NI Newbie

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Sweetclaret

Sweetclaret

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi, I'm John, 35 from Northern Ireland and I'm an alcoholic... Oh wait.. Wrong forum!!

Jokes obvs

No seriously, I'm new to diabetes (type 1) and thought I'd join here to understand this condition a bit more.

So yea, hi
 
Hi John and welcome.

Good to read that you have a sense of humour as that will help you through the frustrations of living with diabetes.
Would you like to tell us a bit about how your diagnosis came about? Hope it wasn't an emergency hospital admission with DKA. Which insulins have they started you off on? Do you have Freestyle Libre sensors to help monitor your levels or other Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) or are you just finger pricking at this stage?

How are you coping physically and emotionally? There is an enormous amount to take in during the first few months after diagnosis and I know for me, a lot of what the nurse said went over my head, so the forum here and it's wonderful members was a godsend in filling in the blanks for me. I hope you find it equally beneficial being here. It is a gold mine of knowledge and experience, so please do ask if you have any questions, no matter how basic they may seem. We all started this journey with pretty much no understanding of diabetes or worse inaccurate preconceptions, so asking people who live with it day by day and meal by meal is really helpful in understanding the realities of managing it and not setting unrealistic goals.

Look forward to hearing more of your story and perhaps getting to know you better.
 
rebrascora said:
Hi John and welcome.

Good to read that you have a sense of humour as that will help you through the frustrations of living with diabetes.
Would you like to tell us a bit about how your diagnosis came about? Hope it wasn't an emergency hospital admission with DKA. Which insulins have they started you off on? Do you have Freestyle Libre sensors to help monitor your levels or other Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) or are you just finger pricking at this stage?

How are you coping physically and emotionally? There is an enormous amount to take in during the first few months after diagnosis and I know for me, a lot of what the nurse said went over my head, so the forum here and it's wonderful members was a godsend in filling in the blanks for me. I hope you find it equally beneficial being here. It is a gold mine of knowledge and experience, so please do ask if you have any questions, no matter how basic they may seem. We all started this journey with pretty much no understanding of diabetes or worse inaccurate preconceptions, so asking people who live with it day by day and meal by meal is really helpful in understanding the realities of managing it and not setting unrealistic goals.

Look forward to hearing more of your story and perhaps getting to know you better.
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Hi Barbara, thanks for the reply

I was out one night with a group of friends for a birthday, my partner is a nurse and there was a few other nurses present. On the run up to that night I'd signs of weight loss and using the toilet more often which I'd just put down to the good weather and extra work I was putting in (joinery) summer is boom time! Well my partner suspected I might be diabetic so talked it over with a district nurse that was there and she just so happened to have a glucose level test kit, so I read 26.3 that night, she told me to come see her 2 mornings later after fasting and she'd check again, it was 17.6 and ketones in urine so the gp sent me to hospital where I was put on a drip and given 2mg of insulin, followed by a further 4mg to bring the level down a bit, I was in hospital all day from 9-5, I had another insulin dose of 6 before I left and was given a talk plus my kit which includes nova rapid and lantus.

My gl are averaging 13s atm with a high of 20 one evening and a low of 9.2 but I'm only on insulin 5 days now so I've a lot to learn about diet etc and I'm getting a freestyle libre I'm told which I hope is a good thing

Tbh I'm taking it pretty well, I'm generally very laid back and not much phases me anyway but I've been told this isn't always a good trait to have
 
Well that was a fortuitous route to diagnosis! Sounds like your partner's friend caught you just in time!

It is important to bring levels down gradually into range so those readings are pretty good for your first week. Sudden drops in BG (Blood Glucose) levels are hard on the body and particularly the fine blood vessels in the eyes, so they will usually start you on conservative doses of insulin and then gradually increase them until you steadily come down into range.
It is good that you are laid back but do be aware that the relentlessness of a diabetes management regime can hit you when you least expect it, so don't be frightened to speak up if you start to find it tough. In the early stages, there is so much to learn that you don't really have time to think, but it may creep up on your later..... or hopefully it may not. Libre was a game changer for many of us but I think it is helpful to start off on finger pricks and get a good understanding of how to manage like that first because tech can fail occasionally, so important to be able to revert back to old school monitoring when you need to.

There is no specific diet for Type 1. You can eat most things within reason, but you may find some foods cause you more BG disruption than others. If it is a favourite food then it may be a question of accepting the erratic BG levels but perhaps having it less frequently, if it is not such a favourite then you might consider it isn't worth the aggravation, but at this stage you should be encouraged to eat "normally" and see what happens with your levels.

Lantus and NovoRapid are very common insulins for people to be started off on, but there are others that have slightly different profiles of activity, which can work better for some people. I was started on NovoRapid but found it.... well, not so "rapid", so I now use modified version of it Fiasp which acts a bit quicker. These are considerations for further down the line though and initially it will be just a question of adjusting your doses until you are mostly in range before meals. I think one of the key things about diabetes is that it is remarkably individual and affects us all in quite different ways, so it is important not to compare yourself directly with others. If you are a perfectionist or competitive that can make it quite challenging because even if you do all the right things every day, it doesn't always give you the same results and some days it just seems to kick you in the teeth for the fun of it.... We sometimes refer to this as the Diabetes Fairy, who is actually a malevolent little minx, who creates mayhem sometimes just because she can. It helps to be able to blame any duff readings on the DF but do make sure to take full credit yourself for any Blood Glucose triumphs.

Life needs a bit more planning with diabetes but you should still be able to do most things (short of becoming an astronaut) with a bit of determination and thought.

