• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

New since yesterday

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
S

Sinead

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi,
My names Sinead, 28 and I got rushed into hospital early hours Monday night and have just discovered I am type 1. it is all so overwhelming and I can't make sense of it right now.
I'm not the best with needles and blood so has been a tough 48hours with the injections etc but getting there.
any advice on what to do? the hospital have been amazing and helpful but I'm struggling to understand it all.
Thank you 🙂
 
Sinead said:
Hi,
My names Sinead, 28 and I got rushed into hospital early hours Monday night and have just discovered I am type 1. it is all so overwhelming and I can't make sense of it right now.
I'm not the best with needles and blood so has been a tough 48hours with the injections etc but getting there.
any advice on what to do? the hospital have been amazing and helpful but I'm struggling to understand it all.
Thank you 🙂
Click to expand...
Hi Sinead and welcome. Have a bit of a mooch around the forum and you will soon pick up lots of tips and experiences. If you have any specific questions, ask away!
 
Sinead said:
Hi,
My names Sinead, 28 and I got rushed into hospital early hours Monday night and have just discovered I am type 1. it is all so overwhelming and I can't make sense of it right now.
I'm not the best with needles and blood so has been a tough 48hours with the injections etc but getting there.
any advice on what to do? the hospital have been amazing and helpful but I'm struggling to understand it all.
Thank you 🙂
Click to expand...
Hi Sinead, welcome to this friendly supportive forum. I can imagine you are in huge shock and understandably overwhelmed, it takes time to get to grips with it all. Please do ask anything here and also moan away if every you need to.
It's so early on for you, just working out how to inject and test is huge, especially if you don't like needles and blood. I remember it took me some time to take it all in, best to just take it one day at a time and you will get there. Was there anything specific you are not understanding, or is it the whole thing? Are you still in hospital?
Sending loads of support.
Take care Jo
 
Thanks guys 🙂 I think the whole thing is very confusing. I had graves disease which was treated years ago so this just seems so much more intense. I am out of hospital now and have to go to the diabetes clinic daily for a few days. I will see a dietician tomorrow so that should help clear things up food wise.
 
Welcome Sinead. You have done well getting on the site so quickly. It does take awhile to get hang of things but do your best & it will pay off. Good luck 🙂
 
Hi Sinead Welcome to the forum .
 
Hello Sinead, and welcome 🙂

I can't cope with needles at all, so I was given covered ones, which mean I don't see the needle going in - they are a brilliant idea, and mean I can inject with no problems. If you want to ask about them at the clinic, mine are called Novofine Autocover, though there are other brands. The only downside is they are slightly longer than some of the other needles available for diabetics, but to my mind it's worth it not to have to see them!

You might want to get hold of a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults which is really aimed at helping anyone with type 1 (no matter their age) understand it all. And do have a look round this forum and the Diabetes UK site, as there's loads more info. here - hopefully you'll find at least some of it relevant and helpful.

What insulin/s have you been put on?
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Hello Sinead, and welcome 🙂

I can't cope with needles at all, so I was given covered ones, which mean I don't see the needle going in - they are a brilliant idea, and mean I can inject with no problems. If you want to ask about them at the clinic, mine are called Novofine Autocover, though there are other brands. The only downside is they are slightly longer than some of the other needles available for diabetics, but to my mind it's worth it not to have to see them!

You might want to get hold of a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults which is really aimed at helping anyone with type 1 (no matter their age) understand it all. And do have a look round this forum and the Diabetes UK site, as there's loads more info. here - hopefully you'll find at least some of it relevant and helpful.

What insulin/s have you been put on?
Click to expand...


thank you I will ask about those needles tomorrow. I have been given a lantus for every 24hrs and another one for when I eat. but the amount is changing for both right now. I am reading through so much to try and understand it all. I just had no idea how much was involved. thank you
 
Sinead said:
thank you I will ask about those needles tomorrow. I have been given a lantus for every 24hrs and another one for when I eat. but the amount is changing for both right now. I am reading through so much to try and understand it all. I just had no idea how much was involved. thank you
Click to expand...
It will all start to become second nature after a while. You'll get there.
 
Hi Sinead and welcome to the gang🙂. Any questions just fire away and one or more of us will be along to help wherever we can.🙂
 
Hi Sinead, welcome to the forum.

It will definitely get easier as you go, although at the beginning it can feel like you'll never get the hang of it and it's too much. It will fall into place though.
 
