It's been 2 months since my Type 1 diagnosis and I think it's really finally sinking in. I'm starting to realize that it's not just going to go away, despite the changes I've made, and I feel depressed at times. This morning I had less than 15 carbs, gave myself 1 unit (I am on a 1:15 ratio) and 2 hours later I was at 222! But a few days ago I ate the same thing at the same time, and gave myself the same amount of insulin and it was significantly lower, 150 or so. So frustrating!! Does this happen to anyone else? Also, just this past Friday I woke up and weighed myself, 133 pounds, but last night, just 2 days later, I was 138.8 pounds! How is it possible to gain almost 6 pounds over a weekend? I didn't eat an insane amount of calories or carbs... grrrrrrrr!!!
Trust me, I know exactly what you're going through.
Do you know the numbers before you ate 15 carbs of breakfast? were they the same both times?
Also when you look at the vail with your test strips, it shows a "control range" with is basically the range of how accurate they are.
Mine is 109-146 right now. That means your tested number could be off up to 37 points.
I tried testing out of the same drop of blood with the same meter twice and the numbers where like 15 points off. Two different meters, and it was even worse.
Not trying to discourage you, or saying not to trust your numbers.
But I learned that the meter is nice, but I don't take the number for real all the time.
As far as the weight goes, I got a plan from my Diabetes educator where I ended up eating more then before I was diagnosed.
Gained like 12 points in the first 8 month. So I realized I had to do something, and tried to get my carb intake down. That has worked for me so far.
But again everybody is different, and it seems like you're not eating a lot of carbs anyways, so this might be no help at all...
Diabetes isn't going to go away, but it will get better. Being diagnosed is a huge life event. I went through a mourning period, sort like the five stages of grief: D'Nial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finally experience. And in some ways I had lost my old self. But I got a new self, and despite everything it is going to be ok.
Diabetes often throw us curve balls. Sometimes our blood sugar just goes high, or we have a low. And you were diagnosed just 2 months ago, so you are probably honeymooning and will have more variability. And weight can also vary. Scales are not repeatable and your body will retain things like water, particularly if your routine changes on the weekend. I also think it is common to gain some weight once you get your diabetes treated as your body can finally actually use the nutrients in your food.
I woke up this morning at 150, had 15g of carbs at breakfast (egg whites, whole wheat toast (10g of carbs) and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter) and 2 hours post meal I was at 222. My control range says 120-160.
I got down to around 125-130 pounds prediagnosis, which is the lowest I have weighed since adulthood. I have gained back around 5-10 pounds in 2 months since starting insulin and eating low carb. I have also exercised more in the past couple months than I have ever exercised (30-60 min a day, 6 days a week), and yet I still feel like if I didn't watch every single little carb I would blow up. My stomach is often very bloated, and it has always been flat. My veins in my arms are much more pronounced. My face looks puffy one day, but then not the next. Nutritionist told me I should be at 190 carbs a day, 1900 calories. Absolutely crazy!!
Here is what I would try.
Take the same amount of insulin tomorrow morning, but only do the 10g of carbs, if you can. If that keeps you in the same range as pre meal, your I:C might have changed a little bit.
Be careful though. I don't know what you are doing during the day. I have an office job, so experiments like this are not a big deal. Even if I get low, I'll have something to treat readily available.
I for example need to eat way more carbs on the weekend vs. weekday for breakfast, to keep my levels the same. Don't ask me why. I have no clue.
I'm not much help on the weight, but my Nutritionist also gave me this high number of carbs. Like 275! Now I try to only take 200 per day.
Mornings are often hard for us. I often wake high because of Darn Phenomenon and I am more insulin resistant in the morning. I have to take twice as much insulin for my meals for breakfast compared to other meals. That being said, one piece of toast shouldn't affect you that much unless you have trouble with wheat. The bloating you describe would also be consistent with a gluten problem. It might be good to see if you can change to a gluten free breakfast with the same number of carbs and see if you still have a problem.
