[denise.the.diabetic]

I'd like to welcome myself and the rest of you . Shoot I just wrote an entire life story in my about me but I will give a lil intro about me. I am 27, learnt im type 1 in 2006 and since then I realized my life was not much of a roller coaster ride till I found out I have diabetes.

Its been a challenge ever since, I have never been in and out of hospital as much as I have in these last 4 years. The highest my sugar level has ever gone is till 496, my lowest 107. Doubt if it can ever get any better than that.

I'd like all of you to please share your experiences, cause I feel we all can gain strength from each other to fight it cause most days I just want to give up and have my old life back.

 

[Shanny]

Hello and welcome, Denise! You are so right about gaining strength from each other & living the diabetic life is easier with help & support from ones who know exactly what we're coping with.

Keep prowling around our boards and you'll find a wealth of information on each of us and how we manage. Ask all the questions you want, make any comments, rant & rave & tear your hair, if you like . . . we all know the feelings!

I'm glad you found our forum & I hope we'll see you often.

Take care & do hurry back!

 

[denise.the.diabetic]

Thanks Shanny, every week I try and read all about diabetes all over again, its like its just happened you know I do have lots of questions, i just need to figure out which part of the forum should I ask in.

Thanks a bunch

 

[Shanny]

Don't worry too much about which area to post . . . we're slightly less obsessed with proper placement than some forums, and if push comes to shove, we can move a misplaced post to a more appropriate board.

We're just happy you're here . . . the more posts you make, the quicker you'll get the hang of it!

 

[onaughmae]

Welcome Denise! Glad you found us. Looking forward to getting to know you. Feel free to jump right on in on conversations and feel free to ask anything! We usually have plenty of advice and opinions flying around here

 

[Richard157]

Denise, welcome to our community! I am on vacation and have found your post for the first time. I was diagnosed with type 1 in 1945, when I was 6. After 64 years with diabetes I am doing very well. Ask all the questions you want, we are here to help!

Richard

 

[Jen]

Hi Denise. I'm a T1 also. What's your insulin regimen like? How many times a day are you able to test? How can we help?

Best,
Jen

 

[denise.the.diabetic]

Hey Jen, I am on insulin 4 times a day, I take humilin N and R, with a gap of 6 hours between each shot. I take R at thrice a day 30 units each and N once 26 units. What about you? For how long have you had diabetes?

 

[Jen]

I joined the T1 club on 12/2/07. No family history - like Tigger "I'm the only one" (hee hee!).

I use Levemir as my basal - 9u @ 10:15 p.m., 7u @ 6:15 a.m. and 3u @ 2:15 p.m.. While Levemir is marketed as a 24 hour insulin I found after extensive testing (and trial and error) that with small doses it just wasn't covering me for even 12 hours. Novolog is my rapid-acting. I use about 12 to 15 units a day for meals and corrections. As for testing - about 9 to 12 times a day, depending on what's going on.

Jen

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Welcome to the Forum Denise!

This place has a great group of posters, all very helpful AND polite!

 

[Richard157]

I joined the T1 club on 12/2/07. No family history - like Tigger "I'm the only one" (hee hee!).

I use Levemir as my basal - 9u @ 10:15 p.m., 7u @ 6:15 a.m. and 3u @ 2:15 p.m.. While Levemir is marketed as a 24 hour insulin I found after extensive testing (and trial and error) that with small doses it just wasn't covering me for even 12 hours. Novolog is my rapid-acting. I use about 12 to 15 units a day for meals and corrections. As for testing - about 9 to 12 times a day, depending on what's going on.

Jen

Hi Jen, many diabetics have found that a longer lasting insulin like Levemir does not last 24 hours. I have never hearsd of it lasting less than 12 hours though. What do you do about that? I hope you will be able to use an insulin pump some day. If you do, Novolog would be the only insulin you would need. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is also very helpful. I used to do finger sticks 12-15 times per day. With the aid of my CGM I do about 6 per day.I know pumps and CGM's are very expensive and some insurance companies do not cover them. My endo helped convince my insurance company that I needed both devices. I even had to send them my previous 6 months of finger sticks results before my CGM was approved and covered.

