Hi Everyone - New to the Forum and Diabetes Control

[BenCooley]

Hi Everyone one I am 29 and was diagnosed with T1D when I was 24. I will be honest I have not had it easy as I when I was diagnosed it took my surgery 6 months to tell me I was Diabetic i lost 7 stone in weight and was admitted to hospital with BG at 66.2 and extremely high Blood Ketones. I have only been able to have 1 appointment with the Diabetes Medicine Team since diagnosis and they finally gave me a new appointment but it is for 20/04/2021.

I have not been very good at controling with my diabetes and 2 weeks ago I was admitted again to Hospital ICU because of DKA again BG 44.7 and Blood Ketones at 7.2

I am trying to get everything under control but to be perfectly honest I don't know where to start.

 

[Docb]

Hi @BenCooley and welcome to the forum. I'm sure our T1 members will be along with some thoughts.

In the meantime could you say a little more about your BG readings of 66.2 and 44.7? They sort of don't fit into the ranges you get from the units I am familiar with. I am also sure it would help if you could outline what insulin regime you are on.

 

[Robin]

In the meantime could you say a little more about your BG readings of 66.2 and 44.7? They sort of don't fit into the ranges you get from the units I am familiar with

Our meters just register 'Hi' at anything above 33, but hospital machines can give a precise figure beyond that. There have been recorded cases of people in DKA with levels up to 80mmol/l I believe.

 

[KARNAK]

Hello @BenCooley welcome to the forum.
Oh mate you need help from the hospital team, have you got access to
your DSN? which you should have, what meter are you using and how often
do you test?

Diet is extremely important as @Docb asked can you let us know what insulin
regime you are on? @Robin is perfectly correct all the meters I have ever used
go up to 33 then high we`ll assume the readings you have given are from the
hospital.

You can`t keep going into hospital with DKA your body will not cope with it no
wonder you lost so much weight, please come back to us asap also a typical
days meals would help including snacks, take care.

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome. Good grief, seven stones!

You'll get lots of good advice here.

 

[Junglegirl]

Hi Everyone one I am 29 and was diagnosed with T1D when I was 24. I will be honest I have not had it easy as I when I was diagnosed it took my surgery 6 months to tell me I was Diabetic i lost 7 stone in weight and was admitted to hospital with BG at 66.2 and extremely high Blood Ketones. I have only been able to have 1 appointment with the Diabetes Medicine Team since diagnosis and they finally gave me a new appointment but it is for 20/04/2021.

I have not been very good at controling with my diabetes and 2 weeks ago I was admitted again to Hospital ICU because of DKA again BG 44.7 and Blood Ketones at 7.2

I am trying to get everything under control but to be perfectly honest I don't know where to start.

Hi,
Welcome to the forum. Crikey you’re having a rough time.
Being diabetic can be a bit of a nightmare but is also manageable, just takes a little bit of co-operation between what we’d like and what we have to cope with ...lol.
Don’t worry too much about not being very good at control at the beginning very few of us are in the early years, you’re not alone. It’s the changes we make to help ourselves survive the diabetic road that are important.
I don’t know what medication you are currently taking but it and diet are key to the DKA issue, do you have a pen, or a pump or just plain basic injections.
My first few years were hard, frustration, anger, lots of emotions, rollercoaster. You’re not alone, if I can help you in any way just from my own experience Then ask away. No questions are unnecessary or daft. Everyone on here are very helpful and always interested.

 

[SB2015]

Hi and welcome to the forum @BenCooley

Sorry to hear about your recent DKAs. Can you tell us what insulins you are using,
and how you manage your insulin: pump or multiple daily injections.

I have found that by reducing the number of carbs I eat at each meal I have been able to reduce the size of my post meal spikes, and so get more of my readings in range. A Libre sensor has helped this and helped me identify foods that cause more problems for me, and so do some swaps.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @BenCooley

Sorry to hear what a difficult time you have been having with your diabetes. It certainly sounds like you need a lot more support than you have had so far.

I suspect you have not yet been offered any structured education on modern diabetes management - courses like DAFNE, BERTIE or various local equivalents can be hugely helpful.

You might also get a lot of very useful information from a book like Ragnar Hanas’s, or Gary Scheiner’s ‘Think like a pancreas’.

There are also lots of helpful resources on the DUK website including The Learning Zone (orange tab) or the ‘nuts and bolts of carb counting’ - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-t...-and-diabetes/nuts-and-bolts-of-carb-counting

Sometimes something as simple as a new gadget or change of insulin can provide a really effective catalyst to turn diabetes management struggles around - something like Libre glucose sensor, or a meter that helps you calculate insulin doses based on the carbs you are eating?

Good luck and keep asking questions!