Type 1 diabetics

Paiche
Paiche Posts: 92
edited October 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Are there any type 1 diabetics on here that are trying to lose weight while having to take shots and test each day?
If so i was just curious if this is making dieting harder for you.

Also any tips for lowering your A1C and or getting better at remembering to test?

Thank ya :)

Replies

  • mamamia05
    mamamia05 Posts: 82 Member
    I don't think it makes things harder but I know I must be organized and plan my meals and snacks to avoid a low blood sugar..I have lost 89 lbs so far and it is amazing how much better control I have..still not perfect but every 10lbs lost makes a huge difference to a diabetic...feel free to add me if you would like to ;-)
  • smagner
    smagner Posts: 10 Member
    I think for me the hardest part has always been estimating the number of carbs that I'm eating. I take 1 unit of Apidra for every 10 carbs I eat. Dieting doesn't make it too much harder as long as I can get close on my estimate. I have never looked at calories and have always took to watching the carbs so dieting hasn't changed much for me insulin wise.

    Testing has always come natural to me. I test 6-8 times a day, mostly because I'm a control freak;) I test first thing when I wake up and every time I'm going to eat ANYTHING. I try to test a couple hours after I eat, but this is the one I usually miss. Starting on a pump has made things easier for me because when I'm taking insulin based on the number of carbs I eat the pump will ask for my sugar. I can override it, but it definitely makes me think about what I'm doing.

    The more often you check your sugar and correct it when its off the better your A1C will be. When I was on shots I my A1C was usually around 7.0, with the pump I'm closer to 6.0. It's all because I do way more corrections and can keep my sugars closer to my goals.

    Hopefully this helped some.
  • smagner
    smagner Posts: 10 Member
    Sorry, the last post came off all "Look at me, I'm the perfect diabetic." I'm totally not.
    It's hard and expensive to be a diabetic. I was uninsured for the first 14 yrs and it was terrible. I hardly ever checked my sugar and guessed about how much insulin to take without any knowledge of what I needed to be doing. The only education I had was back when they said sugar is bad, everything else is okay. I didn't know anything about dosing by carbs until I went to college, and my sugars saw an immediate change as soon as I switched. The other thing that helped was switching to Humalog and Lantus from Humalin R and Ultralente.

    I now get to see an endocrinologist (yay) and she's awesome. The best thing she ever told me was "You can do everything perfectly, checking your sugar, watching carbs, exercising, but type one diabetes makes your body do it's own thing sometimes." I've been having crazy nighttime highs recently (384-451) and when I contacted her she helped me calm down. It's not the end of the world, I just have to start waking up at 2 every morning to check my sugar :( and we'll figure it out.

    My best advice is to find a good doctor or find another type one diabetic to talk things through with. Good Luck.
  • CaoimheAine
    CaoimheAine Posts: 195
    Well my confession is that I totally used to skip injections, every day. Like maybe I'd take some Novarapid once a day but only in a tiny amount... I stayed off my Lantus too. I had lost about 5kg within only 3 days but I felt totally ****. I had NO energy whatsoever and ended up having to go to hospital after a few months...

    The skipping insulin continued, but not so regularly as I started to put all the weight I had lost over the few months, and extra!

    Im definitely so much better now and don't feel burdened taking it multiple times everyday :) Im just starting to eat much healthier and already Ive notice i dont have to inject that often and my dosage has decreased a lot along with exercising too. Finally starting to get on the right track to being healthy !
  • CaoimheAine
    CaoimheAine Posts: 195
    haha woops, the word was *kitten*
  • ChrisFol
    ChrisFol Posts: 1
    Yes, I was diagnosed with Type 1 a year ago and within a week of the diagnosis I gained 10 pounds! Since then I have gained another 5 or so and it is very depressing. Here is a website that explains some of the issues with Type 1 and weight loss...http://www.uptodate.com/contents/patient-information-type-1-diabetes-mellitus-and-diet. It sounds to me like losing weight or even maintaing weight with type 1 is an uphill battle but the fitness pal website helps. I am going to stick with entering my info every day in hopes of at least having some control going forward. Good luck to you
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