How is this possible? Being Diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at 20

Specialties Endocrine

Published

You are reading page 5 of How is this possible? Being Diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at 20

neliii<3

17 Posts

Hey! I know this is an old post but a few questions!

I was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 almost 2 years ago.. I am still trying to figure out what is best for me to eat... I dont mean the food pyramid! lol that is the general response and does nothing for me!!! I mean actual items... diabetics any tips on foods that you feel okay eating??

i know that technically you can eat anything as long as you cover it with insulin and in moderation... but i want to eat things that are better for me all around. i am having somewhat of a hard time controlling my sugars :( sometimes it feels like an overwhelming task. but lately I have become scared of all the negatives so i really want to get a handle on it....

alsooooo did any of you gain weight once you became a diabetic? i feel like i gained 15 pounds and i cant seem to drop it... im 5'5 around 145 muscular/white lol or athletic.... im not huge but i can loose weight...

tips tips tips!!! pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee

neliii<3

17 Posts

I am 19 btw!

MelanieND

8 Posts

HI, my son was six when he was dignoised. He is 10 now...As to food, this is the time that you need to look at it as playtime, or a science experiment. Have a base line BS number, eat one new food, to size/portion on label, and then two hours later, test BS and see what it did to YOUR bs number. Reactions are to the individual, my mom, tpye 2, can eat something and it wont change her BS much but will send my son's BS high. Try whole wheat items, more fiber, and see what it does to your bs number.

My son likes to see what things, events, do to his BS, like riding a G force machine at NASA, rode it four time in a row, suppose to be the force to ride to the moon, and it caused his BS to rise 6 points. He did the math with the help of a NASA space member to see how much insulin he would need to ride into space or should he not take insulin for the ride.

If you are not on an insulin pump, think about it. We found life much easier on a pump with soccer and school. Good luck!

talaxandra

3,037 Posts

Specializes in Medical.

neliii, for the most part a diabetic diet is a generally healthy diet - whole grains rather than white, complex carbs rather than simple, 20 -30% fat, take care with saturated fat, a wide range of food, not too much protein, four+ serves of vegetables a day. The biggest difference is that fruit should be consumed in moderation, preferably only in conjunction with a complex carb that will slow glucose absorption, and avoid juice.

It's not true that you can "technically eat everything as long as you cover it with insulin" - although a little of what you fancy is okay in moderation, insulin does more than lower blood sugar. A complex hormone, insulin also increases fat metabolism in two ways - it encourages both conversion of energy to fat, and the body's ability to store fat. That's part of the reason why people with newly diagnosed T1DM lose fat - the absence of insulin does the opposite. For more information see this.

This may be why you'd gained weight since your diagnosis. It could seem like a good idea, then, to cut back on the amount of insulin you take in, to increase fat burning. Although that would happen, insufficient insulin and rapid fat breakdown causes ketoacidosis, which significantly increases the risk of long-term complications of diabetes and is potentially fatal.

The best way to reduce your weight while maintaining a stable blood sugar is to reduce your portions, eat well, watch your calorie intake, and incorporation regular exercise into your daily life - the same things a non-diabetic person wanting to lose weight should do :) I also think seeing a dietician would be helpful. Good luck :)

Shirdent

26 Posts

Specializes in Oral care, diabetes, caries management.

My son was dx at age 23. I thought he was on heroin. SKINNY, slow, couldn't move, drank and drank, leg cramping. I thought he was starving, I yelled at him for eating diet yogurt, You Need Calories! I said. He was in and out of consciousness. He thought he was tired. A1c 14.

3 days in the hospital.

I think all clinic visits should have glucose checked. Had they checked when he broke his hand skate boarding, they'd have seen it early.

Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH, FACE

Shirdent

26 Posts

Specializes in Oral care, diabetes, caries management.

Type I is when the pancreas shuts down. That can happen at any age.

Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH, FACE

NDXUFan

299 Posts

Stephanie,

Young children are even being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes nowadays.

The increase of children being diagnosed with diabetes is 0.2-0.3 percent over 10 years. "The cause of diabetes is unknown."- Cleveland Clinic and I have heard that same answer from a few outstanding Nephrologists.

purplesteth

79 Posts

type I diabetes is not that bad... [...] if I had to pick a disease it would be type I diabetes. Good Management and tight control will keep you well.

:confused: :eek: :eek:

Sorry to be blunt, but I think that's a pretty irresponsible thing to say. I know it is your personal opinion, but every diabetes sufferer is different. Not everyone is able to have the same degree of control over their illness, and it is possible to have high and low blood sugars despite exercising good control.

I also fail to see how anyone would "pick" a disease with such a high risk of complications.

I am glad you seem to have your diabetes under control, however it is not the easy ride you make it out to be.

LisaMR

15 Posts

Specializes in Surgical ICU 3 years, L&D 7 years.

This is to Neliii:

Two of our kids have type 1, one dx at age 18 mos and she's now 8yo. The other is our eldest son, who was dx just over a year ago at age 22yo.

I highly recommend a great website: http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

It's full of very good information, research, advice and btdt experience. Their CWD Forums are the best and you can learn a lot from reading there. They have one for adults too.

One of the reasons it's common to gain weight after a type 1 dx is because once you are getting insulin via injections or pump after your beta cells have quit producing it, your body no longer has to burn fat for fuel. That's a basic way to explain it. Get a good carb counting book, a scale if you want to weigh your food for more accurate carb counts. I think the Calorie King book is a good one.

I've thought about becoming a CDE eventually, since I have personal experience with 24/7 management of a child with diabetes. I'd have to learn a lot about type 2's and the other aspects, though.

Good luck to you!:)

Jamesdotter

464 Posts

Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.

After looking after several nurses and one doctor who landed on my ward in DKA as their initial T1 presentation I do a BSL every month, and a UA (we are renal, too).

PS Did I mention my hypochondria?

With a family history of 4 paternal aunts, 2 brothers, and several cousins who are diabetic (mostly Type 2), I had my MD check my BG at least once a year. We caught it early and I, so far, have not needed medication. I think it's coming, though, because my fastings have been consistently over 100 for a couple of months. In the meantime, I'm working on losing a few pounds:)

+ Add a Comment