Sinead said:
Hi,
My names Sinead, 28 and I got rushed into hospital early hours Monday night and have just discovered I am type 1. it is all so overwhelming and I can't make sense of it right now.
I'm not the best with needles and blood so has been a tough 48hours with the injections etc but getting there.
any advice on what to do? the hospital have been amazing and helpful but I'm struggling to understand it all.
Thank you 🙂
Click to expand...
Hi Sinead
I completely understand ! Like you I was rushed to hospital last week and diagnosed Type 1 so you are not on your own with feeling overwhelmed etc. I reached out on this forum also and have had amazing support from so many. I have lots of questions too and am getting there slowly. I am on insulin and metformin and figuring out food and testing my blood glucose levels. It’s all a bit surreal isn’t it. I just wanted to reassure you that you aren’t on your own. I’ve been reading a lot and slowly taking bits in. Everyone one on here says not to be afraid to ask questions so I am absolutely going to take these opportunities as everyone is very generous with info etc.
Take care of you and know you aren’t alone.
 
Welcome aboard.

I found this forum a true life saver in the early days and it continues to be great support.
 
Welcome to the forum, Sinead. You've probably already realised that insulin injections with pen devices and tiny needles, are very different to the needles and syringes used to give immunisations or take venous blood for lab tests. So, hopefully that's already getting a bit easier. There are gadgets which mean you can inject without ever seeing needle, but they are a bit more bulky and awkward than injecting unassisted (or "naked" as I call it whenI want to raise a smile 🙂 ) Finger pricking for home testing is more uncomfortable than injecting, and very difficult to achieve without seeing a tiny blob of blood.
As well as injections and blood tests, the other key parts of managing type 1 diabetes are eating appropriately (flexible regimes mean that you can match insulin to carbohydrate intake) and keeping active. So, what are your favourite foods and activities? What else are you doing? Work? Study? Family? Hobbies? Interests?
 
Sinead said:
thank you I will ask about those needles tomorrow. I have been given a lantus for every 24hrs and another one for when I eat. but the amount is changing for both right now. I am reading through so much to try and understand it all. I just had no idea how much was involved. thank you
Click to expand...

The amount of insulin you were put on at first will have been a "best guess" on the part of the medical professionals so they will have to change it a bit over the first few weeks, don't worry - that is completely normal! After a while you will learn to fine tune it yourself, and it will all become second nature, as other people have said.
 
Copepod said:
Welcome to the forum, Sinead. You've probably already realised that insulin injections with pen devices and tiny needles, are very different to the needles and syringes used to give immunisations or take venous blood for lab tests. So, hopefully that's already getting a bit easier. There are gadgets which mean you can inject without ever seeing needle, but they are a bit more bulky and awkward than injecting unassisted (or "naked" as I call it whenI want to raise a smile 🙂 ) Finger pricking for home testing is more uncomfortable than injecting, and very difficult to achieve without seeing a tiny blob of blood.
As well as injections and blood tests, the other key parts of managing type 1 diabetes are eating appropriately (flexible regimes mean that you can match insulin to carbohydrate intake) and keeping active. So, what are your favourite foods and activities? What else are you doing? Work? Study? Family? Hobbies? Interests?
Click to expand...

yes the finger pricking is horrible and it feels like every muscle tenses when I do it. I am quite worried about doing it and injections in public so that's the next hurdle. I love bread and chocolate so that's the first thing I need to work out the carbs of first!
I have just handed my notice in at work to go freelance so the timing isn't great ( not that there is good timing) and my family live in another city. It feels like all my big plans for Christmas and the new year will be effected by this discovery so I guess that's why I can't get my head around it all :(
but everyone on here is being so nice so its good to know when I feel rubbish and alone with it I can talk to someone 🙂
 
welcome from me too. It is a huge shock and will take time to get your head around. Whilst it doesn't seem like it at the minute, by Christmas you will be a bit more sorted. These times of year can seem daunting as they largely revolve around food, but you can still enjoy them and manage the diabetes. I find buffet type situations difficult - so try to stick to a carb 'budget', inject for that and add it up as I go along. This may seem really in-doable at the minute, but you will be surprised how quickly you learn to eye up the carbs and make a decent guess. I now have the some what dubious skill of being able to cut a slice of cake that is usually within 2g either way of being 50g in weight....
we are all here rooting for you.
 
Sinead said:
I love bread and chocolate so that's the first thing I need to work out the carbs of first!
Click to expand...

If you like dark chocolate, that's very low in carbs - I eat Green & Blacks 85% cocoa and don't need any insulin for it if I just have a couple of squares. If you eat chocolate sandwiches, the fat in the chocolate will slow down the effect of the carbs in the bread, so that's also good!
 
Hello Sinead, welcome to the forum. 🙂
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top