Just diagnosed w/ type 1 last week & feeling helpless.

[Leivaad 0]

Hi everyone . I was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last week. I'm 31 yo female. It kinda all came at once out of nowhere. Started getting symptoms in August . I feel so confused with the insulin units to carb counts. I was out on levemir and nova log . After a few days of this my eyesight has just started to get blurry which I always had 20/20 before. I'm home for the next 2 weeks to get the hang of it but feeling very sad and not myself. Just need some best practices and ideas to get through this lifestyle change . I think a few friends on here can help

 

 

Thanks everyone

[dowling gram 6,388]

Hi Leivaad

 

You are not alone. There are many here just like you. I know it's a shock to get the diagnoses but you will learn and thrive and we can help.

 

I'm not the best one to advise you because I'm a type 2 on oral meds. I only dropped in to welcome you and tell you that you have come to the right place for help.

 

Take a look around the Type 1 forum and ask them all your questions there. There is sure to be someone there who can answer them and get you started on the road to living a healthy long life

[Leivaad 0]

Hi thank you for the welcome. Yea it's alittle tough and I'm trying to not let it bring me down.

[Uff Da 7,201]

Welcome to DF.  You'll find a lot of friendly and helpful people here.

 

Yes, learning how to adjust and handle an insulin regime can be mind-boggling at first.  But give it a few months and you'll feel a lot more comfortable with it. Here are a few things I found most helpful in getting started.

 

If you don't already have one, get a kitchen scale to weigh your food, especially those high in carbohydrates.  Measures in weight will help you to be more accurate than estimating serving sizes.

 

Get one or both of these books: Using Insulin by John Walsh and Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner.  I used the first one to adjust my insulin doses after getting the initial starting doses from my endo.  I was able to get things sufficiently under control within three weeks to fly halfway across the country alone, drive in a rental car from location to location and stay in a motel alone and eat most of my meals out.  It was a bit scary, as most of the time there was no one available to assist if I screwed up my doses and went low, but after practically memorizing the information in that book, it was doable.

 

It is true that those of us on insulin can eat more carbs than diabetics trying to keep control with diet and exercise alone, but beware that the higher level of carbs one eats, the more insulin it takes, which means that errors can be big.  Keep the level of carbs down and errors will be much smaller.  So I would encourage you to start off with a lower level of carbs, say under 100 grams per day.  Get your basal insulin dose and then your bolus dose adjusted with eating that lower level.  Then once you feel comfortable about knowing what you are doing and knowing your insulin to carb ratio is right, gradually increase your carbs if you wish.

[MalteseMom 383]

 Hello Leivaad, Welcome You've come to the right place and will find all the help and support you need here. We have all kinds and many will share whatever insight they've acquired. Don't hesitate to ask all the questions you need to. Spend lots of time reading the different links. A ton of info here and many willing souls to share with. They made such a huge difference in my life. My history is listed with my signature below. Again "welcome".

[statdeac 37]

 

 

Get one or both of these books: Using Insulin by John Walsh and Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner.  

Very much agree with this recommendation.  Spot on!  Was also dx'd T1 in 30s and found these resources very helpful.  Welcome!