Newly diagnosed T1d struggling

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JellyBaby21

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello everyone. Just found out I have developed T1d most likely triggered by Covid. I'm 41(F). Absolutely no family history. Also suffer from anorexia and bulimia ongoing since teens and am missing all but thumb on my left hand. I feel like this is the final straw. I feel defeated. After everything I've had to fight in life an now this. Sorry for the self pity but I just need to vent. I'm testing for glucose and ketones x4 per day and working over just 2 fingers which is quickly becoming painful - they're bruised. I've tried arms, sides of hands, fleshy parts of palm and even ears but not enough blood even with hot water. My eating disorder is loving all this because it gives it an easy excuse to avoid anything sugary or carby so that obsession has already started taking over. And at the same time I'm terrified of the weight gain and the triggers there. I guess I need some reasurance and understanding, especially if anyone has similar issues. Please help me unscramble my head please.
 
Welcome @JellyBaby21 Type 1 is hard emotionally but it does get easier. The first few weeks and months can be difficult but gradually it becomes less stressful and upsetting. It’s a pain in the bum, of course, but that initial awful shock does go away as you get your head round things.

First - have you got a Libre to scan rather than fingerprick? If not, ask for one, especially in your circumstances. Secondly, do you have support for the anorexia and bulimia? Were they dormant and have been triggered by the diabetes, or were they ongoing? I had an ED but it pretty much went away. I found focussing on routines and doing things right helped.

What insulins do you take?
 
Thank you for replying! I mentioned the problems with finger pricking and they just said to try other areas and if it's a problem they could look at other options later. But I can't get enough blood from any other place than fingers. Am I doing something wrong or is this often a problem with arms etc?

Should I push harder for the Libre. How does it fit to me? How is the implant put in? Is it permanent?

I've had CBT and talking therapy in my 20s and 30s for the eating disoders. They have never gone away but come and go. Certain things trigger them - stress, weighing myself, gaining weight and losing weight, self-loathing (punishing myself), and lack of control in life. I avoid feeling full (big meals), simple carbs and junk food as they can trigger me. I also restrict calories. This is all way pre T1d. I manage my eating disorders but they have never gone away. Following diet rules like Whole30 etc actually helps so this would be a plus with the diabetes but weight gain is something I dread and is pushing me to control how much I eat more than I have for a while. Sorry - it's hard to explain clearly. They have never been completely dormant, just better or worse if that makes sense?
 
I'm taking 7 (somethings) of Levemir once in the morning and once in the evening. My glucose levels for the last 3 days have been around 12-14 in the mornings and afternoons but go up yo between 14-18 in the evenings. I have novorapid but because my carb intake is so low they said not to worry about using it for the moment. My ketones were 3.02 5 days ago but are now around 0.1-0.4.
 
I'm confused though. So they've said that because I don't eat many simple carbs I won't often need novorapid with meals. But I eat a small bowl of porridge for breakfast (15.5g carbs) and they said I could, if I wanted to, take novorapid with that as higher carbs. But porridge is complex carbs so why novorapid? I have vegetables for dinner - complex carbs so why not novorapid with them? What have I misunderstood?

Sorry for all the questions.
 
JellyBaby21 said:
Should I push harder for the Libre. How does it fit to me? How is the implant put in? Is it permanent?
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It's worth thinking about (and discussing with your team). It's applied to (usually) the upper arm and sticks with glue. There's a (single-use) applicator with each sensor; the applicator fires a needle through the centre of the sensor (and out again) leaving a thin tube just through the skin. Each sensor lasts at most 14 days.

There are various videos showing everything https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/help/tutorials.html
 
JellyBaby21 said:
I'm confused though. So they've said that because I don't eat many simple carbs I won't often need novorapid with meals. But I eat a small bowl of porridge for breakfast (15.5g carbs) and they said I could, if I wanted to, take novorapid with that as higher carbs. But porridge is complex carbs so why novorapid? I have vegetables for dinner - complex carbs so why not novorapid with them? What have I misunderstood?

Sorry for all the questions.
Click to expand...

Basically carbs put your blood sugar up. It doesn’t really matter if they’re simple or complex carbs. Type 1 isn’t about diet. The recommended diet is the same diet recommended for everyone. We just need to ‘be our own pancreas’ and inject appropriate insulin.

Some carbs eg veg like carrots, broccoli, etc, are usually considered ‘free’ because they have minimal carbs so you don’t need to count them in your calculations. Oats, cereals, pasta, bread, etc all need counting whether they’re white or who,egrain.
 
There’s a lot to learn but the basics aren’t too hard once you pick them up. If you like a read, here are a couple of books about Type 1 that are popular here:

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).

Insulin is measured in units, by the way. It doesn’t make you fat. My BMI is basically the same now as when I was first diagnosed almost 30 years ago.
 
JellyBaby21 said:
Thank you for replying! I mentioned the problems with finger pricking and they just said to try other areas and if it's a problem they could look at other options later. But I can't get enough blood from any other place than fingers. Am I doing something wrong or is this often a problem with arms etc?

Should I push harder for the Libre. How does it fit to me? How is the implant put in? Is it permanent?

