Newbie - 49 years old and just diagnosed with Type 1

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Jon-Manchester

Jon-Manchester

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello all,

I was diagnosed on Monday this week with type 1 diabetes, so I am somewhat overwhelmed at the moment in how to manage my blood sugars, but I am hoping to learn a lot from this forum so I can take back some control....

All the best
Jon
 
Hi Jon and welcome to the forum 🙂

We have a wide range of knowledge between us and a lot diagnosed at a later age, I myself was a week off 25

Feel free to ask any questions or even just come for a rant
xx
 
Thank you for the welcome Kaylz.
Up to a couple of weeks ago, I thought that type 1 was something you only got as a teenager/kid... little did I know :D

Right now I feel completely overwhelmed over how to manage my blood sugar, I am hoping it gets better ..
 
Welcome. It will take a while to get your head round everything so try to be patient with yourself but don’t be afraid to ask for info from your team.
 
Jon how your feeling is completely normal, its a huge blow especially when we've lived a good portion of our lives relatively care free, it will get easier, it just takes time, diabetes is a marathon not a sprint, gradual lowering of levels is good as a rapid drop can cause more damage than good (unfortunately I'm in the more damage than good category 🙄) have you started your insulin yet? if so what insulins are you on? how are you feeling?
xx
 
Jon-Manchester said:
Hello all,

I was diagnosed on Monday this week with type 1 diabetes, so I am somewhat overwhelmed at the moment in how to manage my blood sugars, but I am hoping to learn a lot from this forum so I can take back some control....

All the best
Jon
Click to expand...
Hi Jon, welcome to the forum 🙂 Snap! I was also diagnosed aged 49, completely out of the blue! 😱 How did your diagnosis come about? Try not to worry - there is a steep learning curve, but the good news is that although serious, Type 1 is a manageable condition and there's no reason it should stop you from doing everything you want to. My first recommendation would be to get yourself a copy of the excellent Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Please don't be misled by the title, it applies to anyone, whatever your age (as I say, I was 49 at diagnosis too). It covers all aspects of living with type 1 and is an invaluable reference, and also a source for any questions you might want to put to your healthcare team 🙂

What insulin have you been given? There are likely to be a number of adjustments to be made in the timings and doses over the coming weeks, but this is very normal - much of the knowledge that will help you manage things well will be gained from experience. The main thing to remember is to be prepared at all times - I keep a jar of jelly babies handy in every room of the house, as well as carrying a supply with me whenever I go out in case I need to treat a low. Things may be up and down for a while, but try not to be disheartened, things will gradually slot into place.

Please feel free to ask any and every question you may have and we will be more than happy to help - not question is considered 'daft', so if it is confusing or worrying you please ask. There are loads of friendly, experienced people here who can help you out with pretty much anything that crops up 🙂
 
Morning @Jon-Manchester , and welcome to the forum.

I was a bit later than you and diagnosed at the age of 53. I knew nothing at the time, but soon had to know a lot. I found the book that @Northerner recommended very useful, and still refer back to. Well explained and it helped me to understand what was happening inside.

There is a lot to learn very quickly but it really does get easier and it will become part of your new normal life. Be patient with yourself as it will take a while for your body to adjust to the lower levels that you will now be able to achieve. Ask on here absolutely any questions that you have, or come and have an understandable rant if you feel like it. Plenty of support and a wealth of knowledge here from people that just ‘get it’.

Glad you have found us and look forward to hearing more from you.
 
Hi Kaylz,
Yes they put me on insulin straight away. Currently I am on a "baseline" course, so I am on 15 units of Glargine and 6 units of Aspart per meal (so i am taking it 3x a day). After an initial 'panic' realisation what it meant of being diabetic, I am starting to get my head around it.

Kaylz said:
Jon how your feeling is completely normal, its a huge blow especially when we've lived a good portion of our lives relatively care free, it will get easier, it just takes time, diabetes is a marathon not a sprint, gradual lowering of levels is good as a rapid drop can cause more damage than good (unfortunately I'm in the more damage than good category 🙄) have you started your insulin yet? if so what insulins are you on? how are you feeling?
xx
Click to expand...
 
Thank you Northerner for the book tip. I will get that book
I got the symptoms thirst, loosing weight and extremely dry mouth over a couple of weeks, so I had already guessed what my GP would tell me when i went into the practise this monday, it was still a shock, as i had assumed they would say type 2.

