hello everybody

[ypauly]

Been diagnosed (type 1)a few months now and I still feel I know nowt.

everybody I talk to tells me how they have been educated and spent time in hospital learning how to cope.
I have had 3 visits to a diabetic nurse who on the first day taught me how to use needles and test myself (not that I bother)but as my father had died the same day didn't go into too much detail. Second visit I couldn't find a parking space within 2 miles of hospital so had a brief conversation on the phone. Third visit there was a dietician who went into detail on what i was eating but gave absolutely no advice just told me step I had allready taken were ok.
My own GP surgury has a diabetic doctor who it appears is always on holiday. so we have never met.
My last appointment was booked for the week I work nights the week I specifically asked not to have the appointment.

so I have plenty negative experience so far though I wouldn't expect diabetes to have a positive one.
I also have plenty of questions. mainly what can I eat

and on top of this I have turned into a grumpy git.

Any other grumpy people (happy ones will do though) want to tell me what I can eat?

 

[Steff]

hi and firstly welcome to the site pauly, seems you have had appauling care so far, and so sorry to hear about your father, you say you dont bother do yo u mean testing? I guess we are all now alot grumpier then we where we have this condition and it does stick with us for life unfortunetly, but theres things like this place for a start which are a god send , personally im type 2 and saw nobody until about june( i was diagnosed in feb this year) and i was livid i was started on diet control and then moved onto pills and in my eyes i blame the lack of care and the fact i had no knowledge on this condition, i belive i could of managed diet control but i had no guidance so they bunged me on pills..As far as what you can eat i guess the other type 1's can help you on that score, but moderation is the key for me i dont have insulin to cover myself so i gotta be careful, keeping away from startchy carb and takeaways i think is what i decided ,of course as well as cutting down the sweets and sugary stuff , but as i say cutting down i might treat myself twice a week still but with a choccie bar or sumit.. anyways any Q'S you have fire away we are all here to help


x

 

[ypauly]

hi and firstly welcome to the site pauly, seems you have had appauling care so far, and so sorry to hear about your father, you say you dont bother do yo u mean testing? I guess we are all now alot grumpier then we where we have this condition and it does stick with us for life unfortunetly, but theres things like this place for a start which are a god send , personally im type 2 and saw nobody until about june( i was diagnosed in feb this year) and i was livid i was started on diet control and then moved onto pills and in my eyes i blame the lack of care and the fact i had no knowledge on this condition, i belive i could of managed diet control but i had no guidance so they bunged me on pills..As far as what you can eat i guess the other type 1's can help you on that score, but moderation is the key for me i dont have insulin to cover myself so i gotta be careful, keeping away from startchy carb and takeaways i think is what i decided ,of course as well as cutting down the sweets and sugary stuff , but as i say cutting down i might treat myself twice a week still but with a choccie bar or sumit.. anyways any Q'S you have fire away we are all here to help


x

yes it's testing, I stopped about two weeks ago as my fingers were getting sore, and it seems like I was doing it for no reason?
I had been asked at the start to test myself four times a day then i complained during the telephone meeing that my fingers hurt and she said ok do it twice a day. I stopped wirting it down after a few weeks then stopped oding it alltogether as it's info nobody wants and info I havn't got a clue what to do with.

P.S. I found the recipe section and to be honest it was like taking a happy pill, I can eat nice stuff yippeeeeeee

 

[Steff]

yes it's testing, I stopped about two weeks ago as my fingers were getting sore, and it seems like I was doing it for no reason?
I had been asked at the start to test myself four times a day then i complained during the telephone meeing that my fingers hurt and she said ok do it twice a day. I stopped wirting it down after a few weeks then stopped oding it alltogether as it's info nobody wants and info I havn't got a clue what to do with.

P.S. I found the recipe section and to be honest it was like taking a happy pill, I can eat nice stuff yippeeeeeee

I think a few on hear dont test neither, but i always have done like you i was told to test 4 times a day now i do it 1 in morning and 1 at night , of course its personal choice indeed but i like to know what foods do me good and what do me bad, so then i know for example if i had a chicken burger in a bun with mayo and my BG was 16.2 id know that effected me and id stay clear, i use my numbers to show the DSN (diabetc specialist nurse) and she does tell me oohh good or oohh bad lol. you could aloso if you where able and your meter came with one put the numbers onto your pc and use it as data a few on here have shown us there date and put it on as a graph .The recipe section is brill as yuo say, just cause we are diabetics dont mean we have to live the life of anun we can still eat good tasty foods


x

 

[ypauly]

I was told to test before meals, so I wouldn't know if the food was good or bad for me. do people do after meal tests?

