Newly diagnosed and quite unsure

Status
Not open for further replies.

The_Bowlii

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi there. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 days ago. All a bit of a shock and trying to come to terms with it. I’m a very keen cyclist and squash player so worried I won’t be able to do that again. I’ve got the blurred vision which seems relatively common but at least I’ve now put a bit of weight back on since taking insulin. I just need to hear some positive stuff if anyone can offer any?
 
Welcome @The_Bowlii 🙂 The most positive thing to say is that it does get easier. The early days and weeks are overwhelming, but you gradually get the hang of things and the diabetes recedes a bit into the background.

Yes, you’ll still be able to cycle and play squash 🙂 It will just require more thought regarding insulin, carbs, blood sugar. I’d take it easy for now and get back to things gradually, not only because you’ll need to learn how to manage your diabetes when exercising, but also because your body has gone through a lot and so it’s better to get back to full health and strength.

I think @SimonP and @sololite are cyclists so they’ll be able to give more specific advice, but I swim, hike, skate (badly!) and play tennis and badminton on occasion. You’ll develop strategies that work for you when doing your favourite sports.
 
Last edited:
Welcome @The_Bowlii 🙂 The most positive thing to say is that it does get easier. The early days and weeks are overwhelming, but you gradually get the hang of things and the diabetes recedes a bit into the background.

Yes, you’ll still be able to cycle and play squash 🙂 It will just require more thought regarding insulin, carbs, blood sugar. I’d take it easy for now and get back to things gradually, not only because you’ll need to learn how to manage your diabetes when exercising, but also because your body has gone through a lot and so it’s better to get back to full health and strength.

I think @SimonP and @sololite are cyclists so they’ll be able to give more specific advice, but I swim, hike, skate (badly!) and play tennis and badminton on occasion. You’ll develop strategies that work for you when doing your favourite sports.
Thank you @Inca
 
Hi there. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 days ago. All a bit of a shock and trying to come to terms with it. I’m a very keen cyclist and squash player so worried I won’t be able to do that again. I’ve got the blurred vision which seems relatively common but at least I’ve now put a bit of weight back on since taking insulin. I just need to hear some positive stuff if anyone can offer any?
You'll be fine, I cycle and also play badminton these days. I used to do martial arts, play rugby at uni and school, etc., all while diabetic.

I would be a bit careful to start with to avoid going low. I agree you should talk to your team, but equally they may have little to no idea about long duration endurance exercise so pinches of salt all round imo, though they should hopefully have some idea about dealing with doing exercise and sport in general, even if it's of shorter duration. It would be interesting to know how much they do know (as I was diagnosed back in 1985 as a child and insulins were different, plus I don't recall anything about sport and exercise being mentioned, but it was a long time ago.)

I think most of my cycling related posts are actually on a different Diabetes forum (I hope I don't get in trouble 😉) as that's where there happened to be a thread already open, here it is: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/endurance-sport-to-bolus-or-not-to-bolus.194464

I only started cycling during lockdown (but I do now ride reasonable distances - I did a 200km+ ride last weekend, and have been regularly riding centuries this year), so I had quite a lot of learning to do too - moving from doing a range of sports/exercise activities that lasted on the order of an hour or two (with food always available from somewhere) and the ability to pause or even stop and go home if I really needed to; to much longer durations, having to take your own compact food with you and no realistic way of bailing out (it was lockdown, and I had to be able to get myself back from wherever I was.)

Feel free to start a new thread on this forum if you want (e.g. in the Exercise/Sport section) and I and doubtless others would be happy to discuss.
 
Welcome to the forum @The_Bowlii

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It can come as a real shock, but T1 diabetes does get easier in time!

And there’s no need to give up your cycling or squash - Team NovoNordisk is a pro cycling team, who all have T1 🙂

 
You'll be fine, I cycle and also play badminton these days. I used to do martial arts, play rugby at uni and school, etc., all while diabetic.

I would be a bit careful to start with to avoid going low. I agree you should talk to your team, but equally they may have little to no idea about long duration endurance exercise so pinches of salt all round imo, though they should hopefully have some idea about dealing with doing exercise and sport in general, even if it's of shorter duration. It would be interesting to know how much they do know (as I was diagnosed back in 1985 as a child and insulins were different, plus I don't recall anything about sport and exercise being mentioned, but it was a long time ago.)

