Hello, and a question.

[Ecoar001]

I have had c-peptide bloods etc. and am now LADA 1.5 or type 1 not quite sure ( type 2 for 20 yrs.) I have been trying to carb count and link to my meals it has been a bit haywire, my specialist nurse told me to go cold turkey on the Metformin the other day ( 2 x 1000mg slow release) , since then my morning bloods in particular are rising, during Covid I have felt it has all been a bit of a DIY sort of approach to the condition, my background insulin is 9 units Abasaglar at 6.00am, wondering weather to raise this, thank goodness for the Escitalipram to keep the anxiety in check.
PS, Fish chips and Mushy peas Saturday treat, 100grammes at a 15/1 ratio am going for 7 units of Fiasp??
🙂🙂,can`t decide which of these little fellas is me at present.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @Ecoar001 🙂 It’s good you now have the correct diagnosis. You could speak to your nurse about possibly (gradually) moving your Abasaglar to the evening to see if this helps you not wake high. You could also ask about a twice-daily basal like Levemir so that you can adjust each dose separately. This usually gives better control.

Enjoy your fish, chips and mushy peas 🙂 You might get a delayed rise due to the fat so be prepared for that. Test extra to keep an eye on what’s happening.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Ecoar001

We can’t really offer specific advice about your doses, because we aren’t medically qualified and don’t know your specific situation, but we can reflect our own thinking/processes for considering our own dose adjustments.

Have you come across the concept of basal testing? It’s more commonly associated with insulin pumps, but I found it really helpful in my last years on MDI. It‘s a systematic way of checking how your basal is working through the 24 hours, which is often a slightly ‘Hobson’s Choice’ on MDI, and helps to separate the action of basal (background) from bolus (meals and snacks).

There’s a write-up of the technique here: https://www.mysugr.com/en/blog/basal-rate-testing/

More simply… on a day when you’ve eaten your evening meal fairly early (say 6pm), and it’s not a tricksy fatty one or one that can drag its heels like pasta, you can see what happens between bedtime, set an alarm for 3am, and waking.

Ideally your BG wouldn‘t wobble up or down more than 1-2mmol/L between those checks.

 

[Ljc]

Hello @Ecoar001 . Welcome to the forum. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your treat .

It seems you have had a similar journey to me. I was diagnosed T2 way back in 1994.
I realised I may not have T2 back in 2016 ish due to this forum, I was fully on insulin then.
I got off my butt and got properly tested earlier this year and they confirmed what I already knew.

LADA though it mimics T2 initially . It eventually shows it’s true colours, which is T1. We often refer to it as a slow w onset T1, (for you and me ,very slow lol)
In time it will get easier, after all you’ve had years of believing you had T2 then suddenly you don’t.

May I ask what prompted the tests for T1 .

I find that I need to do the Basal testing mentioned by @everydayupsanddowns , several times a year as do others, you see our needs change for a variety of reasons.
The changing of the seasons for one , my bolus (mealtime) insulin needs don’t change often , but it might be different for you .

For a time whatever type we have have ,when we first go onto insulin, their needs to be much tweaking of the units of insulin.
The experts ( your DSN and Consultant ) do have a formula to go by but it does not suit all with t1or LADA, so adjustments need to be made.

Then because of the insulin we’re jabbing in, our pancreas has all the pressure taken off it so has a nice rest then, suddenly thinks to itself, I can do this and splurges out some insulin, it does this for a while, then needs another rest and so on. It’s a difficult time for many of us and someone with a great, not, sense of humour gave it its name, “honeymoon” lol
Which I am wondering if you might be going through .

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Ecoar001 from another late starter (53)

I am pleased that you now have the correct diagnosis, and as @Ljc says it is quite common for those with LADA to be assumed to be T2. Now that you are on insulin you will gradually get the doses matched to what you need and then life can become a lot more flexible. These adjustments take a bit of time as your pancreas may well still have some Beta cells lurking and, having had a rest, they will sometimes decide to play again. This is known as the Honeymoon Period.

I did not realise at the start that I would need to change my doses through the year, but this becomes just part of what we do. I found the switch to Levemir as my background insulin was very helpful. It allowed me to split the dose to a morning and an evening dose, and I was then able to make adjustments to one without impacting on the other.

Keep in touch and fire away with any questions that you have.
Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.

 

[Ecoar001]

Hello @Ecoar001 . Welcome to the forum. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your treat .

It seems you have had a similar journey to me. I was diagnosed T2 way back in 1994.
I realised I may not have T2 back in 2016 ish due to this forum, I was fully on insulin then.
I got off my butt and got properly tested earlier this year and they confirmed what I already knew.

LADA though it mimics T2 initially . It eventually shows it’s true colours, which is T1. We often refer to it as a slow w onset T1, (for you and me ,very slow lol)
In time it will get easier, after all you’ve had years of believing you had T2 then suddenly you don’t.

May I ask what prompted the tests for T1 .

I find that I need to do the Basal testing mentioned by @everydayupsanddowns , several times a year as do others, you see our needs change for a variety of reasons.
The changing of the seasons for one , my bolus (mealtime) insulin needs don’t change often , but it might be different for you .

