Newly diagnosed new experiences!

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Courtz

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Type 1
Hi forum I was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (great surprise for ur 21st) anyway straight to the point I was feeling a little different earlier so I checked my glucose I was 4.4 and I know that's low so I had a few "fast acting" glucose tablets then some cereal (by the time I finished my cereal my glucose raised up to 6.4) and I have a bottle of lucozade( which I have at the side of me) however I'm still feeling kind of weak/faint? And I don't know whether to keep drinking my lucozade orr?....
 
Courtz said:
Hi forum I was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (great surprise for ur 21st) anyway straight to the point I was feeling a little different earlier so I checked my glucose I was 4.4 and I know that's low so I had a few "fast acting" glucose tablets then some cereal (by the time I finished my cereal my glucose raised up to 6.4) and I have a bottle of lucozade( which I have at the side of me) however I'm still feeling kind of weak/faint? And I don't know whether to keep drinking my lucozade orr?....
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Hi Courtz, welcome to the forum 🙂 The usual rule to follow when you have a low blood sugar is to have 15g of fast-acting carbs (about 3 jelly babies or glucose tablets, then wait 15 minutes and check again - if still low repeat the treatment. When you are new to getting lows there is a temptation to EAT EVERYTHING 😱 because your brain is sending out panic signals. However, if you eat too much then you run the risk of your levels then going sky high and it can become a bit of a roller coaster. You probably still feel a bit weak and dizzy, even though your levels have recovered, because a hypo can take quite a bit out of you, so try to relax for 20 minutes or so afterwards 🙂

I'd recommend getting hold of a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - it's packed full of useful information for anyone living with Type 1. Not cheap, but extremely helpful 🙂

What insulin are you on, and how did your diagnosis come about? Do you have any family history of diabetes?
 
I'm on levamir and humalog(if I remember correctly) and I kept goin to the toilet and becoming real thirsty which are textbook symptoms of a diabetic I have learnt so I went to the doctors then they ran a couple tests (urine and blood) and as a result my blood sugars was sky high so yeah here I am... to my knowledge no one in the family has it it seems I'm the first.
 
Northerner said:
Hi Courtz, welcome to the forum 🙂 The usual rule to follow when you have a low blood sugar is to have 15g of fast-acting carbs (about 3 jelly babies or glucose tablets, then wait 15 minutes and check again - if still low repeat the treatment. When you are new to getting lows there is a temptation to EAT EVERYTHING 😱 because your brain is sending out panic signals. However, if you eat too much then you run the risk of your levels then going sky high and it can become a bit of a roller coaster. You probably still feel a bit weak and dizzy, even though your levels have recovered, because a hypo can take quite a bit out of you, so try to relax for 20 minutes or so afterwards 🙂

I'd recommend getting hold of a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - it's packed full of useful information for anyone living with Type 1. Not cheap, but extremely helpful 🙂

What insulin are you on, and how did your diagnosis come about? Do you have any family history of diabetes?
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And thank you I will definitely have to invest in that book!
 
Courtz said:
I'm on levamir and humalog(if I remember correctly) and I kept goin to the toilet and becoming real thirsty which are textbook symptoms of a diabetic I have learnt so I went to the doctors then they ran a couple tests (urine and blood) and as a result my blood sugars was sky high so yeah here I am... to my knowledge no one in the family has it it seems I'm the first.
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Well done for spotting the symptoms Courtz - a lot of people don't link them as you did 🙂

There's a lot to learn at first, but you gradually build up knowledge and experience of how things affect you and what you need to do 🙂 I'd say, just test whenever you feel a bit odd - you might be high or you might be low, it can be confusing sometimes. In either case, try and think of a reason why it might have gone high or low and how it might relate to what you last ate and how long ago you injected 🙂

Keep hypo treatments everywhere so you never have to go searching for them. It all takes a bit more planning and preparation - we all slip up from time to time, but try and learn from any mistakes. And if you have any questions there are loads of people here who will be happy to help, so ask away 🙂
 
Northerner said:
Well done for spotting the symptoms Courtz - a lot of people don't link them as you did 🙂

There's a lot to learn at first, but you gradually build up knowledge and experience of how things affect you and what you need to do 🙂 I'd say, just test whenever you feel a bit odd - you might be high or you might be low, it can be confusing sometimes. In either case, try and think of a reason why it might have gone high or low and how it might relate to what you last ate and how long ago you injected 🙂

