Feeling Gratitude

I want to give a shout out to this forum and the support it offers. Also to my friend Yvonne (T1 since teen years) who isn’t a part of this group to my knowledge but knows about it. We have had so many questions this past month since diagnosis. Everyone here has been helpful and I’ve dug through some older topics and gotten some great information from that as well. I received one of the new user of the month badges and that was kind of cool to have.

I hope that once we are feeling less overwhelmed and have a better grip on all of this that we’ll be able to help others going through LADA as well.

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Posting or venting WHILE you are overwhelmed is also welcomed here.

Glad you found this site. Made a big difference for me over 10 years ago.

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Thanks!

Feeling overwhelmed tonight, He’s having symptoms of lows but he was 167 after dinner. He took 6 units of Novalog with dinner and his 26 units of lantis this evening like he always does. He hasn’t had a steady reading day yet. Yesterday he woke up at 94 then was 200 something at lunch and 300 something at dinner, then back to the high 100’s at bed time. It’s super frustrating and tiring for him and me having to watch him. We are only one month into this so I know it will get easier.

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@beth39 I know it isn’t easy, but there is something that might help you and your husband.

I’m not sure if you’ve done any basal testing, but I think it would help, a lot.

There are a few books I like too:

Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner, The Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein, and Using Insulin by John Walsh. He also wrote a book, Pumping Insulin, but since you’re MDI (multiple daily injections), Using Insulin may be a better place to start.

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100% on doing the miss a meal basal testing.

Later you can work on the bolus.
This overview may help

Thanks for the book suggestions and testing recomendations. We’re planning on calling his Endo on Monday to see what is going on. I’ll mention the basal testing to him and see if he wants to try it. I’ll let you all know how it goes!

Welcome to TuD, @beth39! I’m sorry to read that you and your husband are experiencing a rough patch following his diagnosis. It’s tough.

I’m glad you found this community. It’s deep with experience and a willingness to share.

Just know that you and your husband will get better at this, especially if you both are willing to do the work and apply/experiment with what you learn. Personal experimentation and paying attention are key attributes of those who can restore some normalcy to their metabolic lives.

I highly recommend that you and your husband consider starting him on a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). I’ve found it can give you an intense personal education and feedback about how food, insulin doses and timing, and exercise can affect blood glucose levels. A well-motivated T1D armed with a CGM and a persistent work ethic will soon exceed their doctor’s knowledge about dosing insulin.

I was diagnosed as a T!D at the age of 30, so I have some insight into what you two face. You have a distinct technical advantage over my early years since I was diagnosed in 1984 before the newer insulins and CGM.

Learn everything you can and you will reap rewards beyond your hopeful expectations. Good luck!

Also, is the bolus dosing based on carbs count or sliding scale?

I was put on sliding scale dosing when I started Humalog which was a disaster with highs and lows which didn’t make me feel any better. My doc (I have a primary care doc, not an endo) and I agreed to switch to dosing based on carb coverage using the Rule of 500 and Rule of 1800 to design a regimen.

Here are the explanations and formulas which are based on weight and easy to do yourself. Calculating Insulin Dose :: Diabetes Education Online

@Terry4 We are hoping to get my husband a CGM asap. He has to take all 4 Diabetes education classes first though. He takes his 3rd on the 28th of April and the 4th will be in May some time. I know that will make this a lot easier and we are looking forward to it.

@lumi73 I’m going to have to read through those formulas for days to understand it all. Math has never been my friend LOL! I appreciate the link. I’m thinking that he’s on the sliding scale because they are only having him count carbs at breakfast right now.

I had to go buy test strips at walgreens because I stupidly forgot to go pick up his prescription on base yesterday. That’s a hundred dollar mistake I won’t make again :roll_eyes:

I don’t get the rationale for this. A CGM is a safety device that is all the more important for someone newly diagnosed. It can wake you up while sleeping to warn you of a significant hypoglycemia event. If it were me, I would appeal this policy decision.

This policy reminds me of of some clinicians insisting that a patient could not start on a pump until they have 6-12 months of using multiple daily injections (MDI). I understand the medical providers concern that a patient learn about how insulin works before they take on a more sophisticated treatment tool, but withholding the tool may, in the end, place the patient at unnecessary risk.

