Hi all - T1 diagnosed 2 days ago...

[zx10pilot]

Hmmm - good point that, hadn't thought it through! Will get it upped next time I'm there.

 

[Northerner]

Hmmm - good point that, hadn't thought it through! Will get it upped next time I'm there.

GPs often find it hard to get their heads round the fact that you need to test 'so much' 🙄 So be prepared to point out all the reasons for testing (before meals, exercise, driving and possibly after or during all those things, when poorly, when feeling hypo/hyper, and things you don't even think of until you find yourself needing to test!). The main thing to keep in mind is that each test should serve a useful purpose, to give you information that you can then act on, to convince them that you are not just doing it for fun! 🙂

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Because of course all diabetics like sticking lancets into themselves just for fun! 🙄

My GP asked me recently "do you test twice a day?" 😱 - had to explain that at the very least I have to test every time I eat and when I inject before going to bed, which would add up to four or five times a day ...

 

[trophywench]

I get 150 on repeat - I'm a tad lazy about testing after meals - and I don't do any regular exercise apart from all the usual things that are exercise but we don't think they are (like vacuuming, shopping, painting and decorating - ironing!! 😱)

But there again, I'm not exactly 'new' LOL - and you CAN'T get to my stage (od confidence) without testing a lot more often than you will need or want to in 40 years time!

 

[EmmyBuzz]

Welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm also quite newly diagnosed so I feel you on the shock factor! There's so much to take in but everyone here is really helpful as you may have already noticed!

I was originally unlucky with test strips I was given 50 twice until the DSN I see wrote a letter to my GP and it got increased to 200! Meaning I do not bother them more than once a month now (so it works in their favour too!!). Some days I test only 4 times a day but some days I test up to 10 times (e.g: due to legally needing to so I can drive or because I feel hypo symptoms coming on) so 50 was only about 5-10 days worth! I personally cant get my head round the fact doctors can't get their heads round the simple maths of how many times we need to test a day! 4 injections = MINIMUM 4 tests a day = minimum of 112 test strips a 'month' aka 28 days! never mind all the unpredictable bits like hypos and then driving etc...

 

[SlowRunner]

Hello & welcome! Another late developer here, diagnosed in December & still in denial 😛. Not letting it change my life too much, I do worry about my finger ends & occasionally get concerned about my feet - kind of need those as a runner... On the whole though life still carrying on as normal. Keep smiling xx

 

[Bloden]

Hi there zx10pilot and welcome to our cosy little forum.🙂 I was diagnosed as an adult too, aged 41. It IS a big shock at first 😱like you say, but it does get better - honest! I had lots of questions at first, so fire away. We're here to help.🙂

 

[Lynn Davies]

Hi and welcome to the forum - as you can see I am type 2 and know begger all about lanterns and bonus's???🙄

 

[Lindarose]

Hi zx10pilot and a warm welcome to our forum from another type 2 🙂

 

[New-journey]

Welcome from another late developer, diagnosed in December age 58. I have struggled and still do a bit because of the poor medical care where I live whilst yours care sounds amazing! I am so happy for you as it does make a huge difference. I am still fighting to get the fast acting insulin and control my blood sugars through very low carb. I only get 100 test strips and now going to ask for 150, that is a good idea.
Loads of support to you.

 

[zx10pilot]

Thanks for all your comments.
After a quick chat with the pharmacist my next repeat prescription will be upped to 300 strips! He was happy to write a note to the dr explaining the increase.
The new USB lead has arrived and the replacement meter works with Diasend so I am now able to send my readings through to the clinic.
I now have another query now though regarding different BG meters...
My new meter consistently reads 15-20% lower than the old one.
Not really a problem as it will still show a trend, however I had a 4.9 yesterday mid afternoon while out shopping which meant I couldn't drive home for a while. On my old meter this would have been 5.8 - 5.9 and I would have been fine to drive.
So which to believe?
Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[Robin]

Thanks for all your comments.
After a quick chat with the pharmacist my next repeat prescription will be upped to 300 strips! He was happy to write a note to the dr explaining the increase.
The new USB lead has arrived and the replacement meter works with Diasend so I am now able to send my readings through to the clinic.
I now have another query now though regarding different BG meters...
My new meter consistently reads 15-20% lower than the old one.
Not really a problem as it will still show a trend, however I had a 4.9 yesterday mid afternoon while out shopping which meant I couldn't drive home for a while. On my old meter this would have been 5.8 - 5.9 and I would have been fine to drive.
So which to believe?
Anyone got any suggestions?

Just a note about levels and driving. The rule is that if you are under 5.0 but over 4.0, you can eat some carb and carry on.
Haven't got any thoughts on the meter reading higher, I'm afraid, except that about 5 years ago or so, there was a small change in the way readings were calculated, and meters started reading about 10% higher, (something to do with equating it to blood plasma or something)

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for all your comments.
After a quick chat with the pharmacist my next repeat prescription will be upped to 300 strips! He was happy to write a note to the dr explaining the increase.
The new USB lead has arrived and the replacement meter works with Diasend so I am now able to send my readings through to the clinic.
I now have another query now though regarding different BG meters...
My new meter consistently reads 15-20% lower than the old one.
Not really a problem as it will still show a trend, however I had a 4.9 yesterday mid afternoon while out shopping which meant I couldn't drive home for a while. On my old meter this would have been 5.8 - 5.9 and I would have been fine to drive.
So which to believe?
Anyone got any suggestions?