Yes the healthcare team did tell me that there will be a lot of adjusments to the insulin over the next few weeks.
Really good to have a forum like this, as it is bewildering, thank you



Northerner said:
Hi Jon, welcome to the forum 🙂 Snap! I was also diagnosed aged 49, completely out of the blue! 😱 How did your diagnosis come about? Try not to worry - there is a steep learning curve, but the good news is that although serious, Type 1 is a manageable condition and there's no reason it should stop you from doing everything you want to. My first recommendation would be to get yourself a copy of the excellent Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Please don't be misled by the title, it applies to anyone, whatever your age (as I say, I was 49 at diagnosis too). It covers all aspects of living with type 1 and is an invaluable reference, and also a source for any questions you might want to put to your healthcare team 🙂

What insulin have you been given? There are likely to be a number of adjustments to be made in the timings and doses over the coming weeks, but this is very normal - much of the knowledge that will help you manage things well will be gained from experience. The main thing to remember is to be prepared at all times - I keep a jar of jelly babies handy in every room of the house, as well as carrying a supply with me whenever I go out in case I need to treat a low. Things may be up and down for a while, but try not to be disheartened, things will gradually slot into place.

Please feel free to ask any and every question you may have and we will be more than happy to help - not question is considered 'daft', so if it is confusing or worrying you please ask. There are loads of friendly, experienced people here who can help you out with pretty much anything that crops up 🙂
Click to expand...
 
Hi Jon and welcome.
It sounds like your GP is more switched on than most. I had the same symptoms as you in Feb this year at the age of 54 and like you, kind of guessed it was diabetes. I was assumed to be type 2 because of my age and started on oral meds and low carb diet. It took 6 weeks before they started me on insulin and I will confess I was resistant to the idea but my HbA1c had gone up slightly instead of down despite being on a very strict diet. I was not confirmed as Type 1 until July, but had been on insulin for a while by then. In some respects, coming into it from a low carb diet helped as I learned which carbs to avoid during that initial period and after a lifetime of eating lots of bread and potatoes and pasta etc as well as sweet stuff, it took some getting my head around a menu without them. Whilst I can now eat those things and inject insulin to cover it, I prefer to live life without bread and only have a very small portion of potatoes or pasta every now and then, that way I am using a minimal amount of (fast acting) bolus insulin and therefore reduce the risk of hypos.

Whilst the past few months have been a roller coaster, I think it has helped me in some respects to come into it from an angle rather than be hit head on with Type 1. I feel that my diet is now so much healthier and I enjoy it and I love the fact that I have lost weight and mentally I feel better as a result of both. I also no longer suffer migraines which were quite a serious issue for me and I can now even drink red wine which was a trigger.... so there have been quite a few positives from my diagnosis as well as the negatives.
This forum and it's wonderful members has been invaluable in helping me figure out my way forward and supporting me when things were not going well. I cannot over estimate the benefit that it has been for me and I hope you find it the same.
 
Jon-Manchester said:
Up to a couple of weeks ago, I thought that type 1 was something you only got as a teenager/kid... little did I know
Click to expand...

That's what I thought too (I was diagnosed as a child), but it seems to be rather commonly diagnosed later in life. (If you get diabetes later in life it's most likely Type 2, but if someone older has Type 1, then there's about a 50% chance it was diagnosed after the age of 18 (if I remember correctly) and about 40% later than 30.)

We all ought to know that it happens. After all our last Prime Minister (at the time of writing) has Type 1 which was diagnosed when she was an adult.
 
Jon-Manchester said:
Really good to have a forum like this, as it is bewildering, thank you
Click to expand...
I think I have learnt most of what I know about managing my D from others on here.
Any doubts about anything, just ask.
 
Hello and welcome @Jon-Manchester 🙂 Glad you've found us, sorry you needed to.

It is a heck of shock to be handed the running of your pancreas. Who knew what an unbelievably brilliant job a pancreas does until it's over to you 🙄

I played by the rules and was diagnosed aged 12, none of this waiting to grow up stuff for me.

It does take a while for the new pieces of the diabetes puzzle to start to fit back together in to a new normal and for your body to start to recover from living with a dwindling insulin supply. Be gentle and patient with yourself at the start.

The Ragnar Hanas book is such a useful source of knowledge as is the wealth of support and advice on here. I've learned so much since joining here and am in a much better place for it.🙂

I wish you well. 🙂
 
Hello @Jon-Manchester and welcome to the forum from another late starter - I was 44 when I was diagnosed.

If you have any questions or are confused by anything just ask, someone here is sure to be able to help.
 
Hello Jon welcome to the forum.🙂 I was also a late starter, 63 with a HbA1c of 156,😱 due to joining this wonderful forum I have gained so much knowledge and amaze my HCP`s at my knowledge. You won`t feel overwhelmed for much longer, because you need to learn as fast as you can, that's why we are here to help you, ask any question or if you are a bit pissed off rant away. We all do it, great to have you onboard our friend, take care.
 
Hello Jon from another newbie to the forum however i have been a T1 for a few years as said above there is plenty of shared knowledge around 🙂
 
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