Hi another newbie!

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theresaamor

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Type 1
Hi, my name is Theresa and I am 38 years old. I was diagnosed with Type 1 in July of this year after suffering with symptoms for 4 months (but not realising what they were). Between March and July I lost over a stone in weight and when i finally went to the doctors, I had ended up with a Blood Glucose level of 21. Since then I've been injecting Humulin I and S and have piled the weight back on again! Since being diagnosed I have suffered with several Hypos and have now found that the only way I am able to avoid Hypos and gaining weight, is to stick to a low carbohydrate diet. I've found that by doing this, my blood levels stay between 5 and 7 and I feel completely well all of the time.
Has anyone else found that a low carbohydrate diet works best for them?
 
Hi Theresa, welcome to the forum🙂 Many people find that low carb diet helps them keep better control, but it is also possible to eat a 'normal' amount of carbs and still have good control - you have to find what works best for you whilst retaining your quality of life, which it appears you have done - so well done! Some people find low-carbing a little restrictive.

Do you carb-count and inject according to what you are eating, or are you injecting fixed doses? My insulin doses vary according to what I am about to eat (i.e. the amount of carbs in the food) and I inject before every meal. I find this to be the best way for me.
 
hello welcome to the forum 🙂
 
welcome.

Looks like you have done really well to get your levels down. I find that when I eat reduced amounts of carbs I have better blood sugars, but it's not a way I could or would want to eat all the time. If it's working for you then fantastic 🙂
 
Hi and thanks for the message.

I was given the choice at the hospital, whether to inject with every meal and have one before bed or to stick to two doses. I chose to inject with every meal and before bed, as I thought it would be much more flexible and as it turns out, I was right. I am able to adjust the dose depending on what I'm going to eat, which is great.
I have found that injecting insulin leads to dramatic weight gain, which I find really scary as I have always been in control of my weight. Sticking to a low carb diet is quite restrictive, but it does allow me to keep my weight down.

Has anyone else had trouble with injecting insulin and unwanted weight gain?
 
hi there theresa and welcome to the site
 
theresaamor said:
Hi and thanks for the message.

I was given the choice at the hospital, whether to inject with every meal and have one before bed or to stick to two doses. I chose to inject with every meal and before bed, as I thought it would be much more flexible and as it turns out, I was right. I am able to adjust the dose depending on what I'm going to eat, which is great.
I have found that injecting insulin leads to dramatic weight gain, which I find really scary as I have always been in control of my weight. Sticking to a low carb diet is quite restrictive, but it does allow me to keep my weight down.

Has anyone else had trouble with injecting insulin and unwanted weight gain?
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Hi Theresa, good choice on going for the multiple injections! From what I've heard the two injection regime is really restrictive and makes it very difficult to keep good control. As for the weight gain, well it depends on whether you feel you are overweight. Insulin encourages growth, in so far as it will encourage the storage of energy in the bodies cells so that we can function properly. However, if you have extra glucose in your blood, and sufficient insulin to metabolise it, then this excess will be stored away in fat cells causing a gain in weight.

So, really it is just like when you were a non-diabetic - you need to match your food intake to your energy expenditire and then you should not become overweight. This is, of course, easier said than done! When I was diagnosed I was 8st 4 - very underweight. Now I am 11st 7, and have been fairly stable at this weight for several months. It's very common in the first few months after diagnosis to feel very hungry and put on a lot of weight, usually because your body 'thinks' that it has been starving previously because there was not enough insulin in your body to process the glucose - even though your blood glucose levels were probably high, your body wouldn't have realised.

If you find that you are eating normally and getting good levels, then you may need to try increasing your activity levels - or reduce your calories. There is a danger sometimes (and I have done this myself!) of injcting a bt of extra insulin so that you can enjoy an extra treat. On the other hand, you may get the dose wrong and end up having to feed a hypo, thus eating more than you intended.

Do you do any regluar exercise? It can help you reduce your insulin requirements quite significantly and also help you to maintain an ideal weight. Stick around and ask away - we'll do our best to help!🙂
 
un-wanted weight gain

Thanks that's really helpful. My height is 5'6" and my usual weight is 9 stone. When I was diagnosed my weight had dropped to under 8 stone, which was really worrying, because I looked awful. 5 months on and I am 9 stone 2 which is great. I don't really exercise that much, so to stop myself putting on weight I just restrict my carb intake. A diet which includes a boiled egg for breakfast and a salad for lunch every day is very boring, so I think I might have to take up some exercise soon so that I can enjoy more interesting food!!

Since being diagnosed, like most people I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions and am only just coming to terms with being Type 1. For a time I was very upset and angry, but now I seem to be coping. It's great to be able to talk to others who really understand what you are going through.

The thing that I find hard is the fact that there doesn't really seem to be a reason why people end up with Type 1. You just have to deal with it, without knowing what brought it on. Very frustrating!

Also, I am so scared of suffering with complications in the future, that I have become completely obsessed with keeping my blood levels low all the time. I'm hoping this is normal for newly diagnosed people and that may be in time I will become more relaxed about the whole diabetes thing!!!
 
Hi Theresa, I think it is very common to have that fear of complications and the obsession with the lows - that's exactly how I was and still am to some degree, although it has got better. I still hate to be over 7 pre-meal and am much happier with 4's and 5's!

Increasing your activity will really be a massive help to you - not only in maintaining your ideal weight, but it will also bring many other benefits. Try to find an activity that you really enjoy so you will want to stick at it. I was a runner before I was diagnosed, so that has been my exercise of choice, but even just a half-hour walk each day will really help. When you exercise you increase the number of insulin receptors in your cells and this makes you much more sensitive to insulin, so you generally need less of it. You must be careful though to start slowly and monitor your reactions to increases in activity to avoid hypos. I test myself before and after a period of exercise so that I can get an idea of how it affects me, and whether I need to reduce my insulin or increase my food intake. Exercise can also affect you for some time afterwards - my insulin requirements decrease for up to 40 hours after a run!

Good luck and keep us informed of what you are doing!🙂
 
Thanks for the info, it's a great help. My Christmas present this year is a mountain bike, so I'll be starting my exercise regime with a bit of cycling! I'll let you know how I get on!
 
Hi Teresa, welcome to the forum 🙂
 
Hi Theresa welcome to the forum.
 
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