Hi Oliver and welcome to the forum.
I am only a mum of a teenager with diabetes, I don't have diabetes myself. It is good to hear you want to take control though. Well done you. That's half the battle. No doubt once you get your levels under control you will start to feel so much better in yourself.
I can only agree with what Northerner said. Do get in touch with your diabetes nurse as soon as you possibly can. She, I am sure, will be only too pleased to help you gain better control. For the first little while carb counting will seem a bit of a chore, but before long you will get the hang of it and it will become second nature. If you adjust the amount of insulin to the carbs in your meal your levels will start to come down to much more reasonable levels and you really will feel so much better.
Also, no food is truly off limits being a type 1, as long as you do inject to cover it. You are obviously better to avoid high sugar things, or as my son was told, only have it as part of a meal. He was told when in hospital at diagnosis (he was almost 16) that a 'normal' lunchbox of sandwiches, crisps, apple and chocolate biscuit/cake type thing was perfectly acceptable. Drinks should always be sugar free, diet Coke and Pepsi Max type things are fine, no added sugar squash, and tea or coffee with sweeteners if needed, and things like orange juice should only be had either as part of a meal or a hypo treatment.
That did work for my son, and very quickly he got his levels down into the target range, and in the space of about 3 months his HbA1c came down from 15.8% to around 7%, so it can be done.
Keep coming on here though, people are so friendly. If you are down and need a chat, there is always someone who will lend you a friendly ear.
Good luck, and well done for wanting to turn your life around
Tina
I am only a mum of a teenager with diabetes, I don't have diabetes myself. It is good to hear you want to take control though. Well done you. That's half the battle. No doubt once you get your levels under control you will start to feel so much better in yourself.
I can only agree with what Northerner said. Do get in touch with your diabetes nurse as soon as you possibly can. She, I am sure, will be only too pleased to help you gain better control. For the first little while carb counting will seem a bit of a chore, but before long you will get the hang of it and it will become second nature. If you adjust the amount of insulin to the carbs in your meal your levels will start to come down to much more reasonable levels and you really will feel so much better.
Also, no food is truly off limits being a type 1, as long as you do inject to cover it. You are obviously better to avoid high sugar things, or as my son was told, only have it as part of a meal. He was told when in hospital at diagnosis (he was almost 16) that a 'normal' lunchbox of sandwiches, crisps, apple and chocolate biscuit/cake type thing was perfectly acceptable. Drinks should always be sugar free, diet Coke and Pepsi Max type things are fine, no added sugar squash, and tea or coffee with sweeteners if needed, and things like orange juice should only be had either as part of a meal or a hypo treatment.
That did work for my son, and very quickly he got his levels down into the target range, and in the space of about 3 months his HbA1c came down from 15.8% to around 7%, so it can be done.
Keep coming on here though, people are so friendly. If you are down and need a chat, there is always someone who will lend you a friendly ear.
Good luck, and well done for wanting to turn your life around
Tina
