Just diagnosed with Type 1

[Scoot]

68Plexi is spot on! Also, as he's alluding to- there is some good info in this thread, but there's some misinformation too. But... it's a forum on the internet, so one shouldn't be surprised by that!

 

[maxp]

I was diagnosed at at 4, now 28 so I've had it most of my life... one of my doctors told me once, you can either control your diabetes or it will control you...110% correct...I hunt elk,bear,mule deer, whitetails every year so it is very doable even multi day backcountry trips...First I would say is get comfortable controlling your diabetes at home especially with exercise...if doing backcountry trips do so with a good partner..you'll use far less insulin than you do otherwise which makes it hard if your on shots easier with a pump...I really haven't found any hunt i can't do but some will take more preparation beforehand than others...thats just scratching the surface ...

 

[540-Virginian]

Thanks all for the responses and support. Im only just now anlittle over 9 days having been diagnosed. My struggle is figuring out my correction dose and carb count. I either under or over estimate resulting in sugars too high (above 250 most of day) or i crash dramatically (200 to 70 in minutes once insulin peaks). Only way ive been in my range is to eat like nothing which leaves me exhausted. Docs said ill get better at this over time but man i feel like I'm not in control at all…

Sounds like once im in control ill be ready to do what i want to do.

 

[540-Virginian]

Thanks all for the responses and support. Im only just now anlittle over 9 days having been diagnosed. My struggle is figuring out my correction dose and carb count. I either under or over estimate resulting in sugars too high (above 250 most of day) or i crash dramatically (200 to 70 in minutes once insulin peaks). Only way ive been in my range is to eat like nothing which leaves me exhausted. Docs said ill get better at this over time but man i feel like I'm not in control at all…

Sounds like once im in control ill be ready to do what i want to do

Edit: i have the G6 luckily they gave it to me right away which was awesome. I also had the libre but that i didnt like. Dexcom does help learn whats going on with different foods and such. Pump would be when i figure out my carb ratio they told me.

 

[go_deep]

Try putting

Thanks all for the responses and support. Im only just now anlittle over 9 days having been diagnosed. My struggle is figuring out my correction dose and carb count. I either under or over estimate resulting in sugars too high (above 250 most of day) or i crash dramatically (200 to 70 in minutes once insulin peaks). Only way ive been in my range is to eat like nothing which leaves me exhausted. Docs said ill get better at this over time but man i feel like I'm not in control at all…

Sounds like once im in control ill be ready to do what i want to do.

With my son it sure seems like it helps if he has a good amount of protein with his meal. If your doing above normal activity you do need to reduce the insulin your getting for carbs.
Everyone is different, but when we're out hunting and hiking hard my son will not get dosed at all for his carbs, he'll even sip on a Gatorade to help keep himself in range.
I recommend you ask your doctor, but my son was also instructed during high activity times to move his in range number from 100 to 150 on an effort to not go low or crash.

 

[Sapcut]

I am much more familiar with T2D and the perfect diet to reverse that majorly important and detrimental disease. However, there is a good bit of good information on Type 1 from doctors on youtube I suggest researching diligently.

With type 1, basically your pancreas isn't producing insulin properly, or at all, which is used to bring your blood glucose down to safe levels. The first thing I would really work on doing is the same for type 2....get on a very low carb, higher fat and protein diet. Carbs raise you blood glucose and are most definitely your enemy and nothing about carbs are essential for the human body. Saturated fat and protein are your friends for anyone especially with type 2 and probably with type 1.

 

[Phaseolus]

I sailed a 35‘ sloop across the pacific to Australia, one of the other crew was type 1. After he left the boat he trekked to Everest basecamp. He was able to manage it quite well without a pump. We were as isolated from the world as you can get. Best of luck figuring it out.

 

[540-Virginian]

Try putting

With my son it sure seems like it helps if he has a good amount of protein with his meal. If your doing above normal activity you do need to reduce the insulin your getting for carbs.
Everyone is different, but when we're out hunting and hiking hard my son will not get dosed at all for his carbs, he'll even sip on a Gatorade to help keep himself in range.
I recommend you ask your doctor, but my son was also instructed during high activity times to move his in range number from 100 to 150 on an effort to not go low or crash.

