Newbies say hello here

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Type 1
Hi. I'm Jenny, aged 61 and recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I'd like to hear from anyone out there in the London/Surrey area to find out about any local groups etc.
 
Hi Jenny, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis - if there is anything you would like to know, please ask! You will find lots of good information in our Useful links thread:

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=10406

You can find out details about voluntary support groups in your area by entering your postcode on this screen:

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Local_support_groups/

How were you diagnosed, and what treatment are you on?

I look forward to hearing more from you!
 
Hi Jenny and a warm welcome to the forum.They will be a meet in November for sure in London so watch this space
 
Welcome to the forums Jenny 🙂
 
Hi Jenny. Welcome. 🙂

Rob
 
Thanks for all the hellos!
I'm injecting Novorapid 3x and Lantus Glargine 1x daily.
I'm managing the testing OK now after the Diabetes nurse suggested I always warm up my hands in warm water first - a very helpful suggestion.
I'm managing to have less hypos at the moment, thankfully, as I get the hang of working out each dose of insulin a bit better.
Fortunately I already eat quite healthily anyway, but haven't dared to have any alcohol yet! (I don't fancy more hypos.)
 
You're on the same insulin regime as me Jenny. I was also already eating a fairly healthy diet, but it did take some time to work out what seemingly healthy foods were fine for me and which to avoid - people find that there is no single 'foolproof' diet as tolerances for certain foods can vary quite a lot. Have you been taught to 'carb count' yet? If not, ask your DSN about DAFNE (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating) courses or similar.
 
Hi Jenny welcome to the forum 🙂 I am also in London. There is a group that meets once every 3 months - the Insulin Pumpers group, which despite its name is open to anyone with type 1 🙂 they are actually meeting tomorrow!

Copied from my email:

Time: from 5.30pm until closing time
Venue: The Chopper Lump wine bar, Hanover Square, London (next to the
Chelsea Building Society)
http://www.davy.co.uk/chopperlump or see
http://www.input.me.uk/social-get-togethers/ for a pic of the entrance.
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus.
This wine bar accepts the TasteCard, which gives a 50% discount on food.
The card isn't free, but you can get a free trial by clicking on
http://www.tastecard.co.uk/trial/

All are welcome, pumping or not. Just turn up when you like and leave when
you need to!
 
Welcome to the forum 🙂
 
Thanks for the info about DAFNE. I saw the Dietician (who's also Diabetic) at hospital today and she said they run their own version here called ALFFI (Advanced Learning For Food and Insulin.) It's run by one of the Dieticians and a Diabetes Nurse over 4 days, one per week over 4 consecutive weeks. As other people have said for DAFNE, there's about a year's waiting list and it's targeted at people who have got over the ups and downs of the first year, as there's so much to learn at first anyway (which I agree with,) and apparently the blood sugar levels and insulin doses tend to stabilise over that time. Mine haven't yet over the first 2 months. The DN and the Dietician were excellent at teaching me enough to get started initially and then they will contact me by phone if I leave a message with a query or problem. They've been very encouraging too, which is much appreciated. I'm gradually learning how to vary insulin doses according to exercise/hot weather/eating more or less than the usual similar quantity of carbs advised for each meal so far, but I find I have to have meals at very regular times to avoid more hypos. It's a bit of a life-style change but I seem to have been very lucky, looking at some of the other experiences on this forum.
 
Hi Jenny, good to hear you have such good supportive people helping you 🙂 I always try and space my meals at least 4 hours apart so that the insulin I took for the previous meal will all have been 'used' before I inject more. This helps me avoid hypos in the main, as I am not 'stacking' the insulin i.e not injecting more when I still have some on board from before. I didn't do DAFNE either, but from the sounds of your course mine was very similar to what you can expect. I had my course less than three months after being diagnosed though - not sure I really believe in waiting a year to learn stuff that I found useful right from the start! 🙂
 
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