Hi all, I'm so pleased to have discovered this forum. I was recently diagnosed with Type 1 at the age of 41, so it was a bit of a shock. We also have a 10 month old son and another daughter on the way at the end of March. So it's been a pretty intense few weeks! Look forward to learning from your experiences.
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Type 1 recent diagnosis
- Thread starter nmiller18
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Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @nmiller18 and welcome to the forum. I'm a T2 so can't offer much but how are you finding things? Any issues you have not got your head round yet? If there are then the chances are that somebody here will have been there before and can throw in some ideas.
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trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hiya - How recently and which insulins have they started you off with?
rebrascora
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome from another late starter with Type 1. I was 56yrs at diagnosis. Nearly 3 years down the line and feeling on a much more even keel thanks to the help and support from the members of this forum. Hope you find it similarly beneficial.
It can be pretty overwhelming at first, but it will all start to slowly click into place and become more of an automatic routine. There is a huge amount to learn in the early stages but the curve does level out a bit and whilst there are people here with 50years who are still learning, it's more the fine tuning and understanding some of the technology after the initial year or so.
The analogy of learning to drive a car is often used here. When you get into the drivers seat for the first time, you have to think about every single step in starting the car, selecting first gear finding the biting point on the clutch and slowly pressing the throttle whilst you release the clutch and releasing the handbrake, as well as looking in mirrors, indicating etc. It's a lot to think about but it gradually becomes so routine, it happens automatically. Now I just need to think about where I want to go and the route I am going to take and the speed I travel and keep an eye open for other people doing stupid/dangerous things. All the rest is pretty much on autopilot ....... and you will gradually get to that situation with your diabetes.
As @Jenny says, it is always interesting to know which insulin's they have put people on and if you have any tech to help you like a Freestyle Libre sensor for monitoring your levels..... or finger pricking and of course do ask if there is anything which you are struggling to understand..... The forum is great for filling in the blanks from those foirst few appointments where you are so overwhelmed, you don't take in half of what they are telling you.
Anyway, make yourself at home and feel free to pick our brains. The forum is a goldmine of knowledge and experience so "dig in"!
It can be pretty overwhelming at first, but it will all start to slowly click into place and become more of an automatic routine. There is a huge amount to learn in the early stages but the curve does level out a bit and whilst there are people here with 50years who are still learning, it's more the fine tuning and understanding some of the technology after the initial year or so.
The analogy of learning to drive a car is often used here. When you get into the drivers seat for the first time, you have to think about every single step in starting the car, selecting first gear finding the biting point on the clutch and slowly pressing the throttle whilst you release the clutch and releasing the handbrake, as well as looking in mirrors, indicating etc. It's a lot to think about but it gradually becomes so routine, it happens automatically. Now I just need to think about where I want to go and the route I am going to take and the speed I travel and keep an eye open for other people doing stupid/dangerous things. All the rest is pretty much on autopilot ....... and you will gradually get to that situation with your diabetes.
As @Jenny says, it is always interesting to know which insulin's they have put people on and if you have any tech to help you like a Freestyle Libre sensor for monitoring your levels..... or finger pricking and of course do ask if there is anything which you are struggling to understand..... The forum is great for filling in the blanks from those foirst few appointments where you are so overwhelmed, you don't take in half of what they are telling you.
Anyway, make yourself at home and feel free to pick our brains. The forum is a goldmine of knowledge and experience so "dig in"!
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome @nmiller18 🙂 A Type 1 diagnosis is a lot to get your head round. Do ask whatever you want here, or just have a moan. There are lots of supportive people here and it makes such a difference to be amongst people who really understand.
Hi @nmiller18 another welcome from another with Type 1.
I have found the members on this forum very supportive and caring, We are all different and have different experiences and diabetes treats us differently.
Feel free to ask questions, have a rant, make a joke, chat or just read and soak it all up.
I have found the members on this forum very supportive and caring, We are all different and have different experiences and diabetes treats us differently.
Feel free to ask questions, have a rant, make a joke, chat or just read and soak it all up.
Thanks very much indeed for all your responses. It's great to know there's such a wide community out there. I'm 41 and was diagnosed following extreme weight loss. It took some time to know there was a real problem as my son was born in January and initially we put it down to lots more waking hours! But, no, when we did the blood tests, the antibodies were there so clearly something triggered it. Perhaps Covid (though I've never tested positive)? Who knows? I was formally diagnosed a couple of weeks ago but have been on insulin for 6 weeks.
I am grateful that I was diagnosed when the technology is so advanced. I already have a Libre 2 which is clearly a godsend (I am not sure how people managed previously!). I am on Lantus (10 units) for basal and Novorapid (3-4 units) for meals. I am finding my blood sugars swing wildly, which I am told is likely because I am still producing insulin but erratically. I have also signed up for a clinical trial, which aims to limit damage to the beta cells.
All in all, quite a turbulent few weeks but I hope it will become like driving - I like the analogy!
I am grateful that I was diagnosed when the technology is so advanced. I already have a Libre 2 which is clearly a godsend (I am not sure how people managed previously!). I am on Lantus (10 units) for basal and Novorapid (3-4 units) for meals. I am finding my blood sugars swing wildly, which I am told is likely because I am still producing insulin but erratically. I have also signed up for a clinical trial, which aims to limit damage to the beta cells.
All in all, quite a turbulent few weeks but I hope it will become like driving - I like the analogy!
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @nmiller18 and welcome from another late starter 🙂 - I was 44 when I was diagnosed.
Hopefully your swinging blood sugars should settle down after a while, but you are likely to find that the nurses need to tweak your insulin doses a few times before they do, as the ones they put you on at first are a "best guess" (it's an ongoing process, you will have to keep tweaking them as your insulin needs will change from time to time, but you'll learn to do it yourself and it will become second nature).
If there's anything you're struggling with do ask, someone here is sure to be able to help.
Hopefully your swinging blood sugars should settle down after a while, but you are likely to find that the nurses need to tweak your insulin doses a few times before they do, as the ones they put you on at first are a "best guess" (it's an ongoing process, you will have to keep tweaking them as your insulin needs will change from time to time, but you'll learn to do it yourself and it will become second nature).
If there's anything you're struggling with do ask, someone here is sure to be able to help.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum, and to the club no one wants to join @nmiller18
Sounds like you are off to a great start, and well done for coping when you have so many other things on your plate!
Great to hear you’ve already got access to Libre 2, and are finding that helpful. It‘s really good to have access to the ‘hive mind’ of the forum too. Ask away with any questions (nothing will be thought too obvious or ‘silly’), or feel free to just let off steam and rant with any frustrations, or gloat about any little diabetes victories.
You might find these books helpful - they are often recommended on the forum:
Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner - A practical guide to managing diabetes with insulin
Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Despite the title this book is equally relevant for people diagnosed as adults!
🙂
Sounds like you are off to a great start, and well done for coping when you have so many other things on your plate!
Great to hear you’ve already got access to Libre 2, and are finding that helpful. It‘s really good to have access to the ‘hive mind’ of the forum too. Ask away with any questions (nothing will be thought too obvious or ‘silly’), or feel free to just let off steam and rant with any frustrations, or gloat about any little diabetes victories.
You might find these books helpful - they are often recommended on the forum:
Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner - A practical guide to managing diabetes with insulin
Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. Despite the title this book is equally relevant for people diagnosed as adults!
🙂
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