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Newbie hello

J

Johnny_iron

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
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Evening all. Recently(ish) diagnosed type 1 at the age of 51 after usual symptoms(peeing, rapid weight loss, tiredness). Tryouts no to navigate and currently on the honeymoon period. Have very much enjoyed reading posts on here - it really does help so thank you.
 
Welcome @Johnny_iron 🙂 There are a number of people here who were diagnosed in their 50s so you’re not alone. Ask anything you want here. Nothing is too trivial or ‘silly’. We all remember what the early days were like.

What insulins do you take? Do you have a CGM?
 
Hi @Johnny_iron and welcome to the forum - I was another late starter (47 when diagnosed) also with rapid weight loss - the honeymoon period is anything but a honeymoon and can last years (mine did) and is tricky to navigate - please ask any questions you may have as it is all very daunting to start with - we all "get it" here - glad you have found the forum useful so far, and glad you have found us 🙂
 
Thanks for the welcome. Currently take 5 units of toujeo and 3 x 4 of nova rapid. Currently about 89% in range so not too bad. Biggest problem is forgetting to take it when I cook tea! Trying to carb count and take similar size meals. I have found out that Chinese food is my kryptonite!
 
Hi there and welcome to the forum!
It’s great to have you here, and thank you for introducing yourself. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis - being hit with type 1 as an adult can feel like a real whirlwind, but it sounds like you’re handling it with a lot of positivity and curiosity, which goes a long way.
Glad you’ve found the posts helpful so far - there’s a lot of support and shared experience here, and everyone is here to learn from each other. If you ever feel like sharing more about how things are going during this honeymoon phase (or just want to have a bit of a vent or laugh!), please do. Looking forward to seeing you around the forum!
 
Welcome to the club!

53 years for me, about three months in, I'm on Novarapid for bolus and Lantis for basal, I'm assuming you have a CGM too if you know your time in range.

...and I do miss the takeaways but I'm re-starting them as I've found some chain restaurants publish the carb values of their food and that helps hugely when jabbing, will need to find out all the values for Chinese.
 
Johnny_iron said:
Thanks for the welcome. Currently take 5 units of toujeo and 3 x 4 of nova rapid. Currently about 89% in range so not too bad. Biggest problem is forgetting to take it when I cook tea! Trying to carb count and take similar size meals. I have found out that Chinese food is my kryptonite!
Click to expand...

Once you start carb counting and adjusting your Novorapid doses, you’ll be able to vary your meals more @Johnny_iron and, yes, have Chinese! Your time in range is excellent. Don’t put yourself under too much pressure, and take things slowly.

These are the books often recommended for Type 1s on this forum:

Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.

And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - great for adults too)

Think Like A Pancreas is American but I liked the chatty style and it contains some great information, as does the Ragnar Hanas book. They’re books to read over time and to refer to. Type 1 is a huge learning experience, so pace yourself.
 
Hi @Skater P, yes, I’ve got a cgm. I don’t know how people functioned before it. The only real problem with it is it quite often reads lower than the finger prick test (sometimes up to 3mmol lower) so the alarm going off at 3am can be quite annoying! I haven’t had many takeaways since being diagnosed but with most things like that it seems quite trial and error. I have to add a few units to the novarapid. I’ve found carbs and cals quite useful for most foods. The barcode scanner can be very useful.
 
Thanks @Inka, I’m always on the lookout for reading materials. I tried the audible diabetes for dummies but the narrator sounded like an AI bot so I gave it up. I like the “type 1 on 1” podcast. That’s been really informative. Just ordered the “think like a pancreas”.
 
I'm another advocate for the Think Like a Pancreas book (I got it after recommendations on here) and takeaways do get easier - I'm a big fan of a Lamb Shish Kebab because you only need to count the carbs for the pitta bread! Chinese meals are a bit trickier but it is all trial and error and if you are on fixed doses of insulin for now it's best to try and keep the carbohydrate amounts similar for each meal - the low readings at night on the CGM could well be "Compression Lows" where you are laying on the sensor (I get them all the time, regardless of which arm it's on!) - as you've been only recently diagnosed you probably haven't had any formal education (like a DAFNE course) so I would recommend looking at the BERT1E course which is online and free and can be completed at your own pace - the section on carb counting gives you a basic knowledge and will hopefully help - it can be found here:

Bertie Diabetes

bertiediabetes.com bertiediabetes.com
 
Welcome from another late starter (aged 53).
Lots to learn at the start but it does get easier, and the tech that we have available now makes things a lot easier. Fire away with any questions that arise, and tap into the wealth of knowledge on here. Nothing is considered silly.
 
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