Do/can Type 1s have a lower carb diet?

[Deleted member 33898]

just over a year with type 1 diabetes. I don't have the knowledge and experience of others but this is what I found

I was told like others you can eat whatever but in moderation and learn to dose for it. I've largely stuck to my diet before diagnosis but reduced my portions after finding an upper limit for carbs I could have in one meal were I was happy with the post meal spikes. Again told I could have as much as I want and just dose more but that hasn't worked for me, might for you. I have swapped most carbs for healthier options like having wholemeal rice, sweet potato etc but I still have the bad kind a few times a week and eat out once a week. I eat plenty of fruit and veg everyday. I found when increasing the fat and protein in each meal I saw less huge spikes after each meal but also having too much can cause problems. Too much protein and you'll push post meal levels higher, too much fat and you'll delay the release of glucose and before that you'll go low with the insulin on board. Its all about testing. If you aren't too concerned with losing weight then adding some protein and fat to a meal can help, you'll find a threshold for each before seeing issues. I still eat treats like chocolate and ice cream but just not crazy amounts, days of eating a tub in one sitting are behind me.

I have tried lower carb meals a few times, especially at breakfast were I'm normally quite insulin resistant. I found my insulin to carb ratio didn't work as well and I needed even more insulin to fix my levels. Every meal will need different bolus timing and perhaps different amounts of insulin. For example I find for sweet potato in a meal I can dose straight before but plain chips need at least 15 minutes. The downside I find with more carbs is the more insulin that is needed and the increased likelihood of hypos.

Here's what I had yesterday:

breakfast : Branflakes, milk, peanut butter, banana, raspberries and an egg ( carbs 75g)
Lunch: 2 slices wholemeal bread, chicken with veg, coleslaw, apple, almonds and protein bar (carbs 70g)
dinner: baked potato, lasagne , few squares of dark chocolate with soya greek yogurt (70g)

snacks throughout the day: biltong, pear, almonds, belvita biscuit, rich tea biscuit. (carbs 30g)

averaged 6 mmol that day, spiked to 7.5 at breakfast and lunch, dinner 6 and had a bit of a low after but that was more to do with exercise.

if you are able, exercise helps to get the insulin to work harder. And you could time exercise round bigger meals. If I head out for a meal with friends we'll go for a walk after. I jog twice a week, do strength routine twice a week, walk everyday and do the odd hike each month.

I could say a lot more but don't want to bore you haha

 

[pawprint91]

just over a year with type 1 diabetes. I don't have the knowledge and experience of others but this is what I found

I was told like others you can eat whatever but in moderation and learn to dose for it. I've largely stuck to my diet before diagnosis but reduced my portions after finding an upper limit for carbs I could have in one meal were I was happy with the post meal spikes. Again told I could have as much as I want and just dose more but that hasn't worked for me, might for you. I have swapped most carbs for healthier options like having wholemeal rice, sweet potato etc but I still have the bad kind a few times a week and eat out once a week. I eat plenty of fruit and veg everyday. I found when increasing the fat and protein in each meal I saw less huge spikes after each meal but also having too much can cause problems. Too much protein and you'll push post meal levels higher, too much fat and you'll delay the release of glucose and before that you'll go low with the insulin on board. Its all about testing. If you aren't too concerned with losing weight then adding some protein and fat to a meal can help, you'll find a threshold for each before seeing issues. I still eat treats like chocolate and ice cream but just not crazy amounts, days of eating a tub in one sitting are behind me.

I have tried lower carb meals a few times, especially at breakfast were I'm normally quite insulin resistant. I found my insulin to carb ratio didn't work as well and I needed even more insulin to fix my levels. Every meal will need different bolus timing and perhaps different amounts of insulin. For example I find for sweet potato in a meal I can dose straight before but plain chips need at least 15 minutes. The downside I find with more carbs is the more insulin that is needed and the increased likelihood of hypos.