I've had CBT and talking therapy in my 20s and 30s for the eating disoders. They have never gone away but come and go. Certain things trigger them - stress, weighing myself, gaining weight and losing weight, self-loathing (punishing myself), and lack of control in life. I avoid feeling full (big meals), simple carbs and junk food as they can trigger me. I also restrict calories. This is all way pre T1d. I manage my eating disorders but they have never gone away. Following diet rules like Whole30 etc actually helps so this would be a plus with the diabetes but weight gain is something I dread and is pushing me to control how much I eat more than I have for a while. Sorry - it's hard to explain clearly. They have never been completely dormant, just better or worse if that makes sense?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I was told today I wouldn't qualify for a Libre yet as I still don't have a fully confirmed diagnoses and am not consistently carb counting.
 
JellyBaby21 said:
Unfortunately I was told today I wouldn't qualify for a Libre yet as I still don't have a fully confirmed diagnoses and am not consistently carb counting.
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Carb counting shouldn't matter (NICE recommends that everyone with Type 1 is offered CGM) but the diagnosis does.
 
Hi and welcome from me too.
Sorry to hear you are struggling with so many health issues. I struggled with disordered eating before i was diagnosed and for me following a low carb higher fat way of eating really helps both my diabetes and my cravings/disordered eating, but I didn't have issues with anorexia/bulimia so what works for me may not work for you. I actually now feel fitter and healthier than I have done in years and the diabetes was the trigger to improve things, so whilst it can be a pain in the backside, I there have been lots of positives to come from it and one of those is having more control over my disordered eating than I have probably my whole life. I hope you can find a similar way through the difficulties to a better balance.

As regards Libre, I think they are being a bit dogmatic in saying that you don't qualify because you don't have a formal diagnosis, but you could certainly apply to Abbott Laboratories (the manufacturer) for the 14 day free trial, which would at least give your fingers a bit of a break. Personally I could happily prick the same finger 10 times a day (and have in the past) and not get sore and certainly not bruised and I have plenty of sensation in my fingers, so I wonder if your technique needs work and perhaps a Fast-clix lancing device could improve that situation. I wonder if you may not be warming your hand to start with and then maybe having to squeeze too hard to get a drop of blood resulting in sore fingers, assuming that you have the depth set right. With warm hands you may well need less depth. Warming them first by soaking in warm water for a minute or two or hugging a cuppa can make a huge difference to stimulating blood flow, particularly at this time of year.

I hope we can help you to find strategies to engage positively with your diabetes as it can make a massive difference to your mental health too. High or unstable BG levels make you feel rotten physically and emotionally/mentally, so spending a bit of time getting to grips with it can really improve your whole outlook on life. I found the Libre a game changer because it kind of gamified my diabetes management. I now challenge myself to get better time in range results when I am near a personal best.... although I also get personal worsts too 🙄 but I use those to motivate me to do better.

I will also say that participating on this forum has also been a massive help in me learning how to manage my own diabetes. We are all very different in how it affects us but there are aspects of similarity with some individuals more than others which help you to relate to simil;ar issues you have and points you in the right direction to find solutions.

Good luck. We are all rooting for you and here to support you through the lows and celebrate your successes, even the tiniest ones, because lots of tiny successes can soon add up to very impressive ones, as many people here can demonstrate.
 
Hi. Some of the advice you have been given by the medics is strange. It's not just carbs that contribute to blood glucose - proteins and facts do as well. If you need NovoRapid at breakfast to keep BS down then you need it regardless of the actual carb intake. Carb-counting has nothing to do with being prescribed a Libre. It's more to do with the number of finger-pricks per day, your BS control etc. BTW ref Libre. You change the Libre every two weeks. It comes with an applicator. The application shoots a needle into the flesh (painless normally), retracts within a fraction of a second and leaves an inert plastic sensor behind.
 
..... and when someone said 'it sticks to the skin with glue' - well okay it's sticky, but so are adhesive plasters, and the libre sensors have a backing made of a very lightweight textile 'fabric' round the edge of the plastic circle which is the bit you can see in use, and has the adhesive on that They recommend we affix them to the back of the upper arm and they last a fortnight and only take a couple of minutes if that to assemble out of the box and insert, I usually get my husband to do mine cos I simply do not have the strength to unscrew the applicator. I have the full complement of fingers, but just no strength. Anyway - you press the applicator firmly onto the arm skin and do that with the palm of the hand, hence NP with any digit shortfall !
 
I'm sure I will have more questions but I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone that has responded so far. I really appreciate it and you have all helped me so much already. Thank you!
 
Here's another (possibly silly question) but... My muscles are aching loads. The nurse said it may be because of the changes in BS since starting treatment and it should settle as my BS does. But in the meantime, is it advisable to use Epsom salts in the bath as a T1 diabetic? I'm finding conflicting information online.
 
Inka said:
There’s a lot to learn but the basics aren’t too hard once you pick them up. If you like a read, here are a couple of books about Type 1 that are popular here:

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).

Insulin is measured in units, by the way. It doesn’t make you fat. My BMI is basically the same now as when I was first diagnosed almost 30 years ago.
Click to expand...
I've gone ahead and ordered Think Like A Pancreas now. Thanks for the recommendation. Also registered to do the Bertie course.
 
JellyBaby21 said:
But in the meantime, is it advisable to use Epsom salts in the bath as a T1 diabetic?
Click to expand...
The risk is minor injury (cuts, blisters, etc.) that you aren't aware of (because of peripheral neuropathy). Similarly, it's advised never to walk around barefoot (including indoors). Provided you have good feeling in your feet I'd be inclined to ignore the warnings for this kind of thing, but I'm not medically trained in any way so by all means avoid them (or ask someone medically trained for advice).

(I'm more inclined to use a regular bath foam like Radox or similar, but I think I'd feel safe using Epsom salts.)
 
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