Hi, I'm newly diagnosed in February with type 1, I was admitted into hospital after going to a&e vomiting blood, my bg level was 28, and my ketone were apparently off the charts, I was in resus for 20 hours and hospital for 5 days with them pumping insulin, glucose, electrolytes, antibiotics and all sorts. After this they diagnosed me with type 1 diabetes and gave me 2 pens novorapid and lantus and sent me on my way, I am struggling really bad ALOT. I'm confused with what my glucose should be, how high is too high After a meal? As an example a meal of 50 carbs, (healthy carbs) and a shot of 4 units (what the nurses recommended) what do you see your glucose levels go to? How long after eating and how long for it come come back down to "normal"?? I typically see it raise between 4-6 mmols so normally goes between 11-13mmols and I worry that it is going too high, please would you give me some examples of your levels after eating and with how many carbs. Thank you very much
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Newly diagnosed After food blood levels
- Thread starter StephenB
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Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome to the forum. It is appalling you have been left with so little after support. I can 't personally help but
I would help people make some suggestions if you say what insulins you have and how are you monitoring your blood glucose levels, finger pricks or a CGM.
I would help people make some suggestions if you say what insulins you have and how are you monitoring your blood glucose levels, finger pricks or a CGM.
Welcome to the Forum. I am sorry to hear you have been left like this. I would have thought a diabetes specialist or even a diabetic nurse should have talked this through with you.
Is there anyone at your surgery - a GP who specialises in diabetes or a nurse who you could talk to:?
I am pre-diabetic so have no idea how to help. There are many Type 1s on here who hopefully will be along to give you some information. What about the Diabetes org.uk staff themselves on the phone?
Is there anyone at your surgery - a GP who specialises in diabetes or a nurse who you could talk to:?
I am pre-diabetic so have no idea how to help. There are many Type 1s on here who hopefully will be along to give you some information. What about the Diabetes org.uk staff themselves on the phone?
Thank you, I have a libre 2 sensor, and do finger prick before meals. I take the lantus 11 units at night and the novo rapid before meals at 1 unit per 10 carbs minus 1 unit.
Hi, yes I have contact with the hospital diabetic nurses and the nurses at my doctors and they say I'm doing everything right, but then I have nurses that say eat whatever you want and one I saw the other day said stop being so strict on the way I'm trying to deal with it and the carb counting and have cheat days and this is just blowing my mind, I need consistency and other people's experiences would be so very helpful for me.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
@StephenB There are a couple of 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 - it’s 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. Don’t expect to know everything all at once. Type 1 and its management is a big topic and there are always things to learn or little tweaks. Take it slowly and carefully.
Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.
And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s 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. Don’t expect to know everything all at once. Type 1 and its management is a big topic and there are always things to learn or little tweaks. Take it slowly and carefully.
Hi, Thank you for your message, yes I have been told that as long as its back in range before the next meal then it's ok, I just wondered how high is too high to go? So if it goes up to 16 or 18 but still comes back down is that ok?
I'm not sure why they said the minus 1, it seems to work with me I'm just so paranoid about how high it goes because of the dka I went through in February.
Thank you, and I will definetly look into them books, thank you
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The recommended diet for Type 1 is the same healthy diet recommended for people without diabetes. That includes some treats, eg you can have pudding as you get more skilled at being your own pancreas.
Type 1 is nothing to do with a bad diet and all about the appropriate use of insulin (which takes a while to learn).
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
What insulin do you take before your meals? 16 or 18 is a tiny bit high but you might well be able to reduce that a little by having your mealtime insulin slightly more in advance of your meal. It takes trial and error to work out the best time.
Thank you, I dont think I'm in the treat zone yet as I just get too worried of what my levels will be. But I am hoping in the future I can experiment with other things.
Do you mean what brand? Its novorapid. What glucose reading would make you start worrying after a meal? Thank you for your advice.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
With Type 1, if you get a ‘bad’ result, it’s almost always your insulin not the food. If you’d like treat items, you could try having them before exercise, for example. You can also go for healthier treat items, eg homemade fruit crumble.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
It sounds as if at the time you had good treatment and got your diagnosis quickly without messing about and being fobbed off with a misdiagnosis of Type 2 and got appropriate treatment from the start.
You are in very early days and often it is better to be bringing your blood glucose levels down gradually to avoid potential problems with nerves and eyes.
Do keep asking questions and read around the forum as you might pick up some tips to help.*
So in a way the nurses saying eat what you want is true as long as I get the ratio of carbs to insulin correct?
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Not just a brand @StephenB All insulins are slightly different, so, for example, Novorapid and Humalog (another mealtime insulin) differ in the way they’re made and their components so are not the exact same thing under a different brand.
Brief highs are ok if they come down quickly. Ideally you’d stay below 15 at this stage, but as you’re still learning you might well have excursions above that. Treat them as learning experiences and try to work out why they happened.
How long before you eat do you inject the Novorapid? This is important as you’re aiming to have the insulin working as your meal starts putting your blood sugar up. If you time it right, you’ll reduce the spike.
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