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Rollercoaster

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Type 1
Hi!

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two weeks ago after getting symptoms on holiday. I've just started me final year at uni and, while I'm getting used to counting carbs and doing injections / blood checks, I can't help but feel shocked and gutted that this has happened to me and is with me for the rest of me life. I haven't really been myself since the diagnosis. Did anyone feel similar shortly after they were diagnosed?
 
Welcome to the forums Rollercoaster 🙂
 
Hi Rollercoaster, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Your reactions are perfectly normal and understandable - it's the sort of news that can change your life and no doubt pretty much out of the blue and unexpected. I was due to run in a marathon the week I was diagnosed, so I went from someone feeling fit and healthy to suddenly having this lifelong condition and feeling very mortal. Try not to be overwhelmed by it all, it is better to take it one day at a time and try not to let it dominate your thoughts. We are fortunate that, with luck and by giving it sufficient respect, diabetes is something that can be managed well and does not have to stop you from doing anything you want. It took me several months to get used to the idea and there are still times when it gets to me, but fr the most part it interferes very little with what I want to do. I have every intention of being around and fully intact to collect my 50 years with diabetes medal, just before I get my telegram from the queen (or king, probably!)

I'd suggest getting Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults by Ragnar Hanas as an excellent reference guide to living with Type 1. Also, you may be interested in joining Circle D, a social organisation for young people with diabetes, if there is a group near to where you live: http://www.circledrocks.co.uk/ - they are a great bunch of people!

Please ask anything that may be cofusing or troubling you and we'll do our best to help 🙂
 
Hi Rollercoaster, welcome to the forum which I am sure you will find a great help.
 
Hi Rollercoaster apt name for a diabetic, a warm welcome to the forum from me
 
Hey there,

It can take a while to go through all the emotions and finally accept it, but its good now you know...........diabetes management has come a long way, even in the last 5 years, and if you get educated early on [which I was not] then all will be cool.........

Its good you have found this site, it means you will be up there with experts and will be educating all your family on friends with the ins and outs.....


A warm welcome from me...................:D
 
Hi rollercoaster. Welcome 🙂

Most of us went through a form of grieving sometime (sometimes years) after diagnosis, which can take the form of shock, denial, depression, anger, etc.

If you can focus on understanding what's happened as fully as you can, thenhopefully you'll recognise it as a part of you (albeit unwelcome) and be able to accept it and control it.

What are you studying btw ?🙂

Rob
 
Rollercoaster said:
Hi!

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two weeks ago after getting symptoms on holiday. I've just started me final year at uni and, while I'm getting used to counting carbs and doing injections / blood checks, I can't help but feel shocked and gutted that this has happened to me and is with me for the rest of me life. I haven't really been myself since the diagnosis. Did anyone feel similar shortly after they were diagnosed?
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Welcome to the forum Rollercoaster 🙂 I was diagnosed a couple of months after my 20th birthday shortly after coming back off holiday too. Took to the tests/jabs quickly, however the realisation hit me a few months later and it was around then that I kind of grieved over it. Luckily I found the forum and haven't looked back since :D
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for welcoming me to the forum. I've been looking around and it seems like a friendly, helpful and informative place. Prior to diagnosis, I didn't realise how many people were affected by diabetes and since being diagnosed, I've learnt a lot about it and the ups and downs of it. I'm still in shock a bit, I think. I'm fully comfortable with the injections, finger pricks and carb-counting, but I'm still shocked that part of me body has failed. I guess it's something I need to get me head around. While I've been told and I've read that diabetes shouldn't be something that takes over and dramatically changes your life, I'm finding that it is changing my life in ways. I used to drink and go out quite a lot and, frankly, I would drink to get drunk and now I've decided to quit altogether, another thing which will take a bit of getting used to. However, I'm a bit confused about alcohol. Are type-1s only allowed it in moderation, i.e. 1-2 drinks a night, or are we allowed more? I've heard conflicting things.

I'm studying Classics at uni and am in me final year! I'll be graduating in June - scary!
 
Hi Rollercoaster. I don't think I've welcomed you yet, so welcome aboard. I can't answer your alcohol question I'm afraid as I don't drink myself and I'm Type 2 anyway. I can only advise all things in moderation. I'm sure others will be along to advise soon.

As to diabetes taking over your life, it's early days for you yet and it will seem all encompassing to start with. It's a bit like learning to drive. When you first get your provisional licence and start your lessons you don't know much and you think about it all the time. Once you've got some experience and passed your test it becomes second nature even though you still have to make sure you keep your car in good condition and have it serviced. XXXXX
 
Hi and welcome
wavey.gif


Your after diagnoses feelings sound normal to me.
 