An insulin pump and even moreso, a CGM, is not rocket science. It does take some work to gain this knowledge but withholding technology that protects the patient from danger is not helpful.

If you’re not up for this fight, I fully understand. That last thing you need is unnecessary stress added to the mix. You could help mitigate the absence of a CGM by amping up the quantity of fingersticks. For many years I tested my BG with my meter about 15x/day.

You will benefit even more if you thoughtfully conduct a schedule of testing that will educate you. I would recommend testing when arising in the morning, at each mealtime and two or three times after a meal, say at the 1, 2, and 3-hour post meal times. I would also test before driving and every one half hour while driving. Finally, I would test before going to sleep. You should never accept your “hunch” about what your BG is if safety, like driving, is involved.

All this testing will render more knowledge if you keep a hand-written log. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, but a log will show you some important trends. You are not signing up for a life-long burden of logging BGs. This will be temporary while you’re learning more about how your husband’s glucose metabolism works.

I am slightly concerned with your active interest and participation here. That’s definitely a good thing and support from close loved ones can make all the difference to the person with diabetes. What is your husband’s take on all this? Is he willing to change his habits by embracing diabetes technology? Perhaps he’s overwhelmed by it all, even if he’s slowly adapting.

None of the suggestions I or others have made will matter if he’s not on board. I’m worried that your enthusiasm, prompted by love, may be getting ahead of where he feels comfortable.

It took me 28 years to finally fully own my diabetes. From that point everything turned toward the better, especially quality of life issues There’s a whole psycho-social dimension to this disease and none of us move along some standard schedule.

I wish you both the best.

I agree with testing often. As you go forward you’ll come to realize that all foods … carbohydrates, proteins, fats, are not created equal. Thirty grams of carbs from vegetables is going to behave a lot differently than 30 grams of carbs from a slice of pizza. It will help you to keep this in mind and by keeping a log, as @Terry4 suggests, you’ll come to realize how different foods react, for you. A lot of folks can enjoy beans and have no trouble bolusing for them; some can’t look at them without a rise in blood sugar.

Blockquote I don’t get the rationale for this. A CGM is a safety device that is all the more important for someone newly diagnosed. It can wake you up while sleeping to warn you of a significant hypoglycemia event. If it were me, I would appeal this policy decision.

So his insurance to to cover a CGM and the pump requires the education courses. His Endo and Primary care Doctor are trying to get it as soon as possible.I f we could get a CGM tomorrow we would be thrilled.

Blockquote All this testing will render more knowledge if you keep a hand-written log. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, but a log will show you some important trends. You are not signing up for a life-long burden of logging BGs. This will be temporary while you’re learning more about how your husband’s glucose metabolism works.

Thanks for the advice about testing more often I’ll see if he’s up for that.

Blockquote I am slightly concerned with your active interest and participation here. That’s definitely a good thing and support from close loved ones can make all the difference to the person with diabetes. What is your husband’s take on all this? Is he willing to change his habits by embracing diabetes technology? Perhaps he’s overwhelmed by it all, even if he’s slowly adapting.

Thank you so much for your concern with this. I’m a fixer and he’s an internalizes things. Thankfully we have always been amazing at communication. He knows I need more external support through this and he is ok with me being on here and participating and asking questions. It helps me not “pester” him or “badger him” about what he is going through with all of this. I am able to filter out suggestions and ideas here and only talk to him about things when he brings it up.

Overall we are both very overwhelmed with all that is going on. This diagnosis means a total shift in our way of life possibly because he is facing Medical Retirement because of his diagnosis.

That is understandable. Overall, many careers that historically excluded people with T1D are moving in the direction of relaxing standards to accommodate the contributions of qualified people with T1D. I’m aware that the FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) now has a protocol for people with T1D to legally fly private airplanes.

I wish your husband luck with the career challenges he faces. If he does get diverted from his desired career trajectory, he needs to realize that other opportunities will likely emerge. Some of these opportunities might suit him even better than his original plan.

It’s tough to accept when life dictates career limits but I’m sure he has more talents and abilities than his current career may use.

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It’s tough to accept when life dictates career limits but I’m sure he has more talents and abilities than his current career may use.

Very true! We are trying to see the positive side of things and we have many career opportunities lined up if things need to go that way.

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