Here's what I had yesterday:

breakfast : Branflakes, milk, peanut butter, banana, raspberries and an egg ( carbs 75g)
Lunch: 2 slices wholemeal bread, chicken with veg, coleslaw, apple, almonds and protein bar (carbs 70g)
dinner: baked potato, lasagne , few squares of dark chocolate with soya greek yogurt (70g)

snacks throughout the day: biltong, pear, almonds, belvita biscuit, rich tea biscuit. (carbs 30g)

averaged 6 mmol that day, spiked to 7.5 at breakfast and lunch, dinner 6 and had a bit of a low after but that was more to do with exercise.

if you are able, exercise helps to get the insulin to work harder. And you could time exercise round bigger meals. If I head out for a meal with friends we'll go for a walk after. I jog twice a week, do strength routine twice a week, walk everyday and do the odd hike each month.

I could say a lot more but don't want to bore you haha

This was an incredibly helpful post - thank you! If you have more advice, I am happy to hear it 🙂

 

[Deleted member 33898]

This was an incredibly helpful post - thank you! If you have more advice, I am happy to hear it 🙂

Of course. Where to start. I will say I've made a lot of mistakes over the last year. It depends how you want to go about this. Some people just go with the flow and others record a lot. I recorded a lot at the start and still do , more soo when things are going a bit pear shaped and I wanna get back on track. The food diary you are doing is a great idea.

At the beginning I had set amount of carbs per meal and ate similarly to what I always did but counted the carbs. I took a recommended amount of insulin per meal and through testing tried to figure out my insulin to carb ratio, which is what you'll need if you want to be flexible with how much you eat (you might find there is an upper limit to how many carbs you can handle in one meal too ) The ratios may differ throughout the day for example I need to have 1 to 12g before 8am but after 1 to 15g works well. Try finding these ratios under normal circumstances as in no major exercise or alcohol. After that you can experiment with how many less or more units you'll need depending on what you are doing or not doing. You might also find once you add in exercise on a regular basis that the ratios will change as you become more insulin sensitive but don't worry about that til later. You'll know the insulin amount is correct when after about 2 hours of eating the peak glucose level you hit will fall and after 4 hours you should be close to what level you started at before eating. If before or just after the 2 hours your levels fly down low to the point you are hypo and need to snack the insulin is too much. If on the other hand at 2 hours after you have peaked your levels either stay at that peak level or go even higher then the insulin isn't enough. Bear in mind your basal insulin should be correct in the background also. Once you have the bolus insulin set right you can work on keeping post meal spikes lower. For that it involves timing, the types of carbs and what you have with your meal.

So for months I saw my levels going up to 13 or 14 from 4 after meals then shooting back down really fast. I added more insulin only making it worse and the spikes would still happen. Timing of bolus is important but I found the earlier I took my insulin the more hypos I had when I started to eat or when I finished eating. Read a few bits and figured it was the lack of fat and protein my meal. I definitely read at the beginning diabetics should cut fat intake down so thats what i did but obviously too much reduction. So when I had my branflakes with fruit in the morning for instance there was barely any fat or protein in the meal and I would just rocket up. When I started adding extras like peanut butter, chia seeds or flax seed to the meal I saw less huge spikes and crashes( these are all fairly healthy fat/protein choices). I will say I've had issues with having a lot of hypos so careful if you go about this way at all. Try tackle one thing at a time. Get a routine set up at first if you can and eat at similar times. Some days I go lower after a meal (with no exercise or alcohol) and it might be because I'm bit busier or one of many reasons I cant figure out so I just top up with a snack. So that list of snacks I detailed may be less carby one day than another. No point in pushing levels up again if you are sitting steady. Always try to be at a good level before each meal aswell, this will help avoid going too high. You'll achieve this by having the basal insulin correct and the previous meal bolus working well. Don't worry if you don't all the time. You can do corrections( id discuss with hospital before attempting this) This morning I was 7 before my meal so not ideal but okay and I went to 10 after. If I had of started at 5 then technically I would have went to 8. In the mean time if levels are a bit out of target before your next meal you can always go for a short walk. I go for 10 minutes walks on my breaks at work and it helps nudge me down a bit if I'm sitting a little higher than id like. If you have similar meals alot you can see how best to dose for them. Probably find its whatever food is the bulk of the carbs will need considered say rice or potato. Over time you can learn how to deal with certain meals and it really does help when heading out for food. All the carb counting at home helps me look at a meal I cant weigh or refer to packets and guess pretty well how many carbs are in it.

