Hello, Dr. Hsiao:
Type 1/LADA since June. Went shopping this week and "traditional holiday food" was everywhere. And it was harder than I expected for me to get through the store without getting emotionally drained this year, since it's the first, maybe. So much of families' interactions revolve around food.
My mother-in-law is also Type 1/LADA for about 10 years. She approaches food from a different perspective than I do. She's always been the strong driving force with her family. I used to make fun of her dishes for having 2 sticks of butter in everything from green beans to corn and potatoes. And then she brings in the pies and cookies. And my mom has always had cranberries and yams with loads of sugar.
My mother-in-law and my partner's sister (who is a nurse) keep telling me: "You can eat whatever you want, just as long as you take enough insulin." My ex's new husband is also Type 1, and he basically said I didn't need to cut out carbs so much. He is very regimented about his food, though. I'm not at the point of either of them, and I find their educated apporaches to be crappy advice for me.
My endo won't give me bolus (mealtime) insulin because my control with a few units of Lantus has "been amazing" according to him. My 2nd A1C was 6.3 -- which I think is way too high. The endo was like: "That's great. Eat more carbs. If you go over 150, we'll talk about fast-acting." Again, I think this is crappy advice.
I'm using 4-8 units of Lantus depending on the week. This week has been harder to get under 100 and stay there. Basically, I am trying to avoid carbs (down to about 60-70g per day) to maintain control. I wouldn't mind eating some more carbs, but I have no mealtime insulin. And so far, I've been terrible at the counting of carbs (ie. in a food diary). It's no fun to skip fruit and potatoes, but I keep telling these people who "should know better" that I'm not eating what they eat. They come back at me and say, "Don't you want it? You can have a little.... We need to get you a better doctor who'll give you the other medicine. You have to eat carbs for your brain, etc."
Am I wrong to be restricting carbs -- denying myself needlessly? Or are they wrong be telling me I can eat whatever and just need more shots? (btw, the two Type 1s I know are showing signs of early neuropathy, and have highs and terrible lows. I'm still honeymoon and haven't had those extremes, and don't want to be judgemental, but I feel like, if they ate less carbs, they wouldn't have such an unpredictable rollercoaster reaction. They've dealt with this longer, though. I don't know who's right.