Diabeetusista,
I can't imagine. But reading your words ring so true here, too. Be Blessed, keep your spirits up! I'm learning, also.
diabeetusista,
this is so going to get better. i was diagnosed with t1 14 months ago and i am still going thru those stages of grief, but its much easier a year in. a friend of mine has crohns and he told me it took him two years to really accept that the new normal was forever. even now getting ready to go out, gathering all my D crap together, i just stop and look at it all and think, "this cant really be my life! not me!" ive finally begun to refer to diabetics as "we" instead of "they". and then there are the "forever? really?" moments that i think are going to occur periodically, well, forever.
those high numbers that you get and you dont know why? theyre not going to go away but i found that my reaction now is much less emotional (no more tears, really) and more logical, correct things, get things moving again.
with regards to the scale, i try not to get on it and just use my clothes to tell me whats going on. i actually lost more weight the first week after being diagnosed because walking into the kitchen was like entering a mine field. after that ive maintained on about 100 carbs a day and a lot of exercise.
as someone else said, honeymoon can make variablility a nightmare of sorts. thats the bad part of it but the great part is that its giving us time to learn as much as we can about the new normal before it really gets that bit crazier.
it will get so much better. you wont be afraid forever, if youre afraid. i was terrified at first, but the people on here will help you so much with anything and everything!
omg and just thought of something:lots of women find themselves with higher numbers the week before their periods and bit of water weight at that very same time. i love that we get this, too.
a book that is really good for the "i hate diabetes" moments is "the book of better" by chuck eitkin. i dont know if thats how you spell his surname, but its on amazon and it had me laughing out loud.
good luck. you got this!
Hi, welcome to the club…stay consistent with what your nurses recommend. It’s only been 2 months and they will make the necessary changes ith your carb ratios. When your first get diagnosed with diabetes it’s common to,have lost weight and it’s common to put it back on when you start taking insulin again.dont let that scare you though. The per diabetes weight was not your REAL weight. It was an unhealthy weight that was your body not getting what it needs. Your cells were not getting the nutrients it required. Your cells were literally starving. Definatley bring the weight concern up with your doc cause you don’t want it to get out of control. She may need to drop your calorie intake (1900 does sound high) but even after you get settled back to a healthy weight you may see fluctuations because of water weight and salt Ed… I weighed 137 on day and 142 the next and I’ve had diabetes for 29 years. It’s frustrating but just go by the way your clothes feel instead of the number. Good luck!
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Thanks everyone for your support and adivce. It helps a lot! Yesterday I went to swim practice for the first time since diagnosis (I'm on a Masters team and have swam competitvely for over 20 years) and was intersted to see how it would affect my BG.. started practice at 122 and finished at 146. Usually when I run 1-2 miles (on non-swimming days) my BG drops down about 20-30 points.. so I thought it was strange that it went up when I swam. The last couple days my weight has been more stable (fluctuating between 134-136 - a more "normal" range for me prediagnosis).. so I feel better about that. Too bad I bought a new wardrobe this summer when I was about 8-10 pounds less and nothing really fits anymore (but at least now I'm not starving my body unknowingly..)
It's hard to listen to what the doctors and nutritionists tell me I should do when I see what more carbs do to my BG and what more calories do to my weight.. I don't want to have to continuously increase my insulin just to eat more and as a result weigh more.. just doesn't make sense to me.
Mornings are the most precarious for Caleb too, and in the beginning things seemed even more unpredictable - as if his body was spurting out bursts of its own insulin without rhyme or reason. I remember something his CDE told me in those early weeks that I often think back to - having a 200 show up once a day isn't unusual when you are living with diabetes. It can sure be frustrating, but not completely unexpected when you are your own pancreas. Hugs to you.
I agree sista, you shouldnt be adjusting carbs to meet insulin needs you should be ajpdjusting insulin to carb needs!
The reason I adjust carbs to meet insulin is that I can't take 1.75 units of insulin.
Sorry mpfuchs my comment about the adjusting the insulin to the carbs was to sista not you, I hadn’t read your posts. I’m on the pump and for me it’s easier and better for me to adjust my insulin to the carbs I eat instead of the other way around especially when it comes to not wanting to gain weight but if youre not on the pump I see how that would be difficult! Sorry if ou thought I was criticizing you. I wasn’t.
No problem at all.
I just wanted to bring it up since diabeetusista is also using relatively small amounts of insulin.
Makes a lot of sense when on the pump though!