I'm confused again!!!

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sue63

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Hi Everyone

Hope you don't mind me asking a few questions for my son....he won't come on forums yet!

8 weeks in and Joel has had a couple of hypos this week...just feeling dizzy, wierd etc. He has treated them fine.

He exercises a lot and generally lives at a vey face pace! He rang up his nurse today and she has decreased his insulin (long lasting) down to 5 (he takes one dose before breakfast and one at tea) To stop spikes she has told him to take 1 unit of novorapid (this is new to us) if he eats a very carby meal.

It all seems very vague to me and to be honest I feel a bit lost. We are off for our first conulstant appointment Monday so I will am armed with a list of questions.
I was hoping Joel would do a DAFNE course or something similar before using novorapid.

Can we learn to carb count ourselves?

Joel does a lot of exercise and when he returns to uni I know he will be running, weight training and generally tiring himself out🙂

He got a bit frustrated today...just wants to get on and not think about carbs and counting etc

I suppose I am looking for a bit of reassurance that we will get used to this and I won't be confused for ever!!!
 
hi sue ...i understand as a mum how its tough for you aswell ...im sorry i cant help too much being a T2 but i know from reading the threads that there are ways of dealing with excercise etc ...copepod is very active and knows her stuff so maybe she'll beable to help you out ..
 
Hi Sue, don't worry - things will get better...eventually! I'm afraid it's something that you do need to find patience with. It's one of the most frustrating things about diabetes, that you lose a lot of the sponteneity that non-diabetics have, particularly in the early stages. You have to make adjustments and observe the effects, record them (better on paper than trying to remember them) and then repeat until you are happy with the pattern. This is what his nurse is trying to do at the moment.

It's something I'm still learning after two years, although I can now do a lot of things just as I did them before. I was a marathon runner before diagnosis, used to just being able to go out and run at a moment's notice. Now I have to plan ahead, and make sureI have prepared as much as I can before a run - the right food, insulin etc.

He will be able to do all he wants, but will have to learn a discipline and a little of the science behind it all before it becomes second nature. It can go wrong sometimes, for no discernible reason - that's the nature of diabetes, I'm afraid. You can learn to live with it and live a full and happy life, but you need to respect it first and foremost to get the best from your life.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but one of the first books I bought was Diabetic Athlete's Handbook which gave me a good grounding in doing sport when using insulin - when is his birthday? 🙂
 
Hi Sue,

Its great you have so many questions for the doc and for discussion on the forum- I only wish this place had been about when I was diagnosed as I remember how all too confusing a time it was...

In terms of the DAFNE, if you can get him engaged in the concept of carb counting perhaps by using the online info as suggested above Monica think that will really help. However, I think it is pretty standard that DAFNE is generally offered at the earliest about a year post diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes because you need to get through the honeymooning period (where your insulin requirements are completely different) first before you master it all down to a fine art. Its definately worthe asking about ealry though, and may be offered earlier in your care centre than mine.

The thing that also strikes me is maybe carb counting (great as it is already that you know if it and the benefits) is maybe just too soon for him at the moment. 8 weeks in, I would understand that his head is just somewhere else completely at the moment and probably still in shock. For him to have a few hypos, treat them correctly and crack on with things in general is a great credit to him and you as well. The rest will come all in good time.

Sounds like you have a great son and a great relationship Sue 🙂
 
try and get on the DAFNE course..........

A quick tip in the mean time, 10 grams of carbohydrate (bag of crisps 12g) is equal to 1 unit of quick acting (novorapid) insulin.
 
novorapidboi26 said:
try and get on the DAFNE course..........

A quick tip in the mean time, 10 grams of carbohydrate (bag of crisps 12g) is equal to 1 unit of quick acting (novorapid) insulin.
Click to expand...

Not sure how you can be so definate about this. My son has 3 different ratios throughout the day as his sensitivities change so much. It really depends on what ratios Joel is on and what time of day he is eating the 10 grams of carbs. Some people can get away with eating 10 carbs without insulin and others cant - so its a very individual thing and it takes time to work it all out.🙂Bev
 
novorapidboi26 said:
try and get on the DAFNE course..........

A quick tip in the mean time, 10 grams of carbohydrate (bag of crisps 12g) is equal to 1 unit of quick acting (novorapid) insulin.
Click to expand...

hmmmm, like what bev said, I too am on three different ratios during the day. It's all very individual so you really can't say a 1:10 ratio will work for everyone.
 
Thank you again......it can get overwhelming at times just getting to grips with it...I'm not very scientific!

Yes I am fortunate Joel is great...coping well and I am grateful we do get on very well...it helps in these situations 🙂

Thanks for your support...invaluable to me🙂
 
C started out with 1 unit per 10g of carb, but we soon realised that that wasn't enough. She's now on 2 per 10g for brekkies and 11/2 per 10g at all other times. But then she's a growing teenage girl. Joel is an already grown man, so he might get away with 1 per 10g.
 
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