Just wanted to introduce myself. Hopefully this is the right place to do so!
My name’s Steve, I’m a Type 1.5-ish American living in Israel. 28 years old, been insulin/pump dependent for about 6 years or so.
I decided to seek out a group because I was tired of being the only one like me around The first 5 years I’d say I had everything mostly under control, but the last 6 months I feel like everything has slipped (mostly moving to a new country, working on my research grant, job, etc) and I’d like to get ahold of myself again.
I live a pretty good life - lots of fun, friends, food, travel, love, music (my guitar is my best friend, next to my girlfriend!) For me it doesn’t get any better than the Beatles, and if not the Beatles then something new and exciting.
Truthfully, I know very little about my disease - I simply learned what foods I should eat, how to count carbs, and studied how my body reacted. Being a software engineer is good for following inputs/outputs! But now I wish I knew more so I could make educated decisions - does anyone have any recommendations for online reading/books?
Welcome Steve! Glad you joined us and introduced yourself.
I’m a 27 year old with diabetes for about 6 years and I am an American living in Hungary… so we have some things in common
If I could recommend one book and only one book, then it would be Pumping Insulin by John Walsh. I have read it cover to cover a couple times and learn a lot, especially about how to use the pump effectively for exercise, etc.
Look forward to getting to know you in discussions!!
Glad you found us–welcome! Over 10,000 of us here. You’re no longer alone:)
Think Like a Pancreas is good. Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein helped me tremendously. Jenny’s site http://www.bloodsugar101.com & book of the same name are great. Also, there’s a wealth of info here.
And I’ll welcome you too. I’ve lived overseas in a few places for a few years so know how it is to feel alone amidst a crowded country.
I’d recommend that you have Dr. R. Bernstein’s book sent to you. You have a research bent; you’ll enjoy how he narrows everything down. It has enough in it that you’ll reread parts and take action. Jenny Ruhl’s Blood Sugar 101 is written for type 2s. Put together what she says about how high blood sugars can go without damage to your body, based on research, with Dr. Bernstein’s method for getting them down. You can look him up on the web, too, for some portions of his books.
Be careful with the date/age of some books and recommendations: their stuff is old and hasn’t been revised. Bernstein’s is still relevant.
Go to calorieking.com for grams of carbs in foods. Read package labels.
And test one hour after meals a couple times after breakfast and lunch, then after lunch and supper, writing your grams of food in a little notebook, a day a page, so you can see the difference pre-meal and post-meal. After all this, you’ll be ready to ask more questions! Best wishes to you.
The first 5 years I’d say I had everything mostly under control, but the last 6 months I feel like everything has slipped (mostly moving to a new country, working on my research grant, job, etc) and I’d like to get ahold of myself again.