Thanks for the warm welcomes, I really didn't expect it! Let me introduce myself; my name’s Paris, I'm an Asian-American guy and I’m 28… and as you can tell from my subject line, I’m newly diagnosed Type I and I’m getting married in August! My fiancé and I decided that with my new job in March, with brand-new insurance, I should get a physical. I hadn’t been to a doctor in years; mostly my fault, but I was straight out of college, 23-26 my parents didn’t have insurance, so that means I didn’t have insurance. So I had lost a lot of weight, from 210 lbs to about 170 over the course of 2 years, going to the bathroom twice a night, and drinking a 32 oz fountain drink every day (thinking I needed the caffeine.) So 4 months ago, my new doctor let me know that I was diabetic- my A1C was 12.1, Triglycerides off the charts, fasting glucose 320. Not only that, I have high blood pressure. All brand new news to me- I thought that my increased water intake and adding a salad to some of my high carb meals was leading to weight loss… boy was I wrong!
At first she thought it was Type II, that my poor diet and more exercise, plus Metformin and some monitoring would help me out. Only minimal effect, still high 280's. Glyburide didn’t do a lot, maybe 10 point difference. Then she started me on small doses of Levemir… still in the 200’s, and an A1C of 9.1. Better, but not there yet. Finally, I got the referral to the endocrinologist. He told me that she was kind of wrong… that I’m adult-onset Type I with moderate to advanced insulin resistance. Double diabetes… not high on my list of things to be proud of, but a little part of me is happy knowing that I’m not necessarily a failure. Sure, I might’ve delayed the onset of the insulin resistance by being more active and eating healthier; but now that I know that I probably would’ve been diagnosed Type I eventually anyway, I’m not so hard on myself. And now it’s motivating me to make the changes to make sure that I don’t let diabetes control me, I’m going to control my diabetes.
Long story short, I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one in this stage in life and I do have some questions (which I will post more of shortly). But I guess my first question is:
Since my sugars have been so high for so long (at least 5-8+ years), what will my body do when I start taking the appropriate dosages of Levemir (right now I’m at 60 units at bedtime only), and a 1:4 ratio of Novolog to Carbs with meals? Also, I am still taking the Metformin to suppress my appetite/try to keep the insulin more effective. My CDE said I probably will experience blurriness in my eyes… are there any other side “effects” that I might experience while I begin to get my sugars under control? Thanks!
Hi Paris and welcome to the group. Congrats on finally getting on track and actually getting diagnosed. A lot of people who have Type 1.5 or LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults) are diagnosed incorrectly as type 2 in the first place. You will find a bunch of people here who have gone exactly the same route you did with the initial type 2 diagnosis and metformin, which was minimally effective etc. and finally ending up on insulin. I was diagnosed in 1975 at the age of 14 and one of the first things I remember when I was given insulin for the first time was I didn't have to go to the bathroom and I really wasn't thirsty for the first time in about 4 months. But I also remember the blurry eyes they sent me to the opthalmologist to make sure nothing else was going on, but it was just finally getting my blood sugars down. One thing you may find is that the levemir doesn't actually last a full 24 hours. There are plenty of people here who take it once a day, but there are also folks who split the dose because of the waning effect in the evening. It all depends on how it works for you. Taking control is probably the most important thing, and it seems as though you have already begun. My husband and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary so congratulations on your up-coming wedding. Ask as many questions as you like, this is such a resource for information.
I want to say welcome and congratulations on your upcoming marriage as well! Wow, you have a lot going on at once, but sound like you are dealing with it well.
First of all I want to encourage you to get the book Using Insulin by John Walsh. There is a lot to learn in managing on MDI's and it's a great book to do it!
It's a bit unclear, have you started the Novolog with meals yet? If not, there's actually no way to accurately determine your I:C ratio other than trial and error. 1:4 might be a good guess, but you won't know until you actually start and see how it affects your blood sugars 2 hours after your meals. Also you might find you need different ratios for different meals. Mine, for example, are 1:5, 1:10 and 1:18 for the three meals.
To answer your question, one thing that will happen is that you will feel low when you really aren't low at all. If your body is used to being 200 and higher, than 100 will feel low. It will take awhile to adjust and then you will only feel low when you are actually low (below 60/some people use 70 as the cutoff).
Anyway, get the book, find a good resource for carbs and practice carb counting for your meals and ask away with your questions; there are lots of people on here who can help! Welcome!
hi Paris, welcome to the family. We have many type 1s here diagnosed as adults, including our founder Manny Hernandez. I was going to mention that you might feel low when you really aren't, but I see Zoe got that covered. I would say keeping good records for a while is a definite help, as you are going to be making adjustments frequently. I really like this blog for the newly dx'd by Melitta,
I'm not exactly in your boat, but I do know that when I've not been as diligent about my care and let myself "run high" for an extended period of time, I constantly felt like I was going low as I brought my blood sugar levels back into range (even if I was 150 or 160). The best advice I have is to just ride those feelings out; they do go away and you'll start to feel normal again, but don't be surprised if you sometimes feel like you're low (i.e., shaky, sweaty, etc) even though you're not. During this time, make sure to test your blood sugar levels frequently (ask for more test strips if you need them). You don't want to get behind the wheel of car or do anything else dangerous if you're low.
Welcome, Paris! Once you get used to lower blood glucose levels, you're going to find that you feel so much better and have much more energy so hang in there until they get your insulin and meds balanced.
My story is similar to yours. I was diagnosed at the age of 27, about 3 years after I got married (25 years ago). Initially misdiagnosed as Type 2 and started on oral meds, which did nothing for me. Found my way to an endocrinologist who correctly diagnosed me as Type 1.
You're going through a lot of stressful events in your life all at once right now, positive and negative. New diagnosis, new job, getting married. Just remember to make time to take care of yourself. I know it's not easy when everything is crazy busy but you're the only one who can do it. Read and learn as much as you can and come here for support and questions. We're always here to help. :)
After 40 years as a Type 1, my insulin amounts and ratios are identical to yours. So I'm very familiar with insulin resistance. It amazes me the Type 1's that only need 20 to 30 units total a day. I just started using an insulin pump, and would recommend you consider one of those very very highly. Keep in mind that insulin resistance does affect pump usage for some pumps, as you will eat up the resevior very quickly on some pumps.
As far as "side effects", most of those you listed are actually from the high glucose. And getting in control will limits those things much more, so work to get there and stay there and you'll be far better off. You sound like you have the right attitude, which is great! Being a diabetic can be rough on the heart and soul. So keep trying and you'll do great!
Hello Sir, Glad you’re on here looking for support! It will help you! When I was first told I was a T1 I was in 9th grade and didn’t need any support group? (Ha-ha if I only knew how much a group would've helped) - Something I am only 2 months into discovering and so I have been telling everyone I see whether it’s my banker or the guy making my coffee (black with full fat cream) --the thing I tell them is cut your grains (corn, soy, wheat- anything that contains these things) eat more fat and love your low carb veggies- this has been a life changer for me- I was told I was T1 in '99 and for the first time since then my BS levels are good- I am on a pump have a cgm and I was still getting A1c numbers like 9.1/ some as bad at 10- I run and work out all the time always have it helps but still up and down- this no grains thing has been so awesome I can’t get over how much it has changed my life - the other day I felt high so I checked (I normally feel this if I get into the 220 and above range) but my HIGH feeling was from 160!!!! My BS has been so tight (75-120) that 160 now feels high - all cuz of no grains
I just wanted to share with you how surprised I was to read the title of your post here - I was diagnosed this past December at age 28 with Type I and was married in March! Good luck to you with getting everything under control!