 

[Steff]

I was told to test before meals, so I wouldn't know if the food was good or bad for me. do people do after meal tests?

I test an hour after evening meal.

 

[sofaraway]

Welcome Paul,

Seems like you've missed out quite alot, but don't worry we will get you sorted, theres a wealth of knowledge here.

If your fingers are hurting from testing have you tried using the sides rather than the tips, there are less nerve endings on the sides. Also you might have set the pricker too deep, try the lowest setting that you can get blood from. Making sure your hands are warm can help too.

It's important to be testing for a reason and I can understand why you have stopped if you don't know what to do with the results. I test before meals to see how much insulin to give, I adjust my insulin to the amount of carbohydrate in the meal I am about to eat and on my pre-meal blood sugar. So if my blood sugar is on the high side I take some extra insulin to bring it down, this is called a correction dose. I also test before bed to see that I am a safe level to go to sleep on so that I don't have a hypo (low blood sugar) during the night. I sometimes but not always test after a meal (2 hours after) to see if the insulin dose I gave was correct for the meal. The other important time I test is before driving, the DVLA says we must test everytime before driving, if we don't then we are breaking their rules and can invalidate our insurance. I also test when exercising to check my blood sugar doesn't go too low. This is when I test so might give you some ideas on why you might find it useful to test.

Just wondering what insulins you take? And if you adjust them at all or take set doses? If you are on a basal bolus insulin regieme, which means a long acting insulin at night and then fast acting insulins with each meal, then there is the potential to eat whatever you want. You just have to learn how to adjust your insulin doses. There are courses that you can go on to learn how to do this, or there are internet resources and books, and your DSN/dietician can help you out. Obviously it's better for everyone to eat a healthy diet, but eating treats can be fine. I eat chocolate most days 🙂

Hopefully you can arrange for another appointment when you aren't working and go in with a list of questions.

Sorry that it's a bit of a long post! If you have any questions then feel free to ask them, no question is a stupid question,

 

[am64]

hi welcome to forum,you poor ole thing you realy have been left high and dry havent you. Sofarways post was excellant and as she said this place is a wealth of knowledge. I am a type2 and so like steff things are different for us but i have learnt so much here 🙂 I have a very good medical team but i still cant ever remeber stuff/understand when i see them so come here and someone usually helps out!

 

[ypauly]

Welcome Paul,

Seems like you've missed out quite alot, but don't worry we will get you sorted, theres a wealth of knowledge here.

If your fingers are hurting from testing have you tried using the sides rather than the tips, there are less nerve endings on the sides. Also you might have set the pricker too deep, try the lowest setting that you can get blood from. Making sure your hands are warm can help too.

It's important to be testing for a reason and I can understand why you have stopped if you don't know what to do with the results. I test before meals to see how much insulin to give, I adjust my insulin to the amount of carbohydrate in the meal I am about to eat and on my pre-meal blood sugar. So if my blood sugar is on the high side I take some extra insulin to bring it down, this is called a correction dose. I also test before bed to see that I am a safe level to go to sleep on so that I don't have a hypo (low blood sugar) during the night. I sometimes but not always test after a meal (2 hours after) to see if the insulin dose I gave was correct for the meal. The other important time I test is before driving, the DVLA says we must test everytime before driving, if we don't then we are breaking their rules and can invalidate our insurance. I also test when exercising to check my blood sugar doesn't go too low. This is when I test so might give you some ideas on why you might find it useful to test.

Just wondering what insulins you take? And if you adjust them at all or take set doses? If you are on a basal bolus insulin regieme, which means a long acting insulin at night and then fast acting insulins with each meal, then there is the potential to eat whatever you want. You just have to learn how to adjust your insulin doses. There are courses that you can go on to learn how to do this, or there are internet resources and books, and your DSN/dietician can help you out. Obviously it's better for everyone to eat a healthy diet, but eating treats can be fine. I eat chocolate most days 🙂

Hopefully you can arrange for another appointment when you aren't working and go in with a list of questions.

