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tiffany

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Im a bit concerned about my weight now I have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and being treated. Im on insulin (novorapid) 4 times a day and metformin tablets
My diet was very poor before I was diagnosed and now I have been making an effort with eating three meals a day and im doing quite well at it. However since getting out of hospital a couple of weeks ago iv put on about half a stone if not a little bit more. I know its not a massive amount but I was just wondering if anyone else had this happen to them? Is this just my bodies reaction to eating three meals a day or is it the mediacation? I am trying to have small portions and eat healthy and as far as im concerned im not eating more than I used to as I used to have one big meal at night and eat loads of rubbish as well. Although maybe I could be when I spread it over the day
Im not massively overweight or anything but I hate putting weight on and dont want to ge tot the uncomfortable stage. I read a post from someone on here who said they had gone up quite a few dress sizes and I wouldnt want that to happen.
I have my first meeting with my dietician next week so hopefully she will be able to give me some advice but I just wondered if anyone experienced the same?
 
Hi Tiffany, I moved this to the General message board so more people would see it 🙂

Did you find you were losing weight before your diagnosis? A lot of people do, even thought they are not eating or doing anything differently. What happens is that your body lacks insulin and cannot use the energy from your food properly so it gets flushed out of your body making you pee a lot. You may actually be eating more than you realise because you are not getting the full 'value' of your food.

When you are then diagnosed and start getting enough insulin your body is able to store the glucose in your blood as energy in your cells, so you start to put weight on. You may think that you have cut down on your eating but may still be consuming more calories than you expend each day, so the extra is stored as fat.

Also, when you are on injections, it is much cruder than when your own pancreas produces insulin. We inject our insulin all in one go, but a healthy pancreas releases tiny amounts very gradually then cuts it off as soon as the blood sugar drops low. On injections, you cannot just stop it once you have injected, so if you fall low you have to eat more.

What all this means is that you will have to work a little harder to watch your calories and keep up with your exercise. It's not perfect, but it is achievable! 🙂
 
Thanks for that reply I really appreciate it and it was really helpful. I had lost about half a stone before my diagnosis in a couple of weeks but just didnt really think anythign about it.
I suppose I just thought I could carry on as I was but just eat three times s day! Maybe not!
Hopefully after I have spoken to the dietician I will have a better idea about how to go on with it all. Just one more annoying thing I have to deal with with this diesease!
Im much better than I was last week up and down with my emotions but im getting there now
Everyone has been really great on here
Thanks again for that reply its much appreciated:D
 
tiffany said:
Im a bit concerned about my weight now I have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and being treated. Im on insulin (novorapid) 4 times a day and metformin tablets
My diet was very poor before I was diagnosed and now I have been making an effort with eating three meals a day and im doing quite well at it. However since getting out of hospital a couple of weeks ago iv put on about half a stone if not a little bit more. I know its not a massive amount but I was just wondering if anyone else had this happen to them? Is this just my bodies reaction to eating three meals a day or is it the mediacation? I am trying to have small portions and eat healthy and as far as im concerned im not eating more than I used to as I used to have one big meal at night and eat loads of rubbish as well. Although maybe I could be when I spread it over the day
Im not massively overweight or anything but I hate putting weight on and dont want to ge tot the uncomfortable stage. I read a post from someone on here who said they had gone up quite a few dress sizes and I wouldnt want that to happen.
I have my first meeting with my dietician next week so hopefully she will be able to give me some advice but I just wondered if anyone experienced the same?
Click to expand...

I think you and me are or were in similar situations, pre diagnosis i was always a slim 8 and a half stone which is a healthy weight for my 5ft 3 height (despite my poor diet of sweets, choc, crisps and junk!!) and i was happy! just before i got diagnosed my weight went right down to 7 stone 7! 😱 due to the severe DKA i was in! Afer i came out of hospital and started taking the insulin and eating proper food i noticed the weight gain, i am now 9 and a half stone and i know it does not sound like much but it is to me, and this is probably how you are feeling?

i just could not understand why i was gaining the weight although i was eating WAY healthier than i ever did before, but realised the weight gain is probably due to my body actualy USING the food and the energy where it wasnt before and storing it. anyway my clothes are tighter and i am feeling depressed about the whole thing so i decided to do something about it, i am being more active and started going to the gym 3 times a week and reducing my carbs a little bit. i am hoping to go back to my original weight but its early days to see any results yet.
 
I was down to a size 14 last summer, now a 24 now and trying to work it off. exercise daily is what I have to do. I hate it!
 
Thansk for the replies. I wasnt really overweight before but I really dont want to gain anymore weigth I think I would start to feel uncomfortable. I think I might try and go swimming there is a pool right by my house and its probably the only kind of exercise I dont mind! I absolutely hate going to the gym and really dont think i could bear it
I just hope it works im going to try and eat really healthily as well next week and see how I get on.
 
Even going up & down the stairs a few more times a day will help =)
 
I live on the third floor of my block of flats so hopefully that will help! It embarrasing though because even that just shows how unfit I am because I get out of breath walking up them! Oh well I suppose if I get fitter then at least its one good thing to come out of it! Look on the bright side I suppose!
 
Hi Tiffany, I was 8.5 stone before I started experiencing symptoms; went down to just over 8. Now I'm 9.5 stone; I put my hands on my hips and there's fat there! - never had that before. And when I go to pinch my belly to put an insulin injection in, a fold of skin is much easier to find than it used to be!!

So as well as eating better than i've ever eaten before, I'm spending more time in front of the mirror prodding bits of flesh that I'd rather not be carrying.

But a friend pointed out that when I look at myself in the mirror, I'm comparing myself to the women I see on TV and in magazines, not to "real-shaped" women.
I'm slowly accepting that I am a 'real-shaped' woman and that if I want to be happy, I'm just going to have to get comfortable in my own skin. Sexy / happy / confident women are the ones who know how to "wear" their bodies, not the ones who are slimmest.

So don't worry, you and diabetic_gal are not alone: we all need to learn to keep ourselves healthy and to embrace our bodies.
 
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