Have you been given good advice about Hypos? When I was first diagnosed, I naively thought it was something that might happen once or twice a year if I was careless. The reality for me is that I hypo at least a couple of times a week. Being prepared and knowing what to do is really important. Making sure that you have hypo treatments (Glucose tablets, jelly babies, small cans of full sugar cola or small cartons of orange juice etc. The rule of 15 is a good rule to know....
this is that if your levels drop below 4 you eat or drink 15grams of carbs, wait 15 minutes and then retest with a finger prick (even if you have Libre). If your levels have come back up above 4 then sometimes it is helpful to have 10g of slow acting carbs, like a digestive biscuit, to stabilize your BG. That is usually far too much for me and sends my levels too high but some people need it.
(15g fast acting carbs to treat a hypo is 4-5 glucose tablets or 3 jelly babies or most of a small can of full sugar coke or most of a small carton of juice. I portion my Jelly babies out into hypo treatments because when you have a hypo it is very tempting to eat the whole packet because hypos can make you ravenously hungry, which will send your levels into orbit. Also it affects your brain and you can't think straight so it can be hard to remember how many you have eaten, so if you have them divided up into 3 JB portions it is easy to just eat those 3.
If you haven't come up above 4 when you test 15 mins after eating your first 15g fast acting carbs, then you have another 15g and wait 15 mins and test again, until you do come up above 4.

It is also helpful to know that the cells in your mouth will absorb the glucose from your hypo treatment faster than your stomach, so it is best to chew or swill your chosen treatment round your mouth quite a bit before you swallow it to get the quickest response to it.....plus your mouth is closer to your brain than your stomach so the glucose gets to the brain quicker.

Anyway, just wanted to stress how important it is to keep hypo treatments all over the place.... in pockets and cupboards and by the bed and in the car and at work and in partners handbag etc. You can guarantee that your first hypo will try to catch you out (blame the DF), so please be well prepared!
 
Hi John. Welcome to the Club that nobody wants to join!😉 I am from Bangor, Do Down.

I was diagnosed September 2022 with an HbA1c reading of 112. I had lost almost 2 stone in weight without trying, was lethargic, felt thirsty and was drinking and peeing a lot, but just put it down to the hot weather last summer. I was initially put on Metformin and Glicklizide tablets, but am now off them and on insulin.

It has been a tough journey for me as I have never been ill since I got my tonsils and adenoids out at 6 years old - then at the tender age of 62 I got Diabetes. All of a sudden I need to monitor my BG levels before driving or going out on my bike or horse - incidentally, you will need to advise the DVA that you are in insulin. You may need to advise your insurance company too. Working as a Joiner is quite labour intensive and you will need to monitor your levels closely. Your levels need to be above 5 to drive. (it rhymes)

@rebrascora has given very good advice on managing Hypos

The Diabetic Team at the Ulster and Bangor hospitals have been very supportive and I have the DN's number to ring if I need help or advice. I am on Fiasp and Tresiba insulins - currently low doses as I am still producing some insulin myself. I have a Libre 2 and find it really useful in managing my condition.
 
Hi John and welcome to the forum 🙂

I used to live in Northern Ireland, I really miss it! Which bit (roughly) are you from? I lived in Rostrevor in Co. Down for a while in the 1980s and then in Coleraine for a while in the 90s.

@Val1133 I know Bangor too, though not well - I used to stay with the family of a friend sometimes just along the coast in Holywood.

Anyway, John - you might find this book helpful - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diabetes-Children-Adolescents-Young-Adults/dp/1859599893/ - don't worry about the title, it's suitable for adults too!
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Hi John and welcome to the forum 🙂

I used to live in Northern Ireland, I really miss it! Which bit (roughly) are you from? I lived in Rostrevor in Co. Down for a while in the 1980s and then in Coleraine for a while in the 90s.

@Val1133 I know Bangor too, though not well - I used to stay with the family of a friend sometimes just along the coast in Holywood.

Anyway, John - you might find this book helpful - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diabetes-Children-Adolescents-Young-Adults/dp/1859599893/ - don't worry about the title, it's suitable for adults too!
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Hi, I'm from Armagh but living in Banbridge now the past 10yrs. I'm currently just hopping from web page to web page and watching a few YouTubers who do those "day in the life" videos, they're good! I definitely need to do a bit more reading as I seem to be experiencing a bit of brain fog in the evenings. I assume this is a side effect to diabetes?
 
I know Armagh, still have a friend living there 🙂 I only know Banbridge as a stop on the bus route from Newry to Belfast!

I suspect brain fog is a side effect of your blood sugar still being a bit on the high side, it's not a normal part of diabetes so it should clear up when your readings get down into normal range (unless you are having hypos in the evenings without realising, brain fog is definitely a side effect of hypos! - but if you're checking your blood sugar then and it's high, it's probably that).
 
Welcome to the forum @Sweetclaret

Glad you have found us!

Hope your BGs continue to coast gently downwards back into range now that you are on insulin 🙂
 
Hi John

Just read your story. I am also in NI up on the North Coast. Diagnosed 2 years in October firstly as t2 and now t1 maybe or maybe LADA they don't quite know. Currently on metformin and gliclazide and would rather be on insulin but they won't give me it just yet as i've been management it well with diet. It is a bit of a learning curve but mentally you seem to be managing pretty well and if you have a supportive partner with a medical background that really will be a great help. If there is anything you want to chat over give me a shout. I am quite new to it all as well but happy to share my experience so far if it helps.

Richard
 
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