Just don't get too obsessed, I did and still suffer from time to time about getting my levels consistent, its a work in progress. All I've said might be garbage but I can only say what I've done. It is very tough doing all this but if you are able to still enjoy food like before and be reasonably healthy then great. If you have any questions ask away, it can be difficult to describe everything ive done without sounding like jibberish haha

 

[pawprint91]

Of course. Where to start. I will say I've made a lot of mistakes over the last year. It depends how you want to go about this. Some people just go with the flow and others record a lot. I recorded a lot at the start and still do , more soo when things are going a bit pear shaped and I wanna get back on track. The food diary you are doing is a great idea.

At the beginning I had set amount of carbs per meal and ate similarly to what I always did but counted the carbs. I took a recommended amount of insulin per meal and through testing tried to figure out my insulin to carb ratio, which is what you'll need if you want to be flexible with how much you eat (you might find there is an upper limit to how many carbs you can handle in one meal too ) The ratios may differ throughout the day for example I need to have 1 to 12g before 8am but after 1 to 15g works well. Try finding these ratios under normal circumstances as in no major exercise or alcohol. After that you can experiment with how many less or more units you'll need depending on what you are doing or not doing. You might also find once you add in exercise on a regular basis that the ratios will change as you become more insulin sensitive but don't worry about that til later. You'll know the insulin amount is correct when after about 2 hours of eating the peak glucose level you hit will fall and after 4 hours you should be close to what level you started at before eating. If before or just after the 2 hours your levels fly down low to the point you are hypo and need to snack the insulin is too much. If on the other hand at 2 hours after you have peaked your levels either stay at that peak level or go even higher then the insulin isn't enough. Bear in mind your basal insulin should be correct in the background also. Once you have the bolus insulin set right you can work on keeping post meal spikes lower. For that it involves timing, the types of carbs and what you have with your meal.

So for months I saw my levels going up to 13 or 14 from 4 after meals then shooting back down really fast. I added more insulin only making it worse and the spikes would still happen. Timing of bolus is important but I found the earlier I took my insulin the more hypos I had when I started to eat or when I finished eating. Read a few bits and figured it was the lack of fat and protein my meal. I definitely read at the beginning diabetics should cut fat intake down so thats what i did but obviously too much reduction. So when I had my branflakes with fruit in the morning for instance there was barely any fat or protein in the meal and I would just rocket up. When I started adding extras like peanut butter, chia seeds or flax seed to the meal I saw less huge spikes and crashes( these are all fairly healthy fat/protein choices). I will say I've had issues with having a lot of hypos so careful if you go about this way at all. Try tackle one thing at a time. Get a routine set up at first if you can and eat at similar times. Some days I go lower after a meal (with no exercise or alcohol) and it might be because I'm bit busier or one of many reasons I cant figure out so I just top up with a snack. So that list of snacks I detailed may be less carby one day than another. No point in pushing levels up again if you are sitting steady. Always try to be at a good level before each meal aswell, this will help avoid going too high. You'll achieve this by having the basal insulin correct and the previous meal bolus working well. Don't worry if you don't all the time. You can do corrections( id discuss with hospital before attempting this) This morning I was 7 before my meal so not ideal but okay and I went to 10 after. If I had of started at 5 then technically I would have went to 8. In the mean time if levels are a bit out of target before your next meal you can always go for a short walk. I go for 10 minutes walks on my breaks at work and it helps nudge me down a bit if I'm sitting a little higher than id like. If you have similar meals alot you can see how best to dose for them. Probably find its whatever food is the bulk of the carbs will need considered say rice or potato. Over time you can learn how to deal with certain meals and it really does help when heading out for food. All the carb counting at home helps me look at a meal I cant weigh or refer to packets and guess pretty well how many carbs are in it.

