Hi, I'm Bróna and new to all of this and struggling a little. Diagnosed as prediabetic 2017 and managed with diet and exercise until Sept 2020 when my HbA1c was 134. GP started me on metformin and jardinance and ran more tests Dec 2020 diagonised with type 1 but stayed on type 2 drugs. Roll onto early March 2021, Hba1c now at 46!!!! Came off the metformin and jardinance and onto long acting insulin, BG in the teens, started fast acting only 4 days ago and BG is up and down like a yoyo. I don't dare drive as yesterday went from 11.3 to 3.8 in less than 1 hour. Please tell me this gets easier. My diabetic team are great and very supportive, just need reassurance from people who have been here.
-
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.
New type 1
- Thread starter Bróna
- Start date
- Status
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome @Bróna 🙂 Yes, it does get easier - in all ways🙂 Your control will improve gradually and you’ll get the hang of things and how your body reacts.
You’re very sensible not driving while your blood sugar is up and down, and while you’re getting used to your new regime.
The first thing to say is that it will take a while to ascertain the right amount of basal and bolus (fast) insulins for you. It’s perfectly normal for it to take a while to work things out. Can I ask if you’re on fixed doses of bolus/fast insulin for meals at the moment? If so, have you been given a carb amount to have for each meal?
You’re very sensible not driving while your blood sugar is up and down, and while you’re getting used to your new regime.
The first thing to say is that it will take a while to ascertain the right amount of basal and bolus (fast) insulins for you. It’s perfectly normal for it to take a while to work things out. Can I ask if you’re on fixed doses of bolus/fast insulin for meals at the moment? If so, have you been given a carb amount to have for each meal?
Thanks for your reply Inka. I'm on 10 units basal at 3.30pm and bolus is 1 to 10 but no ive not been given carbs amounts yet. I have a telephone consult with dietician tomorrow so may get one then. So difficult because I managed so well on the other drugs I thought this would fall into place
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Ok, if you’re on a bolus ratio of 1:10 then that sounds like you’re going to be counting the carbs in your meal, then adjusting your bolus insulin accordingly rather than being on fixed doses of bolus insulin. That’s a good thing as it’s more flexible. 1:10 is a common starting ratio, but remember that it’s just a reasonable starting point and might be adjusted to suit your needs.
It’s not until you try to do the job of your pancreas that you realise how clever it is, so don’t be disheartened. You’ll gradually get control. The important thing is that you now have the correct diagnosis and can move forward confident that you’re getting the right treatment 🙂
It’s not until you try to do the job of your pancreas that you realise how clever it is, so don’t be disheartened. You’ll gradually get control. The important thing is that you now have the correct diagnosis and can move forward confident that you’re getting the right treatment 🙂
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
I am 2 years down the line with my diagnosis and managing my diabetes with insulin and it does get easier but you do still get very occasional days when things go haywire despite your best efforts... I had one yesterday.
I am guessing you mean your HbA1c was up to 146 rather than just 46 which was why you stopped the Type 2 meds and were started on insulin. Which basal and bolus insulins have they given you? Are you monitoring your BG levels with finger pricks or have they given you Freestyle Libre which is the sensor which goes on your arm that samples your levels every few minutes? Some newly diagnosed Type 1s seem to get it straight away here, at least for a trial period although I had to wait a year and a half to get them on prescription, I self funded for a few months first and the information they provide is invaluable.
If it is any consolation, the hypos you feel now will probably be by far the worst you are likely to feel. When your levels have been high for a while, those first few lows, especially when they plummet like that, are really scary, but once your levels are more stable and in range, hypos are not usually so horrific feeling. That's not to say they aren't dangerous but easier to manage because you don't feel like you are dying!
I am 2 years down the line with my diagnosis and managing my diabetes with insulin and it does get easier but you do still get very occasional days when things go haywire despite your best efforts... I had one yesterday.
I am guessing you mean your HbA1c was up to 146 rather than just 46 which was why you stopped the Type 2 meds and were started on insulin. Which basal and bolus insulins have they given you? Are you monitoring your BG levels with finger pricks or have they given you Freestyle Libre which is the sensor which goes on your arm that samples your levels every few minutes? Some newly diagnosed Type 1s seem to get it straight away here, at least for a trial period although I had to wait a year and a half to get them on prescription, I self funded for a few months first and the information they provide is invaluable.
If it is any consolation, the hypos you feel now will probably be by far the worst you are likely to feel. When your levels have been high for a while, those first few lows, especially when they plummet like that, are really scary, but once your levels are more stable and in range, hypos are not usually so horrific feeling. That's not to say they aren't dangerous but easier to manage because you don't feel like you are dying!
Thanks again Inka.
Hi rebrascora, thanks for reply. HBa1C was DOWN to 46 but as diagnosis was type 1 I was started on insulin when numbers were good to make it easier to adjust and find my levels lol. I've not had the discussion about freestyle yet but am certainly interested in it, does the sensor cause itching or discomfort?
