I hate Diabetes!

[Ruby Red]

Hi Everyone,
I really need to rant, hope this is ok, if not please delete!
I am having a wobble! I hate diabetes and what it has done to my life!
I have been to see my DSN today as I am having monthly appointments at the moment following new diagnosis in November. I told the DSN that I have not been feeling well, having headaches (which I never get), feeling hungover - even though I don't drink! I feel like I'm becoming forgetful and really struggling to concentrate, especially at work. I am also having a lot of hypos and low readings. The DSN says I am not eating enough and the truth is I don't feel like I know what to eat anymore!

As I am a wheelchair user I have not been weighed in a good few years as I cannot stand on normal scales. My GP surgery does not have any seated scales and the health centre where I see the DSN doesn't have them either so I am trying to find an alternative way to be weighed. I know from the way my clothes fit that I am losing weight, although I do have to keep an eye on my weight anyway as I am not mobile and as I am not very tall, I don't like to carry too much weight. The DSN is going to refer me to a dietitian and has suggested I look at starting to 'Carb Count'. I just don't know where to start! I work full time, and simply don't have time to weigh out food! I am used to eating as healthy as I can meat/fish/veg/salad etc. but I'm not sure this is working anymore.

I've had a quick look at LCHF but again don't know where to start and I am worried that fat will increase my weight. The DSN has mentioned sending me on a BERT and DAPHNE course although has not talked about what they are.

I have also been sent an appointment for an eye screening and the letter says I will be having drops in my eyes that will blur my vision for 6 -8 hours after the appointment. Due to this i am unsure if I will be able to work on this day.

To say I am feeling overwhelmed is an understatement... I am struggling to fit in all these different appointments (I never had any before and never even went to the Dr's). I am struggling keep having to request time off work and although my manager is lovely, I'm not sure she understands much about diabetes!

I hope you are all having a lovely Valentines evening, my other half has gone to work for a rest! 😱

Best wishes to you all and thanks for reading
Ruby

 

[Carolg]

Hi Ruby
Hello and welcome to forum
Please ask lots of questions, and yes you feel like lots of appointments are coming your way.

It’s ok to have a rant here,.
There is a book called carbs and calls which you can buy, and there is an app as well and shows pictures and nutritional information.
Diabetes uk web site is full of information , recipes etc and folk here are great for support. When you go to your appointments, I suggest you take a notebook, write down your questions and answers.

You might want to go into Newbies section of forum, unless you have already, and introduce yourself as well
Carol

 

[Radders]

Hi!
Re the eye drops; I always try to get an appointment after work because I would not be able to work for some hours after the drops, however I have managed to avoid the drops altogether for the last three appointments. I told the optometrist that I find them extremely painful and that they give me horrid headaches and so she said she would try without. It means waiting between each photo to let the pupils go back to normal but it is possible.

 

[Ruby Red]

Hi Ruby
Hello and welcome to forum
Please ask lots of questions, and yes you feel like lots of appointments are coming your way.

It’s ok to have a rant here,.
There is a book called carbs and calls which you can buy, and there is an app as well and shows pictures and nutritional information.
Diabetes uk web site is full of information , recipes etc and folk here are great for support. When you go to your appointments, I suggest you take a notebook, write down your questions and answers.

You might want to go into Newbies section of forum, unless you have already, and introduce yourself as well
Carol

Hi Carol,
Thank you for your reply I have been a member on her since November, its been a great help. Just looking at the book you mention now, still trying to absorb all the info. Thank you again, Ruby

 

[trophywench]

Ruby - carb counting isn't that hard actually nor do you have to weight everything every time! The idea of it is so we can match the insulin we jab for food, to the actual amount of carbs in that food so we get just the right amount based on logic, rather than guesswork. That's what DAFNE (note spelling LOL) is - Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating. Let's say I'm making myself a sandwich. Two slices of bread, butter on the bread. Add whatever protein I happen to fancy - cheese or egg, tuna, ham, beef, bacon and whatever I have on top of the protein. Iceberg lettuce, mayo, chutney, mustard, beetroot, onion, tomato etc etc etc. Where's the carbohydrate? - well only in the bread really, such a small amount in a couple of slices of beetroot I wouldn't hardly count it myself. So I use bought sliced bread and Mr Warburton, Mr Hovis etc kindly print the carb value of their bread on the wrappers, shown 'per slice'. Add two slices together - say 17g each and I therefore need to jab for 34g of carb - so that's what I do. I've learned how much insulin I need for each 10g of carb from going on a DAFNE course, and so will you!

With regard to cooked dinners, what you do is this. There are books, phone apps and websites that will tell you how many grams of carbs are in all sorts of food. I happen to know by heart that 60g of boiled spuds = 10g carb. Weigh your plate, dish out your normal portion of spuds onto it and the difference between before and after is the weight of the spud, from which you can calculate the carbs. Providing you usually always have about the same amount of spud, you need never weigh em again unless you feel like it ! You do this with whatever common foods you may have in your repertoire and you soon start remembering - it isn't rocket science.

