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couple of questions from a newbie

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MimB

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Type 1
hi home yesterday from hospital having been diagnosed in A&E on Thursday night. Being treated as type 1 but had ketones too. Levels were stable enough for me to come home but first one this morning was higher than expected and second 2 hours after as well. On basal and meal insulin so might be too soon to get a pattern at home.
also hospital gave me a meter kit but only 10 lancets - where do I get more?
 
MimB said:
hi home yesterday from hospital having been diagnosed in A&E on Thursday night. Being treated as type 1 but had ketones too. Levels were stable enough for me to come home but first one this morning was higher than expected and second 2 hours after as well. On basal and meal insulin so might be too soon to get a pattern at home.
also hospital gave me a meter kit but only 10 lancets - where do I get more?
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You can reuse the lancets, many people use them over and over again but probably wise to get more, they are pretty cheap to buy (pharmacy or Amazon) but your GP should prescribe them and test strips and anything else you require. Make sure you have plenty test strips and also ketone urine test strips.
Is your care being from the hospital diabetic clinic or your GP as it is worth knowing who you should be contacting for support in these early days.
 
hi @Leadinglights I will be referred to the local hospital. I was in a different hospital ( and Trust) as my local doesn't have an A&E department. My GP will then apparently do the feet, BP and other tests. My best friend happens to be the GP nurse running their diabetes clinic but she's working today so I would have to contact via the surgery. The hospital nurse I was with at the weekend has promised to call me today or tomorrow.
having read other forum threads am going to keep a food diary as it might be the one slice of toast that sent the level up this morning.
 
MimB said:
hi @Leadinglights I will be referred to the local hospital. I was in a different hospital ( and Trust) as my local doesn't have an A&E department. My GP will then apparently do the feet, BP and other tests. My best friend happens to be the GP nurse running their diabetes clinic but she's working today so I would have to contact via the surgery. The hospital nurse I was with at the weekend has promised to call me today or tomorrow.
having read other forum threads am going to keep a food diary as it might be the one slice of toast that sent the level up this morning.
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You sound to have got some good support in place as in the early days it is a big learning curve. Timing of your insulins can be important and the testing after 2 hours may not be as relevant if Type 1 as the insulin activity profile may be slower.
This is all something to discuss with your clinic. People here can help with any question but what insulins are you taking as that will help them advise.
 
Hi I am on 4 units Nova rapid flex pen before each meal and then also no I am on Glargine lantus solar star once a day
 
OK - if you do have Type 1 diabetes, eventually you will be matching the amount of insulin you have for a meal, to the actual meal. Basically the amount of carbohydrate you are about to eat, advises you how much Novorapid to jab. In the meantime on fixed doses, they ought to tell you how much carb to have for those meals. However - it's most unlikely one slice of toast would have disastrous effects on its own - much more likely to be a combination of things eg you haven't yet got the right amount of Lantus going in or if it is the right amount, is the time you jab it right for your bodily need? - all done by informed guesswork really to begin with.

It's very very early days, and sorting it all out, takes time - but you will get there!
 
Really pleased that you have found us @MimB , but sorry to hear of your diagnosis. It is very early days and you clearly have good support around you. They will want to work with you to bring your glucose levels down (I suspect that as you were admitted and had ketones the levels were high) slowly, and you will need time to adjust to this ‘new normal’. This is a manageable condition and you have found the right place to tap into plenty of support and advice.
There are plenty of people on here diagnosed as adults (I was 53). Any questions that arise, just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here.
 
MimB said:
Hi I am on 4 units Nova rapid flex pen before each meal and then also no I am on Glargine lantus solar star once a day
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If you’re Type 1, it won’t be the toast at fault - it will be the wrong amount of insulin. That is perfectly normal as you’ll have been started on conservative amounts and those will be gradually increased as and when necessary. Also, it’s better to bring blood sugar down slowly.

You mention ketones and seemed surprised you were Type 1 “but had ketones too”. Ketones are associated with Type 1. They’re potentially dangerous at high numbers.

To be clear, Type 1 and Type 2 are very different conditions. Type 1 is an auto-immune condition where your body has mistakenly destroyed the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas. Type 1s just eat a pretty normal diet but have to ‘be their own pancreas’ and learn to inject appropriate amounts of insulin. You just eat normally - including toast, cereal, pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, meat/veg protein, fruit, veg, etc.

You can re-use your lancets for now, but get them and your insulin put on a repeat prescription so you can have everything you need.
 
hi thank you for your support so far. I returned to work on Wednesday and have had 2 good days with levels stabilising towards normal levels. I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow and so will know more. My GP HbC results actually came back on Monday - at 115 - and they were surprised but pleased to learn that I had been in hospital as the GP i spoke to on Thursday last week had suggested that I go to A&E and have a urine ketone test. She assured me that I would not be kept in despite my BG being 27!
 
MimB said:
hi thank you for your support so far. I returned to work on Wednesday and have had 2 good days with levels stabilising towards normal levels. I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow and so will know more. My GP HbC results actually came back on Monday - at 115 - and they were surprised but pleased to learn that I had been in hospital as the GP i spoke to on Thursday last week had suggested that I go to A&E and have a urine ketone test. She assured me that I would not be kept in despite my BG being 27!
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Thanks for the update @MimB

Glad to hear you’ve had a couple of good days levels-wise. It’s often a bit variable in the early weeks and months - especially if what remains of your beta cells get a bit of a second wind, and decide to ‘help out’ with occasional splurges of home grown insulin 🙂

If you’d like a bit more background on T1, these 2 books are well regarded by forum members:

Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Don't worry about the title - this book is relevant to people of all ages!

Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner - A practical guide to managing diabetes with insulin
 
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