Another type 1 told me about gatorade. Im finidng it is super helpful to have to sip as i trend low vs eating candy. You dont spike and crash as hard a second time. That has been helpful.

I was told to not exercise hard for a while so its sounding like once i can inteoduce it ill start feeling better. I took a long walk last night as I was low 300s (mis underestimated my carbs and dose for dinner) and that brought it down to low 200s within 30-40 mins. It was comforting to know i could lower it with exercise at a comfortable rate. Im not correcting after meals yet as its to early… appreciate the response and all the support. Im feeling better about the long term.

 

[540-Virginian]

I sailed a 35‘ sloop across the pacific to Australia, one of the other crew was type 1. After he left the boat he trekked to Everest basecamp. He was able to manage it quite well without a pump. We were as isolated from the world as you can get. Best of luck figuring it out.

Thats awesome!

 

[ArcherAdam]

Best of luck to you in this journey! One of my son's was diagnosed last year at age 5 and we are getting there with how his body reacts to everything. He only uses the dexcom now. Everyone here posting their experiences are encouraging as he is not a hunter (hopefully one day he will be my hunting buddy) however he loves to fish.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[mstei4]

It’s good to remember that it’s a constant learning process, you seem to have that mindset which is good. It’s like drinking from a firehouse at first, but gets better once you have sometime to get a feel for things. I was diagnosed about 7 years ago, and am still learning/figuring things out (maybe I’m just dense).

Good to remember as well that just because something works for one person (a given diet, exercise routine, whatever) does not mean it will work for you, so don’t be discouraged when you find something you think will be there magic bullet but then doesn’t quite work for you

 

[beauhunter]

Once you and your doctor are able to figure out your correction and carb factors it will become A LOT easier to manage. It will take some time to get everything dialed in but don't let that get to you. I was diagnosed at age 5 and have been living w/ T1D for 28 years now. Like @Scoot said, the thing that sucks about diabetes is it will always be there. When I was younger I would get into trouble because I would feel like I had it dialed in and then quit acting like I had diabetes. You have to stay diligent but as long as you are able to keep up on it you won't have any problems. Your gear list and first aid kit will have to change a little but once you get a handle on it there's nothing you won't be able to do.

I have not had any issues going on backpack trips with diabetes. There are a few things to keep in mind when you first begin though.
1. If you are going with someone else make sure that they know you are diabetic and how that will effect you depending on what your blood sugar is doing (you will have this figured out by the time fall gets here).
2. If you are going solo you should have some type of satellite communicator if you are going to be outside of cell coverage.
3. If you end up going with a pump make sure to utilize the "exercise" or "temp basal" setting as you will definitely require less insulin due to the physical strain. If you are on a shot regimen then the same logic applies, adjust your rates to keep your glucose from crashing. I would recommend having plenty of options to correct for sugar crashes as well (gummy bears, Honey Stinger gels, etc.).
4. If the temps are going to be cold make sure that you keep your insulin in your sleeping bag at night!

Hunting with T1D requires constant awareness but it will not keep you from accomplishing anything you want to do. I have done a week long trip in the Bob Marshall, many 2+ day backpack hunts and diabetes hasn't stopped me from doing any of it. It just takes a little more planning and being on top of your blood sugar. Don't think for a second that you need to change your lifestyle because of this diagnosis. Any activity you did before diabetes is still attainable with diabetes. Feel free to reach out with questions or concerns and best of luck to you this year!

 

[KsRancher]

Hopefully not hijacking your thread. But have story about my brother 2 yrs ago while deer hunting. He had been deer hunting a property quite a bit trying to kill a REALLY big typical 12pt. One morning his girlfriend went along with him. The rut was just getting fired up good. They got settled in before light and waited on it to get light enough rattle. They had a mile of river bottom to make setups along.

First 2 setups brought in a couple little dinks. They get setup for the 3rd time. My brother and his girlfriend are sitting on the ground right beside each other. He bangs the antlers together for a minute. When he is done he sits the antlers on the ground beside him.

The rest of the story is told by the girlfriend. When he sits the antlers down. They don't sit there another 30 seconds and he tells her "I think I am going to go over there and take a nap" he stands up, walks about 3 steps and falls face first flat out on the ground. Passed out cold.

