New to this

Glad you found us. I was diagnosed at age 69. There are online recipe nutrition calculators. I don’t know if myfitnesspal has one. I write on the recipes the carbs. We have old family recipes. I like the ones that come with the nutrition. The ACA says any restaurant with more than 20 locations needs to have nutrition info on the food they serve. I usually check online before we go and pick some items. I got a CGM a month ago, has been a big help.

My heart goes out to ya. Diagnosed at 46 out of the blue after a month of bizarrely accelerated weight loss. with no family history, always ate “better” (read: food pyramid) than anyone around me, never a fast food soda guy, active my whole life (distance running, climbing, hiking, backcountry snowboarding blah blah blah). It was a HUGE shock to my psyche and my body.

Not much you can do for him other than stay by his side. Some days are easier than others, but the beginning and adjusting are the tough parts.

It has made me make even healthier choices than I would have. Personally I made a commitment to my family. When I announced my diagnosis I said “will it change my life? sure it will. Now watch as I kick diabetes ■■■”

He will come to his own terms and find his own strengths to manage this condition. He will need someone to encourage his successes and notice but reframe his failures into lessons learned.

Hope this helps!!

4 Likes

You are awesome… I know a spouse that didn’t even know her husband was a T1 for years! How can you not! And she quite frankly didn’t care. So sad…

2 Likes

Thank you everyone for all your helpful advice and words of encouragement. He is doing much better now that we are eating the right amount of carbs and we seem to be on the right path with dosage. The Doctor gave us a bunch of info on pumps and we are starting to do our research. The choice is up to him, but he likes to bounce pros and cons off me so I’m looking as well. We are facing major life changes with this diagnosis that add a bit of stress but we are going with the flow knowing that God’s got this!

2 Likes

Hi Beth you two sound like you want to be in control and to do that you need to be aware of all things techy. After 35 years on insulin I found CGM has put me (more or less) in control. My latest HbA1c was down to 5.7 while eating a fairly normal 250 grams or so of carbs daily.

Because I am not techy and it took me months to find everything I needed to know about it I thought it would be a good idea to have all the info in one place and set up a blog/website bgonmywatch.com. This is UK orientated but the “All about CGM” article attempts to cover all the means of achieving CGM with the necessary links so it is worth a read if you are interested.

I do not cover pumps but as mentioned above these can also be useful and most people I know who use them think they are great.

On the plus side your husband’s diagnosis has come at a time when there are good options to help you manage the condition.

Good Luck

2 Likes

When I first became T1 LADA, my doctor sent me to a 2 hour Diabetic information meeting at a local hospital. Everyone there was diabetic. I learned a lot at the meeting and more after, as there was a cheese eating sampler. He also arranged for me to see a diabetic educator where I asked all the questions that were not answered at the meeting or the people after. I now go once a year to talk to the Diabetic Educator. I also researched everything I could on Diabetes Type 1 and 2 and LADA. You are doing great in understanding that diabetes is not a death sentence. My family was concerned I wouldn’t survive the year. I also developed a spreadsheet to determine what pump I felt was best for my lifestyle. It was easier to mark the pluses and minuses. I am still learning how my body uses carbs, insulin and the difference in carbs. Sweet potatoes make my blood glucose spike. Peanut butter is my friend. Depending on when I eat fat, before a meal or during or after, does make a difference. CGM allows me to spend less time managing my diabetes and more time explaining to my family that when they make a carb free food, they need to tell me ahead of time. Not after I am dropping like a rock and have no idea why. Then they ask if I liked the zero carb meal. I ask now. Live, Laugh, Love, Learn. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Wanted to update everyone in this thread; my husband is finally starting to level out. We have learned that you don’t trust the carb free label, look for the hidden “sugars” we found that Mio’s are a no go for him. Made his sugar jump 100 points one day.

In any case he’s up to 26 units of Lantis at night and 5 units of Novalog per meal. He’s had 2 full days where he’s been around the 100-140 mark. He’s only been over 200 once or twice in the past week!

Yesterday when he got home from work he was 108 and was feeling so good he went for his first run in over 2 years (spinal fusion will kill your work out routine) He jumped 30 points after his run but by dinner he was back down to 112.
I’m so happy to see him more comfortable and less overwhelmed by everything. He’s back up to a healthy weight as well and looks like he’s feeling better too. This wifey is breathing some sighs of relief!

6 Likes

Great news Beth. I’m sure both of you are relieved that you’ve finally gotten a handle on it. :+1:t3:

Beware of the hidden sugars (lactose) in milk and lower fat creams (that’s a nasty one most people aren’t aware of).

1 Like

Welcome to the group.

Your husband sounds like he was in the same situation as I was. I was diagnosed in late February about 3 years ago. At diagnosis my glucose levels were over 500 and my A1c was 13. I also started on 20 units of Lantus and 3-ish units of Novolog as needed. I’ve since switched to Tresiba, which I prefer over Lantus.

Regardless, as I’m sure you know, there’s a LOT to learn. My numbers came down pretty quickly once I was on a good treatment regime. But it took me a while before I felt comfortable with lower blood glucose numbers. I was so used to being around 200, that 100 seemed dangerous. But it’s not, it’s where normal should me. The thing is, you can’t rush this adjustment, you have to take it slowly. If you rush things, you’re liable to make a mistake and have a dangerous low.

I got a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CGM) pretty soon after diagnosis and it helped more than anything. Not only does it help with the daily monitoring, but it’s hugely helpful for teaching you how your body responds to various inputs and externalities. For example, what will those tacos do to my blood glucose levels? What will that 5-mile run do to my blood glucose levels? Having a CGM is the best way to get answers to those questions. And once you have a few years’ worth of data, you will have a pretty good understanding of your diabetes.

And as I’m sure you’re realized, your not alone in this. We’re all here to help.

4 Likes

@David48 Yes a very similar situation! We have been doing very well since my last post. Hopefully this is the start of a well managed diagnosis.