Just started Carbohydrate Counting for Diabetes 1?

A few days ago I started having to count carbs for diabetes and I am somewhat confused. Is there a book or web-site (pref website) which would list all the carbohydrate contents of all foods. I have still been hypoing despite reducing my insulin - but I am very definitely type 1 diabetic. Maths was never my best subject and it is even more confusing since my hospital is working in grams and I work in pounds and ounces! Help please! CONFUSED AND FRUSTRATED!

I could never bother with counting carbs.

If I my blood sugar is constantly "low", then I reduce my insulin (a bit at a time) until my results are normal again.

I think the general rule is just use common sence for what you eat. Do not eat or drink really sugary things. And if you do then try not to do it too often. Also remember to eat after doing your insulin, as in your insulin injection there is short term insulin which acts for just the next 30 mins or so and long term insulin which brings down your levels through the next 8 hours.

Also note, if you do exercise then that will bring down you blood sugar level, you should eat or drink something before, during and after you do exercise. E.g. Lucozade.

You could perhaps count carbs...and read a book...but often diabetes can be managed by changing the kinds of foods that you eat rather than counting.

Example: avoid simple carbohydrates. That includes: simple sugars (fructose, sucrose, glucose), white rice, regular potatoes, breads, alcohol (like beer), soda...and switching to more complex carbohydrates: this includes brown rice, multigrain breads, and vegetables..

Good diets for diabetics are based on eating more frequently (at least 4 - 5 times /day), having protein with your meals (chicken, eggs, beef, fish) and avoiding overeating.

If you are going hypoglycemic despite cutting back on your insulin...then you may still be overdosing yourself. It is possible that you have lost weight recently.

Whatever the reason, you need to see your doctor for adjustments. Hypoglycemia is only caused by a few things in diabetics. Usually it is over dosing your medication, eating too little, or perhaps exercising too much for the amount you have eaten.

Try reading a book on managing type one diabetes. There are many...and even if they aren't written specifically about carb counting they will cover all you need to know about DM type 1.

Pick a book that is recommended by the ADA (American Diabetes Association).

Don't count carbs. Just educate yourself. Go to Borders...or Amazon.com...or ask for a recommendation by your doctor. You need professional recommendations.

Try this:

http://weightloss.about.com/cs/carbcount...

I had to count carbs as well for Gestational Diabetes and I remember 15g of carbs=1 carb exchange. I was advised by the dietician to have 3(carb exchanges) for breakfast, 4-lunch, and 3-dinner as well as 1-2 for 2 snacks during the day.

Hope this helps.

Calorie King has a simple search tool and tons of (including restaurant chains) food listed: http://www.calorieking.com/

Carbs are usually counted in grams. Once you know how much insulin you need for the standard 15g, you can extrapolate from there. And you may find that you are more sensitive to carbs at different times of day and need more or less insulin to cover.

It does take time to get used to, but after a few weeks you'll find that you eat a lot of the same foods frequently, and you'll start memorizing the carbs for those. I really like the Diet Facts website, because it also gives me the Weight Watchers Points. And it helps to quiz yourself on multiplication tables so they become more natural for you. These two websites should help:

http://dietfacts.com/

http://www.mathsisfun.com/timestable.htm...

www.calorieking.com is the best.

If you are starting I would considerer counting exchanges first which is 15g of carbohydrates.

It can be hard at first. For one, you could be coming up on your honeymoon period. This is where after you start injecting insulin your body begins producing insulin again for a short period of time before it quits for good. The honeymoon comes at different times for different people, lasts different amounts of time, and I鈥檝e also been told that your body can produce insulin sporadically. So that could be causing your hypos.

But ... carb counting for type 1s is not always as simple as they lead you to believe. Different types of carbs will react differently. A 15 carb banana is not going to do the same thing blood sugar -wise as 15 carbs worth of McDonald鈥檚 french fries. What I've observed in my daughter is when she gets more fruit for a meal she ends up needing less insulin (or more food) But if I get her a happy meal, which I do occasionally, she'll need more insulin or fewer carbs. This partly has to do with the glycemic index, which you need to study up on. And also meals high in fat will take longer for your body to digest and absorb the sugars from the foods. It will not only make your blood sugar higher than the fruit will, but it will also make your sugars higher later on.

And also ... some foods just react differently in different people. You have to figure that out for yourself.

The advice I was given for my daughter was to make sure you get the same types of foods at the same times per day every day. Let鈥檚 say you take 3 units of Humalog for lunch. Well ... if you eat fried chicken and jojos one day and your sugars come out fine, and the next day you eat a banana and a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread, then your sugars are going to go low. So I give my daughter a lot of the same things every day.

Not to say that I don't give her treats sometimes. It's just on the days when I give her high fat foods, I give her a few carbs less (40 carbs instead of 45) and instead of giving her her shot at the beginning of the meal, I'll wait until 20 minutes she's done eating everything. And that seems to keep her from going too high.

What you need to do is check your sugars more often. If you find yourself going low at certain times of the day, then start taking your sugar before that time of day. Or just at random times when you think it could go low. Take it as many times as you need to until you have it under control. And also, you can try eating the exact same things every day at the same times for a few days to figure out how much of the fluctuation is chance and how much is your diet. And then start varying it slightly to see what different foods do to you.

--edit--

And I wanted to add ... most of the carb counting I do is with measuring cups, I rarely have to weigh anything. But if you do think you need to weigh things, then there are simple digital scales available that weigh in ounces and grams. I have a scale for when I used to mail things a lot, and it has a little switch where you can slide it from oz to grams and back very easily. You can get these scales on eBay, I'm not sure where else.