Hello, newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic less than 2 weeks. Saw diabetic specialist nurses and cons for first time friday.

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london5 said:
Sadly not young anymore!

I'll have a look at the other one though.
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They’re for everyone 🙂 As I said, ignore the title. (I see what you did @Leadinglights :rofl: )

It does get easier week by week. It honestly does. We’ve all been where you are and we got through it 🙂
 
Please do not confuse Type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
A healthy diet for someone with Type 1 diabetes is the same as a healthy diet for someone without diabetes. Therefore, there are no cookery books for Type 1 diabetes and there should not be.

Unfortunately, “type 2 diabetes” is often abbreviated to “diabetes” making it appear that everything about type 2 is appropriate for everyone with any type of diabetes. This is not the case.

Some people with Type 1 diabetes chose to eat a low carb diet. However, many of us find this is not necessary. For example, the twenty years since my diagnosis, I have not chosen or avoided any food because I have diabetes. Likewise, I have not lived my life in anyway because I have diabetes. I have no complications due to diabetes and am fitter than most people my age.

The usual advice when first diagnosed with Type 1 is do not change your diet. If you change your diet, it will make it harder to work out your insulin dose.
 
helli said:
Please do not confuse Type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
A healthy diet for someone with Type 1 diabetes is the same as a healthy diet for someone without diabetes. Therefore, there are no cookery books for Type 1 diabetes and there should not be.

Unfortunately, “type 2 diabetes” is often abbreviated to “diabetes” making it appear that everything about type 2 is appropriate for everyone with any type of diabetes. This is not the case.

Some people with Type 1 diabetes chose to eat a low carb diet. However, many of us find this is not necessary. For example, the twenty years since my diagnosis, I have not chosen or avoided any food because I have diabetes. Likewise, I have not lived my life in anyway because I have diabetes. I have no complications due to diabetes and am fitter than most people my age.
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It is confusing you're right. Doesn't help that I was told type 2 whilst blood results awaited and then advised type 1 so...bit of a roller coaster. Good to hear stories like yours.
Thank you
 
I totally agree with @helli , @london5 Type 1 is an auto-immune disease and nothing to do with diet. The trick isn’t eating a certain diet, it’s ‘thinking like a pancreas’ and using your insulin appropriately. This is something you’ll gradually learn by experience.
 
Inka said:
They’re for everyone 🙂 As I said, ignore the title. (I see what you did @Leadinglights :rofl: )

It does get easier week by week. It honestly does. We’ve all been where you are and we got through it 🙂
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Yes I'm sure that's true and I really hope it will feel better soon
 
Inka said:
I totally agree with @helli , @london5 Type 1 is an auto-immune disease and nothing to do with diet. The trick isn’t eating a certain diet, it’s ‘thinking like a pancreas’ and using your insulin appropriately. This is something you’ll gradually learn by experience.
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Yes I understand but just looking for some new inspiration I suppose
 
london5 said:
Yes I'm sure that's true and I really hope it will feel better soon
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Although it might not feel like it, you’re learning little things every day. A Type 1 diagnosis is a massive shock to start with and quite overwhelming, but go along steadily and carefully and one day soon you’ll realise you’re doing ok 🙂
 
As Helli says Type 1 healthy diet is the same for anyone as all you are doing is replacing the endogenous insulin you can’t produce by exogenous insulin via your injections.
By maintaining your normal diet initially you get stabilised easier plus you are more likely to stick to your management if your daily routine is maintained as much as possible.
You may well choose like many to modify your diet ( so less carbs) and do more exercise to lessen the amount of insulin you take on board but that is an individual decision to decide how you want to move forward and what suits one person may not suit someone else.
 
Wendal said:
As Helli says Type 1 healthy diet is the same for anyone as all you are doing is replacing the endogenous insulin you can’t produce by exogenous insulin via your injections.
By maintaining your normal diet initially you get stabilised easier plus you are more likely to stick to your management if your daily routine is maintained as much as possible.
You may well choose like many to modify your diet ( so less carbs) and do more exercise to lessen the amount of insulin you take on board but that is an individual decision to decide how you want to move forward and what suits one person may not suit someone else.
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That's helpful thank you and makes sense. As all the replies I've received have been.
 
Welcome to the forum @london5

And big hugs to you. You are at the sharp end of a new diagnosis, and it’s perfectly natural for things to feel overwhelming and for your emotions to be running riot. It would almost be weirder if you hadn’t felt a bit teary in the recent weeks.

Some people liken their diagnosis experience to a form of grieving - with the outpouring of anger, denial, bargaining, and depression that can involve while moving to a form of acceptance.

As far as carb counting is concerned, the approach I took in the early days (and still rely on to a fairly large extent) was to focus on the main carb component of the dish (eg potatoes, rice, pasta) and then add a notional extra ‘bit’ for whatever else was involved (say a small proportion of a can of tomatoes and smidge of tomato puree. There were/are so many other factors that influence my BG levels that it was far more practical, and a lot less faff to round things up or down than to calculate everything with upmost precision and weigh it onto my plate.

Just something to consider as a possibility?
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Welcome to the forum @london5

And big hugs to you. You are at the sharp end of a new diagnosis, and it’s perfectly natural for things to feel overwhelming and for your emotions to be running riot. It would almost be weirder if you hadn’t felt a bit teary in the recent weeks.

