newbie Type 1

[sharie]

Hey everyone, my name is sharon I’m 52 and I’m newly diagnosed (10 days) type 1. I am finding it very overwhelming but understand this to be normal. Two questions-: Did anyone else have double vision when first diagnosed? I’ve been told it can take up to 3 months to settle? Also the Libra that was fitted seems to quite often be out by 2.0, is this common? Thanks x

 

[Inka]

Welcome @sharie 🙂 Blurred vision is normal. The high sugars affect the shape of your eye temporarily, but your eyesight will gradually return to normal over the coming weeks. However, you mentioned double vision not blurred. This can be a sign of low blood sugar so if you notice it again, you might want to do a fingerprick test to make sure your blood sugar is ok.

The Libre isn’t as accurate at the high and low ends of the range, and it’s not as accurate for the first day or two either. If in doubt, fingerprick.

 

[LindaH]

Hi Sharie
I'm new to the diabetes site but not to being a diabetic. I was 3 years old when diagnosed and have lived through so many changes over the 61 years of being a diabetic so hold on in there life is not over for a long long time. I have had a Libre for about 18 months now and run with the it not finger pricking. There will be a difference as the Libre is not measuring blood but the interestial fluid so as soon as you get used to that you can set your phone up to respond as you need.
All the best.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @sharie from another late starter with T1 (Aged 53)
I am pleased that you have found us.

High glucose levels definitely result in blurred vision, but as your levels come back down this will settle. It does tickle a while, and your team will want to do this slowly in order to avoid damage to the eyes, so try to be patient, and certainly don’t consider getting any glasses to address this change until things have settled down.

As others have said the Libre is measuring glucose in the interstitial fluid, which will be a bit different from your blood glucose. I tend to think of a time lag of about 10 minutes between the two, but I have not used a Libre for a while so I am not sure whether the latest a,gorithms that the Libre uses has addressed this now.

If you are happy to do so let us know which insulins you are using. They are all slightly different and it helps us in our answers to any questions that you have. There is plenty of experience to tap into on here, so anything you are unsure of just ask. Nothing is considered silly on here.

I look forward to hearing more from you

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from me too. Another late starter at 55yrs.

I found a pair of ready readers from the pound shop helped tide me over with reading food labels/screen/books etc until my eyes settled, but yes, 3 months is a rough guide for the time it takes.

Good to hear you have Libre but really important to understand it's limitations. It is a wonderful bit of kit but it isn't always accurate and understanding the occasions when you can mostly rely on it and when you need to double check it with a finger prick, is very important. Things like lyig on it during the night may cause it to give a false low referred to as a "compression low", so if your low alarm goes off through the night, it is always wise to double check with a finger prick before you eat/drink your hypo treatment.... Talking of which, have you been given advice about hypo treatments?
What sort of things are suitable, how much of them to take etc. Has anyone mentioned the rule of 15 for treating hypos and explained it? Please make sure to keep hypo treatments with you wherever you go, especially next to the bed at night (along with your testing kit) in the car if you drive (along with testing kit) all pockets and handbags etc. I keep some in the bathroom as a hot shower or bath can drop your levels especially if it is after exercise.

Anyway, there is lots to learn but the important thing is to be aware of the risks and keep yourself safe by being prepared.
I am 4.5 years down the line and there have been a few adventures and scary moments but mostly I feel really confident about managing it now. The people on this forum have been instrumental in helping me achieve that knowledge and confidence so hopefully we can do that for you too. It is a great place to fill in the blanks from all the information that the nurses give you in the first couple of appointments, most of which goes in one ear and out the other, because you are dealing with shock. Look forward to getting to know you better and perhaps helping you with your journey. .

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hey everyone, my name is sharon I’m 52 and I’m newly diagnosed (10 days) type 1. I am finding it very overwhelming but understand this to be normal.

Welcome to the forum @sharie

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis

It’s completely natural to feel overwhelmed and knocked sideways by a diagnosis with T1. But take heart - things will get easier 🙂

If you’d like a good overview of T1 with practical tips and management techniques you might find one of these books helpful?

Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - ignore the title… this book is relevant to people of all ages!

Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner - A practical guide to managing diabetes with insulin

Good luck and keep asking questions on the forum!