Just don't get too obsessed, I did and still suffer from time to time about getting my levels consistent, its a work in progress. All I've said might be garbage but I can only say what I've done. It is very tough doing all this but if you are able to still enjoy food like before and be reasonably healthy then great. If you have any questions ask away, it can be difficult to describe everything ive done without sounding like jibberish haha

Not jibberish at all, thank you and I am so grateful for any and all advice, whether it differs from person to person or not! I'm finding it hard at the moment as I am only on basal insulin - from the advice of the hospital - but I know I am spiking after meals, which is frustrating. BUT my levels are coming back down to 5-7 before meals, so I'm guessing something somewhere must be working okay. Thank you for the walk/exercise tip, that will definitely help me in the future, I am sure! I feel like I'm still just starting on this journey a month in, and I still have loads to learn when I eventually need to bolus too. But maybe better to just have small steps at a time. Thank you so much!

 

[Deleted member 33898]

Not jibberish at all, thank you and I am so grateful for any and all advice, whether it differs from person to person or not! I'm finding it hard at the moment as I am only on basal insulin - from the advice of the hospital - but I know I am spiking after meals, which is frustrating. BUT my levels are coming back down to 5-7 before meals, so I'm guessing something somewhere must be working okay. Thank you for the walk/exercise tip, that will definitely help me in the future, I am sure! I feel like I'm still just starting on this journey a month in, and I still have loads to learn when I eventually need to bolus too. But maybe better to just have small steps at a time. Thank you so much!

no problem. thats good something is working right there. Guess it depends how big the spikes are. Everyone seems to be different on what is acceptable to them. I think the main thing is just dont stay up high for hours and hours a day. A diabetic nurse told me she wore the libre sensor to test it as a non diabetic and claims she was spiking to 11 for some meals, i dont know about that though, maybe just wanted to calm me down haha I tested my partner's blood once 30 mins after a meal once and she was 8mmol, though pretty sure she isn't diabetic, i hope not!

 

[pawprint91]

no problem. thats good something is working right there. Guess it depends how big the spikes are. Everyone seems to be different on what is acceptable to them. I think the main thing is just dont stay up high for hours and hours a day. A diabetic nurse told me she wore the libre sensor to test it as a non diabetic and claims she was spiking to 11 for some meals, i dont know about that though, maybe just wanted to calm me down haha I tested my partner's blood once 30 mins after a meal once and she was 8mmol, though pretty sure she isn't diabetic, i hope not!

Considering how high I was spiking pre-diagnosis (I think I would have been lucky to get a single figure reading then, probably not even in the am!) I can handle teen numbers for now, as I have the reassurance I come back down. I'd rather be on insulin and be able to keep them in a better range, but I guess baby steps! Thank you for all your help and advice!!

 

[DeeM]

Considering how high I was spiking pre-diagnosis (I think I would have been lucky to get a single figure reading then, probably not even in the am!) I can handle teen numbers for now, as I have the reassurance I come back down. I'd rather be on insulin and be able to keep them in a better range, but I guess baby steps! Thank you for all your help and advice!!

I have found this thread so helpful to read - thank you!

@pawprint91 it sounds like we’re on very similar paths. I’m likewise newly diagnosed and also on this (rather unromantic!) ‘honeymoon’, just on basal insulin at the moment, trying to record as much as I can and learn as much as I can from everyone else on here and all the Learning Zone and other links.

I asked a similar question about low carbs on another thread and found it so helpful to be directed to Gary Scheiner’s Think Like a Pancreas - there is lots in there that completely makes my head spin, and I can’t believe how much daily maths diabetes is going to require, but I found it incredibly helpful. But @phil90 has pretty much summed up the key points.

I’ve also cut out the obvious pure sugar stuff and learning that my usual low-ish carb meals don’t spike too badly at all, but it’s only been a few days for me…

I will be interested to hear what/when the next steps are for you - interesting you are still only on basal a month in. Have you been given any indication when you might start on the bolus side of things?

 

[CatTails]

This is a fascinating thread. I was diagnosed with T1 in 1982, and have been carb-counting ever since. The field of dietetics has expanded so much since then and as a few folks have mentioned carb-absorbtion rates, I’ll recommend another area to look up when you have a bit of brain space: the GI (ie glycaemic index) of foods. The GL (glycaemic load) is the total carb amount. This sheds some light on why eg 50g of some carbs make your blood sugar rocket more than the same amount of carb taken in a different form… then you can manage spikes by eg having a meal of low carb cheese salad before your slice of cake to slow down blood sugar spikes if you find that high spikes start making you feel rubbish (as they do me). For me, the GI of foods makes a big difference to my blood glucose management as my blood sugars are very volatile and everything from stress to blinking seems to affect my blood sugar levels But, as seems to be the mantra on this forum, we are all different!