I think most of my cycling related posts are actually on a different Diabetes forum (I hope I don't get in trouble 😉) as that's where there happened to be a thread already open, here it is: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/endurance-sport-to-bolus-or-not-to-bolus.194464

I only started cycling during lockdown (but I do now ride reasonable distances - I did a 200km+ ride last weekend, and have been regularly riding centuries this year), so I had quite a lot of learning to do too - moving from doing a range of sports/exercise activities that lasted on the order of an hour or two (with food always available from somewhere) and the ability to pause or even stop and go home if I really needed to; to much longer durations, having to take your own compact food with you and no realistic way of bailing out (it was lockdown, and I had to be able to get myself back from wherever I was.)

Feel free to start a new thread on this forum if you want (e.g. in the Exercise/Sport section) and I and doubtless others would be happy to discuss.
Thank you very much. Yes, I’ll start a thread on the exercise and sport section now I know there is one! Much appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum @The_Bowlii

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It can come as a real shock, but T1 diabetes does get easier in time!

And there’s no need to give up your cycling or squash - Team NovoNordisk is a pro cycling team, who all have T1 🙂

Thank you very much.
 
Welcome to the forum @The_Bowlii

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It can come as a real shock, but T1 diabetes does get easier in time!

And there’s no need to give up your cycling or squash - Team NovoNordisk is a pro cycling team, who all have T1 🙂

Thank you - now following Team Novo Nordisk for some inspiration!
 
Welcome to the forum @The_Bowlii
Sorrybtonhear of your diagnosis, but pleased that you have found the forum.

Things are difficult to start with but it does get a lot easier And there is no reason why you cannot get back to the sports that you did. You have already heard of plenty of examples of people with T1 doing what they want to do. It takes a bit of time for things to settle so give you and your body time to adjust to this ‘new normal’. As you say the blurry vision is very common at diagnosis as the increased glucose levels impact the fluids around your eyes, but again this will settle as your levels normalise.

You might find this link to Runsweet useful. This addresses managing T1 for many different sports.
For most things we just need a bit of extra planning and preparation to do what we want to do.

The best analogy I was given about managing T1 is that it is like learning to drive. It all seems quite complicated to start with but then most of it you end up doing automatically, and you are just watching for the unexpected.

Keep in touch on here. You are not alone and there is a wealth of experience to tap into. Ask whatever questions arise, and know that nothing is considered silly on here.

 
Hi there. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 days ago. All a bit of a shock and trying to come to terms with it. I’m a very keen cyclist and squash player so worried I won’t be able to do that again. I’ve got the blurred vision which seems relatively common but at least I’ve now put a bit of weight back on since taking insulin. I just need to hear some positive stuff if anyone can offer any?
Hi @The_Bowlii, sorry to hear this, I'm new here too (T2) and the community is so positive and welcoming. I've been told it gets easier, i'm like you, trying to get my head round the diagnosis. Here's to you getting back into the saddle!
 
Hi there. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 days ago. All a bit of a shock and trying to come to terms with it. I’m a very keen cyclist and squash player so worried I won’t be able to do that again. I’ve got the blurred vision which seems relatively common but at least I’ve now put a bit of weight back on since taking insulin. I just need to hear some positive stuff if anyone can offer any
Hi,
Im a keen cyclist and you have nothing to worry about, once you get your doses sorted you can adjust to suit your exercise levels. I stick to a low carb and low GI diet and never suffered with hypos (untill they switched me to Abasaglar, thats a whole new kettle of fish though). To be fair when Im cycling my levels usually rise to around 8 or 9 mmol, Ive never hypoed from cycling. When I walk then its the opposite my BG level will drop.
 
Hi,
Im a keen cyclist and you have nothing to worry about, once you get your doses sorted you can adjust to suit your exercise levels. I stick to a low carb and low GI diet and never suffered with hypos (untill they switched me to Abasaglar, thats a whole new kettle of fish though). To be fair when Im cycling my levels usually rise to around 8 or 9 mmol, Ive never hypoed from cycling. When I walk then its the opposite my BG level will drop.
Thanks @pistolpete. I’m managing the carbs to match my fixed doses prescribed by the nurses so making progress there. What does a low GI diet involve please?

