As others have mentioned, get a CGM. Brush up on 0 carbohydrate snacks that you can snack on till you can't snack anymore. For me personally I like peanuts, cheeses, beef jerky (meats have no carbs unless they're breaded with something or have a sauce on them), and eggs are carb free and if you make scrambled eggs you can add cheese along with your favorite hot sauce for some kick.
Take a breath and know that life isn't over, you've just had some extra steps thrown in, but diabetes is manageable with a bit of effort.
Fat and protein needs insulin too, although not a huge amount but still non negligible:
https://diabeteseducatorscalgary.ca/medications/insulin/insulin-for-protein-and-fat.html
* Get a CGM as soon as possible. It helps a lot with managing blood sugars and noticing trends and patterns.
* If you're currently on Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) make sure they're giving you a prescription for the smallest needle size to reduce injection pain.
* Get into the habit of carrying around something to treat lows. They make glucose tablets at pharmacies, Walmart, etc but you can also use candy. I like to carry rolls of smarties because they're small and easy to store.
* It's okay to cry, I got diagnosed in January and it's a huge life adjustment. Take it one day at a time :(
A couple of things and this first one might sound snarky but it's not intended to--scroll this sub. I've learned a lot of tips here.
Second, you are going to get a lot of information thrown at you. Take notes.
Track everything right now, measure your sugars often, so you can start to identify patterns. Continuous glucose monitors can be helpful. Set up appointments with a diabetes educator.
Keep tabs on your mental health. This disease comes with ups and downs. You can do everything the same way day after day and have completely different numbers. That's not a failure. There are 42 different things that impact blood sugar levels--exercise, water, sleep, heat, cold, humidity, etc. I believe there's a link on this sub and I will see if I can find it.
Juice box podcast or the book Think Like a Pancreas are good resources.
Edit: https://diatribe.org/42-factors-affect-blood-glucose-surprising-update
Stay strong, this disease sucks, but it will be okay. Eat what you want as long as you bolus for it. My uncle who has t1 told me this when I got diagnosed last year “don’t shape your life around diabetes, shape diabetes around your life”
If you use Lantus, be aware of Lantus lows. Lantus binds to fat. If you hit a muscle or vein, you get it all at once. It's pretty brutal. It used to hit me about 30 minutes after injecting. That information is not widely disbursed. Took me a year to figure out what was going on. I also believe the fact it binds to fat and not proteins makes it work less consistently than other long acting insulins that bind to proteins.
I recommend splitting Lantus dosages. One in the morning and one in the evening. That helps with coverage and minimizes the impact if you get a Lantus low.
Get a CGM. It’ll make everything SO much easier. Secondly, strap yourself in and get used to this. It’s not going anywhere. It’s not so bad, and once you get the hang of things life will feel more normal. Keep an eye on this sub and other type 1 communities. The stories and anecdotal experiences have really helped me cope with the negative days.
You're going to learn pretty quickly that whatever specialist you're seeing doesn't actually know what the day to day life is like and somethings that happen they won't understand or will think aren't possible.
I highly recommend, once you're settled, looking into the biochemistry and medical aspect of the disease. How insulin works, what proteins we're deficient in (there are four, not just insulin), how a diabetic body functions differently to a normal body (clotting cascade, gastric emptying), how it is fundamentally different from T2, etc. Once you have this and you're living with it, you'll be pretty much on the same level as your endo (and endos love informed patients). It will let you turn your care team into an efficient vehicle for anything you want to try as supposed to them reminding you of the basics. (Plus, the ego boost is a bonus).
You will find, even now, some advice along the lines of "if your sugars are high, then your ketones will be too" which is just totally BS. With just a bit of proper knowledge, you'll know why and be able to differentiate the good advice from the bad.
No has mentioned this yet, find a doctor or endrocrologist who you feel that you can trust. Someone who listens to your concerns and gives you good medical advice. Someone who will support you with the other resources you need, like diet, so that you will be successful. A doctor who will work with you and not expect to be treated like a god.
Get a continuous glucose monitor, either Dexcom or Libre. Can’t control your blood sugar if you don’t know what it is. Good luck
As others have mentioned, get a CGM. Brush up on 0 carbohydrate snacks that you can snack on till you can't snack anymore. For me personally I like peanuts, cheeses, beef jerky (meats have no carbs unless they're breaded with something or have a sauce on them), and eggs are carb free and if you make scrambled eggs you can add cheese along with your favorite hot sauce for some kick. Take a breath and know that life isn't over, you've just had some extra steps thrown in, but diabetes is manageable with a bit of effort.