Hi Rollercoaster! Your feelings of shock are very normal, I still get bogged down with worrying about diabetes at times and it's been 8 years!

As for the alcohol, you should speak to your nurse / doctor about it, I think it is also covered in the DAFNE course if you are going on one. I think that alcohol in moderation is fine, I have tried no alcohol at all, went through a phase of drinking to get drunk and am thankfully now drinking small amounts with a meal once every week or so. I found when I started uni that I rebelled a bit and could drink a bottle of wine a night (most nights!) 😱 I then got bored of going out and went through a tough patch with personal problems and stopped drinking after realising that I was drinking to cover up underlying problems. I then had a small wine with a meal in a pub and was really scared by the night time hypo it gave me (I was hallucinating and thought assassins were trying to break into my house to kill me!) which made me chose to stop drinking altogether. I now drink very little with a meal or on a special occasion out of personal choice.

I would say, be careful but don't let diabetes stop you going out with your mates. Remember though that some drinks like beer contain carbs so might raise your sugar levels, and that alcohol can cause a later drop in sugar levels as late as the following day for some people - experimenting carefully is a good idea.
 
I've always said that diabetes has to change your life otherwise you end up in hospital. But most of the changes are healthy and sensible. The rest can be a pain in the rear but are pretty much necessary 🙄

As for drinking, like the others have said, you can have a couple but too much at once will probably skyrocket your BGs in the short term and then send you hypo through the night.

I've never tried the non-diabetic alcohol game so I never got on that merry go round. But obviously, it's easy to drink a lot once the first one is downed. Maybe better to abstain for now and then reintroduce it slowly if you miss it.

Don't forget you can inform your uni about any special needs in exams, etc such as needing food/coke or needing to test. I'm sure you've got all that sort of thing covered.🙂

Rob
 
Welcome to the forum 🙂
 
Hi and welcome

Donna 🙂
 
I've decided to abstain from drinking for a while. It's been 7 weeks so far (I was diagnosed just over four and a half weeks ago) and it's surprisingly easy. I've been out and been to parties and have not succumbed to the pressure to drink. I enjoy being sober and being able to remember everything the next day!

Is the DAFNE course really worth it? What do they teach you on it? I ask because me doctor told me about it but it didn't sound that important - if it was important, surely they'd put me on it straight away>?
 
Hi Rollercoaster

Welcome to the forum.

Tough news about your diagnosis. I'm another person who was diagnosed in final year of degree, so I know it can be a bit of an upheaval.

And you are right it can take quite some time to learn to live with it. Some people describe it as a sort of 'grieving' for your lost health (with similar phases of anger, denial, sadness etc). Something that you will work through I'm sure.

On the plus side - there's never been a better time to be diabetic(!). Modern treatment options and technologies mean that you have the very best chance of proceeding into old age while avoiding complications as long as you can play at 'being your own pancreas'.

As for drinking - like most things d-related moderation is important, but I've not always stuck strictly to the 2 drinks guidance 😉
 
If you are not sure about DAFNE (though many do find it very worthwhile) you might find either of these hugely respected books worth looking up in the library/springing for on Amazon...

John Walsh - Using Insulin

Gary Scheiner - Think like a pancreas

Both are American (so need a bit of on-the-hoof translation) but deal in detail about how to get the very best control from MDI (multiple daily injections).
 
Hi, I'm going on one of these courses soon, not DAFNE but my area's version. They teach carb counting which I already know but they also teach you about how to deal with exercise, alcohol, stress, hormones - for women, and answer your questions. I will let you know what I think of it, apparently I need to do the course before I start on the pump
 
Rollercoaster said:
I've decided to abstain from drinking for a while. It's been 7 weeks so far (I was diagnosed just over four and a half weeks ago) and it's surprisingly easy. I've been out and been to parties and have not succumbed to the pressure to drink. I enjoy being sober and being able to remember everything the next day!

Is the DAFNE course really worth it? What do they teach you on it? I ask because me doctor told me about it but it didn't sound that important - if it was important, surely they'd put me on it straight away>?
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welcome to the forum Rollercoaster.

YES go on DAFNE it is very worth it. I've been diagnosed for 19 years and only this week am I going on it....it's taken me years to get on one so if they want you on it, snatch it out their hands!! at the end of the day...it can't do you any harm can it? I think the majority of people on here would say it's very worthwhile. Good luck
 
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