Luckily I’m all set up with turbo trainer and Zwift so was going to do some indoor cycling to measure how I cope with different duration and effort but not until I’m stable and back to fighting weight! Just need the Libre2 now for real time data…
 
Thanks @pistolpete. I’m managing the carbs to match my fixed doses prescribed by the nurses so making progress there. What does a low GI diet involve please?

Luckily I’m all set up with turbo trainer and Zwift so was going to do some indoor cycling to measure how I cope with different duration and effort but not until I’m stable and back to fighting weight! Just need the Libre2 now for real time data…

Foods low on the glycemic index are wholegrain foods, fruits, nuts, vegetables beans and legumes. Some will say fruit is bad for diabetics but berries are fine they wont rase your levels, apples are fine for me but bananas are very high in sugar I only eat those when exercising. Low GI foods are slow in releasing there energy into the body so wont spike your blood sugar as much.

Try and avoid processed food too especially cheap processed foods, these will go straight through your body, spike your blood and offer very little nutritional value. Its expensive buying fresh produce but your body will love you for it, mine sure did. I do low carb but if you need to gain wieght I wouldnt advise it just yet, it is possible though!! I keep my A1c level around 40 which is normal/non diabetic but my cholesterol is a little high at 4.4, they like to see it below 4 for a T1 diabetic. What works for me might not work for you though, its all trial and error.

Libre is a game changer, it can be a pain especially when its wrong but stick with it and it will reward you. Its great for seeing how your body deals with insulin and glucose when training/exercising. I think the UCI have banned the use of CGM's in competition.

You will be fine and live a normal life if you manage your chronic illness, apparently thats what it is 😎
 
Foods low on the glycemic index are wholegrain foods, fruits, nuts, vegetables beans and legumes. Some will say fruit is bad for diabetics but berries are fine they wont rase your levels, apples are fine for me but bananas are very high in sugar I only eat those when exercising. Low GI foods are slow in releasing there energy into the body so wont spike your blood sugar as much.

Try and avoid processed food too especially cheap processed foods, these will go straight through your body, spike your blood and offer very little nutritional value. Its expensive buying fresh produce but your body will love you for it, mine sure did. I do low carb but if you need to gain wieght I wouldnt advise it just yet, it is possible though!! I keep my A1c level around 40 which is normal/non diabetic but my cholesterol is a little high at 4.4, they like to see it below 4 for a T1 diabetic. What works for me might not work for you though, its all trial and error.

Libre is a game changer, it can be a pain especially when its wrong but stick with it and it will reward you. Its great for seeing how your body deals with insulin and glucose when training/exercising. I think the UCI have banned the use of CGM's in competition.

You will be fine and live a normal life if you manage your chronic illness, apparently thats what it is 😎
That’s really helpful - thanks. It looks like I have a relatively low GI diet already so that’s fortunate! Didn’t know that about bananas though… I don’t know anything about A1c levels but assume I’ll find out more when I see the dietician. What’s frustrating is I’m used to jumping on my bike and riding for hours without thinking. More thought now required! Also, will be great being cool for the first time in my life.
 
That’s really helpful - thanks. It looks like I have a relatively low GI diet already so that’s fortunate! Didn’t know that about bananas though… I don’t know anything about A1c levels but assume I’ll find out more when I see the dietician. What’s frustrating is I’m used to jumping on my bike and riding for hours without thinking. More thought now required! Also, will be great being cool for the first time in my life.
Your HbA1c is a measure of your average glucose level over the previous three months, weighted to the most recent weeks/days. This is likely to be done initially every 6 months and then annually. you may find that they did this at diagnosis.

Do you have access to your test results online? Many GPs offer this and it is good to have the outcome of blood tests with the associated figures, before follow up appointments that you will now get each year.

Well done on getting to grips with the carbs, finding how to match your carbs to your current fixed doses. Looking forward to hear how your dietitian appointment goes. I am sure that you will then find things more flexible if they help you to switch to flexible bolus doses.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top