Some people liken their diagnosis experience to a form of grieving - with the outpouring of anger, denial, bargaining, and depression that can involve while moving to a form of acceptance.

As far as carb counting is concerned, the approach I took in the early days (and still rely on to a fairly large extent) was to focus on the main carb component of the dish (eg potatoes, rice, pasta) and then add a notional extra ‘bit’ for whatever else was involved (say a small proportion of a can of tomatoes and smidge of tomato puree. There were/are so many other factors that influence my BG levels that it was far more practical, and a lot less faff to round things up or down than to calculate everything with upmost precision and weigh it onto my plate.

Just something to consider as a possibility?
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Definitely have all of those spinning around in my head and have felt properly 'down' at points but I'm sure it will get better and so many people here have been so kind with understanding and information.

I must say I don't eant to weigh every grain of rice. I've done that with dieting a lot of my life and don’t want to swap calories for carbs. Spec nurses say they have a 1 day CEDRIC course running every Friday at my hospital do hopefully that will help too.

Your approach sounds pragmatically practical and I guess that's how life is...with or without diabetes!
 
london5 said:
Your approach sounds pragmatically practical and I guess that's how life is...with or without diabetes!
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Often I’ll cook even-sized portions of rice (or whatever) for everyone, weighing the dry weight, then cooking it, and just dividing by eye when on the table. eg knowing I need a third or a quarter of the pan.

After a while I can just get a decent guesstimate by eye, based on the serving spoons we generally use.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Often I’ll cook even-sized portions of rice (or whatever) for everyone, weighing the dry weight, then cooking it, and just dividing by eye when on the table. eg knowing I need a third or a quarter of the pan.

After a while I can just get a decent guesstimate by eye, based on the serving spoons we generally use.
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I know, I probably do a bit of that already pre diagnosis it's just all the literature etc talks about weighing, measuring and calculating, I can see why, but I've ended up feeling slightly scared of food which is not healthy.
 
You can batch cook and write on the carb count for days you can't be bothered, or have standard, go to meals, or can use pre- counted recipes. Carb counting is a pain but not like calaories, as we don't need to limit carbs as T1, just be aware of how many we eat.
That said, i did go low carb at first, but it lead to insulin resustance, and missing out of nice things, and it was hard to put weight on. So glad that i went back to normal carbs, though i still find it useful to eat low carb sometimes when i want a drama free meal with no post meal walk
 
Tdm said:
You can batch cook and write on the carb count for days you can't be bothered, or have standard, go to meals, or can use pre- counted recipes. Carb counting is a pain but not like calaories, as we don't need to limit carbs as T1, just be aware of how many we eat.
That said, i did go low carb at first, but it lead to insulin resustance, and missing out of nice things, and it was hard to put weight on. So glad that i went back to normal carbs, though i still find it useful to eat low carb sometimes when i want a drama free meal with no post meal walk
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Oh really? I've been trying to reduce carbs, as you say free of drama eating. Life without ever having toast and marmite again would be sad although I'm getting used to very dark rye bread when I really need toast. The sweet stuff I'm managing not to miss too much but wthethertl that lasts remains to be seen.
 
Tdm said:
i still find it useful to eat low carb sometimes when i want a drama free meal with no post meal walk
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@london5 do not be afraid by this. Whilst tdm has chosen to manage his Type 1 through a combination of carb counting and exercise, this is not the way many of us manage our blood sugars. It is definitely not always convenient to exercise after all food but that does not mean we have to eat a low carb meal to avoid the walk. It is certainly not the approach I take.
 
london5 said:
Oh really? I've been trying to reduce carbs, as you say free of drama eating. Life without ever having toast and marmite again would be sad although I'm getting used to very dark rye bread when I really need toast. The sweet stuff I'm managing not to miss too much but wthethertl that lasts remains to be seen.
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You are thinking as if you are Type 2 which would mean following a low carb diet but as you are diagnosed as TYpe 1 then that is not necessary but it is more you need to know how many carbs you are having to be able to take the correct insulin dose when you start the bolus insulin.
 
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Leadinglights said:
You are thinking as if you are Type 2 which would mean following a low carb diet but as you are diagnosed as TYpe 1 then that is not necessary but it is more you need to know how many carbs you are having to be able to take the correct insulin dose when you start the bolus insulin.
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No I understand and I know we need carbs - fewer can help with weight though, not for type 1 purposes but for me.
 
I found i got down to needing 1 unit of meal time insulin for 3 or 4 gram carbs on low carb. Right now, on normal carb, i need 1 unit of insulin to between 13g carbs ( weekdays) and 20 (weekends). It changes week to week but thats where i am now. I get away with a low carb dinner as i am at work and really don't need hassle...

You may need different ratios for breakfast too. I tend to skip breakfast at weekends bit need about a unit or so to stop the rise you get at dawn.

I don't account for excercise, but eat sweets instead cos it helps with spontaneity...i mean, i could take less insulin, but what if it rains, or what if i want to keep going longer? Plus, i like sweets....

Incidentally, i find if i snack between meals, i take insulin for it but find that the snack food does not peak me like regular meals, even if the carbs are as high...it may be best not to snack too much at first until you have your ratios worked out
 
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