Hi rebrascora, thanks for reply. HBa1C was DOWN to 46 but as diagnosis was type 1 I was started on insulin when numbers were good to make it easier to adjust and find my levels lol. I've not had the discussion about freestyle yet but am certainly interested in it, does the sensor cause itching or discomfort?
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ah, I see, so you actually responded quite well to the Type 2 drugs then which is interesting. It was the 2 exclamations after the 46 that made me think maybe a 1 was missing from the front, especially when you said your BG readings were in the teens, that didn't tie in with an HbA1c of just 46.
It may be that having been started on insulin, your beta cells feel less under pressure and then occasionally manage to squirt out a bit of extra insulin themselves, which can totally mess up your levels even if you have calculated your carbs really carefully and got your ratios correct. This is called the honeymoon period and makes thigs more tricky at a time when everything is already confusing, so these first few months are by far the most difficult period of managing levels, so hang in there it will get easier.
As regards Libre, yes, it occasionally gets a bit itchy or nips/pulls a bit if I catch it on clothing or lie on it in bed, but mostly I am totally unaware of it and often try to scan the wrong arm, because I can't feel it at all.... I generally alternate between arms, so for the first few days after I change sensors, I scan the wrong arm much more frequently and for a second, woder why it's not working!
It may be that having been started on insulin, your beta cells feel less under pressure and then occasionally manage to squirt out a bit of extra insulin themselves, which can totally mess up your levels even if you have calculated your carbs really carefully and got your ratios correct. This is called the honeymoon period and makes thigs more tricky at a time when everything is already confusing, so these first few months are by far the most difficult period of managing levels, so hang in there it will get easier.
As regards Libre, yes, it occasionally gets a bit itchy or nips/pulls a bit if I catch it on clothing or lie on it in bed, but mostly I am totally unaware of it and often try to scan the wrong arm, because I can't feel it at all.... I generally alternate between arms, so for the first few days after I change sensors, I scan the wrong arm much more frequently and for a second, woder why it's not working!
Welcome to the forum that no one wanted to join!
"you responded well to type 2 medication..." or maybe you didn't. I expect that you cut down on carbs and this would have allowed the remaining beta cells to keep your BG down. You do not wake up one morning to find all your beta cells are dead, it can take years.
Does it get easier? Sort of - you tend to know better what you have done wrong, and more important, what you need to do to put things right.
I assume that you will be on a base-bolus system, with a long acting insulih and a short acting one to take care of meals. You should have been given some figures to a;;ow you to controll your BG. Rven if these are correct now you should be arare that they will all change over time.
Top tip: get the base insulin dose right first - nothing else will work as it should if this is wrong.
"you responded well to type 2 medication..." or maybe you didn't. I expect that you cut down on carbs and this would have allowed the remaining beta cells to keep your BG down. You do not wake up one morning to find all your beta cells are dead, it can take years.
Does it get easier? Sort of - you tend to know better what you have done wrong, and more important, what you need to do to put things right.
I assume that you will be on a base-bolus system, with a long acting insulih and a short acting one to take care of meals. You should have been given some figures to a;;ow you to controll your BG. Rven if these are correct now you should be arare that they will all change over time.
Top tip: get the base insulin dose right first - nothing else will work as it should if this is wrong.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @Bróna
I am pleased that you now have the correct diagnosis. It definitely does get easier. The best analogy I was given was that it is like learning to drive. It all seems very complicated at the start but then just becomes automatic. You still need to be aware of what is going on around you.
With your starting ratio for meals you can be flexible about meals, both timing and what you eat. You will need to count the carbs at each meal, but like other things you become familiar with the amounts in foods that you eat regularly and it gets easier. You then calculate how much insulin you need for that particular meal.
My top tip would be to ask for half unit pens. At the start you are likely to be in smaller doses and being able to adjust it by smaller amounts makes a big difference.
Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
I am pleased that you now have the correct diagnosis. It definitely does get easier. The best analogy I was given was that it is like learning to drive. It all seems very complicated at the start but then just becomes automatic. You still need to be aware of what is going on around you.
With your starting ratio for meals you can be flexible about meals, both timing and what you eat. You will need to count the carbs at each meal, but like other things you become familiar with the amounts in foods that you eat regularly and it gets easier. You then calculate how much insulin you need for that particular meal.
My top tip would be to ask for half unit pens. At the start you are likely to be in smaller doses and being able to adjust it by smaller amounts makes a big difference.
Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Bróna
Sorry to hear that starting on insulin has been such a whirlwind for you
I wonder if a guidebook to your new diabetes classification might be helpful? Lots of forum members have got a lot of value from either:
Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (relevant to people of all ages!)
or
Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner
Sorry to hear that starting on insulin has been such a whirlwind for you
I wonder if a guidebook to your new diabetes classification might be helpful? Lots of forum members have got a lot of value from either:
Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (relevant to people of all ages!)
or
Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner
- Status