Sorry that it's a bit of a long post! If you have any questions then feel free to ask them, no question is a stupid question,

I take levemir and novorapid due to working rotating shifts, this is the flexible option I take at different times but the amount I take remains the same

 

[PhilT]

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum.

 

[shiv]

I take levemir and novorapid due to working rotating shifts, this is the flexible option I take at different times but the amount I take remains the same

i think i'm right in saying that levermir should be taken at around the same time each day?

i really hope you get to see a medic soon. by the sounds of it you really need some support. best of luck, and stick around to ask us questions!

 

[ypauly]

i think i'm right in saying that levermir should be taken at around the same time each day?

i really hope you get to see a medic soon. by the sounds of it you really need some support. best of luck, and stick around to ask us questions!

I have been trying to get a suitable appointment for some time now but no luck.
Hopefully I will be able to get to one of the meeting you lot have so I can get the real life version of what I need.

 

[Copepod]

Right, some practical suggestions, particularly as I was also started on insulin as an adult at a hospital in Birmingham. I never had any parking problems, as I always cycled to the hospital - not that there were any bike racks, but always found a fence to lock bike. Otherwise, WMPTE buses & trains are pretty good, but appreciate they might not fit in with your movements.
At this stage on your insulin journey, you (and your diabetes team) are probably trying to work out the right doses for you, both basal (long acting)and bolus (with meals). Some people find it more convenient to take long acting twice in each 24 hours, at roughly the same time each day, but not necessary equal doses each time, nor necessarily 12 hours apart. Bolus doses for meals can happen whenever required - 2, 3, 4, 5 times a day as appropriate (I've only needed 5 for trans Atlantic flights, but have worked some very odd hours and had some very odd meals, so the flexibility is vital)Getting appointments should be a bit easier after the Christmas New Year break, but a phonecall may be more convenient - I've communicated with my team by email on the few occasions that I've needed to, and things would have been easier if email had been available when I was diagnosed.

 

[ypauly]

Right, some practical suggestions, particularly as I was also started on insulin as an adult at a hospital in Birmingham. I never had any parking problems, as I always cycled to the hospital - not that there were any bike racks, but always found a fence to lock bike. Otherwise, WMPTE buses & trains are pretty good, but appreciate they might not fit in with your movements.
At this stage on your insulin journey, you (and your diabetes team) are probably trying to work out the right doses for you, both basal (long acting)and bolus (with meals). Some people find it more convenient to take long acting twice in each 24 hours, at roughly the same time each day, but not necessary equal doses each time, nor necessarily 12 hours apart. Bolus doses for meals can happen whenever required - 2, 3, 4, 5 times a day as appropriate (I've only needed 5 for trans Atlantic flights, but have worked some very odd hours and had some very odd meals, so the flexibility is vital)Getting appointments should be a bit easier after the Christmas New Year break, but a phonecall may be more convenient - I've communicated with my team by email on the few occasions that I've needed to, and things would have been easier if email had been available when I was diagnosed.

Don't get me wrong, I would be more than happy to catch a bus if they had only told me there was no parking. By the time I had realised that I couldn't park anywhere near I had missed the appointment time.

And what this "team" malarky you speak of? I have spent no 5 weeks trying to get an appointment to fit my shifts and still no joy. Next week I start back to work on nights and guess what, yup they have several appoinments that week lol.

I do not have email of diabetic nurse, only during office hours mobile that rarely gets answered.
I do not have email of diabetis specialist doctor at the local surgery as I believe this bloke is a ghost.

Thing is I wouldn't know any of this wasn't normal if it wasn't for others that have diabetes telling me how the medical proffession makes a fuss of them or how important it is to everbody they meet.

seems to me nobody gives a **** lol <gratuitus smiley in case i sound bitter go on have another lol

 

[Northerner]

Sounds pretty poor ypauly. Pretty awkward for you when you work shifts, any chance of an afternoon appointment when you're on nights? They need to find some way of accomodating you and your work patterns, because you are as entitled to good care as much as anyone else. Hope you can get something sorted soon.