However - Yes - everything is overwhelming to begin with - of course it is! But nobody expects you to know everything all of a sudden - I have a 45 year start on you and I'm still learning! Slow and steady gets us there quicker in the finish!

 

[Ruby Red]

Hi!
Re the eye drops; I always try to get an appointment after work because I would not be able to work for some hours after the drops, however I have managed to avoid the drops altogether for the last three appointments. I told the optometrist that I find them extremely painful and that they give me horrid headaches and so she said she would try without. It means waiting between each photo to let the pupils go back to normal but it is possible.

Hi Radders, many thanks for this info re the eye drops, it sounds horrific! this will be my first appointment for screening My appointment is 09:30am and I was hoping to carry on to work straight after! I already wear glasses and can't see without them! Hope I can wear them after. I might see if they will do as you suggested, thank you

 

[Robin]

Hi Radders, many thanks for this info re the eye drops, it sounds horrific! this will be my first appointment for screening My appointment is 09:30am and I was hoping to carry on to work straight after! I already wear glasses and can't see without them! Hope I can wear them after. I might see if they will do as you suggested, thank you

I don't really have a problem when I have eye drops for my screening, I think people differ. I wear glasses. All that happens to me is that they sting a bit when the drops go in, trying to read small print in the waiting room gets progressively more difficult while I'm waiting to be called back in, ( I turn the print size up on the iPad) then sunglasses are a must when you go outside, and you mustn't drive, I'm normally told, for four hours, but in all honesty, my eyes feel back to normal within half an hour.

 

[Ruby Red]

Ruby - carb counting isn't that hard actually nor do you have to weight everything every time! The idea of it is so we can match the insulin we jab for food, to the actual amount of carbs in that food so we get just the right amount based on logic, rather than guesswork. That's what DAFNE (note spelling LOL) is - Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating. Let's say I'm making myself a sandwich. Two slices of bread, butter on the bread. Add whatever protein I happen to fancy - cheese or egg, tuna, ham, beef, bacon and whatever I have on top of the protein. Iceberg lettuce, mayo, chutney, mustard, beetroot, onion, tomato etc etc etc. Where's the carbohydrate? - well only in the bread really, such a small amount in a couple of slices of beetroot I wouldn't hardly count it myself. So I use bought sliced bread and Mr Warburton, Mr Hovis etc kindly print the carb value of their bread on the wrappers, shown 'per slice'. Add two slices together - say 17g each and I therefore need to jab for 34g of carb - so that's what I do. I've learned how much insulin I need for each 10g of carb from going on a DAFNE course, and so will you!

With regard to cooked dinners, what you do is this. There are books, phone apps and websites that will tell you how many grams of carbs are in all sorts of food. I happen to know by heart that 60g of boiled spuds = 10g carb. Weigh your plate, dish out your normal portion of spuds onto it and the difference between before and after is the weight of the spud, from which you can calculate the carbs. Providing you usually always have about the same amount of spud, you need never weigh em again unless you feel like it ! You do this with whatever common foods you may have in your repertoire and you soon start remembering - it isn't rocket science.

However - Yes - everything is overwhelming to begin with - of course it is! But nobody expects you to know everything all of a sudden - I have a 45 year start on you and I'm still learning! Slow and steady gets us there quicker in the finish!

Thank you Jenny. The DSN didn't really talk about DAFNE or tell me what it stood for lol! She just said once they have arranged a date for the course I would be sent the details.

What you have said re weighing foods makes sense! I think I am over thinking things too much

 

[Ruby Red]

I don't really have a problem when I have eye drops for my screening, I think people differ. I wear glasses. All that happens to me is that they sting a bit when the drops go in, trying to read small print in the waiting room gets progressively more difficult while I'm waiting to be called back in, ( I turn the print size up on the iPad) then sunglasses are a must when you go outside, and you mustn't drive, I'm normally told, for four hours, but in all honesty, my eyes feel back to normal within half an hour.

Thank you Robin, fingers crossed I will be back to normal asap. Thankfully I don't drive so other half will be chauffeuring me 🙂

 

[Dave W]

Hi Ruby and welcome! I can fully understand your confusion and difficulties. Trying to adopt a new lifestyle is hard enough when one is fully mobile.
I can't speak for others, but I found adopting a LCHF diet not too difficult as I didn't get into weighing foods, I just cut out the high carb ones and it worked very well. As far as fat consumption is concerned I wouldn't worry about that there's an increasing and reliable body of evidence that says that eating fats does not result in increased body fat. It certainly hasn't with me.
As far as your hypos go, it's a bit difficult to know what to suggest without knowing if you are taking any blood glucose lowering medication and your BG readings.
The retinopathy test isn't too bad, though can sting for a minute or so, but it takes me about three hours to regain normal vision. If you need to take time off work will depend on the type of work you do and your employer should grant you time off if required.

