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Stress and type1

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Larry846

Larry846

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Been away from here for a while! My partner has been ill with back collapsed vertebrae, on top of her other problems of Lupus and antiphosfolipid syndrome (warfarin controlled). I got my type1from cancer treatment, with badly monitored pembrolizumab, having had various amounts of surgery for lypo sarcomas, lymph glands and neck resections. Ex army so only to be expected late in life I guess.
Anyway, I now have IBF, which I understand is common with diabetes, which I believe is linked to stress from taking care of my partner, with no help and an unapproachable local GP and hospital. She is 20 years younger. I also have vestibular issues which are medication induced through over use of drugs to cure mild BP but caused AF.

I am having difficulty with food spikes, and my sleep pattern is lamentable, 1 and half hours if I am lucky, then IBS time, another 1and a half hours.

Any help or advise appreciated. Thanks
 
That sounds like an awful lot to contend with at once so it's no wonder you're stressed.

I can't help or advise beyond welcoming you back to the forum and suggest perhaps calling the DUK support line to see what they can suggest.
 
That sounds horrible for you @Larry846 You say it’s IBS - have you had a recent coeliac screen? If stress is contributing, have you tried mindfulness and breathing techniques? They sound a bit hippy but they can help a lot. There’s also the FODMAP diet that might help your IBS.

What insulins are you on? How far in advance of your meals do you inject your bolus/meal insulin?
 
ColinUK said:
That sounds like an awful lot to contend with at once so it's no wonder you're stressed.

I can't help or advise beyond welcoming you back to the forum and suggest perhaps calling the DUK support line to see what they can suggest.
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I will try. I have had sepsis three times also due to negligence of catheters for prostrate enlargement and wanted 5 years for TURP surgery which cured it, but was not monitored so finally last bout of sepsis nearly got me after the drain blocked
 
Inka said:
That sounds horrible for you @Larry846 You say it’s IBS - have you had a recent coeliac screen? If stress is contributing, have you tried mindfulness and breathing techniques? They sound a bit hippy but they can help a lot. There’s also the FODMAP diet that might help your IBS.

What insulins are you on? How far in advance of your meals do you inject your bolus/meal insulin?
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I inject 10 minutes before I eat. Lantus morning 14 units plus Nova Rapid 14, same before lunch and supper
 
Larry846 said:
I inject 10 minutes before I eat. Lantus morning 14 units plus Nova Rapid 14, same before lunch and supper
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You could cautiously try moving the bolus injection more in advance for the meals where you spike. That can help reduce the spike significantly. You might well find you need different injection times for breakfast than for lunch or evening meal. If you do move your bolus, do it gradually 5 minutes at a time until you find a time that works. As an example, I inject 30 mins before breakfast, but only 10 mins or less before my evening meal.

As you’re on fixed dose of Novorapid, do you also have fixed carb amounts for each meal?
 
Inka said:
You could cautiously try moving the bolus injection more in advance for the meals where you spike. That can help reduce the spike significantly. You might well find you need different injection times for breakfast than for lunch or evening meal. If you do move your bolus, do it gradually 5 minutes at a time until you find a time that works. As an example, I inject 30 mins before breakfast, but only 10 mins or less before my evening meal.

As you’re on fixed dose of Novorapid, do you also have fixed carb amounts for each meal?
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I vary amounts and times. I have zero support in place anywhere for my illnesses. The couple of 'specialist nurse' appointments I have been on ended up in chaos as they insisted I had "type 2 as only children get type1". Despite the fact I was diagnosed by specialist doctors in the diabetic team at Chelsea and Westminster hospital, having been urgently referred by Royal Marsden.
 
Inka said:
It sounds like you might appreciate some support and information. Here are two great books about Type 1:

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)

If you need help with carb counting and adjusting your Novorapid depending on the carbs you’re about to eat, then BERTIE is a good online course:

https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/

.
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Inka said:
It sounds like you might appreciate some support and information. Here are two great books about Type 1:

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)

If you need help with carb counting and adjusting your Novorapid depending on the carbs you’re about to eat, then BERTIE is a good online course:

https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/

.
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Many thanks. Lonely out here!
 
Also forgot to mention that I have to deal with a partner with violent personality disorders, undiagnosed, who finds all my illnesses a joke.
 
Good grief @Larry846 - I was diagnosed T1 50 years ago this summer - aged 22, married 12 months and paying the mortgage on the semi we bought. I left school aged 16 so been employed full time for 6 years by that stage. If they knew adults could get T1 50 years ago they are being utterly stupid saying we can't. There is no age limit. You can get aged 70+ or 7 months.

What totally backward part of the world do you live in?
 
trophywench said:
Good grief @Larry846 - I was diagnosed T1 50 years ago this summer - aged 22, married 12 months and paying the mortgage on the semi we bought. I left school aged 16 so been employed full time for 6 years by that stage. If they knew adults could get T1 50 years ago they are being utterly stupid saying we can't. There is no age limit. You can get aged 70+ or 7 months.

