New here, 25 years Type 1

[Ianh1977]

Hello everyone. Just signed up here. I've been a Type 1 diabetic since 1992. Guilty of not controlling it properly, not taking it seriously as I should, rarely checking blood sugars or attending appointments at the hospital which has resulted in the last 12 months in me needing laser treatment for retinopathy and suffering a mild heart attack last weekend.

Came out of hospital last Friday after the angiogram showed the best possible outcome that I didn't need a stent but it's time now to act my age and take responsibility and start to manage my diabetes properly.

I've spent a lot of time with the diabetes nurse and talking to a friend I had not seen in years who got in touch while I was in hospital so I've got a "diabetes buddy" which will be a great help. I've got appointments in the diary to go to the clinic and we're going to look at a new treatment regime that suits my lifestyle better than my current one which hasn't changed in 25 years.

After years of almost living as a non diabetic apart from taking my insulin each day it's time to bin the bad habits, develop a better routine and for me to own the diabetes and not the other way round

Let's do this!!

 

[Grannylorraine]

Welcome to the forum. You will get lots of support on here to help with turning the corner and looking after yourself.

 

[Bill Stewardson]

Good morning to you.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hi Ian and welcome to the forum. Glad you have decided to act your age (21) 🙂

 

[SB2015]

Welcome Ian. You have come to the right place for help, encouragement and advice. Lots of great people on here who are happy to help in any way that they can. I have learnt so much.

 

[Ianh1977]

The story might be familiar to some but over the years I've just got in to bad habits and not made my diabetes my priority. I lead a very busy lifestyle as a salesman out on the road, based near Liverpool but covering areas as far as Newcastle and South Wales. I found myself in a routine of simply getting up in the morning and taking my insulin and the rest of the day was spent simply avoiding hypos but eating whenever and whatever I wanted.

I've been living a motorway services diet of awful junk food, getting home at 7-8pm after 300 miles and too tired to worry about preparing a meal and just ordering takeaways or putting some frozen convenience food in the oven for 25 minutes.

The part I will struggle with is eating the right things while I'm on the go but it's all about adapting to situations and being motivated not to fall into those habits again

For the last 9 days since my heart attack I've been testing my blood glucose 4 times a day and I've found myself doing Andy Murray style fist pumps when the results are good and being frustrated if they come in above 10.... that's a good thing because the motivation is there in my head to get this right after neglecting it for so long

 

[Pumper_Sue]

For the last 9 days since my heart attack I've been testing my blood glucose 4 times a day and I've found myself doing Andy Murray style fist pumps when the results are good and being frustrated if they come in above 10.... that's a good thing because the motivation is there in my head to get this right after neglecting it for so long

I hope you are also testing before you drive and every two hours behind the wheel of your car 🙂
Can you do some batch baking so all you do is take the meal out to reheat and also take packed lunches when you go back to work?

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

Do you match your rapid insulin to your carb intake? I find this the best way to manage my D. Also are you remembering to take your background insulin? The trick is getting your background insulin right.

 

[Ianh1977]

I

I hope you are also testing before you drive and every two hours behind the wheel of your car 🙂
Can you do some batch baking so all you do is take the meal out to reheat and also take packed lunches when you go back to work?

I will be going forward.

I'm not the best at cooking but it can't be difficult to make something that can be put into Tupperware boxes one for each day. It's not like I'm trying to redesign the wheel it's just a case of learning to adapt and get something in place that fits my needs

 

[Ianh1977]

Do you match your rapid insulin to your carb intake? I find this the best way to manage my D. Also are you remembering to take your background insulin? The trick is getting your background insulin right.

This will all be discussed with my diabetes team at my appointment next Tuesday. I'm currently still on an old treatment regime of twic daily injections of Humulin M3 which is a 30% quick acting 70% slow acting mix.

It suited me years ago but I'll be moving on to 4 times a day according to my nurse

Will also be getting a Freestyle Libre which actually excites me. Will just cancel things like BT Sport, Racing UK and half my Sky package which I don't even watch to pay for it!!!