 

[Ruby Red]

Hi Ruby and welcome! I can fully understand your confusion and difficulties. Trying to adopt a new lifestyle is hard enough when one is fully mobile.
I can't speak for others, but I found adopting a LCHF diet not too difficult as I didn't get into weighing foods, I just cut out the high carb ones and it worked very well. As far as fat consumption is concerned I wouldn't worry about that there's an increasing and reliable body of evidence that says that eating fats does not result in increased body fat. It certainly hasn't with me.
As far as your hypos go, it's a bit difficult to know what to suggest without knowing if you are taking any blood glucose lowering medication and your BG readings.
The retinopathy test isn't too bad, though can sting for a minute or so, but it takes me about three hours to regain normal vision. If you need to take time off work will depend on the type of work you do and your employer should grant you time off if required.

Thanks Dave. I take Humalog (5, 5, 8) before each meal and Lantus before bed (13 units). No other meds at all.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

I have not been feeling well, having headaches (which I never get), feeling hungover - even though I don't drink! I feel like I'm becoming forgetful and really struggling to concentrate, especially at work. I am also having a lot of hypos and low readings.

Having headaches, feeling hungover, becoming forgetful, and struggling to concentrate are all symptoms of blood sugar being too low, @Ruby Red - so the latter explains the former. They are not a normal part of diabetes. Hopefully if you can learn to carb count, the way Jenny explained, you can reduce the number of hypos you have, and that will get rid of those symptoms, or at least make them fewer and further between.

If you find that carb counting doesn't make a difference to the hypos and low readings though, you might want to ask your diabetes team if you can change to a different basal insulin, as Lantus doesn't suit everyone - a lot of people find it peaks and troughs rather than maintaining a flat level.

So far as carb counting is concerned, I find because I eat much the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day most days I only needed to carb count for those meals once! I don't actually do very much carb counting because my diet generally is quite restricted, but knowing the theory is really useful - if I'm out and I eat an unexpected cake (as you do) I know how to work out how much to inject for it. And if I want to swop my meals and have a main meal at lunchtime and a sandwich in the evening, I know that I need different amounts of insulin at different times of day, so it's not just a straight swop of my doses, and I know how to work out how much I'll need.

I'm not on a high fat diet, but I have been eating more fat recently and it hasn't made the slightest bit of difference to my weight. And though I'm not a wheelchair user I'm disabled and not very active, so I'm not burning it off in exercise. It's just, if you're cutting down on things like cake and pasta, having things like cheese and nuts instead, makes sense.

I have never had the eye drops for my eye screening - I have multiple allergies to chemicals so there's no way I'm going to risk anyone putting chemicals in my eyes. So they definitely can do it without drops and they will if they have to - it just takes a bit longer so they'd rather not, as the more people who have the drops, the more people they can fit into the time, and the less pressure there is on the NHS. I think for most people having drops is as Robin describes though, and not a big deal.

 

[Drummer]

I suspect that you do not need to worry about fat making you fat - I have been eating a high fat diet, along with low carbs for over a year, and people are noticing how much weight and size I have lost - they are not the same thing - my waist is shrinking even though I am not losing weight at the moment, but I am trying to gain muscle.
I had a couple of tests for cholesterol after diagnosis - the ratios were ideal or good, or normal - my triglycerides went down from 2 to 1.5 at 6 months.
I eat low carb and find it very easy to manage - though I am not on insulin - I do not need any medication at all.
I ate low carb for decades, but my doctors kept on insisting I need carbs - I don't seem to, but I reached 264 lb on their stupid cholesterol lowering diet - it did not do anything of the sort.
Perhaps broths with a high meat content would be suitable - they are low in fibre and with the natural fat from the meat they would be highly nutritious without putting on weight, but you would need to be careful about your insulin use and check the carb content of your food - absolutely essential to keep you safe.
I have bendy chopping boards and it is very easy just to put the pan onto the weighing scales, tare (zero) the device and then drop in the food you need to know the carb count for. It takes about 5 seconds to do, so it shouldn't slow you down.

 

[grovesy]

Hi Radders, many thanks for this info re the eye drops, it sounds horrific! this will be my first appointment for screening My appointment is 09:30am and I was hoping to carry on to work straight after! I already wear glasses and can't see without them! Hope I can wear them after. I might see if they will do as you suggested, thank you

I find my eyes are senstive to the sun after having the eye screening drops. I suggest you take a pair of sunglasses with you.

