Suddenly diagnosed aged 50, possibly type 1, feeling helpless.

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Tweetie72

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Type 1
Hi out there.
8 weeks ago I ended up in A and E with DKA. Didn’t know I was diabetic and it’s been a real shock. Still waiting for eyesight to come back.. thank god for magnifier on iPad! And so am off work, don’t know what I’m doing really and feeling pretty helpless and overwhelmed today. Trying to get dose right so I don’t have a hypo every morning . Not there yet. I could go on. Sorry this is so depressing but I cant pretend I’m okay anymore. ,My lovely hubby suggested I get on a forum/group so I can at least talk to people who’ve been where I am.
 
Welcome to the forum

It can be quite a shock at first. What insulins are you on?
 
Hi, I’m on Novomix 30 at the moment so only a twice a day dose. They are talking about changing that once type 1 definitely confirmed. No idea when that will be,
The shock isn’t so bad anymore but I just don’t know enough to be sure i'm doing the right things. Thats pretty scary.
 
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It’s not common for type 2s to get DKA, so I think that would lead them to believe type 1.

Do you know if they’ve run C-Peptide and GAD antibody tests? These are the tests that are used to distinguish the types.

Novomix 30 is a mixed insulin, rather than having a short and long acting as different insulins, which isn’t unusual but strange as it isn’t good for trying to balance the two
 
Tweetie72 said:
Hi out there.
8 weeks ago I ended up in A and E with DKA. Didn’t know I was diabetic and it’s been a real shock. Still waiting for eyesight to come back.. thank god for magnifier on iPad! And so am off work, don’t know what I’m doing really and feeling pretty helpless and overwhelmed today. Trying to get dose right so I don’t have a hypo every morning . Not there yet. I could go on. Sorry this is so depressing but I cant pretend I’m okay anymore. ,My lovely hubby suggested I get on a forum/group so I can at least talk to people who’ve been where I am.
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Good morning from another late starter with T1 (53 at diagnosis).
It is indeed a big shock at the start, but I can promise you that it gets easier.


As @Lily123 says it is very likely that you are T1 as you were in DKA.
Although it may seem appealing to have just two injections a day of mixed insulin at present it will be a lot easier once they switch you over to two separate insulins: a basal/background insulin which will deal with the glucose that your liver is dripping out to keep you ticking over, and a bolus/quick acting insulin which will deal with the glucose from the food you eat. This is referred to as Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) which gives you the flexibility to eat what you want when you want.

There is a lot to get your head round and your team will want to bring your glucose levels down gradually so try to be patient. Keep the magnifier for a little while to allow your eyes to settle back, which they will. You will feel a whole lot better once your levels are back in range. I was amazed to realise just how bad I had been just before diagnosis.

I am pleased that you have found the forum, and there is a wealth of experience to tap into on here. It is a good place to be in touch with others that are managing what you are. No questions are considered silly on here. Just ask, or have a rant, moan. Whatever.
 
Just read your message again and see that you are eight weeks in. It is definitely time to ask about MDI. Are you in the care of your GP? Some of them tend to go for the older system of mixed insulin, which is unusual nowadays. I would ask for a referral to the specialist diabetes team at your hospital where they will be able to teach you how to adjust your doses to suit your life. On mixed insulin you need to eat meals of fixed amounts of carbs and eat at the same time each day. No need for that once you get switched to MDI. this gives you the chance to change meal doses (quick acting/bolus) and the background insulin (basal) separately, which will help to reduce the number of hypos.

Let us know how you get on
 
Welcome @Tweetie72 Novomix is hard to get right because you can’t increase/decrease one part of the mix without doing the same to the other part. Do push for a basal/bolus regime. You’ll then be able to adjust the basal separate from the bolus (meal/fast) insulin. This will give you so much more flexibility.
 
It will get better, as previously said a more modern insulin regime will work around your life, and if you get a t1 diagnosis a libre monitor or similar will allow you to (mostly) forget about hypos as the monitor will sound an alarm when they are coming.
It does take a little time but you will crack it! I know when i was diagnosed it knocked me, i thought i would have to give up so much, even considered wether i was safe to look after my cat! But, like a new job, its hard at first but soon you get into the swing of things.
Get your diagnosis, get a decent insulin regime (albeit more injections but thats no biggy) and you'll be away.
 
What sort of numbers are you getting through the day? Waking up hypo isn’t good and there need to be changes to your insulin for that immediately for that. As everyone has said you need to be on bolus and basal already anyway even without a solid diagnosis as mixed insulin is so hard to manage.
 
Tweetie72 said:
Hi, I’m on Novomix 30 at the moment so only a twice a day dose. They are talking about changing that once type 1 definitely confirmed. No idea when that will be,
The shock isn’t so bad anymore but I just don’t know enough to be sure i'm doing the right things. Thats pretty scary.
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I'm similar to you. Relatively new to all this having had DKA in January and a stint in hospital with no idea why I should have gotten T1. Still don't know actually and probably never will. But I PROMISE you it gets easier. Just ask away on this forum, there's so much knowledge
 
Well neither I nor family members had a clue about diabetes either when I was diagnosed aged 22 yet here I am apparently still surviving. Nobody, whether here or in a specialist hospital diabetes clinic, expects any of their patients to automatically know things - hence one of the things we try to tell anyone newly diagnosed with diabetes of any variety is that there are No Silly Questions.

I would hope the hospital sent off some blood taken from a vein (usually in the inner crook of the elbow, cos that's usually easily accessible) for the relevant tests to try and establish better which type of D a person has, which then informs treatment choices and recommendations. These tests are one for antibodies - see

https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/immunology/diagnostic-tests/tests-catalogue/gad-antibodies.aspx

and another for C-peptide which establishes how much of your own insulin your body was still producing that day they took the sample.

The GAD test is fairly quick, but the C-pep does take quite a bit longer to get the results. (very very specific requirements for the sample for that - if not being tested very locally - MUST be frozen before sending it to the lab, for starters - of course none of us lot (the patients needing the results!) ever get to witness all of this malarkey.
 
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