 

[DeeM]

This is a fascinating thread. I was diagnosed with T1 in 1982, and have been carb-counting ever since. The field of dietetics has expanded so much since then and as a few folks have mentioned carb-absorbtion rates, I’ll recommend another area to look up when you have a bit of brain space: the GI (ie glycaemic index) of foods. The GL (glycaemic load) is the total carb amount. This sheds some light on why eg 50g of some carbs make your blood sugar rocket more than the same amount of carb taken in a different form… then you can manage spikes by eg having a meal of low carb cheese salad before your slice of cake to slow down blood sugar spikes if you find that high spikes start making you feel rubbish (as they do me). For me, the GI of foods makes a big difference to my blood glucose management as my blood sugars are very volatile and everything from stress to blinking seems to affect my blood sugar levels But, as seems to be the mantra on this forum, we are all different!

Yes! Gary Scheiner does mention this in Think Like a Pancreas (which others on here had recommended) and GL is something I’ve known about for a while - in the past it really helped me with portion control and knowing what will help feel fuller rather than creating cravings, so it all makes sense now in terms of glucose management as well.
Last night I tried out the suggestion of eating the protein and fat first and then managed to eat a small portion of gnocchi without having a ridiculous spike afterwards.

 

[pawprint91]

I have found this thread so helpful to read - thank you!

@pawprint91 it sounds like we’re on very similar paths. I’m likewise newly diagnosed and also on this (rather unromantic!) ‘honeymoon’, just on basal insulin at the moment, trying to record as much as I can and learn as much as I can from everyone else on here and all the Learning Zone and other links.

I asked a similar question about low carbs on another thread and found it so helpful to be directed to Gary Scheiner’s Think Like a Pancreas - there is lots in there that completely makes my head spin, and I can’t believe how much daily maths diabetes is going to require, but I found it incredibly helpful. But @phil90 has pretty much summed up the key points.

I’ve also cut out the obvious pure sugar stuff and learning that my usual low-ish carb meals don’t spike too badly at all, but it’s only been a few days for me…

I will be interested to hear what/when the next steps are for you - interesting you are still only on basal a month in. Have you been given any indication when you might start on the bolus side of things?

I'm so happy this has helped you. This forum is invaluable to me, so I'm so happy I have been of some help to you, too!

As of today, I am now on bolus insulin too, but a fixed amount and only before my evening meal, and I'm now only having basal in the morning for now. Are you on basal/bolus insulin if you don't mind me asking?

 

[DeeM]

I'm so happy this has helped you. This forum is invaluable to me, so I'm so happy I have been of some help to you, too!

As of today, I am now on bolus insulin too, but a fixed amount and only before my evening meal, and I'm now only having basal in the morning for now. Are you on basal/bolus insulin if you don't mind me asking?

So far I am only on basal - one dose in the evening of glargine (Lantus) - but I have the aspart bolus (Fiasp) prescribed for as and when that starts. It is still very early days for me - I have been on the insulin for about 10 days in total and on the Libre for 5 days. My DSN says that I am still in the 'honeymoon' period when my pancreas is still making some insulin and although the numbers go up after I eat they do still come down again. So for the moment he feels that I am fine to stay just on the basal while we figure out the right dose for that.

This does make me nervous, and I am being quite tentative in trying out the effect of eating the various types of carbs, but I can also see the value in not going too quickly onto the bolus and risking hypos. He likewise said I would then eventually move on to fixed (conservatively sized) doses for the bolus doses to see how that went, but not until it's clear that's needed.

In fact, when I spoke to him yesterday he said that I should dial down the basal a notch to see how I get on. We are due to go to Greece for a week, leaving on Saturday, and he thinks the hotter weather and more activity will mean I don't need as much basal while I am there.

