advice

[beckah]

Hello

I'm newly diagnosed (6 weeks) type 1. I was just wondering if any of you amazing people out there have any hints and tips on how I can begin to control my diabetes rather than it controlling me! You know the things you wish you had been told that you feel would have made your life easier! Im 38 and a PE Teacher.🙂

 

[shiv]

hi beckah! welcome to the forum. the best advice i can offer is to get to know your body as well as you can - test lots and monitor what you eat so you can see how it affects you (everything affects people differently!)

this forum teaches me things on an almost daily basis (and i've been type 1 for nearly 19 years). diabetes is different for everyone and it's fantastic listening to other people and seeing what they can teach you.

stick around! 🙂

 

[Adrienne]

Hiya

Nice to meet you but sorry you have to be here.

You may well be in honeymoon at the moment (do adults have a honeymoon period people, kids do so am imagining that newly diagnosed adults must). This is the period where your pancreas is still producing tiny bits of insulin and will finally stop at some point, could be weeks or months.

However I am really hoping they have put you on MDI or basal/bolus as it is now known ie minimum of 4 injections a day. Either Levemir or Lantus Glargene once a day and then novorapid for every meal.

The best tip at the moment on a practical level is carb counting. On an emotional level I can't help you. I don't have diabetes. My daughter does so I can do the parent bit and I understand that but I can't and won't try to pretend how it feels for you. I can't even begin to imagine.

So practially the idea behind MDI (multiple daily injections) is that the long acting insulin, (lantus or levemir) lasts in your body for 24 hours (doesn't actually last that long but that is the idea) with minimal peaks and troughs and that the novorapid, the quick acting insulin (approx 4 to 6 hours in body) covers all the food you eat. So you need to match the insulin to cover the food. Therefore if you carb count you can work out how much insulin you need.

Do you know I'm just spouting this off because I know about it and maybe this is too much too soon. I don't know where your head is, you need to get used to diabetes first.

Anyway I'm off to bed, got to test my daughter first, she has a cold so her levels are higher than normal !!

Good luck and ask any question you want to, no question is ever a silly one, we have all asked them. Take care. 🙂

 

[HelenP]

Hi Beckah, welcome to the forum. As a Type 2, I can't really advise you, but there are LOADS of people on here who are willing and able to help you with all your questions.

Just browsing around the various threads can be an education in itself, you'll be surprised how much you can pick up.

See you round the boards.

xx

 

[aymes]

Hi and welcome

adrienne beat me to it but the one thing I wish I'd known at the start was to get put on to a basal bolus regieme, I was kept on the dreaded mixed indulins for far too long. Given your job also I'd hope you're on mdi?
Carb counting has been key for me and central to that was doing the dafne course, different areas have different education courses so find out what they offer where you are. They may insist that you're through the honeymoon period before you go on a course.

The main thing is to realise that you're in control and will very soon be more of an expert on YOUR diabetes than the doctor. Being here is a great start and I'd say check on the book board, arm yourself with information!

 

[Steff]

hi there Beckah and welcome to the forum , have yourself a good luck around this place it is full of good advice as well as all of us lovely people , i cant really advise being a type 2 but now your hear we can hopefully help you out x

 

[Patricia]

Hi Beckah

Good to meet you, but sorry it is in this way!

This is a wonderful site. You will find knowledge and understanding, humour and great support here.

I'm like Adrienne and only a parent of a type 1 child, who was diagnosed last November. He is now on a pump, but he started on multi injections, which as you gather generally works well. I'm assuming, like everyone, that you've been put on this regime?

I guess my advice would be to do your own research, and not to take what's said to you in these early days especially as the absolute truth. It all depends on your area of the country, of course, but in the early days for us, my son was just too high for too long -- on the advice of our team! We now know this was entirely unnecessary and not good for him.

Get to know yourself, and do your research. A great book that everyone on here recommends is the Roger Hanas book, Type 1 Diabetes. Never mind that its subtitle is that it's for young people and adolescents -- it's good for everyone! It's a really, really solid way into all this.

Emotionally, things will dawn on you over time, or perhaps more quickly. It's like everything else, people are so different. Please do know though that this forum is here for you whatever you are feeling.

All best.

 

[runner]

Hi Beckah,

Welcome! You might find the diabetes and excercise threads really useful too. I think the things that helped me most were discovering the relationship between food and excercise and blood sugar levels, and how to manage these. Also how, things like hot or cold weather, stress, and illness can have an impact. The greatest things since bbeing on insulin were - not having to give up toast and marmalade and that it's OK to have a chocolate treat now and then!

 

[Northerner]

Hi Beckah, welcome to the forum🙂 Although it is a shock and will take some adjustments, it sounds to me like you are well-placed to keep your diabetes under control. As a PE teacher, I am guessing that you are quite fit and active and follow a good diet. I was diagnosed a week before I was due to run a marathon in May last year, so this is how I was when I embarked on my 'diabetes journey of discovery'!

Something you will need to pay particular attention to is how activity affects your levels. I would recommend that you get a copy of Diabetic Athlete's Handbook by Sheri Colberg. I bought this book a couple of weeks after diagnosis as I was determined to get back into my running. You will need to find out the best foods for you to eat to keep your levels stable during periods of exercise, and how you may need to adjust your insulin doses as your body wll become more insulin-sensitive with the exercise. The book will explain all aspects of this and I found it to be very helpful from the start.

You will need to test your levels a lot to start with - before, after, and maybe during exercise, plus before and sometimes after meals, so at the beginning there will seem to be an awful lot of testing going on! But once you have built up an idea of how you are affected it becomes much easier. I test, on average, about 5-8 times a day depending on what I am doing and how I am feeling.

There is a learning curve, and it can be tricky at times to get things just right, but I managed to run the Great South Run last yar just 4 months after diagnosis, and have run it again this year. If you have any questions, please do ask and we will do our best to help!🙂

 

[Copepod]

Hi Becka & welcome, again. I've already replied to your query specifically about sports & exercise in the relevant forum - hope that helps. I was also disgnosed with type 1 diabetes, as a fit active young adult, and it can be tough eg ban on driving minibuses professionally, no matter how well controlled you are.