For a time whatever type we have have ,when we first go onto insulin, their needs to be much tweaking of the units of insulin.
The experts ( your DSN and Consultant ) do have a formula to go by but it does not suit all with t1or LADA, so adjustments need to be made.

Then because of the insulin we’re jabbing in, our pancreas has all the pressure taken off it so has a nice rest then, suddenly thinks to itself, I can do this and splurges out some insulin, it does this for a while, then needs another rest and so on. It’s a difficult time for many of us and someone with a great, not, sense of humour gave it its name, “honeymoon” lol
Which I am wondering if you might be going through .

Hello, thanks for your reply, this forum is already proving very informative, I suspected LADA quite a while ago, spoke to my practice nurse who arranged the bloods on ice, hey- ho.This is a crazy journey yesterdays bloods 6.32am 8.5,9.41am 10.5, 11.31am 7.3, 1.58pm 12.3, 4.10pm 3.7, (2 x glucose tabs.),5.08pm 4.8, (large portion of Fish chips and peas) 7.28 6.9???, no issues overnight, 7.15am today 8.0,then 11.8 @ 9.27am, it`s like riding The Big One!!.

 

[Ecoar001]

Welcome to the forum @Ecoar001 from another late starter (53)

I am pleased that you now have the correct diagnosis, and as @Ljc says it is quite common for those with LADA to be assumed to be T2. Now that you are on insulin you will gradually get the doses matched to what you need and then life can become a lot more flexible. These adjustments take a bit of time as your pancreas may well still have some Beta cells lurking and, having had a rest, they will sometimes decide to play again. This is known as the Honeymoon Period.

I did not realise at the start that I would need to change my doses through the year, but this becomes just part of what we do. I found the switch to Levemir as my background insulin was very helpful. It allowed me to split the dose to a morning and an evening dose, and I was then able to make adjustments to one without impacting on the other.

Keep in touch and fire away with any questions that you have.
Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.

Thanks for your kind comments.

 

[Ecoar001]

Welcome to the forum @Ecoar001

We can’t really offer specific advice about your doses, because we aren’t medically qualified and don’t know your specific situation, but we can reflect our own thinking/processes for considering our own dose adjustments.

Have you come across the concept of basal testing? It’s more commonly associated with insulin pumps, but I found it really helpful in my last years on MDI. It‘s a systematic way of checking how your basal is working through the 24 hours, which is often a slightly ‘Hobson’s Choice’ on MDI, and helps to separate the action of basal (background) from bolus (meals and snacks).

There’s a write-up of the technique here: https://www.mysugr.com/en/blog/basal-rate-testing/

More simply… on a day when you’ve eaten your evening meal fairly early (say 6pm), and it’s not a tricksy fatty one or one that can drag its heels like pasta, you can see what happens between bedtime, set an alarm for 3am, and waking.

Ideally your BG wouldn‘t wobble up or down more than 1-2mmol/L between those checks.

I appreciate what you are saying, thanks for the info.

 

[Ljc]

Yes diabetes can be a rollercoaster at times, esp in the beginning.

Now I am a few years down the line with insulin , it is very nearly second nature to me, I say very nearly because their are some days when it just gets my goat and other days when it won’t play nicely.

 

[Ecoar001]

Yes diabetes can be a rollercoaster at times, esp in the beginning.

Now I am a few years down the line with insulin , it is very nearly second nature to me, I say very nearly because their are some days when it just gets my goat and other days when it won’t play nicely.

FINGERS CROSSED, MY DSN. IS GOING TO GET A HECK OF A GRILLING AT MY NEXT VISIT😉

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

FINGERS CROSSED, MY DSN. IS GOING TO GET A HECK OF A GRILLING AT MY NEXT VISIT😉

Haha! Let us know how it goes 🙂

 

[Ljc]

FINGERS CROSSED, MY DSN. IS GOING TO GET A HECK OF A GRILLING AT MY NEXT VISIT😉

.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall lol.
Please let us know how it goes.

 

[Ecoar001]

.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall lol.
Please let us know how it goes.

Had a 1 Hour phone consultation Tuesday evening, a DSN who worked on the bank to help out the service, she was Type 1 herself, on a pump I think, lovely lady as they all are at my local DSN service, on for a full hour, I had to end the call, very helpful although because of her experiences a heck of a lot was going over my head, at the end it felt like my brain had been in a spin dryer. A friend of mine who has been type 1 for 45 yrs +, says he does not test anymore after his meals, but relies on experience in the time after eating and the next finger test before his next meal, his A1C`s are in the 40`s.By the way had an A1C blood test 8.30am today with my Kidney check, waiting in anticipation .

 

[helli]

@Ecoar001 sounds as if you are getting some good support now you have the correct diagnosis.
I wonder if you would benefit from trying out a Libre. I believe there is still the opportunity for a free trial.
This will give you a good insight into what i happening overnight (and after meals).
You could also ask your helpful DSN if you are wearing your lucky socks, kissing a rabbits foot, chucking a horse shoe over your shoulder and keeping your fingers crossed, you may get them on prescription.
Only 20% of people with Type 1 get Libre but that's 20% more than people with type 2.

 

[Ecoar001]

It is something we are working on I am led to believe, I am being a good boy (as always) as on line reviews / you tube etc. are all very good, I like "she`s diabetic" the young American lady.