# Newbie to the board :o)



## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi

I've been lurking a for few days so I thought I'd join and show my face so to speak!

My name's Sarah, I'm 27 and have been type1 for 23yrs

Control at the moment isnt great - not through lack of trying though!  Even my DSN doesn't know why my sugars are all over the place...current HbA1c is about 10.2  I cant remember the last time it was at an acceptable level 

I went back to see my DSN last week and we talked about going on the pump - scary!

Anyway, that's a bit about me - nice to meet you all


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## bennyg70 (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi!

Fellow midlander here in wolverhampton , loads of advice on here to be had, your first post very similar to mine would have been the first time i posted of a forum board. 6 months later, things look a lot better and control is certainly getting there (With a few twists and turns along the way!) Just ask the questions and youll get lots of useful advice!!  

What insulin regime do you crrently use?


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi! *waves*

Currently on split Levemir - 8 in the morning, 13 at night and then Novorapid as and when I need it

I graze a lot, so I have trouble deciding when and how much to inject to avoid stacking


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum........

What would be a typical afternoon of grazing for you, and what do you graze on......?

Unfortunately adopting these kind of eating habits as a type 1 can be hard to manage, but not impossible...


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

I tend to graze on things like crisps (i try to stick to the lower carb types like Skips or Quavers) or fruit or sometimes I just have a 2nd lunch mid afternoon  

I like my food - what can I say lol


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## bennyg70 (Feb 11, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> I tend to graze on things like crisps (i try to stick to the lower carb types like Skips or Quavers) or fruit or sometimes I just have a 2nd lunch mid afternoon
> 
> I like my food - what can I say lol



What sort of carb intake do you have in a day? Do you eat low GI foods, and do you test regular, before and after meals?

Have you ever done any basal testing?


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

bennyg70 said:


> What sort of carb intake do you have in a day? Do you eat low GI foods, and do you test regular, before and after meals?
> 
> Have you ever done any basal testing?



I guess I'd have about 400grams of carbs a day maybe?? 

I've tried to improve my diet over the last few months - 

I eat more fruit (not a great lover of veg!)
I've cut down on bread and when i do eat it, its wholemeal
I have low fat products where possible
I unfortunately have a sweet tooth 

I always test before my meals, but I went on the DAFNE course and they told me not to test after meals, so i dont anymore...

I have no idea what basal testing is sorry


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## delb t (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi Sacol4940-welcome aboard- we are in Birmingham too- which hospital are you under-we are with the childrens still -how have you found the adult care in Birmingham compared to when you were younger?


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## bennyg70 (Feb 11, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> I guess I'd have about 400grams of carbs a day maybe??
> 
> I've tried to improve my diet over the last few months -
> 
> ...



I guess my description would be that your basal is the first building block that needs to be put in place to get good control. If your basal isnt right, you will always be chasing your tail. Basal testing helps you too see if your basal is doing its job. And that is keepign your BG level throughout the day when no eating and no fast acting insulin is involved. I think your background / basal insulin is there to match the small releases of glucose that your liver provides. There are some great links to basal testing across the board. I would throughrally recommend looking into this (Do a search for basal testing) as your first building block towards better control... Once you have done this, youll be able too see if your background insulin level is right!

On another note 400g of carb a day is alot in my opinion. I was on 250g to 300g a day, and have had to cut this to 150g to help with control (But thats just me!) Quite often I find the low fa stuff is bulked up in carbs so theres a balance to be had. I dont see fat as an enemy, But I do see moderation as a friend.

have a look at basal testing though would be my first step!


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## Northerner (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi Sarah, welcome to the forum  Here's an article about basal testing:

http://diatribe.us/issues/13/learning-curve

I would also say that you've probably identified a couple of things that would really help you achieve better levels - less snacking on carby things and a significant reduction in your carb intake. I have around 150g a day, so 400g sounds like a lot to me! Obviously, the more carbs you eat, the more insulin you need, and I have found carb counting becomes more inefficient the bigger the carb load.

It's not easy to change these things, but you would be surprised at how quickly your tastes and habits can adapt. I used to a be a big crisp fan, but haven't eaten them for a few years now - I snack on nuts instead


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## Steff (Feb 11, 2013)

Sarah hi and a warm welcome to the forum


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

bennyg70 said:


> On another note 400g of carb a day is alot in my opinion.



Like I said - I like my food lol

I have a big appetite....I dont eat salad or most veg so I end up filling up on carbs mainly

If I cut out the carb snacks, I dont know what to replace them with?  I dont like nuts so dont snack on those and I already eat a few pieces of fruit a day


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## sacol4940 (Feb 11, 2013)

delb t said:


> Hi Sacol4940-welcome aboard- we are in Birmingham too- which hospital are you under-we are with the childrens still -how have you found the adult care in Birmingham compared to when you were younger?