 

[sharie]

Thanks everybody, it’s so nice to not feel like I’m on my own. The long acting is called abasaglar and the short is novorapid. I’m on a set amount till I see the nutritionist next week. My levels are all over the place at the moment , I had a few hypos at the weekend which knocked me for 6, I couldn’t talk, my face went numb, and my brain went to mush. I never went lower than 3.4 but still it was overwhelming. Im also suffering from really bad fatigue too. Sorry I know I sound like a proper winge pot.

 

[sharie]

Hi and welcome from me too. Another late starter at 55yrs.

I found a pair of ready readers from the pound shop helped tide me over with reading food labels/screen/books etc until my eyes settled, but yes, 3 months is a rough guide for the time it takes.

Good to hear you have Libre but really important to understand it's limitations. It is a wonderful bit of kit but it isn't always accurate and understanding the occasions when you can mostly rely on it and when you need to double check it with a finger prick, is very important. Things like lyig on it during the night may cause it to give a false low referred to as a "compression low", so if your low alarm goes off through the night, it is always wise to double check with a finger prick before you eat/drink your hypo treatment.... Talking of which, have you been given advice about hypo treatments?
What sort of things are suitable, how much of them to take etc. Has anyone mentioned the rule of 15 for treating hypos and explained it? Please make sure to keep hypo treatments with you wherever you go, especially next to the bed at night (along with your testing kit) in the car if you drive (along with testing kit) all pockets and handbags etc. I keep some in the bathroom as a hot shower or bath can drop your levels especially if it is after exercise.

Anyway, there is lots to learn but the important thing is to be aware of the risks and keep yourself safe by being prepared.
I am 4.5 years down the line and there have been a few adventures and scary moments but mostly I feel really confident about managing it now. The people on this forum have been instrumental in helping me achieve that knowledge and confidence so hopefully we can do that for you too. It is a great place to fill in the blanks from all the information that the nurses give you in the first couple of appointments, most of which goes in one ear and out the other, because you are dealing with shock. Look forward to getting to know you better and perhaps helping you with your journey. .

Hi and welcome from me too. Another late starter at 55yrs.

I found a pair of ready readers from the pound shop helped tide me over with reading food labels/screen/books etc until my eyes settled, but yes, 3 months is a rough guide for the time it takes.

Good to hear you have Libre but really important to understand it's limitations. It is a wonderful bit of kit but it isn't always accurate and understanding the occasions when you can mostly rely on it and when you need to double check it with a finger prick, is very important. Things like lyig on it during the night may cause it to give a false low referred to as a "compression low", so if your low alarm goes off through the night, it is always wise to double check with a finger prick before you eat/drink your hypo treatment.... Talking of which, have you been given advice about hypo treatments?
What sort of things are suitable, how much of them to take etc. Has anyone mentioned the rule of 15 for treating hypos and explained it? Please make sure to keep hypo treatments with you wherever you go, especially next to the bed at night (along with your testing kit) in the car if you drive (along with testing kit) all pockets and handbags etc. I keep some in the bathroom as a hot shower or bath can drop your levels especially if it is after exercise.

Anyway, there is lots to learn but the important thing is to be aware of the risks and keep yourself safe by being prepared.
I am 4.5 years down the line and there have been a few adventures and scary moments but mostly I feel really confident about managing it now. The people on this forum have been instrumental in helping me achieve that knowledge and confidence so hopefully we can do that for you too. It is a great place to fill in the blanks from all the information that the nurses give you in the first couple of appointments, most of which goes in one ear and out the other, because you are dealing with shock. Look forward to getting to know you better and perhaps helping you with your journey. .

Yeah I have loads of hypo stuff everywhere now, after having a few at the weekend the nurse has reduced my insulin, I’m on a set amount at the moment, until I see the nutritionist next week. Did you do the Dapne course?

 

[rebrascora]

Yeah I have loads of hypo stuff everywhere now, after having a few at the weekend the nurse has reduced my insulin, I’m on a set amount at the moment, until I see the nutritionist next week. Did you do the Dapne course?

Yes, I got onto a DAFNE course about 8 months after diagnosis. I would certainly recommend it.

