MedHelp's What To Do Guide

[darrensv1]

Hello there!

    I want to start off by thanking all of you for the time investment, support, and advice that you have offered to those belonging to this community.  It is because of you that MedHelp not only continues to grow, but also remains a leader in the online health community.  We care very much about the conditions that are discussed in the Juvenile Diabetes forum and would like to provide a new service for users that are new to this community.  I am employed by MedHelp and we are planning to develop a kind of "What To Do Guide" for those that have been recently diagnosed with diabetes and are looking for the support and advice that you have been so grateful to share.  This guide will be tailored to the needs of those new to the forum, but will also have references that even our most active users will find useful.

    If you would be so kind as to reply to this post regarding the most important, vital information that those who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes should be aware of, we would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you in advance for your input and we hope, as you do, that you will continue to be a source of knowledge and information for others.

Thank you,
Darren

[Zoelula]

Since you work for MedHelp there is something that I wanted to suggest which is that you change the name of this forum. "Juvenile Diabetes" is an extremely outdated designation for Type I diabetes and could be very confusing to the many people who are diagnosed as Type I in adulthood, including those who like myself were misdiagnosed as Type 2 due to age and are in fact LADA Type 1.5. Please consider renaming this forum simply Type 1 Diabetes.

As for "what to do". My suggestions would be to read, read, learn, learn. Type 1 diabetes is a complex disease and evryone's management differes. There is lots of good information out there and knowledge equals power to treat your disease.

My next point would be test, test, test. For most Type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetics 8 times per day is minimum (fasting, before and 2 hrs after each meal and bedtime). Also test to see how different foods affect your glucose and test whenever you have a concern about hypo or hyperglycemia.

My last point would be to recognize that you are going through a major change in your life and that things will never be the same. This is very stressful and a lot of emotions may come up for you: anger, sadness, confusion, fear. Whatever you feel is OK, but you may need to take extra special care of yourself when you are newly diagnosed including talking to your loved ones or even a professional, getting proper rest and nutrition and remembering to enjoy the things in life that you enjoyed before your diagnosis.

[darrensv1]

Thank you so much for your response.  In response to your suggestion concerning the name of the forum, we are taking it into consideration.

Thanks!

[Zoelula]

Great, thanks, darren!