Hi both my sons have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and are struggling with weight gain, one of them has not had any input from NHS dietician.

[sky123]

Hi both my sons have been diagnosed with Thpe 1 Diabetes in adult hood and struggling with weight gain. One of them has not had any help with input from dietician, just wondering if a private nutritionist would be useful and if so how to go about finding one
Thanks

 

[Sally71]

How long ago were they diagnosed? People with undiagnosed type 1 usually lose weight as their body tries to keep going by burning up fat and protein because it can’t use carbohydrate. Once insulin is restored the body will then try to rebuild itself so it’s normal for that lost weight to go back on (and for the person to be starving hungry all the time for a few weeks while this happens). It should stabilise within 3-4 weeks though, then after that basically they just have to eat sensibly the same as anyone else does. Insulin itself does not cause weight gain, it just enables the body to use all the food which is eaten. So the way a type 1 keeps their weight down is the same as anyone else, eat sensible portion sizes, plenty of meat and veg and less of the sweet stuff and carbs, and exercise if possible. Do they know how to carb count yet? It means you work out how much carbohydrate is in the meal about to be eaten and then adjust the insulin dose to suit, so that gives much more flexibility to eat what you want when you want, rather than having fixed doses of insulin and then having to eat similar meals all the time to keep blood sugar stable. Nutritional info should be given in line with this.

 

[Bloden]

Hi @sky123.

I was skinny for quite a few years after being diagnosed with Type 1 (as an adult). My consultant was at a complete loss as to how I should gain weight. Initially, she had me eating lots of carb at meals, but that didn't work. In addition, I struggled for a long time to manage my diabetes, but once I had my BG consistently in range, I started to gain weight - thankfully! High BGs = fat being burned for energy = staying skinny!

I wasn't referred to a dietitian or nutritionist, but I'm not convinced they'd have been any help. Eating lots of cheese helped a friend's ex-husband gain weight after diagnosis, but I don't think a dietitian would have recommended this course of action cos of the saturated fat in cheese...but it worked! 😛

Have your sons asked to be referred to a dietitian? Personally, I'd ask for a referral - repeatedly, if necessary. Why should they pay to go private? I hope they both find a solution asap.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. Sorry to hear that both of your sons have succumbed to a Type 1 diagnosis.

When you say that they are struggling with weight gain..... Do you mean that they are gaining weight and that is the problem or that they are unable to put weight on? Obviously these are very opposite meanings and both can happen with diabetes so if you can clarify if the problem is that they are gaining too much weight or unable to gain weight then we should be able to give more relevant responses....