It sounds like you are on a different basal regime to me, as it was two injections a day rather than one? That sounds like it gives a bit more flexibility in terms of using the bolus for your evening meal while not risking hypos in the night. Do you mind me asking what kind it is?

 

[helli]

@DeeM sounds as if you have a very helpful DSN.

Regarding the honeymoon period, it is not surprising you are still there after only 10 days. I think my honeymoon period lasted about 8 years. It is not uncommon for adults' pancreas to keep limping along for a few years. Over this time, my insulin dose slowly increased and then, finally stabilised. Some people are less lucky and their pancreas has the occasional splutter when it kicks into life for a day or two and then sleeps it off for a week or so. This makes things very unpredictable.

 

[DeeM]

@DeeM sounds as if you have a very helpful DSN.

Regarding the honeymoon period, it is not surprising you are still there after only 10 days. I think my honeymoon period lasted about 8 years. It is not uncommon for adults' pancreas to keep limping along for a few years. Over this time, my insulin dose slowly increased and then, finally stabilised. Some people are less lucky and their pancreas has the occasional splutter when it kicks into life for a day or two and then sleeps it off for a week or so. This makes things very unpredictable.

Yes, he is great. He seems to be famed in the area for being great and the doctors and patients all just mention him by (first) name. So I am very lucky.

Wow @helli I am amazed to hear that the honeymoon period can go on for that long! I had somehow gathered the impression (not sure from where) that it was more like weeks or a few months at most. Although it sounds like it might be a mixed blessing if it means things can be quite unpredictable?

 

[pawprint91]

So far I am only on basal - one dose in the evening of glargine (Lantus) - but I have the aspart bolus (Fiasp) prescribed for as and when that starts. It is still very early days for me - I have been on the insulin for about 10 days in total and on the Libre for 5 days. My DSN says that I am still in the 'honeymoon' period when my pancreas is still making some insulin and although the numbers go up after I eat they do still come down again. So for the moment he feels that I am fine to stay just on the basal while we figure out the right dose for that.

This does make me nervous, and I am being quite tentative in trying out the effect of eating the various types of carbs, but I can also see the value in not going too quickly onto the bolus and risking hypos. He likewise said I would then eventually move on to fixed (conservatively sized) doses for the bolus doses to see how that went, but not until it's clear that's needed.

This part of your post totally sounds as though you are describing me! Add to this the fact that I was diagnosed then left to my own devices for three weeks before another appointment showed up, and you can imagine how I felt I am sure! Please can I ask how you managed to get the Libre so quickly? My nurse mentioned it upon my diagnosis but it has never been discussed again - bearing in mind, we are entering the 6th week of my diagnosis (and honeymoon phase) - and today is only the second time following this that I have spoken to my nurse; it wasn't a planned appt, I basically harassed the diabetes team daily until I got her on the phone!

It sounds like you are on a different basal regime to me, as it was two injections a day rather than one? That sounds like it gives a bit more flexibility in terms of using the bolus for your evening meal while not risking hypos in the night. Do you mind me asking what kind it is?

Of course not - it's called Levemir. I'm no longer using the evening dose (was only on 1 unit, but that was after a few weeks of trial and error, when I was first diagnosed I was on 8 units morning and pm, which seems crazy now!) as I begin to try evening fixed boluses of 2 units.

 

[DeeM]

This part of your post totally sounds as though you are describing me! Add to this the fact that I was diagnosed then left to my own devices for three weeks before another appointment showed up, and you can imagine how I felt I am sure! Please can I ask how you managed to get the Libre so quickly? My nurse mentioned it upon my diagnosis but it has never been discussed again - bearing in mind, we are entering the 6th week of my diagnosis (and honeymoon phase) - and today is only the second time following this that I have spoken to my nurse; it wasn't a planned appt, I basically harassed the diabetes team daily until I got her on the phone!

Yes, I felt the same when I saw what you had posted earlier!

I feel more and more lucky as I hear other people's experiences - I didn't realise that I was getting such a quick response on things, by comparison. I think I must have just had a lucky set of circumstances really, although it didn't start out that way...

