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Hey new member

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Scott_gameruk

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi everyone


I'm scott, im 28 from from the south east. Iv recently been told I'm type 1 diabetic. Woohoo.. so I thought I'd stop by and say hi and read afew posts and find out some information.

So i have been started on levemir this week. But before that they knew I was type 1 they put me on metformin. Which was 1 tablet in the morning and 1 in the evening. So far iv found the metformin worked better then the levemir? Should that be the case.

Anyway hope to hear from some of you 🙂
 
Scott_gameruk said:
Hi everyone


I'm scott, im 28 from from the south east. Iv recently been told I'm type 1 diabetic. Woohoo.. so I thought I'd stop by and say hi and read afew posts and find out some information.

So i have been started on levemir this week. But before that they knew I was type 1 they put me on metformin. Which was 1 tablet in the morning and 1 in the evening. So far iv found the metformin worked better then the levemir? Should that be the case.

Anyway hope to hear from some of you 🙂
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Hi Scott, welcome to the forum 🙂 How did your diagnosis come about? Type 1 in adults tends to take longer to manifest itself fully than it does in young children, so in the early stages it is often mistaken for Type 2. Metformin does help both Type 1 and Type 2 by reducing the liver's output of glucose and inhibiting uptake of glucose from food, but generally Type 1 is caused by a shortage of insulin and needs to be supplemented with injections. So, it's probably the case that your pancreas is still producing some insulin, but not enough to keep your blood glucose levels 'normal' - hence the need for levemir. This is sometimes referred to as the 'honeymoon period' and can last anything from a few weeks to a couple of years (or more!) - it's a very individual thing. Most people find their insulin production tails of in a few months though, so you may need to start injecting for your meals as well as the levemir. They will be being cautious with your levemir dose to start with so that your levels don't suddenly start dropping too low, which can be potentially dangerous. Always have something sweet to hand just in case your levels do drop low - my favourite treatment is a jelly baby or two 🙂

I'd highly recommend getting hold of a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. It covers every aspect of living with Type 1 and is an invaluable reference guide (whatever your age - I was 49! 😱).

Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be happy to help! 🙂
 
Hi, thanks for the reply

The way I found out was I thought I had a urine infection (still might have been as it went away after a week) but either way they picked up on my levels from that. It' taken about 6 weeks for them to find out that I'm type 1 which was about annoying as I was waiting age's to know what was going on!
 
Scott_gameruk said:
Hi, thanks for the reply

The way I found out was I thought I had a urine infection (still might have been as it went away after a week) but either way they picked up on my levels from that. It' taken about 6 weeks for them to find out that I'm type 1 which was about annoying as I was waiting age's to know what was going on!
Click to expand...
Well, the good news is that they caught it early, at a point where there was some question over the type 🙂 Often, with Type 1, things can go seriously wrong very quickly 😱 I'd probably been on the downward slope without realising for some time then I caught a virus which pushed me right over the edge and I ended up in A&E with something called DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) - basically, your blood is turning acidic and you're in danger of coma and complete organ failure 😱 I lost 17 pounds in weight in 3 days! 😱

How are you getting on with the fingerpricks and injections? How much levemir are you on?
 
Hello
 
Hi Scott and welcome to the gang🙂
 
Thanks for the welcomes

I'm getting on okay with the pricks and Injections. I was nervous about doing them to start with but the nurse told me it hurts less then the finger prick which I didn' believe till I had done it lol. But she was correct.

I started on 8 units and have worked my way up to 10 units. Over the last 5/6 days as it's been pretty high.
 
Welcome Scott. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to call the early phase the honeymoon period. It was definitely not what I would describe as a honeymoon, since every now and then the few remaining insulin producing cells (beta cells) wood simply decide to have a go after a bit of a rest, so things were a bit unpredictable. However once things settled down it became a lot easier.

Glad you found us and do ask any questions you have. Lots of helpful people on here.
 
Hi Scott and a warm welcome to our supportive forum. If there's anything you want to know then do please ask. Plenty of knowledgeable & experienced folk here. Take care
 
Hi Scott, welcome to the forum 🙂
 
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