I clearly remember the day I went to see the dietician for an introduction to carb counting, several months before the DAFNE course, there was another guy there who had been diagnosed a few weeks ahead of me and that was the first time I had met another Type 1 (that I knew of) so I was almost keener to talk to him than the dietician and to share experiences and he seemed to be equally keen to see what I had experienced.
That is one of the big advantages of the DAFNE course, is that you get to spend a lot of time with other Type 1s and like this forum, you lean so much from each other as well as feel normal about injecting for lunch each day, because we all did it together. Prior to that I had been going to the toilet when in public to inject but the young girls on he course were really comfortable about just lifting the bottom of their blouse to expose a bit of skin on their tummy and injecting in the classroom, so I followed their lead. Nice to think I can learn confidence from a 16 year old!! There was a good mix of experience on my course with a lady with 50years as Type 1 and a guy with 15 years in and then 4 of us relative newbies. The course educators were excellent and so open to different people's experiences without being judgmental and so keen to help people on the course even beyond the course content. They were able to have a word with the consultant in some cases and arrange for people to get a bit of technology that they thought would help them or a change of insulin or whatever. You really did feel like they were on your side and prepared to pull strings to help you.

I have since abandoned most of the DAFNE principles and break most of the "rules" and I have found my own way partly because the NE part of DAFNE stands for "Normal Eating" and I don't really conform to that because I follow a low carb approach which works well for me in lots of respects, but I would still highly recommend the course and really pleased I did it and have that framework to fall back on if I need to.

 

[Tdm]

I'm on abasaglar and novorapid too. It can sometimes take a while to get on daphne, i haven't been invited yet, so don't wait for it to take control of your diabetes. Think like a pancreas is a very good book, though a wee bit too into the calculations, but you can get lots out of it even if you skip them, and his ideas to prevent spikes is essential reading
As for the libre, it overexagerates highs and lows. Some people find it more accurate than others. After quote a few problems i got the dexcom, an alternative, but most people find libre works forvthem. It may help if you insert it a couple of days before the last one runs out, to give it bedding in time, before you start it. And always double check before treating a low based on libre figures

 

[sharie]

Thanks for the recommendation there are a few books that seem the most talked about and that is one of them.

 

[sharie]

Yes, I got onto a DAFNE course about 8 months after diagnosis. I would certainly recommend it.

I clearly remember the day I went to see the dietician for an introduction to carb counting, several months before the DAFNE course, there was another guy there who had been diagnosed a few weeks ahead of me and that was the first time I had met another Type 1 (that I knew of) so I was almost keener to talk to him than the dietician and to share experiences and he seemed to be equally keen to see what I had experienced.
That is one of the big advantages of the DAFNE course, is that you get to spend a lot of time with other Type 1s and like this forum, you lean so much from each other as well as feel normal about injecting for lunch each day, because we all did it together. Prior to that I had been going to the toilet when in public to inject but the young girls on he course were really comfortable about just lifting the bottom of their blouse to expose a bit of skin on their tummy and injecting in the classroom, so I followed their lead. Nice to think I can learn confidence from a 16 year old!! There was a good mix of experience on my course with a lady with 50years as Type 1 and a guy with 15 years in and then 4 of us relative newbies. The course educators were excellent and so open to different people's experiences without being judgmental and so keen to help people on the course even beyond the course content. They were able to have a word with the consultant in some cases and arrange for people to get a bit of technology that they thought would help them or a change of insulin or whatever. You really did feel like they were on your side and prepared to pull strings to help you.

I have since abandoned most of the DAFNE principles and break most of the "rules" and I have found my own way partly because the NE part of DAFNE stands for "Normal Eating" and I don't really conform to that because I follow a low carb approach which works well for me in lots of respects, but I would still highly recommend the course and really pleased I did it and have that framework to fall back on if I need to.