Good to hear you have had your strip allowance increased 🙂

There has been a tightening of standards of accuracy recently (introduced in March, I believe), so it may be that your previous meter was consistently showing at the higher end of its allowable limits for accuracy, your new one is showing at the lower end of the (new) limits for accuracy. I would just accept the readings from the new meter as being more accurate - providing they show some consistency - and continue from there 🙂 You can drive yourself mad sometimes with the ups and downs of different meters and readings! 😱

 

[trophywench]

Next time you have a blood test (a diabetic one) ask them to also check your actual venous BG too as well as your HbA1c - they always used to do this as matter of course way back when we only tested our pee but now we have meters it's only sometimes. Then when the vampire attacks have your meter all ready and get a drop straight out of your arm before she stops it bleeding - and test it.

Keep a note of that reading somewhere safe - compare it to the lab test result when they come back - then you'll know for a fact how accurate or otherwise the meter is.

I hated the Accu Chek meter I had at first cos it read higher! Ooops, it was right ... however same meter less than a year before, I had a CGM on loan to see what was happening as my A1c didn't really match meter levels. The hospital print-out of the week's CGM readings, which the program adjusted to reflect blood rather than interstitial fluid - exactly matched the vast majority of the 4 a day meter readings I had to enter into the machine as I did them - the graph lines dissected the little crosses on it!

Other thing to try is next time you see anyone with a different meter (eg another diabetic or preferably a medic with a 'trusted' one) - to each do a test from the same - bigger - blob of your finger bodge.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Other thing to try is next time you see anyone with a different meter (eg another diabetic or preferably a medic with a 'trusted' one) - to each do a test from the same - bigger - blob of your finger bodge.

Though you may need to be a bit careful with that because we're not supposed to share meters for hygeine reasons. Must admit I can't see how any of the blood can get into the meter, but I wouldn't want to let anyone else use mine all the same, just in case!

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome Zx 10 pilot. (Good toy). I used to have a Zxr & now have 1200gs BMW & been to Asia & various places. A good hobby 🙂

 

[zx10pilot]

Thanks for your comments, it is really good to have such a resource of knowledgeable and friendly people on here.
I will cease my worrying and concentrate on finding out what I can (& can't) eat.
Although I have been prescribed some Novorapid (together with Lantus) I havn't plucked up the courage to use it yet, simply because I am very scared that I could get the dose wrong and bring on a Hypo. Is this a normal reaction?
So at the moment I am testing before and after every meal (new potatoes and brown rice are fine it seems!) and trying to manage my levels using Lantus alone.
I know that eventually I will get my head round the carb counting business but it just seems to be such a task at the moment.
For reference, my BG levels typically seem to hover around the 7 mark, I have had a few spikes upto 11 but that is often due to me trying something that in hindsight wasn't ever going to be OK... Hmm - croissant anyone? Cos I definitely can't have them!

And Hobie, I've always wanted an R1100GS right from way back in 1994 after I sat on one at the NEC! Unfortunately my ZX10 is but a distant memory however I use the same name on many websites. But I do have a 1985 GPZ400R which was cheap and is a rolling restoration...
Looking forward a good summer - it will help keep me sane after this silly diagnosis.

 

[trophywench]

LOL zx10 - of course you can have a croissant!! But, they make em with flour you know - and flour has carbohydrate in it, so therefore no T1 diabetic can eat anything with that amount of flour - which translates to 'that amount of carbohydrate' - without having the appropriate dose of fast-acting insulin to take care of it,

Try a tiny amount first - if you have a half unit pen - try half a unit, you know what I'll say if its a 1u pen LOL and see what happens - it literally is all you can do, Have a bottle of Lucozade or Coke immediately to hand if you're terrified - but we're all different and nobody can tell you exactly how much you'll need whether they are medically qualified or not, it's something we all have to discover for ourselves.

I mean I have a dead simple carb ratio = 1u per 10g - and for a small croissant I'd need approx 2,5u, Plus however much more I need just depending on how generously I spread the jam!!

Enjoy it - you know you want to,

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

My ratio is about 1 unit fast acting insulin for 20g carbs because I'm sensitive to insulin - you are very unlikely to need less than that, so why not start there and see how you get on?

And having a hypo would probably be a good thing because you'd be prepared and would learn how they feel and how to deal with them. They are not a big deal normally, so long as you do something about them straight away (and don't do what I tend to do, which is to think "I'm a bit wobbly, but I'll just finish doing this before I test" - oops, not a good idea).

 

[HOBIE]

GPZ400 is a good bike too 🙂. Keep sane ! Take it easy & learn as you are doing 😎