I knew about the Libre and was able to ask about it because someone I know who was diagnosed last year said 'Ask for the Libre!' - so I did. And I think the reason it was agreed so quickly is because I had had an unusually quick confirmation that I am definitely Type 1, from an absolutely unequivocal antibody test, and I was pretty freaked out. And the reason I was pretty freaked out and had got that quick confirmation is because of the relatively unusual way I found out about the diabetes in the first place:

I was out in Australia visiting friends and family eating lots more sugary and carb-y stuff than I usually would have done (daily cake, biscuits, dried fruit, chocolate covered liquorice, crisps, you name it - on holiday and all that) and started getting all the key symptoms (desperate thirst, up all night to the loo, bad leg cramps) plus I was just dropping weight like nobody's business - so went to a local GP, got a finger prick test reading 33 and they diagnosed me with Type 2 and prescribed the highest strength of Jardiamet and to eat no carbs and come back the following week... By day 2 of this I became extremely unwell and after a night of vomiting had to be taken to hospital (45 minutes away as I was deep in rural Victoria) where it turned out my ketones were 7.7. Pretty scary.

By this stage, however, with 24 hours of not eating and vomiting my glucose was right down in the 5s and they managed to stabilise me and get the ketones starting to drop with just a hydration drip and no insulin, so the doctors were a bit puzzled and I think they didn't quite believe the 33 finger prick and still thought I might be Type 2 but had just had a bad reaction to the meds. However, they ran all the full bloods and tests and put an urgent on it, as I was in a foreign land and needed some answers in order to fully stabilise and get home. I've since been told it takes months to get these tests in the NHS, and even in Australia they expected it to take weeks, but somehow it only took 5 days and the endocrinologist I saw was able to tell me that I unequivocally had the antibodies, that my HbA1C was 104 so I'd clearly had it for months, and that I also had Hashimoto's disease, so the whole late onset autoimmune syndrome....

So by the time I saw the DSN, having flown home in a state of shock, I had a full set of test results to show and was fairly freaked out and emotional, and asked about the Libre to help me feel a bit less worried about it all - not sure which of those factors counted or whether I would have got it anyway, because the service is just good where I am!?

 

[pawprint91]

Yes, I felt the same when I saw what you had posted earlier!

I feel more and more lucky as I hear other people's experiences - I didn't realise that I was getting such a quick response on things, by comparison. I think I must have just had a lucky set of circumstances really, although it didn't start out that way...

I knew about the Libre and was able to ask about it because someone I know who was diagnosed last year said 'Ask for the Libre!' - so I did. And I think the reason it was agreed so quickly is because I had had an unusually quick confirmation that I am definitely Type 1, from an absolutely unequivocal antibody test, and I was pretty freaked out. And the reason I was pretty freaked out and had got that quick confirmation is because of the relatively unusual way I found out about the diabetes in the first place:

I was out in Australia visiting friends and family eating lots more sugary and carb-y stuff than I usually would have done (daily cake, biscuits, dried fruit, chocolate covered liquorice, crisps, you name it - on holiday and all that) and started getting all the key symptoms (desperate thirst, up all night to the loo, bad leg cramps) plus I was just dropping weight like nobody's business - so went to a local GP, got a finger prick test reading 33 and they diagnosed me with Type 2 and prescribed the highest strength of Jardiamet and to eat no carbs and come back the following week... By day 2 of this I became extremely unwell and after a night of vomiting had to be taken to hospital (45 minutes away as I was deep in rural Victoria) where it turned out my ketones were 7.7. Pretty scary.

By this stage, however, with 24 hours of not eating and vomiting my glucose was right down in the 5s and they managed to stabilise me and get the ketones starting to drop with just a hydration drip and no insulin, so the doctors were a bit puzzled and I think they didn't quite believe the 33 finger prick and still thought I might be Type 2 but had just had a bad reaction to the meds. However, they ran all the full bloods and tests and put an urgent on it, as I was in a foreign land and needed some answers in order to fully stabilise and get home. I've since been told it takes months to get these tests in the NHS, and even in Australia they expected it to take weeks, but somehow it only took 5 days and the endocrinologist I saw was able to tell me that I unequivocally had the antibodies, that my HbA1C was 104 so I'd clearly had it for months, and that I also had Hashimoto's disease, so the whole late onset autoimmune syndrome....

