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Just diagnosed last weekwith Type 1

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DR79

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Genetically have diabetes in the family so when I had symptoms I knew it was coming. Quick question, how long did it take people to get the insulin levels correct? I'm still trying to get to the right amount so that I'm consistently in the 3.9-10.0 range.
 
I don't think there is a standard answer to that question as we are all different.
Often the advice is not to aim too low too soon as that can bring its own complications. It is better to bring your levels down slowly from what your body has become used to.
Then it depends on things like your mental approach - some people can find they are more target driven and the constant anxiety of not "controlling" your levels is too great. I put controlling in quotes because diabetes will never be totally controlled. I prefer to think of it as "managed".
It also depends on how varied your life is. Do you eat the same thing every day, do the same amount of exercise every day, deal with the same amount of stress every day, have the same amount of sleep every day, never get ill, ...? All these things can add to the challenge of managing diabetes.
It is rare to find someone with Type 1 diabetes who is "constantly in the 3.9 to 10.0 range" because things change around our diabetes which can affect it. A full day in range is often referred to as a "Unicorn Day" for this reason.
After nearly 20 years, I am happy to be 85% in range most of the time.
 
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I thought that would be an answer 🙂 I’m just trying to manage it to the “correct” level. It is probably the feeling when my sugar is high that I want to control in attempt to feel normal again. Ah well.
 
I think I was lucky in that I had 6 weeks trying to bring my levels down largely through dietary changes since oral meds had very little impact before I was started on insulin so my levels came down slowly over a period of weeks/months rather than being tempted to have everything back into range at the earliest opportunity, which I might have been tempted to do if I had insulin and Libre from the start as I too like to get things under control and be a perfectionist and it took me time to learn that that isn't really possible or necessarily desirable with diabetes. Slow and steady wins the race here.
The fine blood vessels in the eyes are particularly vulnerable to dramatic changes in blood glucose levels so lowering your levels slowly is a safer option to give them time to adjust and reduce the risk of a retinal bleed. It is likely that your BG levels rose slowly over a period of weeks or even months, so bringing them down over a similar time scale is preferable.
 
Thank you for response especially my eyes have been affected and I was tempted to rush the process.
 
Genetically have diabetes in the family so when I had symptoms I knew it was coming. Quick question, how long did it take people to get the insulin levels correct? I'm still trying to get to the right amount so that I'm consistently in the 3.9-10.0 range.

You were only diagnosed last week! I wouldn’t be expecting you to be in that range yet 🙂

The honest answer to your question is Never. Things are always changing. It would be lovely if we could be told the right amount of insulin and it stayed like that forever.

I was told it was important to bring my blood sugar down in stages, so my initial target levels were higher than you’re talking about. It was almost 30 years ago so hard to remember, but the first stage was below 16 or similar, then that went down to below 14, I think. After that, I was told to be 12 or below for quite a while.

Apart from the risk to your eyes, it’s important to take things slowly for safety, but also for your emotional well-being. It’s a marathon not a sprint and it’s best to pace yourself else you’ll burnout. At such an early stage of diagnosis, your priorities should be avoiding hypos and watching out for high levels of ketones 🙂
 
Genetically have diabetes in the family so when I had symptoms I knew it was coming. Quick question, how long did it take people to get the insulin levels correct? I'm still trying to get to the right amount so that I'm consistently in the 3.9-10.0 range.

Well I guess it depends on what you mean by ‘consistently’. If you mean always, and find out how there are many here (me included) who would love to know the secret!

If what you mean is mostly, or quite a lot of the time, or even half the time, then I think the chances of getting into that ballpark within the first year. Though for some it will take longer, and others will perhaps never manage it.

But be encouraged… it does get easier and less ovewhelming in time. And as you discover all the little foibles and peculiarities of your own diabetes and effectively become the world’s expert in how it behaves (or misbehaves) in different situations, you will gradually work out exceptions to the ‘rules’ and strategies and approaches you can try to improve your numbers.

And add in a little tech (if you meet the criteria) like an insulin pump and CGM, and increased time in range does become more possible - at least some of the time 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum @DR79 . I am glad that you have found us.

As @Inka has said the short answer to your question is ‘never’. I was determined to get perfect levels at the start, and I took me along time to believe that it was impossible. It is hard to be patient, but after just one week since diagnosis, it is likely that your team will want to work with you to gradually bring levels back in range by getting your insulin doses to suit what you need. This isn’t something that stays fixed and I find my doses vary with the seasons. They will teach you how to test your insulin doses and how to adjust them.

BUT this is just the first week, and the best analogy I was given is that it is like learning to drive. It seems complicated at the start but then much of it becomes automatic, and you are left to deal with the obstacles on the way.

It is a steep learning curve at the start but it will get easier. There is loads of experience to tap into on here, from people that are living with the condition. Whatever questions arise, just ask.
 
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