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Newly diagnosed type 1, 26 years old.

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Emma_newbie_type1

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Type 1
Hi,

I am newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after coming back from travelling for 4 months. It all happened just before Christmas and now I have to inject insulin 4 times a day and take my blood glucose levels 4 times a day. Its been a struggle, I'm not going to lie, I don't think I really accepted it until I got my blood tests back confirming it. I guess its just the way it is.
 
Hi and welcome Emma - yes it is a shock when you first get diagnosed isn't it. Whichever type you are it still means a major lifestyle change.

I am sure one of the type 1's will be along soon to help with any questions you may have. There are plenty of knowledgeable folks round here.
 
Welcome to the forum, Emma. Where were you travelling? What are you doing now?
 
Hi, it has been quite a shock and out of the blue for me really. I was travelling in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and America. It was pretty amazing. It was only because of my aunt who picked up on a few things that I went to the dr, they said the next thing would of been me in hospital after an episode. I've just been through the initial quagmire of appointments and hospital trips whilst trying to find a job. It's pretty barren out there and I took one temp job but it was awful so I had to quit. It's all up in the air really at the moment. Before this I never had any medical problems so it's crazy to think now I have something for the rest of my life.
 
Welcome to the forum Emma.
 
Welcome Emma, from a type 2 who's 14 months in. I was diagnosed December a year ago. Big thing.
 
Hi Emma, I am glad that you found this forum.
There will be plenty of support available as you gradually learn to manage your condition.

It is a big shock at the start and there is a lot to get to grips with.
Just take it step by step and keep asking questions.
 
Hi everyone, I just wanted to say thank you for all your kind responses. It's nice to know there are so many kind people out there and I appreciate it a lot.
I did feel a bit like I was going in blind to begin with. I've seen a nurse and a GP and one dietitian. I still haven't seen a consultant. Is this the norm? I am slowly being aware of what carbs effect me and have cut out a lot of sugary things. It's just sometimes the not knowing whether I should eat it or not or feeling frustrated when I feel I'm getting good levels and then they spike. I do feel like a bit of sponetany has gone. I'm sure I probably had the diabetes when i was travelling which is pretty scary. Will I always have to do 4 a day? Or over time will I learn to manage it with fewer injections? The idea of trying to get back to my normal lifestyle with this also scares me. Since I've been back I feel like I've been living in a bubble.
 
Hi Emma

Once you are more used to things you will probably want to stick with multiple daily injections as this will give you better control and make life more flexible. At the start it may feel like you lose the spontaneity, but the more you learn about managing your condition the more you will learn to match your injections to life.

It is useful to get referred to Diabetes Specialist Nurse (as opposed to a nurse with a special interest in Diabetes at the surgery) and a Diabetes consultant. If a referral has not already been done by your GP then ask again for this. It makes all the difference as they have the specialist support that you need.
 
I agree with SB2015 about the 4 injections a day - I know it feels a bit much at first, but actually it's much easier and will mean you can have a more flexible lifestyle than if you had a regime with fewer injections. Once you have learnt how to adjust your doses for what you eat it will mean you can eat what you want when you want, instead of having to tailor your food to your insulin.

It is a steep learning curve at first, but you'll be surprised how quickly you get used to it and once you do you can pretty much live a normal life, you just have to be a little bit more careful and aware of what you're eating than you were before.

And yes, do ask to be referred to a Diabetes specialist asap. In my experience a Diabetes Specialist Nurse will be more helpful than a consultant, though you should really see both. I'm not sure how soon this would normally be sorted out as I was rushed to hospital when I was diagnosed so I saw rather more consultants than I wanted to, very rapidly! But the sooner you can talk to a specialist the better, really.
 
Hi Emma - there is no way of reducing the jabs unless you want an even MORE rigid lifestyle than you feel 4 a day is giving you! I can assure you that you would NOT enjoy that and what you have actually isn't even the recommended regime for newbies either. The recommended regime is in fact changing the Lantus for Levemir but the Levemir would be injected TWICE a day.

With the correct dose adjustments - and Levemir is easier to apply dose adjustments to than Lantus since you can see the effects virtually immediately whereas with Lantus you have to wait up to 3 full days to see what any change has really done .... even MORE tedious than having to adjust it anyway - your overall control will be great, and that means as long as you clock fairly quickly what doses to take for meals (which ain't difficult, but can't be taught in 5 minutes) - you can go back to spontaneity as long as you whip out your pen and jab before eating.

You can miss meals you don't have to snack just because but just when you WANT to. You can drink alcohol, you can do exactly whatever YOU want to do. I always have!
 
Welcome to the forum! I'm also a newly diagnosed type 1 (same age too! 🙂 )
 
Hi Emma welcome to the forum and the evry growing diabetes family!!! Its definatelt something that takes you by surprise if youre not expecting it. I had no symptoms when I was diagnosed last August I just went along to a health fair at my work place and my finger prick test came back at 26!!! So it was a bit of a shock that day.
 
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