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newly diagnosed

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
PeterH55

PeterH55

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all

55 year old and no history in family, recently diagnosed diabetic type 1 (although they haven't confirmed this as yet), started when I lost 2 stone in weight and didn't change food eating habit, me loosing weight is something not happened for decades, I was in a stressful job and changed to one which isn't stressful. Then a few weeks later I lost more weight so decided to go to the doctors to see what's happening.

he took my sugar reading and it was over 28. he immediately sent me to hospital where I stayed for a week.

As you can image I was in total shock as I wasn't expecting this at all.

I am currently on 2 insulin pens, taking them 5 times in a day and also sugar test 4 times a day. I have managed to keep sugar readings between 5 and 9. not hypo`d yet.

Although it has been a difficult thing to get my head round it I have changed eating habits and cut down on drinking and read plenty on the internet and reading books about it.

Life goes on and not letting this get me down at all, I am surrounded by friends who support me and that's been a big help.
 
PeterH55 said:
Hi all

55 year old and no history in family, recently diagnosed diabetic type 1 (although they haven't confirmed this as yet), started when I lost 2 stone in weight and didn't change food eating habit, me loosing weight is something not happened for decades, I was in a stressful job and changed to one which isn't stressful. Then a few weeks later I lost more weight so decided to go to the doctors to see what's happening.

he took my sugar reading and it was over 28. he immediately sent me to hospital where I stayed for a week.

As you can image I was in total shock as I wasn't expecting this at all.

I am currently on 2 insulin pens, taking them 5 times in a day and also sugar test 4 times a day. I have managed to keep sugar readings between 5 and 9. not hypo`d yet.

Although it has been a difficult thing to get my head round it I have changed eating habits and cut down on drinking and read plenty on the internet and reading books about it.

Life goes on and not letting this get me down at all, I am surrounded by friends who support me and that's been a big help.
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Hi Peter, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry you have to join us though :( Quite a few of us have been diagnosed at around your age - I was 49 myself, and like you had experienced weight loss and other symptoms that I had attributed to other things - I was in hospital for 8 days.

If you haven't already come across it, the absolute best book you can get about Type 1 is Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Don't be misled by the title - this book is relevant to people of all ages, and is a superb reference for all aspects of living with Type 1 🙂

There is quite a steep learning curve, but it sounds like you have made a good staret and have been put on a good and flexible insulin regime (it's often known as MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) or basal/bolus (the basal is the slow-acting insulin and the bolus is the fast-acting that you inject prior to eating). Are you on fixed doses currently? If so, hopefully you will soon be taught how to 'carb count' i.e. match your insulin doses to the amount of carbohydrate in the food you intend to eat - this will give you greater flexibility over what and when you eat 🙂

Please feel free to ask any and every question you may have, or let us know of any concerns you have and we will try and help - there are a lot of friendly, experienced people here, and we understand the challenges well. It's a serious condition, but it can be controlled well with the right knowledge and effort, so it shouldn't stop you from doing anything you would have otherwise done 🙂 Please let us know how you get on 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum from another late starter - although only 42 at the time!
 
Thank you for the book recommendation, I have ordered it now.

Yes I am on fixed doses, Levemir (10,10) for morning and night (slow acting) and Humalog (6,6,6) before meals.

I haven't quite got the carbs counting off yet, but it will come in time hopefully.
 
PeterH55 said:
Thank you for the book recommendation, I have ordered it now.

Yes I am on fixed doses, Levemir (10,10) for morning and night (slow acting) and Humalog (6,6,6) before meals.

I haven't quite got the carbs counting off yet, but it will come in time hopefully.
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I'm sure you'll pick it up fairly quickly, it's very logical, although experience over time will teach you about the nuances - I'm still learning after 10 years 🙂 Best advice is to do plenty of testing and keep a food diary so that you can see the effect of your insulin doses on your various meal choices. This will help you to establish a more accurate dose 🙂 Also, keep plenty of hypo treatments around and on your person when you go out - my preferred remedy is jelly babies 🙂
 
Hi Peter. Welcome.

I joined the page last month after going through the same situation to yourself. Even in a month, I'm feeling a bit more reassured that this condition can be managed. Every day is a learning curve, but all my questions have been answered so far by the lovely people on here.
 
Hi Peter welcome to the forum, this is a good place for information and advice.
 
Hello Peter welcome to the forum 🙂.
 
Hello and welcome 🙂
I was diagnosed at 46 and soon realised that, even though I thought I was old to have this, it wasn't the case at all!
Slow and steady is the best approach, and get your dsn to sign you up for the DAFNE course (may be called something different in your area) asap! It will help you alot.
 
thank you all for the welcome, I am sure I will have questions as I go along …. I have one now

morning always starts off around 6ish sugar readings, II have a bowl of cornflakes with soya milk and some peanuts mid morning and its gone down to 4.6

it always goes down from a morning test of around 6.3 to 7.5 to lunchtime of 4.6 to 5.7

after my main dinner it goes back up to around what it was 1st thing.

any tips on what I need to eat to keep it constant ?, I am struggling to find what to eat.

this dinner time I am having sardines on 4 slices of brown bread and probably have a apple later on.

problem is I don't feel hungry either
 
Are you taking insulin before breakfast? Are you perhaps taking too much to cover your cereal and it is bringing your levels down?

