Up-front education

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John D M

John D M

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi,

Last month,having missed retrospectively obvious signs that I am diabetic, I was admitted to hospital and diagnosed as Type 1.

Whilst I felt very well looked after whilst there by caring and empathetic people, I was discharged with very little direction as to how to manage myself successfully other than how to inject insulin

Being at that time ignorant of what to do I felt somewhat panicky and a little scared of eating anything and hence was very glad to find sites such as this where information is available.

Five weeks on-wards I'm only now due to receive follow-up care but have managed to gain control of my BG successfully through self education where more up-front training would have left me feeling more secure and less likely to do myself harm and end up back in hospital!

I live in South Wales and am wondering of others have the same or different experience of initial diagnosis and support / education?

Thanks
John
 
Hi John, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis and your subsequent lack of follow-up, I suspect it's part of the postcode lottery, unfortunately :( Good to hear that you have managed to get your levels under control through your own efforts. I had the back up of phone consultations and appointments with DSNs after diagnosis, but also did a lot of reading in order to educate myself. I think it is essential as diabetes is 99.9% self-managed, but certainly in the early days after diagnosis you should have good access to healthcare support professionals.

What insulin regime are you on? If you haven't already come across it, I would highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (whatever your age). It provides very comprehensive coverage of all aspects of Type 1 and is considered the Type 1 'bible'.

If you have any questions, please do ask. There is a wealth of experience here, and you will learn something new every day that will help you understand more and improve your life with diabetes 🙂
 
Hi John and welcome to the forum 🙂

Our experience was similar (my son was 4 when he was diagnosed) - we were sent home with an insulin pen and BG meter and instructed to test BG before each meal and inject (mixed insulin) 20 minutes before breakfast and tea. He was to have fixed snacks at set times. No carb-counting information was given. We were supposed to phone in to the PDSN every few days with his BG results and she would tell us how much to alter his insulin dose (if she was available, which mostly she wasn't). I did a LOT of self-educating, and had to insist on him moving onto MDI, and eventually we moved hospitals where we now get much better support. It depresses me that there are many children out there whose parents are still receiving this sub-standard advice!

I'd highly recommend you get a copy of "type 1 diabetes in children, adolescents and young people" by Ragnar Hanas - this is a fantastic book to educate yourself about type 1 and also for reference (don't be put off by the title, it's good for any age!).
 
Northerner beat me to it with the book!!! 🙂
 
Thankyou for the feedback.

I'll definitely get hold of the book mentioned to continue my self education.

John
 
Welcome to the forum John 🙂
 
I had second call from my nurse and she hoped my insoline with now other info she still not said if I got type 1 or 2 so no u not alone with getting now info
 
Hi John hope you are getting the hang of it. There is lots to learn. Good luck 🙂
 
Good book recommendation

Following advice above I bought a copy of "type 1 diabetes in children, adolescents and young people" and whilst I'm by no means an adolescent or young person (48 3/4) I've found it very easy to read and enlightening.

Thanks again to those of you that recommended it... and for anyone else recently diagnosed, it's worth investing a few ? in buying this.

John
 
John D M said:
Following advice above I bought a copy of "type 1 diabetes in children, adolescents and young people" and whilst I'm by no means an adolescent or young person (48 3/4) I've found it very easy to read and enlightening.

Thanks again to those of you that recommended it... and for anyone else recently diagnosed, it's worth investing a few ? in buying this.

John
Click to expand...

They really ought to change the title of that book - I'm 55! :D Glad to hear you are finding it useful John. Personally, I think every newly-diagnosed Type 1 should receive a copy from the NHS 🙂
 
Northerner said:
Personally, I think every newly-diagnosed Type 1 should receive a copy from the NHS 🙂
Click to expand...

And every type 1 patient should have a consultant as knowledgeable and nice as Mr Hanas! 🙂
 
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