Newly diagnosed type1 and LADA with 3 young kids

u found a great website, welcome to the club, no one asked, to join.

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I was diagnosed with type I diabetes at the age of 30. They didn’t do antibody testing back then but I did have a slow onset of diabetes. I’m sure it was LADA. That was 32 years ago when treatment options were not as good as today.

You can live a long healthy life with diabetes. You will be busy, especially with three young children, but it is doable. Learn everything you can about insulin dosing. Try to maintain a consistent exercise routine. Chasing after kids is a lot of exercise but getting out for a 30 minute walk each day would be a great supplement.

Diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate intolerance. Once you eat over a certain threshold of carb grams, your blood sugar levels will be harder to control. Each person’s threshold varies some. You may be able to tolerate more carbs now since you may have some residual pancreas function, also know as the “honeymoon period.” Limiting carbohydrate intake is a proven tactic to make blood sugar levels easier to control.

There are many good books to help teach you about diabetes and insulin. Using Insulin by Walsh and Think Like a Pancreas by Scheiner are two good ones. I strongly encourage you to consider getting a continuous glucose monitor or CGM. I use the Dexcom G4 system and will be upgrading to the G5 soon. It will teach you a ton about how food, insulin, and exercise interact in your body.

I know it’s a shock and you will be on information overload for a while, but just take it a day at a time. You have plenty of time to learn how things work. This is a great site to get many of your questions answered. If you have any diabetes support groups available, they can be a great resource, too. Most diabetics are type II, so your challenges will be a bit different than theirs.

Good luck to you. You can do this!

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Welcome. Recommend you look into glipicide. It is not recomnended in lada / type 1. Insulin - both long and short acting is the treatment of choice.

You may be on glip because your pancreas is still producing insulin. It is going to be a steep learning curve but you are going to be alright. Have a read of this group here that are getting good numbers and ask a lot of questions

If you use a USA blood meter this may help with background info
https://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/download/insulin_adjustment_workbook_complete.pdf

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Although you have a lot of fear and anxiety I would assure you that you can gain competence in taking care of your diabetes and you can become confident that you can manage the highs and lows.

And actually, in my opinion, Glipizide (a sulfonylurea type drug) is not a preferable medication for any type of diabetes. It pushes your pancreas to produce more insulin and is associated with lows and is thought by many to lead to burn out your pancreas. If your endo is trying to burn out your pancreas, this is probably the drug of choice. I would urge you to push back, preserving your pancreas is actually a priority.

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Glad you found us.

You might find this helpful

We are here to assist you with any questions you might have.

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Thank you I will look into that group.

Ok thanks for the insight- I will call the dr and chat with him about that.

Thank you for all of your words of advice and support. I will be getting those books and look into the Dexcom. For example we had an off dinner last night getting home from a long day. I ate 2eggs and a slice of whole grain toast, woke up with BG of 211.

Welcome to TuD–it’s a great place to ask questions and seek support!
Here’s a question for you: How often are you checking your blood sugar? I ask because documenting the pre- and post-meal BGs will help you and your doctor and diabetes educator work out the best care plan for you. In my case, my data got me off sliding scale insulin to doing pre-boluses at mealtimes and my a1c improved a whole lot! I was also able to track lows (I am very susceptible to exercise lows) and used the info to demonstrate my need for a continuous glucose monitor (and wish I’d done that sooner).

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@CatLady06 makes a good suggestion. Checking your blood glucose before a meal and then two hours after a meal will provide hints about how to fine-tune your insulin doses to better match your food choices.

Hello, I’m wondering if you initially tested posted for autoantibodies? I’ve had a somewhat similar experience with gestational diabetes and weight loss.

Hi @Mommyof3,

I am a mom of 3 with type 1, lada. I was diagnosed at age 27 after I had my 2nd child. Now, I’m on my 4th pregnancy (4th and final child) and 2nd T1 pregnancy, I’m currently 34 weeks. For my first 2 pregnancies, I was diagnosed with GD as well, then after my 2nd child was born, I was normal for a couple of months. one day I checked my BGs and it was 500! I also have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. My kids are 5, 4, 2, and one in the womb. Life is hard at times, but for the most part Its pretty easy after I got into my own rhythm of life. It was difficult at first though.
You can do it though, I promise you its not impossible. It seems impossible right now because you are at the beginning but you will get a hang of all this, even though some is out of your control, you can educate yourself so you understand. You might need to set a lot of alarms on your phone and I highly recommend getting a pump and a CGM. It will make your life 100% easier with kids. I did shots for the first year but then when I became pregnant, I went to a pump and seriously didn’t realize how I ever lived without one before. I’ve been on one for a little over 3 years.
If possible, I recommend finding a diabetes education program, some are through a local hospitals. I attended one the first couple months after being diagnosed and it was immensely helpful.

Get a prescription for glucogon from your endo. They usually come in a pack of two. Carry them around with you all the time. I carry one in my purse and one in the car. These kits are not sensitive to heat so no worries there. Also, I have used expired ones before and they still work. The glucogon is essential! Especially for a low you cannot keep up with to treat.

I recommend carrying snacks such as smarties, glucose tabs, juice (15-20 grams of carbs), and possibly a can of soda with you. I live in Arizona so leaving soda in the car isn’t a good idea. A juice box is better. I also carry trail mix and a couple of low carb granola bars. If not for you, then for one of your kids. Being prepared for the worst but acting in the best way possible by taking care of yourself is the best plan for you. I’ve been doing this long enough to plan ahead. Take the time to go through your stash the night before each day while your kids are asleep. You can choose your own items, but I recommend these.

Always check your blood sugar before driving anywhere with anyone, especially your kids. Its just a safety precaution. I check before meals and 1.5-2 hours after meals.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask anyone. Everyone is so helpful here. We want you to feel good about managing your diabetes, no matter what. :slightly_smiling:

I’d be happy to share more insights on diabetes and kids if you have questions too.
You can do this! :smiley:
Busybee

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Sounds like you might need a small dose of far acting insulin with meals too. Definitely report back.to your dr. With the numbers you’re seeing. You don’t want to stay high for long without getting til manage it. Btw i am must likely lada, with 2 small kids. It is manageable. And life goes on.

I believe they still had me on the glipizide because my pancreas is still in the honeymoon phase (still producing a little) but I will ask about it- thank you

Initially I they did not perform the antibodies, until I asked tone tested and showed the BG levels along with the quick weight loss

The whole idea is to protect your pancreas during honeymoon, to make the honeymoon last as long as possible. Glipizide forces your pancreas to put out insulin and thus is believed to “burn it out” sooner. Many doctors will no longer prescribe it and Mayo clinic puts all new patients on insulin, regardless of type 1 or 2.

The way to protect your pancreas is to have absolutely normal blood sugars all the time, and to avoid ‘stressing’ it too much.

Please look into it. Glipizide is not recommended for LADA. Insulin is recommended for LADA.

Hope this helps.

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Waking up with a BG of 211 shows that the pancreas may not be keeping up. I would contact the Dr.

I am going to call my endocrinologist tomorrow to ask. I am currently on the slow acting insulin (toujeo) at bedtime 16 units. Are you suggesting I ask about the fast acting insulin too?

I agree that something isn’t right after eating a minimal dinner with high numbers. I am going to call the endocrinologist tomorrow and will update with what they say. I would love to preserve what little work my pancreas is still producing, however I am worried I am stressing it out by constantly having high numbers. Thanks again for all your advice and support.