I was also on a low carb diet before diagnosis but have introduced more carbs because I thought that was the best way. I will talk to the dietician about this. Thanks

 

[Tdm]

I was low carb for a while, but i gave it up because
1 i became more insulin resistant
2 bread. Lovelly bread
I still do a low carb luch when working as it leads to a more drama free day.
Its up to you if you choose to go low carb, but its not necessary for good blood sugar control. My control is good, and going higher carb did not make it worse.
For me low carb was like training wheels on a bike, very useful whilst i learnt how to diabetes

 

[rebrascora]

I was also on a low carb diet before diagnosis but have introduced more carbs because I thought that was the best way. I will talk to the dietician about this. Thanks

Low carb is absolutely not necessary with Type 1 and in fact can complicate things because, in he absence of enough carbs, the body breaks down protein for glucose so you can end up having to calculate insulin to cover carbs and then calculate and inject insulin to cover protein release 2 hours later, which can be much more complicated, although in the early days of diagnosis in your honeymoon period, your own insulin production may be able to mop up the slower release from the protein.

Unless you have a good reason for going low carb it is not recommended by HCPs.

 

[Mumpie_olgran]

Not really much to add as you've already had the benefit of plenty of the forum's wise old owls
But just adding a hi from me too @sharie
I'm in my 40s with a T1 diagnosis and here to wish you well. Promise you it'll all settle down in time and get easier

 

[The_Bowlii]

Hey everyone, my name is sharon I’m 52 and I’m newly diagnosed (10 days) type 1. I am finding it very overwhelming but understand this to be normal. Two questions-: Did anyone else have double vision when first diagnosed? I’ve been told it can take up to 3 months to settle? Also the Libra that was fitted seems to quite often be out by 2.0, is this common? Thanks x

Hi Sharie. Also a newbie aged 56 with a T1 diagnosis 10 days ago. I’m also overwhelmed but slowly coming to terms with it albeit a few tears along the way. Glad you asked about the blurred vision as I’ve also noticed it over the past few days as my glucose levels have started to come down. Got my Libra appointment in a couple of weeks so hopefully that will make things a little easier. Best wishes.

 

[Leadinglights]

Problems with eyes can occur when blood glucose is very high but then it changes when levels start to come down quickly when people start on medication or dietary changes. The environment in the eye determines the shape so the focal length alters. It is normally a 'salty' environment but if blood glucose is high it will become 'sugary' but usually only slowly so less noticeable as the brain adapts but a sudden return to normal is more noticeable . Your vision should settle and an optician should not prescribe new glasses following a diagnosis until it does, indeed they may not even be needed.
Some people find a cheap pair of reading glasses helpful.

 

[sharie]

Thanks again everyone, a couple more questions how do you incorporate snack or are they a no no?

Hi Sharie. Also a newbie aged 56 with a T1 diagnosis 10 days ago. I’m also overwhelmed but slowly coming to terms with it albeit a few tears along the way. Glad you asked about the blurred vision as I’ve also noticed it over the past few days as my glucose levels have started to come down. Got my Libra appointment in a couple of weeks so hopefully that will make things a little easier. Best wishes.

Good luck with the libre, it’s handy for keeping an eye on your sugars without having to prick yourself but as the others said double check with the machine when you get lower readings. Have you had a hypo yet? Feel free to message me any time.

 

[SB2015]

Hi @sharie, keep the questions coming

Once you are making your own adjustments to doses to match the carbs you eat, you can then eat as you normally would, including snacks. On your DAFNE course they will talk to you about recognising what insulin you have on board that is still active, and to take account of this.

You will be able to go back to whatever diet you want. People talk about low carb and this means different things to different people. I like to have some carbs with a meal as I then know where my body will get it’s glucose from (no carbs at all and it starts to use protein instead which for me complicates things). I eat a lot less carbs than I used to, but that is because we were Eating far too much before, and we feel a lot healthier for it. For me I aim at 30g of carbs per meal because that suits me now. Lower carbs but probably not ‘low carb’ for some.

Let us know how you get on, and just ask whatever questions come up.

 

[helli]

how do you incorporate snack or are they a no no?

The diet for someone with Type 1 is the same as someone without diabetes. Snacking is fine and absolutely definitely not a no no. The thing to remember is insulin. When I was first diagnose, I was advised i could snack on up to 10g carbs without the need for insulin. This could be a small bag of crisps (e.g. Skips), a small apple, a biscuit, some nuts, …
For more carbs snacks, just carb count and dose insulin as you would for a meal.
If snacking was not a problem before your diagnosis, there should be no reason not to snack with Type 1.