Keep hypo treatments everywhere so you never have to go searching for them. It all takes a bit more planning and preparation - we all slip up from time to time, but try and learn from any mistakes. And if you have any questions there are loads of people here who will be happy to help, so ask away 🙂
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Yes that's all I've been told but yeah it should all come in due time hopefully! But I will most definitely thanks for the advice it has been taken on board! Appreciate it
 
Welcome!
Only diagnosed this year myself (no family history either!) , figured I tend to feel dizzy/faint when blood sugar levels are rising/falling too rapidly
Don't know if this is a genuinely recognised thing but yeah might be something to consider🙂
This forum has really helped me (still does) and is great to reach out to people, hope its settles down for you soon - every day is a bit of a science experiment but you can get used to diabetes!🙂
 
Definitely - when BG absolutely plummets quickly - the hypo symptoms are FAR more exaggerated than when you coast gently down to 3 .99999 ! And yes - it is medically recognised, it isn't just a feeling - it's a FACT !
 
Highs and lows at the start can be difficult to distinguish, especially when you add in an element of panic. You will get to spot the differences, but in the mean time, just do as Northerner said and just test.

It is hard to wait for 15 min once you have dose a low, which is generally thought to be below 4. I set a reminder on my test kit to remind me to retest, and I try to wait for that rather than test again too soon. That way I can avoid over dosing in glucose, even though my brain is telling me it is a very good idea to eat more!!

The book Norther recommended, by Ragnar Hanas, is an excellent book with clear explanations. I am 10 years in and still find it useful. Also as others have said do just ask in here. Someone comes along to help pretty quickly.
 
Thank u all for the advice! I really appreciate it! And it's good that u can come on here n find out new things off people that I might not have been told or thought about. Bless u all!
 
Hey Courtz! We never stop learning - and at first obviously most things are new.

Every time you 'just wonder if' or 'what if this happens?' - come on here - and ASK !
 
trophywench said:
Definitely - when BG absolutely plummets quickly - the hypo symptoms are FAR more exaggerated than when you coast gently down to 3 .99999 ! And yes - it is medically recognised, it isn't just a feeling - it's a FACT !
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Thank you, explains a lot!!:D Still learning too
 
I wrote the following a few years back, as I learned more about diabetes and how it affected me in my first year after diagnosis 🙂


Thirty Words for Snow


Sometimes I suffer from low blood sugar, know in diabetes circles as a ‘hypo’, and is technically when the blood glucose level falls below 4.0 mmol/l. Hypo is short for hypoglycaemic attack’, and can often be confused with hyperglycaemia, which is the opposite – high blood glucose levels. However, a hypo can also manifest itself in many forms, so it seems rather simplistic to use just the one term to describe it. It can happen almost imperceptibly, so you hardly notice it is happening until you test your blood and discover it is reading low. Or, it can happen very quickly, accompanied by a real sensation of panic and fear of losing control imminently. You may treat a hypo and recover, but then a short while later you are falling again, leaving you feeling battle weary and exhausted. And you may treat a hypo and then rocket sky high completely out of proportion to the amount of carbohydrate you have consumed.

There are many ways of describing other things, so why not ‘hypos’ too?

The weather comes in many forms,
We have a name for each,
And Inuit have words for ‘snow’ –
Too numerous to teach!

In Manchester, I’ve heard it said,
So many kinds of rain
Can fall upon a single day,
It permeates the brain!

But what about low sugar?
So many terms we lack…
There’s ‘hypo’ or its bigger friend,
The hypoglycaemic attack!

What about the ‘slowpo’
That takes an hour to fall?
We might not even know
That we are having one at all!

Then there is the ‘plummet’
That falls at such a rate
We panic and we fret and sweat
That we may be too late!

Let’s not forget ‘rebounder’
That strikes just like a viper,
But when you treat it, rockets up
And leaves you feeling hyper!

The ‘raging ocean’ is the worst
With peaks and troughs so wide
That plunge you down, then up, then down,
And floundering in the tide…

So, ‘hypo’ isn’t quite enough,
We need some other way
To let you know when we go low,
Just what we mean to say! :D
 
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