She knows he is diabetic but never seen him have problems. So she just goes over to try and wake him up. After what she said felt like 5 minutes but was probably 30 seconds he started to mumble and open his eyes and move a little. But was still face first flat out. As she is working with him she hears leaves crunching, and when she looks the 12pt is coming down the creek right to them.

She tells this to my brother and it puts a little more life in him. He doesn't remember any of this. But he was able to get up on all fours, and crawl over to his bow. When he got it in hand the buck seen them and stopped 20yds away. He tried to pull his bow back but couldn't. Deer runs off never to be seen again.

He didn't eat breakfast that morning cause they were running a little behind. But he did throw some snacks in his pack. He got them out and started eating. He starts remembering this a few minutes after eating. They sat there for a while he came around.

Like I said in a previous post, he doesn't do it right. And for the most part knows his body and how to make it all work. But he got a little too careless and bad things happen.

This is going to sound harsh, so please don't rail on me. But he won't take good enough care of himself and he knows it, so does my dad and I. He probably is going to die before he should and it pains me. Since like mentioned above, in this day and age being a diabetic isn't easy. But it's easier than it's ever been in history. He just won't take good enough care of himself.

DONT BE LIKE MY BROTHER

 

[540-Virginian]

Hopefully not hijacking your thread. But have story about my brother 2 yrs ago while deer hunting. He had been deer hunting a property quite a bit trying to kill a REALLY big typical 12pt. One morning his girlfriend went along with him. The rut was just getting fired up good. They got settled in before light and waited on it to get light enough rattle. They had a mile of river bottom to make setups along.

First 2 setups brought in a couple little dinks. They get setup for the 3rd time. My brother and his girlfriend are sitting on the ground right beside each other. He bangs the antlers together for a minute. When he is done he sits the antlers on the ground beside him.

The rest of the story is told by the girlfriend. When he sits the antlers down. They don't sit there another 30 seconds and he tells her "I think I am going to go over there and take a nap" he stands up, walks about 3 steps and falls face first flat out on the ground. Passed out cold.

She knows he is diabetic but never seen him have problems. So she just goes over to try and wake him up. After what she said felt like 5 minutes but was probably 30 seconds he started to mumble and open his eyes and move a little. But was still face first flat out. As she is working with him she hears leaves crunching, and when she looks the 12pt is coming down the creek right to them.

She tells this to my brother and it puts a little more life in him. He doesn't remember any of this. But he was able to get up on all fours, and crawl over to his bow. When he got it in hand the buck seen them and stopped 20yds away. He tried to pull his bow back but couldn't. Deer runs off never to be seen again.

He didn't eat breakfast that morning cause they were running a little behind. But he did throw some snacks in his pack. He got them out and started eating. He starts remembering this a few minutes after eating. They sat there for a while he came around.

Like I said in a previous post, he doesn't do it right. And for the most part knows his body and how to make it all work. But he got a little too careless and bad things happen.

This is going to sound harsh, so please don't rail on me. But he won't take good enough care of himself and he knows it, so does my dad and I. He probably is going to die before he should and it pains me. Since like mentioned above, in this day and age being a diabetic isn't easy. But it's easier than it's ever been in history. He just won't take good enough care of himself.

DONT BE LIKE MY BROTHER

Thats crazy. I read about people who can be unaware of their low sugar or called hypoglycemic unaware or something. i start shaking when im below 100 - but they said thats expected for me as I was running on high octane essentially. I notice in the mornings i can be low 80s and feel fine. Its weird.

 

[540-Virginian]

Once you and your doctor are able to figure out your correction and carb factors it will become A LOT easier to manage. It will take some time to get everything dialed in but don't let that get to you. I was diagnosed at age 5 and have been living w/ T1D for 28 years now. Like @Scoot said, the thing that sucks about diabetes is it will always be there. When I was younger I would get into trouble because I would feel like I had it dialed in and then quit acting like I had diabetes. You have to stay diligent but as long as you are able to keep up on it you won't have any problems. Your gear list and first aid kit will have to change a little but once you get a handle on it there's nothing you won't be able to do.

