Type 1 Diabetes

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shell123x

shell123x

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello,

This is my first post about my Diabetes story. I was diagnosed 7 and a half years ago at the age of 12. When I first got told I was Diabetic it was a shock, the only time I had heard about it was on Coronation Street that year because it had just been brought into the story line and even then I didn't have a clue about what it meant, I was also the only one in my family with it so a lot of research was done.

As the years went on my Diabetes seemed to become more controlled and I accepted it more. However the last year I have gone straight back to square one...high HbA1c results, feeling tired all the time and I have been admitted into hospital twice this year due to high readings. They have suggested I try 'carb counting' which is where I count the carbohydrates in each meal/snack and adjust my insulin units to the grams of carbs i.e 10g of carbs is 1 unit of insulin. I must admit it is very tricky and it hasn't really helped my blood so I am going to ask about the pump which hopefully will do the trick.

So fingers crossed things will be looking up again soon 🙂
 
Thanks for sharing your story..........

I would reccomend an actual carb counting course like DAFNE, you will be given the opputunity to learn in depth about car counting, amongst other things, that means you can give it a real go........you will need to know about carb counting, insulin types, onset peak and duration, ratios etc quite well to be succesful on a pump.............
 
I was interested in the DAFNE course, however they don't offer it at my hospital or any other hospital near me so unfortunateley I can't do it. But I have been attending some support groups which have helped me a bit but they're only once every 2 months but my care team have arranged a meeting with me next week so fingers crossed it will all go well.

Thank you for your reply 🙂
 
There is an online carb counting course BDEC, that takes you through the ideas behind carb counting, I had a look but havent heard anyone elses opinion on it yet.....

If you can get a pump you sorted but you will need training....

Hope your meeting goes well..........🙂
 
Oh really? Thank you for that, I'll check it out and hopefully it might give me some more ideas on carb counting successfully!

Thank you x
 
Im so sorry youve had so much trouble lately - hope you manage to sort it out soon.

I am very surprised you have only just been told about carb counting - we have done this with my daughter since almost day 1, and although we havent been able to go on the DAFNE course that Novo recommends we did have a afternoon course and weve gone on from there. It IS very daunting to start with but isnt as tricky as it looks once you get the hang of it and some good resources. It is easier if you dont eat out of the home much but even this gets easier with practise.

I dont know much about pumping but i know it works for lots of people so good luck with that if you decide to do it (sounds harder than carb counting alone to me tho' 😱 )

Youve come to the right place for help and support tho - wish I'd found this site earlier

Take care x
 
Yeah I had never heard of carb counting before, I don't know if it is because I have tried so many different ways to get control of my diabetes i.e. I started with 4 injections then down to 2, then injecting half hour before a meal but now I can inject whenever I want to for example after my meal or before if I don't know what I am going to eat and now I've started carb counting. It's a bit manic lol!

Hope things are okay with your daughter and I see her HbA1c was 7.3 which is fantastic.
Thank you for the reply 🙂
 
Hi Shell, thanks for sharing your story. The online carb counting course is very good and can be found here:

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

You have to register but it is free and you then have two years to complete the course (should you need it! 😉) It does appear very complex at first, but once you get the hang of it it's not so bad. In fact, I only really 'carb count' these days for unfamiliar meals as I can take a very educated guess from anything I eat regularly based on previous experience. It's a shame they don't offer DAFNE, but they should have an equivalent diabetes education course as they are obliged to provide one. Another thing to bear in mind is that you will definitely need to be able to carb count before they will consider you for a pump.

Have they considered perhaps changing your insulins? I know a lot of people have found it helpful to switch from lantus to levemir and vice versa. What insulins are you currently on?
 
I've just had a look a the bdec course and it seems quite good, so I will definateley register to that site, thanks!

Yeah I've got the hang of my morning carb counting because I always have the same breakfast each morning but the rest of my meals vary and I find that when I do the right insulin dosage to the carbs in my meal my blood is still higher than what it should be and I've increased my lantus too.

