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Newly diagnosed

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rubyray

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Type 1
Hi everyone, I am newly diagnosed Type 1 (well, in November 21) so fairly new. I don't have any family history of diabetes, so it was all very new to me at the start.

I am struggling at the moment controlling my levels, its now been 48 hours and can't seem to get them any lower than 12, and thats with my normal 10 units of slow release at night time, and NovoRapid with every meal.
Sounds silly, but does anyone know what I should do? I am also worried that if I give myself extra rapid insulin it may lower my levels too much!
Thanks
 
Welcome @rubyray 🙂 First thing - have you changed to new insulin cartridges just in case yours have degraded and become less effective? Could you be ill? Have you had a recent Covid vaccination?
 
Welcome to the forum @rubyray

Sorry to hear that you are struggling to get your levels down.
these are some reasons that I can think of that could cause your levels to rise

My first thought is are you feeling unwell. This has a massive impact on our insulin resistance and so our insulin needs increase. If so have you been given instructions on what to do when you are unwell?

Are you carb counting your meals, and then adjusting your insulin dose to match what you choose to eat. If so it could be a miscalculation of carbs, although if it has happened for 48 hours that is unlikely.

As a newly diagnosed you might still need some adjustments to your basal insulin, and this will continue to be necessary as your pancreas loses more beta cells, and also onward as we are effected by the weather, changes in meds, hormone changes, ….

Has your stock of insulin been left out of the fridge. It is fine having your current pens out of the fridge and keeping those out, but any stock you have should be in the fridge before you start to use it. You have been diagnosed a month and a bit and may have started in new pens, which if they have been out of the fridge for more than a month will not work as well as they normally do.

Whatever reason if you have raised levels over a period of time it would be good for you to talk to your team about any correction doses to use, your insulin doses and also any other concerns that you have.

It is a lot to deal with at the start and lots to get used to, but it will just become part of your ‘new normal’.
let us know how you get on
 
Inka said:
Are you carb-counting and adjusting your Novorapid or are you on fixed doses? Sorry for all the questions!
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I am currently adjusting my novorapid doses by carb counting. Although, I have given myself a little extra today thinking it might help.
 
Inka said:
Welcome @rubyray 🙂 First thing - have you changed to new insulin cartridges just in case yours have degraded and become less effective? Could you be ill? Have you had a recent Covid vaccination?
Click to expand...
I have started new insulin pens last week, so they should be OK? Haven’t recently had any vaccines or been unwell either…. No probs for all the questions it’s nice to know there are people out there that know what they are doing because right now I dont feel I do!
 
rubyray said:
I have started new insulin pens last week, so they should be OK? Haven’t recently had any vaccines or been unwell either…. No probs for all the questions it’s nice to know there are people out there that know what they are doing because right now I dont feel I do!
Click to expand...

Yes, they should be ok but one of the first things to do with unexplained high sugars is to change your insulins just in case. I’ve had this happen to me - insulin losing its effectiveness a few times over the years. Usually that’s not the issue but it’s sensible to change them to rule it out.

As you’re very recently diagnosed, I think you should give your team a call tomorrow for advice. Keep testing and also test for ketones is you go above 13 or so. 12 isn’t ideal but it’s not dangerous if it stays around there. It’s better to be slightly high than risk a hypo early on after diagnosis.

It’s possible your basal might need a slight increase, or one of your mealtime ratios, but that would be something your team will help you with.

You can also ask them about when to correct and how much insulin to take.
 
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