A new regime, a new me and better blood glucose control:

I won’t lie, it was daunting at the time and from a vanity aspect it looked a bit bulky and unsightly what with tubing hanging out from the cannula. The question of what to wear was a constant battle.

There was no need to worry within 3 months it was part of me and I loved it. It gave me freedom I had never had before and even managed to treat a hypo in a queuue in Sainsbury and give myself insulin. Unthinkable before. My pump has data which contains reports so you can track everything you eat, how much insulin you have taken, how much correction dose you give - brilliant. What I like best is the target. It depicts a circle with three colours, blue for higher than your set target, green for within (love this one) and red for below targets and hypos.

Being on the pump reduced my HBA1c within 3 months, I was chuffed and really felt I had achieved something but it still wasn’t perfect. I began to look more closely to what I was eating and found certain foods raised my levels too high, however tight the carbohydrate counting was. I had read up on GI foods and it made sense to eat the low ones, meaning less carbohydrate. First I gave up bread, white bread is the worst thing you can eat apart from pizzas and play havoc with blood glucose levels. Cereals are a definite no no, not hard for me as I see no point in eating copious amounts of sugar for breakfast. For me plain porridge with a dot of honey works well for me.

I don’t eat pasta, but have a small amount of potatoes and rice. I now eat loads of stir-fry’s, meals with vegetables and make homemade soup, which all incidentally contain natural carbohydrates just in case you think I am depriving myself! To show you what I mean I made a smoothie the other day and the fruit amounted to 40g of carbohydrate but within an hour my levels were spot on.

I have been following this regime, it’s not a diet but a healthy diet and believe me my target on my pump looks amazing. I am in control (above 8) 78%,all completely down to my diet.

Last night I had a big blip, why, because I went out for a meal. I had a protein starter, salmon and a few vegetables and fruit salad. I gave myself 40g worth of insulin and was gutted when 2 hours later my level was 19.2. Obviously it was the sauces, just goes to show there are hidden sugars everywhere.

I would like to conclude I don’t feel deprived, I don’t miss crisps, cakes or biscuits, maybe chocolate but I enjoy healthy food and I intend to keep it up. This is my challenge, my new way of life and I recommend it to anyone that wants to maintain a healthy control of their diabetes.

If you want more precise information on what I am eating, please ask.

Foods to avoid if you have type 1 Diabetes: White Pasta, Rice, Sweets such as ice creams, cookies, cakes and sweets, sugary drinks and soft drinks, packaged fruit juices, sports drinks, white bread, Coffee, Tea ( I do drink tea, will never be able to give that up) Artificial sweeteners, alcohol (this too stays on my list as doesn’t affect me) saturated fats contained in cream, cheese and butter Milk and dairy products (I only drink milk in tea and do eat a yogurt a day) dates and cereals.

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