I am currently on Lantus in the morning and novorapid for my fast acting insulin
🙂
 
shell123x said:
I've just had a look a the bdec course and it seems quite good, so I will definateley register to that site, thanks!

Yeah I've got the hang of my morning carb counting because I always have the same breakfast each morning but the rest of my meals vary and I find that when I do the right insulin dosage to the carbs in my meal my blood is still higher than what it should be and I've increased my lantus too.

I am currently on Lantus in the morning and novorapid for my fast acting insulin
🙂
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The problem is that it is not just the carbs in your food that need considering, you also have to work out how many grams per unit for different times of the day (known as 'ratios'). For example, I am quite insulin resistant in the mornings so I need more insulin per 10 grams of carbs then than I do later in the day, so if I had a piece of toast for breakfast I might have 8 units Novorapid, but if I had toast at lunchtime I might only need 4 units per slice! Other things come into play too, like activity levels, but you need to get an idea of the basics first.
 
A switch from lantus to levemir means you can split the dose to ensure 24 hours of coverage as it may be running out nearer the time of your next dose....

Insulin resistance is also a principal talked about on these courses........throughout the day you may need more insulin for each set amount (10g) or carbohydrate, or less.............
 
Yeah my nurse did say I need to adjust my dosage units to the grams of carbs so it might change from 1 unit to 10g to 2 units to 10g but it's getting that stability and I still need help so I might mention it to her, because at work I am scared of the hypos as I work with children plus I'm not very good at being ill infront of people so it's worrying.

Shell 🙂
 
It is a pain having hypos.........how do you treat them?

Having a week off is quite a good idea to establish the right doses..!
 
I drink a small can of coke then have something carby i.e. toast or a sandwich. If I'm work I have the can of coke and take 20 minutes out to calm down as well.

I must admit I get holidays with my job because we're a state nursery so I luckily get the half terms etc so maybe at Christmas I could observe a bit better.

Shell 🙂
 
shell123x said:
I drink a small can of coke then have something carby i.e. toast or a sandwich. If I'm work I have the can of coke and take 20 minutes out to calm down as well.

I must admit I get holidays with my job because we're a state nursery so I luckily get the half terms etc so maybe at Christmas I could observe a bit better.

Shell 🙂
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For me personally crimbo is bad, thats when I relax with the sugars, but yeah, its the closest holiday.......

The can of coke is ideal and so I suppose is the sandwich, but the toast or sandwich will effect your blood sugar and send you higher than you wanted to be with just the coke..........the DAFNE standard and others I suppose is 20g of fast acting sugar like juice(100ml non diet), jelly babies(4-6) etc.........try that out the next time.....
 
Thank you for sharing your story with us all Shell hun x
 
Hi SHell.

After 30 odd years, I'm only just fiding out about carb counting after being on humalog and lantus for years.

The DSN has now decided that it would be easier (and I can't really argue) to do my normal basal lantus in the morning with a top-up lantus in the evening because it doesn't always last the full 24 hours. This was making it difficult to get fine control and we're hoping I can get a sub-7 HbA1c next time.

If you do want to go down the pumping route, there are some good threads about the pros and cons, plus they normally have a very long waiting list for them on NHS.

I hope you can find a regime that works for you. There are plenty of variations out there for you to try.

Rob
 
Hi Shell

Welcome to the forum. I'm 22 and have had type 1 for almost 20 years. I only started to carb count 4 years ago, and did DAFNE in 2008.

Carb counting is an essential to pumping, and it sounds like you're making a good start on the basics. The more practice you get the easier it will become!
 
shell123x said:
Yeah my nurse did say I need to adjust my dosage units to the grams of carbs so it might change from 1 unit to 10g to 2 units to 10g

Shell 🙂
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Going from 1u:10g to 1u:5g is quite a big jump (twice as much insulin!) - if it were me, I would try going to 1u:8g first and then keep adjusting it. 🙂
 
Shell, hope you get your control back soon and master the carb counting!🙂
 
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