When my levels dip a bit, I am taking a couple of slices of banana. Seems to give it the wee boost it needs. It just depends what works for you as I have been reading that fruit can shoot sugar levels up for some people. I'm finding it's all trial and error at the moment.
 
yes I am taking insulin before breakfast, take Humalog before every meal (6)

yes I am finding it trial and error at the moment, its a new kind of journey.

update : just taking another reading and is 5.9 (13:44)
 
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You should speak to your DSN. You will eventually have your doses reviewed. I have been shown how to start carb counting. The ratio I have been told is 1 unit of insulin for every 10g of carbs. So say for example your cereal equates to 30g of carbs, that would be 3 units of insulin. But you will be on your doses for a reason at the moment, but it might be the reason why you are going a bit low after breakfast. Definitely have a chat with your nurse.
 
PeterH55 said:
yes I am taking insulin before breakfast, take Humalog before every meal (6)

yes I am finding it trial and error at the moment, its a new kind of journey.

update : just taking another reading and is 5.9 (13:44)
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Welcome Peter , from another wh was diagnosed with T1 in my 50s with no family history.

Once you start to carb count at meals they will teach you how to adjust your doses. You are already seeing the need for this as the fixed doses are not keeping you level. With carb counting the DSNs will hel you to work out your own carb to insulin ratios. These are different for all of us, and need adjusting at times, but they will hel you to find a starting point based on the info you are gathering at present (carbs and BG readings), then through trial and improvement you will get this refined for you.

Glad to see that you have oredered the book Northerner recommended. I still refer back to it as it is so accessible and easy to understand.

As others have said just keep asking whatever questions you have. I have learnt most of what I know from people on here. So much knowledge and support available.
 
I was diagnosed in January (42 yr old) and put on Novamix by the hospital - when I met with my DSNs and the dietician they laughed and referred to it as the 'granny in a care home regime' - it only works if you inject at the exact same time every day and eat the same amount of food and never change your daily routine. Inevitably I was getting hypos and couldn't understand why. Put onto a basel bolus regime and attended a course about management and carb counting. Things very quickly improved. I've had some bad times since -honeymoon period causing random hypo's, changes to weather causing roller-coaster readings time off work following advice from my consultant and doctor, but gradually getting to grips with things. As several people have said the advice on here is really helpful. The other thing I would suggest is using the Freestyle Libre (my consultant was great - as I have an 18 month old daughter and work have been a bit poor in terms of support, he pushed for me to receive one and it has been fantastic).
 
Hello and welcome Peter , glad you found us 🙂

Being handed the running of your own insulin supply and all that brings is one heck of a shock whatever age - I followed the rules and was diagnosed as a child 😉

As the others have said, carb counting gives you flexibility to vary meal times and carbs eaten, it's much more suited to fitting around you than fixed doses that need feeding.

I've learnt so much by reading what others on here do and seeing if that works for me. I'm in a much better place than when I was going it alone. 🙂

The pieces do start to fit back together in their new format. Best Wishes 🙂
 
I have done a "My Life as a Diabetic" one month later on here

http://sheffieldalepubs.co.uk/my-life-as-a-diabetic/

My readings are starting to form a pattern during the day and even went out on Wednesday night and didn't drink as much and had a few snacks while out and didn't hypo at all.

I am having the back of my eyes tested on Saturday to make sure everything is okay, another meeting with diabetic nurse next week.
 
PeterH55 said:
I have done a "My Life as a Diabetic" one month later on here

http://sheffieldalepubs.co.uk/my-life-as-a-diabetic/

My readings are starting to form a pattern during the day and even went out on Wednesday night and didn't drink as much and had a few snacks while out and didn't hypo at all.

I am having the back of my eyes tested on Saturday to make sure everything is okay, another meeting with diabetic nurse next week.
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Good luck with the appointments Peter! 🙂 Great blog 🙂 Things will settle down for you. You will find a good balance and still be able to enjoy a few drinks - the key is (as it would be for anyone really) 'know your limits'. Your personal limits may have changed, but actually I found that having this thing diagnosed at a similar stage in my life made me look more carefully at where I might be heading unless I took better care of myself generally. Diabetes makes you do that, and all being well it will result in a healthier, happier you 🙂

Made me feel a little nostalgic about Sheffield - I used to live in Crookes, and used to run home from my job in Firth Park past the Northern General several times a week! 🙂 Running up that hill to Crookes from Kelvin flats was a challenge! 😱 🙂 The good news is that, despite the diabetes, I could still do it today 🙂
 
Hi Peter & welcome. T1 is hard work at times but I am also 55 & have been T1 since being 3. Full of holes after years of 4 injections a day. (ask me if I like injections ?) They keep you alive & am still at work. Good luck & you have joined a good forum 🙂
 
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