What totally backward part of the world do you live in?
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I feel better just being back on the site.!!!
 
trophywench said:
Good grief @Larry846 - I was diagnosed T1 50 years ago this summer - aged 22, married 12 months and paying the mortgage on the semi we bought. I left school aged 16 so been employed full time for 6 years by that stage. If they knew adults could get T1 50 years ago they are being utterly stupid saying we can't. There is no age limit. You can get aged 70+ or 7 months.

What totally backward part of the world do you live in?
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Essex! Say no more
 
Hi. So sorry to read that you are not being better supported with your multiple conditions and trying to do your best for your partner too. It is unforgivable that a DSN (let alone 2 of them) would talk such rubbish in this day and age. I accept that some GPs still think like that regarding Type 1 and children but specialist diabetes nurses should be so much better informed. That is shocking and unacceptable for them to be so ignorant of their specialist subject!

Like @Inka suggested, the timing of the insulin is usually the issue if you are spiking badly after meals and then coming back down into range later. If it helps to give you some perspective, I used to need to inject Novo(not so)Rapid 75mins before I ate breakfast to prevent a huge spike and about 20-30 mins at other times of day. I inject my long acting insulin an hour before I get out of bed (I usually set an alarm and keep my insulin under my pillow so that I can inject it without getting out of bed) and go straight back to sleep, then I inject my breakfast insulin when I wake up the second time, but again before I set foot out of bed. The reason for this is that my liver starts to pump out glucose as soon as I get out of bed....referred to here on the forum as Foot On The Floor Syndrome or FOTF. If I inject my long acting insulin an hour before I get up it has a chance to get going before my liver starts churning out this glucose and so will help to prevent my levels heading upwards. If I inject my breakfast dose just before I get out of bed, then it too can help to tackle FOTF and I can potter on getting washed and dressed and getting a coffee and catching up on the forum here to kill time before I actually eat my breakfast. Thankfully I am now on a slightly faster acting insulin than NR but I still need 45 mins pre bolus on a morning. I am not suggesting you try such a long gap between injecting and eating as this is extreme but it is what my body needs. You need to carefully extend the time from injecting to eating breakfast by a few minutes each day until you find the timing that works for you. Many people would be hypo after 30 mins let alone 45 or 75 which is why we suggest just increasing the timing slowly and steadily until you find the right timing for you..... for breakfast...... and then start working on lunch and evening meal timings which will usually need less of a wait. Most consultants and nurses say no longer than 20 or 30 mins and my consultant was horrified that I was waiting 75 mins but he couldn't argue with my data which showed when I injected and what my readings were. You have to become the expert in your own personal diabetes.
Talking of consultants, when you next get an appointment for the clinic ask for Freestyle Libre sensors if you don't currently have them. Being able to scan to get readings and see what is happening with your levels day and night will enable you to gauge the best timing for your insulin injections much more easily and know if your disturbed sleep is possibly associated with high or low BG levels etc.

As regards your IBS have you tried a soluble fibre supplement. I started drinking a fibre supplement drink every morning not long after diagnosis after I was suffering with constipation which was caused by my low carb diet (I was missing the fibre from bread and porridge as I had cut those from my diet to manage my diabetes) and the combination of eating less carbs and the Fibre drink has made a world of difference to my gut health and helping me to easily pass large regular, well formed, once a day movements. It really has been a revelation. I appreciate that your IBS will probably be pushing your system the other way but it may be being aggravated by a carb rich diet and perhaps not enough soluble fibre. My drink becomes gelatinous when the fibre is soaked in water and it provides a smooth bulk of gel which passes through my system binding with food and waste and gently cleansing my system as it passes. My gut had been unhappy for many years and now it is amazing and it makes such a difference to your sense of wellbeing when your bowels work comfortably and well and especially if it is also affecting your sleep..... and poor sleep makes diabetes more difficult to manage, so it is a vicious circle. I use a mixture of pysillium husk and chia seeds and mix them into a large glass of water which your can flavour with whatever you like. Give it a stir, wait 5 mins, give it another stir and drink it down.
You might think seeds and husk would aggravate your gut but when soaked in water they just become a soft gel because they are soluble fibre rather than insoluble and I believe that makes a difference. I use a dessert spoon of each in my large glass of water and then I follow it by swilling the glass out with a bit more water and drinking that too. You can buy Fibogel or get it on prescription which is psyllium based but I like making my own and adding chia seeds as well as they are a bit of a super food for their Omega 3 fatty acids.... May even be higher than cod liver oil, plus they also contain soluble fibre, so the combination works well for me in lots of ways.
It may seem like a palaver but once you get into a routine and you get regular bowel movements and a healthy gut it makes an enormous difference to all other aspects of life and mental health.

Anyway, just wanted to share what works for me. Really feel for you and hope some of our suggestions work for you and malke life a little easier.
 
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