 

[Kaylz]

Hi and welcome to the forum Ian 🙂 x

 

[Bill Stewardson]

The story might be familiar to some but over the years I've just got in to bad habits and not made my diabetes my priority. I lead a very busy lifestyle as a salesman out on the road, based near Liverpool but covering areas as far as Newcastle and South Wales. I found myself in a routine of simply getting up in the morning and taking my insulin and the rest of the day was spent simply avoiding hypos but eating whenever and whatever I wanted.

I've been living a motorway services diet of awful junk food, getting home at 7-8pm after 300 miles and too tired to worry about preparing a meal and just ordering takeaways or putting some frozen convenience food in the oven for 25 minutes.

The part I will struggle with is eating the right things while I'm on the go but it's all about adapting to situations and being motivated not to fall into those habits again

For the last 9 days since my heart attack I've been testing my blood glucose 4 times a day and I've found myself doing Andy Murray style fist pumps when the results are good and being frustrated if they come in above 10.... that's a good thing because the motivation is there in my head to get this right after neglecting it for so long

Sounds to me like you've got it covered.

Nice one

 

[Ianh1977]

Was going to sort my lunch and ended up posting replies on here. Delayed lunch by 15 mins and just did a blood glucose test at 3.9. Oops!!

Half pint of milk, one apple, one banana, cheese and ham baguette and will do another test in 30 mins.

The old me would have had a Big Mac meal and a McFlurry without bothering to test myself

 

[Pumper_Sue]

That's one heck of a lot of carbs for your insulin to cope with. 😱 You need to be testing before meals and two hours after to get any meaningful info 🙂

 

[grovesy]

Welcome.

 

[Ianh1977]

That's one heck of a lot of carbs for your insulin to cope with. 😱 You need to be testing before meals and two hours after to get any meaningful info 🙂

I dare say I probably eat a LOT more food than you Sue he he!!! I'm 6ft 1, 95kg and have a BIG appetite for food. I take 60 units in the morning and 40 before my evening meal.

Even after that lunch I'm actually still hungry. For the record the baguette I had was cut in half and I've probably eaten about a 7" baguette so I've not overdone it!!

 

[Ljc]

Hi Ianh. Hope you're ok now.
We all have those oops moments, I've been in the idiots club loads of times.
Personally I think the Libre freestyle should come with a health warning , I'm addicted to mine.

 

[Northerner]

This will all be discussed with my diabetes team at my appointment next Tuesday. I'm currently still on an old treatment regime of twic daily injections of Humulin M3 which is a 30% quick acting 70% slow acting mix.

It suited me years ago but I'll be moving on to 4 times a day according to my nurse

Will also be getting a Freestyle Libre which actually excites me. Will just cancel things like BT Sport, Racing UK and half my Sky package which I don't even watch to pay for it!!!

Hi Ian, welcome to the forum 🙂 I think you will get on much better with the more flexible regime of 4 injections a day 🙂 I've recently started using the Libre and it is brilliant - if you have any questions about it there are a lot of people here using it, so ask away 🙂

I'd also recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Don't be misled by the title - this book is relevant to people of all ages, and I think you will learn a lot about how things have advanced over the past 25 years 🙂

Good luck with everything - let us know how you get on 🙂

 

[Flower]

Hello and welcome along Ian 🙂

I'm sure you'll find things a lot better on MDI rather than mixed insulin. You'll be able to correct highs and just cope with the variety life throws at you more easily. Using a Libre/cgm really does make you so much more involved with the effects of food, timing of boluses and looking for ways to keep blood sugar more stable. I can't believe how much I care about keeping my bg stable and trying to give myself the best chance with the D. The longer I stay in range the more I really don't want to risk it for a biscuit 😉

Cancelling a few tv packages is a sound move in my book in order to get the best results you can. Good luck with the changes and keep us informed.

 

[Matt Cycle]

Hi Ian and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your heart attack. Your opening paragraph is probably true for a number of people with T1 but hopefully you'll start to get to grips with things now. As others have said mixed insulin is a bit outdated now for treating T1 and with MDI (basal/bolus) you should hopefully find it a lot more flexible with better control. It may take a short while to get it sorted correctly but stick with it as it will definitely make things easier to manage. Good luck.