Hi *waves*

I used to just see the nurse at my GPs surgery, but then when things went haywire with my sugars, I got referred to the primary care team at West Heath and then they couldnt help me so I'm currently under the specialist team at the QE

I found the nurse at my GPs surgery not that great to be honest, but since I was referred to both the primary care team and the QE, things have been great  everyones been lovely 

I used to love my trips to the childrens hospital when I was younger (it was the old hospital at five ways then....) I always remember Dr Hocking being lovely and then there was Pam the Nurse and the Dietician who's name I cant remember!  I did go briefly to the new childrens hospital and I just remembered it being cramped and stuffy!

How are you finding the new hospital?


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## bennyg70 (Feb 11, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> Like I said - I like my food lol
> 
> I have a big appetite....I dont eat salad or most veg so I end up filling up on carbs mainly
> 
> If I cut out the carb snacks, I dont know what to replace them with?  I dont like nuts so dont snack on those and I already eat a few pieces of fruit a day



I can certianly understand the dilemma, I am a really fussy eater and really loved bread biscuits and crisps so much! I was a non salad eater and veg was a no no apart from the odd carrot..

Problem was I was gaining weight rapidly and I became really unhappy with my self. 

So I started trying new things and I guess the thoguht of the food been good for me over how they tasted did outweigh the dilemma and ive even grown to enjoy salad (With dressings) veg and things like that. And when I do have a bag of crisps or nice bread or biscuits it tastes even better now, so I lost weight and naturally my sugars improved somewhat without that been on the agenda so much at the time. To begin with it was so hard. I really had to resist, I was used to really going nuts, and eating a takeaway on a friday ngiht of 3 mains a starter and a side was a regular occurence! 
The hunger pains soon went though, and I feel fuller eating the types of stuff I do now. Like nuts etc. They are much more filling I find.


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## delb t (Feb 11, 2013)

Hi the childrens has been fine- 24 hr telephone contact if needed -drop in saturday if needed-cant fault them- alot more than some other folks have especially in those early days when you you really need help. they will probably send us to QE when my son is 18 -hes 16 now and has actually been doing work experience in the radiology dept at QE-- A futute doc maybe?


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## sacol4940 (Feb 12, 2013)

bennyg70 said:


> I can certianly understand the dilemma, I am a really fussy eater and really loved bread biscuits and crisps so much! I was a non salad eater and veg was a no no apart from the odd carrot..
> 
> Problem was I was gaining weight rapidly and I became really unhappy with my self.
> 
> ...



Well done on losing the weight 

Luckily, even with the amount I eat and the type of food I eat, I'm still a healthy weight - touch wood.

I do eat more veg than I used to, but only if i can chop it up and hide it lol.  

Bad habits are hard to break....


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## bennyg70 (Feb 12, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> Well done on losing the weight
> 
> Luckily, even with the amount I eat and the type of food I eat, I'm still a healthy weight - touch wood.
> 
> ...



Well thats good! I know how hard it is and I thought Id never be able to do it. 

I guess I faced a scary time last year with a few complications and there were lots of things I had to over come, Smoking and drinking, weight and bg control. I think it was more of a case I had to do it for me and others dependant on me or enhance the risk of things going wrong.


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## sacol4940 (Feb 12, 2013)

delb t said:


> Hi the childrens has been fine- 24 hr telephone contact if needed -drop in saturday if needed-cant fault them- alot more than some other folks have especially in those early days when you you really need help. they will probably send us to QE when my son is 18 -hes 16 now and has actually been doing work experience in the radiology dept at QE-- A futute doc maybe?



That does sound better help than what my parents had access to....things move along though don't they?  The help that my parents had would have been better than 10years previous so I can't moan


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## sacol4940 (Feb 12, 2013)

bennyg70 said:


> Well thats good! I know how hard it is and I thought Id never be able to do it.
> 
> I guess I faced a scary time last year with a few complications and there were lots of things I had to over come, Smoking and drinking, weight and bg control. I think it was more of a case I had to do it for me and others dependant on me or enhance the risk of things going wrong.



I know what you mean....I've started to get slight nerve damage in my hands and toes so I know that I need to get things sorted....fingers crossed the pump helps!


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## bennyg70 (Feb 12, 2013)

sacol4940 said:


> I know what you mean....I've started to get slight nerve damage in my hands and toes so I know that I need to get things sorted....fingers crossed the pump helps!



Just by coming somewhere like here is a step in the right direction, theres lots of advice here that will help taylor your diabetes to suit you. Fingers crossed the pump will help too, I believe they take a lot of effort and not a miracle worker but it sounds like you would put the effort in to make it a success


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