I have not had any issues going on backpack trips with diabetes. There are a few things to keep in mind when you first begin though.
1. If you are going with someone else make sure that they know you are diabetic and how that will effect you depending on what your blood sugar is doing (you will have this figured out by the time fall gets here).
2. If you are going solo you should have some type of satellite communicator if you are going to be outside of cell coverage.
3. If you end up going with a pump make sure to utilize the "exercise" or "temp basal" setting as you will definitely require less insulin due to the physical strain. If you are on a shot regimen then the same logic applies, adjust your rates to keep your glucose from crashing. I would recommend having plenty of options to correct for sugar crashes as well (gummy bears, Honey Stinger gels, etc.).
4. If the temps are going to be cold make sure that you keep your insulin in your sleeping bag at night!

Hunting with T1D requires constant awareness but it will not keep you from accomplishing anything you want to do. I have done a week long trip in the Bob Marshall, many 2+ day backpack hunts and diabetes hasn't stopped me from doing any of it. It just takes a little more planning and being on top of your blood sugar. Don't think for a second that you need to change your lifestyle because of this diagnosis. Any activity you did before diabetes is still attainable with diabetes. Feel free to reach out with questions or concerns and best of luck to you this year!

Appreciate the tips and encoruagement. Yeah i think im so used to being able to control things quickly with discipline and learning everything I can. But this T1D is a pain to get right as far as my dosing and keeping in a range. Just when i think i figured it out or have a good day, the next day or next meal even is all high or something. I guess i just need to keep at it and be patient…

 

[rclouse79]

One of my best hunting buddies has it. He manages to stay in pretty good shape and keeps up with me just fine. The automatic pump that hooks up to his phone is pretty cool. Hope you are able to stay on top of it and have many more hunts.

 

[Scoot]

A suggestion for you if and when you are going to hunt in the backcountry-- get a glucagon pen. Show your hunting partner how to use it and make sure he knows where it is (or just have him carry it). Not complicated to use, but you should definitely know how to do it yourself and make sure he knows in advance of actually needing it. I've had one for about 8 years and never needed it. That being said, it's kind of like carrying a pistol- you hope to never need it, but if you do, you REALLY need it.

 

[go_deep]

A suggestion for you if and when you are going to hunt in the backcountry-- get a glucagon pen. Show your hunting partner how to use it and make sure he knows where it is (or just have him carry it). Not complicated to use, but you should definitely know how to do it yourself and make sure he knows in advance of actually needing it. I've had one for about 8 years and never needed it. That being said, it's kind of like carrying a pistol- you hope to never need it, but if you do, you REALLY need it.

A glucagon nasal spray has been created. No shot needed, just send a puff up your nose, a lot simpler and easier for someone else to implement if needed.

 

[Scoot]

A glucagon nasal spray has been created. No shot needed, just send a puff up your nose, a lot simpler and easier for someone else to implement if needed.

Good point, go_deep, the spray is super convenient and easy! However, many insurance companies (like mine) don't cover them. I can't remember what it cost to buy one out of pocket, but it was ridiculously expensive when I last looked into it. It's been a couple years now, so it's even possible that my insurance would cover the spray now (but I doubt it). Getting the pen was covered by insurance, so that's the route I went. If both are covered, no doubt I'd take go_deep's suggestion and get the nasal spray. If you're in the same boat as me, you'll have to decide for yourself if the cost is worth it.


Also relevant is the expiration date on them- not sure how long the spray is good for. If it's got a reasonably short shelf-life, I wouldn't spend the money on it (but that's just me).

 

[go_deep]

Good point, go_deep, the spray is super convenient and easy! However, many insurance companies (like mine) don't cover them. I can't remember what it cost to buy one out of pocket, but it was ridiculously expensive when I last looked into it. It's been a couple years now, so it's even possible that my insurance would cover the spray now (but I doubt it). Getting the pen was covered by insurance, so that's the route I went. If both are covered, no doubt I'd take go_deep's suggestion and get the nasal spray. If you're in the same boat as me, you'll have to decide for yourself if the cost is worth it.


Also relevant is the expiration date on them- not sure how long the spray is good for. If it's got a reasonably short shelf-life, I wouldn't spend the money on it (but that's just me).

Insurance just started covering it about a year ago for my son. Seems to me that the shelf life was the same.