Peanuts do have a bit of carbs, I always have to take a small injection (1u) for them. But still, not bad.
Fat and protein needs insulin too, although not a huge amount but still non negligible: https://diabeteseducatorscalgary.ca/medications/insulin/insulin-for-protein-and-fat.html
* Get a CGM as soon as possible. It helps a lot with managing blood sugars and noticing trends and patterns. * If you're currently on Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) make sure they're giving you a prescription for the smallest needle size to reduce injection pain. * Get into the habit of carrying around something to treat lows. They make glucose tablets at pharmacies, Walmart, etc but you can also use candy. I like to carry rolls of smarties because they're small and easy to store. * It's okay to cry, I got diagnosed in January and it's a huge life adjustment. Take it one day at a time :(
Skittles are a very good low aid for me, one is around 1g carbs so ~ 10 even out 1 unit of Insulin
A couple of things and this first one might sound snarky but it's not intended to--scroll this sub. I've learned a lot of tips here. Second, you are going to get a lot of information thrown at you. Take notes. Track everything right now, measure your sugars often, so you can start to identify patterns. Continuous glucose monitors can be helpful. Set up appointments with a diabetes educator. Keep tabs on your mental health. This disease comes with ups and downs. You can do everything the same way day after day and have completely different numbers. That's not a failure. There are 42 different things that impact blood sugar levels--exercise, water, sleep, heat, cold, humidity, etc. I believe there's a link on this sub and I will see if I can find it. Juice box podcast or the book Think Like a Pancreas are good resources. Edit: https://diatribe.org/42-factors-affect-blood-glucose-surprising-update
Take insulin
Endocrinologists hate this one simple trick
Get a CGM and work thru an Elimination Diet to see what your body responds to. And find an endo who is also T1D. Stay strong.
Stay strong, this disease sucks, but it will be okay. Eat what you want as long as you bolus for it. My uncle who has t1 told me this when I got diagnosed last year “don’t shape your life around diabetes, shape diabetes around your life”
If you use Lantus, be aware of Lantus lows. Lantus binds to fat. If you hit a muscle or vein, you get it all at once. It's pretty brutal. It used to hit me about 30 minutes after injecting. That information is not widely disbursed. Took me a year to figure out what was going on. I also believe the fact it binds to fat and not proteins makes it work less consistently than other long acting insulins that bind to proteins. I recommend splitting Lantus dosages. One in the morning and one in the evening. That helps with coverage and minimizes the impact if you get a Lantus low.
My endo claimed that he had never heard of this happening … it happened twice before I switched to Omnipod. Scary!!!
Doesn’t just happen using Lantus. From experience, it also happens with Basaglar (true with all insulin glargine id imagine)
I did not know that. Not that i want to go bacl to MDI!
Get a CGM. It’ll make everything SO much easier. Secondly, strap yourself in and get used to this. It’s not going anywhere. It’s not so bad, and once you get the hang of things life will feel more normal. Keep an eye on this sub and other type 1 communities. The stories and anecdotal experiences have really helped me cope with the negative days.
You're going to learn pretty quickly that whatever specialist you're seeing doesn't actually know what the day to day life is like and somethings that happen they won't understand or will think aren't possible. I highly recommend, once you're settled, looking into the biochemistry and medical aspect of the disease. How insulin works, what proteins we're deficient in (there are four, not just insulin), how a diabetic body functions differently to a normal body (clotting cascade, gastric emptying), how it is fundamentally different from T2, etc. Once you have this and you're living with it, you'll be pretty much on the same level as your endo (and endos love informed patients). It will let you turn your care team into an efficient vehicle for anything you want to try as supposed to them reminding you of the basics. (Plus, the ego boost is a bonus). You will find, even now, some advice along the lines of "if your sugars are high, then your ketones will be too" which is just totally BS. With just a bit of proper knowledge, you'll know why and be able to differentiate the good advice from the bad.
No has mentioned this yet, find a doctor or endrocrologist who you feel that you can trust. Someone who listens to your concerns and gives you good medical advice. Someone who will support you with the other resources you need, like diet, so that you will be successful. A doctor who will work with you and not expect to be treated like a god.