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Kad

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Type 1
Hi, In the last 2 weeks I have been diagnosed with type 1. I'm injecting twice a day but I am constantly hungry and my eye sight is really blurry. Any advice would be great. Thanks
 
Hi Kad, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, how did it come about? Had you had symptoms for long?

It's not unusual to be really hungry when first diagnosed - your body hasn't been able to use the energy from your food because you haven't had enough insulin. Now you are injecting insulin it is making up for lost time! 🙂 Your appetite should normalise hopefully before too long 🙂 Also, blurry eyesight is very common when first diagnosed, as high blood sugar levels can distort the lens of the eye - this should settle as you gradually bring your levels under control, but might take a week or two, so try not to worry about it.

What insulin are you on? I'm a little dismayed to see you have been put on two injections a day, as this suggests it is a 'mixed' insulin. On this regime you tend to be tied very much to the peaks and troughs of the insulin as to when and what you eat, so it can be a bit restrictive. Normally these days people are started on separate slow and fast acting insulins - a regime called MDI (Multiple Daily Injections), or 'basal/bolus'. This regime means more injections, but it is a lot more flexible, so do ask your team about this. I'd highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents by Ragnar Hanas. Don't be misled by the title - this book is relevant to people of all ages, and covers all aspects of living with Type 1.

Please let us know if you have any questions! 🙂
 
Thank you for the advice, so much to take in!! I went to the gp as I had lost around 2 stone very quickly, extremely tired and thirsty. I have had the symptoms since xmas and gradually got worse, they thought it was a side effect of other medication I was on, only when he checked my bgl and it was 28.0, he diagnosed me .

I have been put on insulatard to take before breakfast and evening meal, maybe this is why I am having high and lows all the time, I have a stand by prescription for novorapid but not been told to use that yet.
 
Hi kad, sorry I cant advise on the type 1 side of things, but I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum.
 
Thank you. Hopefully I can pick up some tips to put me on the right track.
 
Kad said:
Thank you for the advice, so much to take in!! I went to the gp as I had lost around 2 stone very quickly, extremely tired and thirsty. I have had the symptoms since xmas and gradually got worse, they thought it was a side effect of other medication I was on, only when he checked my bgl and it was 28.0, he diagnosed me .

I have been put on insulatard to take before breakfast and evening meal, maybe this is why I am having high and lows all the time, I have a stand by prescription for novorapid but not been told to use that yet.
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Ah, I see. Insulatard is what is known as a 'basal' or slow-acting insulin. It is intended to cover your body's needs when you are not eating, so that you have some insulin available to keep your heart, lungs, digestive system etc. supplied with energy throughout the day and night (your liver stores glucose and trickles some of this out constantly for energy, but needs some insulin for your body to be able to use it properly).

What are your blood sugar levels like when waking up and before meals? The novorapid is intended to work with any carbohydrates you eat or drink, and is a fast-acting 'bolus' insulin. It may be that your pancreas is still producing some insulin of its own, so this may be why you haven't been told to use the novorapid yet. Do get a copy of that book I recommended - it's a bit pricey, but well worth it 🙂 It's a good idea to keep a record of what you are eating and the blood sugar levels before and two hours after eating - this way you will start to understand how different things affect you 🙂
 
Thanks for the advice. Starting to make a little bit of sense. Will definitely look into the book, not worried about the cost if it helps me.
 
Hi Kad, Sorry to hear about your diagnosis and yes there is a lot to learn very quickly.
Just take things step by step and it will gradually just become part of your new normal life.

Things can be a bit wobbly at the start as sometimes any remaining Beta cells (that make insulin) left in your pancreas may decide that, after a bit of a rest from you helping out with the injections, that they will have a play for a bit and join in again, until they decide not to again.

It can help to keep notes of what you are eating, injecting and your BGs, and your team will be better able to help you understand these and use them to adjust your insulin to match your needs.

Let us know how you get on and keep asking questions as we are here to help.
 
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SB2015 said:
Hi Kad, Sorry to hear about your diagnosis and yes there is a lot to learn very quickly.
Just take things step by step and it will gradually just become part of your new normal life.

Things can be a bit wobbly at the start as sometimes any remaining Beta cells (that make insulin) left in your pancreas may decide that, after a bit of a rest from you helping out with the injections, that they will have a play for a bit and join in again, until they decide not to again.

It can help to keep notes of what you are eating, injecting and your BGs, and your team will be better able to help you understand these and use them to adjust your insulin to match your needs.

Let us know how you get on and keep asking questions as we are here to help.
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Thank you for all the advice, it is much appreciated, as nobody I know has diabetes it's a relief to get some answers to my problems.
 
Hello Kad, and welcome 🙂

If you have any more questions, please ask - there are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people here.
 
Welcome to the forum, Kad, but sorry you have to be here.
It sounds like your GP is on the ball, and that you will be having bolus insulin soon, using your Novorapid prescription. Hopefully, you have already discovered that modern pen needles are so fine that injections don't really hurt. Generally, bolus injection amounts are smaller than basal.
What else is important in your life? Who do you live with? What job / study / hobbies / sports etc are you doing?
If you drive, you need to inform DVLA, and will probably be issued with a time limited driving licence for car or motorbike, that your will have to reapply for towards the end of its validity. Then inform your car insurance company and tell them "DVLA aware"
 
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Sorry Copepod - he may be good at diagnosing Type 1 - which I agree is good, and just as well in Kad's case!! - but he isn't on the ball as far as treating it is concerned!

NICE Guidelines say that Type 1s should be started straight onto 2 x Levemir a day for Basal and Fast-acting (Humalog or Novorapid) with food for Bolus.

Is he perchance referring you to your hospital diabetes clinic though? I do hope so - especially since clearly he isn't really up to date - that Guideline came out last year. (and before that - Insulaturd (deliberate mis spelling cos that's what I personally think of intermediate insulins) - hadn't been recommended for T1 use for about 20 years! Shockingly out of date.)
 
Hi, The treatment has been issued to me by the diabetic clinc at the hospital, the dr has not treated me just diagnosed. I hope they know what they are doing Have just been told to add in the novorapid so will see how that goes.
 
Kad said:
Hi, The treatment has been issued to me by the diabetic clinc at the hospital, the dr has not treated me just diagnosed. I hope they know what they are doing Have just been told to add in the novorapid so will see how that goes.
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Be sure to carry some sugary food/drink around with you Kad e.g. jelly babies, in case your levels drop low. Lots of testing whenever you feel a bit 'odd' 🙂

Must admit, I was a bit surprised to see you have been put on insulatard rather than lantus or levemir for your slow-acting, might be worth asking them why?

I hope things go well on the novorapid, it can take time to establish the appropriate doses for your meals. Be sure to ask about 'carb counting' courses that are available in your area - this will teach you how to adjust doses to match the carbs in your food, making things much more controllable and flexible 🙂 Here's a quick preview of what carb counting entails:

https://shop.diabetes.org.uk/usr/downloads/Carbs-Count-2012-reduced.pdf
 
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