 

[onaughmae]

Hi Jen, many diabetics have found that a longer lasting insulin like Levemir does not last 24 hours. I have never hearsd of it lasting less than 12 hours though. What do you do about that? I hope you will be able to use an insulin pump some day. If you do, Novolog would be the only insulin you would need. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is also very helpful. I used to do finger sticks 12-15 times per day. With the aid of my CGM I do about 6 per day.I know pumps and CGM's are very expensive and some insurance companies do not cover them. My endo helped convince my insurance company that I needed both devices. I even had to send them my previous 6 months of finger sticks results before my CGM was approved and covered.

Lantus was not covering me for 24 hours like it is supposed to. I started taking it every 12 hours instead. Once I got the pump and am only using Humalog, I am now better controlled using about 60% of the total amount of insulin I was using on a lantus/humalog regimen. They tell me its because the Lantus wasnt doing as good of a job supplying my basal need as the pump with fast acting insulin is.

 

[Richard157]

That makes good sense, Pam. Thanks for the explanation. I am very glad your pumping experience is so positive. Isn't it surprising that some pumpers give up pumping and go back to MDI? There are a number of explanations to beibg a "pumper dumper", but it still surprises me when someone prefers MDI.

 

[onaughmae]

That makes good sense, Pam. Thanks for the explanation. I am very glad your pumping experience is so positive. Isn't it surprising that some pumpers give up pumping and go back to MDI? There are a number of explanations to beibg a "pumper dumper", but it still surprises me when someone prefers MDI.

Oh no...I would never go back. This has been the best thing ever! I told my hubby they are going to have to pry this pump out of my cold dead hand before I give it up! I have gotten quite used to it being there. My control is so much better and you cant beat the convenience of it. Its like I was liberated or something

 

[Jen]

Hi Richard and Pam - After finding that the Levemir had such a short duration of action, I added a third shot. I do them at 8 hour intervals, with the largest late at night to minimize DP. Right now I have a pretty good A1C (5.6) with MDI, so I'm sticking with the syringes. I have to admit, though, that the idea of being able to really fine-tune basal with a pump is sometimes very attractive.

I can hear all you pumpers whispering "come to the light, Jen, come to the light :angel:.........

Jen

 

[Richard157]

The Light

Hi Richard and Pam - After finding that the Levemir had such a short duration of action, I added a third shot. I do them at 8 hour intervals, with the largest late at night to minimize DP. Right now I have a pretty good A1C (5.6) with MDI, so I'm sticking with the syringes. I have to admit, though, that the idea of being able to really fine-tune basal with a pump is sometimes very attractive.

I can hear all you pumpers whispering "come to the light, Jen, come to the light :angel:.........

Jen

LOL, Jen, I love that reply. So many people are not covered by health insurance for pumps in the USA. In other countries with socialized medicine it is sometimes impossible to get approval for a pump. If it was approved then the governments in those countries would have to cover the expenses.

 

[onaughmae]

Hi Richard and Pam - After finding that the Levemir had such a short duration of action, I added a third shot. I do them at 8 hour intervals, with the largest late at night to minimize DP. Right now I have a pretty good A1C (5.6) with MDI, so I'm sticking with the syringes. I have to admit, though, that the idea of being able to really fine-tune basal with a pump is sometimes very attractive.

I can hear all you pumpers whispering "come to the light, Jen, come to the light :angel:.........

Jen

psstt.....come to the light.....

In all seriousness, a friend tried to talk me into a pump about three years ago and I totally resisted it. I am now kicking myself in the backside for it. It was pretty testing intensive for the first month while I was getting my basal rates figured out. But now its all good. The dawn phenomenon that had plagued me for *years* is all but gone. The only time I wake up high is when I eat something too heavy in carbs and fat too soon before going to bed.

I was concerned about insurance covering it especially since I am T2, but I didnt have any trouble. They looked at my A1C which was out of control, the fact that I was taking more than 4 injections a day and also my c-peptide shows that although I am T2 I have very little beta cell function left anymore. They approved me quickly and I had my pump just a couple of weeks later. It has been a good thing all around. Changing my set every three days sure beats the heck out of the 5-6 injections a day I was taking. It isnt a big bother to carry around and I turned it into a fashion statement...mine is purple with butterflies on it

 

[DrJE Campbell]

Hi welcome. This forum is a wonderful one and so you will feel at home.