 

[SadhbhFiadh]

Hi, Ruby
Welcome to the forum.
I am a wheelchair user, for quite a lot of years, but was diagnosed with type 2 at the end of 2016. I also worked full time until retirement very recently. So I know how it feels when your life is like a house of cards and suddenly a breeze comes along. I'm guessing you are type 1? In the beginning I was angry because my husband and myself ate healthfully, followed all the rules that the government would publish like the eatwell or pyramid plate, have low fat, use polyunsturated, exercise often, so I thought it was extremely unfair for them to say 'eat healthy and get a little exercise'. OK, so THEN what?

I have always weighed at the renal unit at the infirmary. That's an hour away, so I only ever weighed every couple of months. The renal unit is particularly wary of germs, but they never seemed to mind for me to go in as long as I followed procedure for hand-washing, &c. They had roll-on scales. Your manual will give you the weight of your chair, and someone can hold your cushion and stand on your bathroom scales. I find it a little heart wrenching to read the whole number (me + the chair) so subtract as quickly as possible. After the first time, you have the extra weight as a known, so it's just a matter of watching the numbers go down (or up.) Also, the diabetic out patient has a roll on scale.

Then there is the matter of exercise, and movement in general. I don't know if this applies to yourself, but I have been paralysed awhile, so my legs look like I'm a lovely size 8, and the rest of me is, well, larger! so even the amount of food you can take is starting at less than an able-bodied person.

So it can be a PIA and especially at first. It's a steep learning curve, or was for me, but give yourself time. Start with baby steps. It's not always fun but it it can be rewarding.

Sadhbh in Scotland
(sounds like Sive)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks Dave. I take Humalog (5, 5, 8) before each meal and Lantus before bed (13 units). No other meds at all.

Like Juliet (@TheClockworkDodo) I would encourage you to try to tackle those hypos while you are waiting for your place to become available on the structured education course.

If you are having lots of hypos. Especially if they are happening at regular times of the day, then it suggests you are not eating enough carbohydrate to match your doses of insulin. So EITHER you have to eat more carbohydrate or you have to reduce the insulin you are taking.

If you are taking fixed doses of insulin each day, then you (more or less) need to allocate the same amount of carbohydrate to each meal so that the carbs you are eating and the insulin you are taking balance. The full education course will teach you lots about all sorts of other variables which can affect your BGs - but for now I would concentrate on that simple fundamental

Carbs : Insulin

So on the doses you've suggested (on average) you might find that you need to allocate 40-50g of carbohydrate at breakfast, 40-50g of carbohydrate at lunch and 70-80g of carbohydrate for your evening meal. Every person is different, so it may be more or less than this, but the important thing for you to do is to keep track of the carbs you are eating, the results you are getting and increase/decrease the carbs until yu get reasonable results most of the time.

I would suggest that to begin with you concentrate on the MAIN carbohydrate sources in your meals (eg bread, pasta, rice, fruit, fruit juice, anything made with flour, grains, pulses, root veg) and pretty much ignore the other things that have smaller amounts of carbs in them (milk in tea, caffeine, tomatoes, onions, essentially ALL fruit and veg to some degree). This will greatly simplify things, and you will work out a baseline of 'major carbs' that includes an allowance for all the other bits and pieces.

So in the example above you might end up with
Breakfast: 2 slices of toast or x amount of grams of cereal/porridge etc
Lunch: 2 slices of bread and either a piece of fruit or a bag of crisps
Eve meal: 100g dry weight of pasta with something. 75g dry weight of basmati rice with something. 'this many' potatoes etc etc...

It doesn't matter which carbs you choose, though ideally you'll want to try to find ones that you digest relatively slowly, all that matters for now is that you find out those 'target amounts' per meal to balance your fixed doses.

This is more or less how I started 25-odd years ago. It's a lot easier than it sounds 🙂

 

[Beck S]

Hi Ruby Red. Feel free to rant away, it definitely helps having a 'safe space' where people understand what you're going through. I find the forum to be invaluable when I need advice.

All the advice here is great, I would only add to please remember that it's a long process to get it right for you, so don't worry that it's all overwhelming right now, you will get used to it. To start with, it's better to have higher BG levels than too low, so make sure you eat some carbs, just cut down a bit to start with.

I had the eye test last October, it was weird, but I didn't find it too bad. I had an afternoon appointment so I took the afternoon off as I knew it would take a while for my eyes to get back to normal, in the end it was probably about 5-6 hours, which sounds long but wasn't so bad. I made sure I had a lift home from the hospital so I didn't have to get public transport too - trying to text my friend to say I was done was a bit of a comedy sketch though!

Good luck 🙂

 

[trophywench]

I can remember going to a few eye things on public transport and yeas it's fine - till you get to the bus stop on the main road - a request stop - which serves several routes and having to ask strangers what the numbers of the buses coming up the road were! Once it got to the stop I could see it, but you need to stick your arm out a bit in advance of that! LOL