So by the time I saw the DSN, having flown home in a state of shock, I had a full set of test results to show and was fairly freaked out and emotional, and asked about the Libre to help me feel a bit less worried about it all - not sure which of those factors counted or whether I would have got it anyway, because the service is just good where I am!?

I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience with your diagnosis, but glad you are feeling slightly less worried now. Are you booked in on a DAFNE course do you know? And how are you finding the Libre?

 

[DeeM]

I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience with your diagnosis, but glad you are feeling slightly less worried now. Are you booked in on a DAFNE course do you know? And how are you finding the Libre?

Thanks! I do feel a lot calmer now. I find the Libre really helps me as I can see exactly what is happening, and am getting bolder about trying out (small amounts of) different types of carbs to see what happens. It's often surprising. Though having comes across a post about 'resistant starch' the other day, I wonder if some of my surprises relate to that - eg. I realised that one of the pasta meals that gave a surprisingly low(ish) rise was one that had been reheated from the day before.

I do find it a bit disconcerting that the Libre is neither accurate to the BG nor consistently inaccurate. But at the moment I'm just trying to do BG fairly often to make the comparison and see if I can figure it out.

DAFNE hasn't been mentioned yet, and I get the sense that it's not available in my area, which is a pity. I would really like to do one. Even if it's online, though I think I'd much rather do it in person.

How about you, @pawprint91? Are you due to go on a DAFNE? How has it been going with your evening bolus dose??

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Thanks! I do feel a lot calmer now. I find the Libre really helps me as I can see exactly what is happening, and am getting bolder about trying out (small amounts of) different types of carbs to see what happens. It's often surprising. Though having comes across a post about 'resistant starch' the other day, I wonder if some of my surprises relate to that - eg. I realised that one of the pasta meals that gave a surprisingly low(ish) rise was one that had been reheated from the day before.

I do find it a bit disconcerting that the Libre is neither accurate to the BG nor consistently inaccurate. But at the moment I'm just trying to do BG fairly often to make the comparison and see if I can figure it out.

DAFNE hasn't been mentioned yet, and I get the sense that it's not available in my area, which is a pity. I would really like to do one. Even if it's online, though I think I'd much rather do it in person.

How about you, @pawprint91? Are you due to go on a DAFNE? How has it been going with your evening bolus dose??

All meters have an appalling accuracy.

 

[grovesy]

Thanks! I do feel a lot calmer now. I find the Libre really helps me as I can see exactly what is happening, and am getting bolder about trying out (small amounts of) different types of carbs to see what happens. It's often surprising. Though having comes across a post about 'resistant starch' the other day, I wonder if some of my surprises relate to that - eg. I realised that one of the pasta meals that gave a surprisingly low(ish) rise was one that had been reheated from the day before.

I do find it a bit disconcerting that the Libre is neither accurate to the BG nor consistently inaccurate. But at the moment I'm just trying to do BG fairly often to make the comparison and see if I can figure it out.

DAFNE hasn't been mentioned yet, and I get the sense that it's not available in my area, which is a pity. I would really like to do one. Even if it's online, though I think I'd much rather do it in person.

How about you, @pawprint91? Are you due to go on a DAFNE? How has it been going with your evening bolus dose??

In some areas they have alternative courses to DAFNE, that have different names.

 

[pawprint91]

DAFNE hasn't been mentioned yet, and I get the sense that it's not available in my area, which is a pity. I would really like to do one. Even if it's online, though I think I'd much rather do it in person.

How about you, @pawprint91? Are you due to go on a DAFNE? How has it been going with your evening bolus dose??

I hope you find out about a similar/relevant course in your area, I'm hoping mine will be helpful and shed some light on areas I'm still yet to hear about in terms of my own diabetes management.

This will be my 4th day of an evening bolus dose, and I would say 2/3 of the previous evenings have gone really well, thank you - had a reading of 6.9 last night and that was after half a pizza for tea!! The one day it didn't go as well I had a reading of 8.3 before bed, but that was down to 6.8 in the morning so it wasn't awful! I certainly feel more confident about eating more 'normally' with it on board.