking daft, worrying others, and if you say it it feels more real to you.
Laugh if you like, but last year when I was diagnosed with type 2 my biggest fear (for me) was that I had abnormal bloods and had to go for CT scans. In my head, but unvoiced, I thought the worst, so the 3am routine was clean out my knicker drawer and everywhere else to take control and escape from my head. Almost a year down the line, I have learned to live with D, don't particularly put it first, but will have to get a grip, and get control again. (Scans were normal)

The forum is great as you find others are perhaps voicing things that certainly made me realise that I was extremely lucky, but also that what was rattling through my head was not uncommon. No questions are daft, and people on forum are very supportive

Hope this is makes sense
Carol

 

[gemma23]

It certainly does make sense carol, thAnk you at least I know I'm not alone ! Xx

 

[Flower]

Hello and welcome Gemma 🙂

I hope things are beginning to settle down for you after the turmoil of diagnosis. It does take quite a while to recover even once an insulin supply is restored as pre diagnosis all the systems in the body are thrown into chaos by the lack of insulin. Technology for managing and monitoring blood sugar is improving every day so the actual testing and recording part does become less tedious although it still is a pain some days - mainly the results, not the testing!

This forum is full of great people with years of experience of managing diabetes, there are people who have lived with T1 for 50+ years without complications diagnosed pre all the whizzy gadgets for monitoring blood sugar so there is every reason to expect to live a long, happy life. Being a part this place has helped me enormously with friendly advice and support, I hope you will find it as useful. 🙂

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

Hi Gemma I'm a newbie (5 weeks)T1 too. I went to a&e and was admitted suffering a DKA, it was such a big shock and very frightening.
My levels tend to be on the high side, but I've also had a few hypos too.
There seems to be lots of good advice on here and it's good to chat with fellow sufferers as I don't know anyone else with this. I've done a carb counting course already through my hospital and that has helped me a lot.

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome Gemma & Lucy 🙂. Keep at it & it will pay off later in your life. Really good luck with all 😉

 

[gemma23]

Hello and welcome Gemma 🙂

I hope things are beginning to settle down for you after the turmoil of diagnosis. It does take quite a while to recover even once an insulin supply is restored as pre diagnosis all the systems in the body are thrown into chaos by the lack of insulin. Technology for managing and monitoring blood sugar is improving every day so the actual testing and recording part does become less tedious although it still is a pain some days - mainly the results, not the testing!

This forum is full of great people with years of experience of managing diabetes, there are people who have lived with T1 for 50+ years without complications diagnosed pre all the whizzy gadgets for monitoring blood sugar so there is every reason to expect to live a long, happy life. Being a part this place has helped me enormously with friendly advice and support, I hope you will find it as useful. 🙂

Thank you for your reply I'm
So glad that I wrote on here now xx

 

[Redkite]

Welcome to the forum Gemma, sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My son is type 1, nearly 16 now, diagnosed aged 4. If it's any reassurance, he has never had an episode of DKA, despite BG levels soaring into orbit sometimes. As long as you are checking your BG regularly, you'll pick up on an out-of-range number and be able to take action (ie snack for low, insulin for high) and bring it back into line.

The riskiest times have been whenever he's had a vomiting bug, as this is quite hard to manage with type 1, as you can get low BGs with high ketones. Unfortunately young children are bound to pick up these bugs at playgroups and school, and having young children yourself means you might also catch them. I estimate I caught about 1 in 3 of my son's tummy bugs . So (not being a prophet of doom 🙂 ), I've attached a really helpful link below if you ever find yourself trying to manage this type of illness. Ask your DSN for a blood ketone meter if you haven't already got one - ketones should be checked whenever you are ill or if you have a persistent high BG that hasn't come down after an insulin correction.

https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/PandV/PIL/P...ick day rules – multiple daily injections.pdf

Do get yourself a copy of the Ragnar Hanas book, it's the bible of type 1! It's a big learning curve but you'll adapt very quickly don't worry.

 

[gemma23]

Than

Welcome to the forum Gemma, sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My son is type 1, nearly 16 now, diagnosed aged 4. If it's any reassurance, he has never had an episode of DKA, despite BG levels soaring into orbit sometimes. As long as you are checking your BG regularly, you'll pick up on an out-of-range number and be able to take action (ie snack for low, insulin for high) and bring it back into line.

The riskiest times have been whenever he's had a vomiting bug, as this is quite hard to manage with type 1, as you can get low BGs with high ketones. Unfortunately young children are bound to pick up these bugs at playgroups and school, and having young children yourself means you might also catch them. I estimate I caught about 1 in 3 of my son's tummy bugs . So (not being a prophet of doom 🙂 ), I've attached a really helpful link below if you ever find yourself trying to manage this type of illness. Ask your DSN for a blood ketone meter if you haven't already got one - ketones should be checked whenever you are ill or if you have a persistent high BG that hasn't come down after an insulin correction.

https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/PandV/PIL/Patient information leaflets/Sick day rules – multiple daily injections.pdf

Do get yourself a copy of the Ragnar Hanas book, it's the bible of type 1! It's a big learning curve but you'll adapt very quickly don't worry.

thanks for that I didn't realise you could get low bg levels and ketones ! Thought was just ketones when high so that's a great help and thanks for the link too .

 

[Redkite]

Than

thanks for that I didn't realise you could get low bg levels and ketones ! Thought was just ketones when high so that's a great help and thanks for the link too .

Yes - the ketones are due to the body's starvation response, so when you have d&v, the body tries to break down fats for fuel, making ketones, but in the absence of sufficient insulin the ketones just build up to toxic levels. So despite not feeling like eating/drinking, if you have low/hypo BGs and high ketones, you must take in some fast acting carbs with a little insulin (we use things like ribena, sugary jelly, ice lollies, etc for this purpose). If your BG is high you can just take more insulin to clear ketones and bring down BG. If you can't manage, you MUST go to hospital for intravenous glucose and insulin. My son has had several tummy bugs over the years and they're hard work with type 1, but we've avoided hospital luckily - did have a bag packed ready once! I recommend getting your hubby to do the nursing when your little ones are sick, to reduce your risk of catching it 😉