Eating Out - Decisions

[Muddybird_26]

Really sorry to hear that @Muddybird_26

If not already done make sure to reach out to your Dr for help with your stress & anxiety, both conditions can cause bg levels to rise meaning you need more insulin to get by, same way as when you have cold flu or virus going on insulin needs increase.

Thanks
I’ve reached out this week and DSN says I’m suffering from diabetes / pump overwhelm
Yes, found the anxiety does make it worse.

 

[Muddybird_26]

As a low carbing type 2 of 6 years I try and look at the menu ahead of time if I can.

Otherwise I look for meals where the protein/meat/fish and veg aren’t mixed all in with the carbs (so no lasagna etc). Then I simply tell the wait staff I cannot eat the bread/rice/pasta/potatoes etc and ask for it to be substituted with something else on the menu somewhere - usually more salad or veg - or more of what’s already on the plate, without being silly about choosing expensive items. Sometimes I mix sides and starter and ask for it all to come as a main.

Not once has it been refused or made a fuss about. Rarely have they asked questions either. Occasionally they check it’s not an allergy situation (no), only once have they’ve asked if it’s medical as they only do swaps for medical reasons (yes). No details offered or asked in the vast majority of cases. Some have bent over backwards trying to help and are interested, or knowledgeable about low carb even.

I object to paying for a meal where I’m know I’m going to leave half of it on the plate uneaten. A waste of food and money. So I ask. If they don’t like a customer asking for what they want/need then I probably don’t want to give them my money anyway.

Thanks for sharing and great points. I think I need to be more positive over my choices. Good to read how you handle yours

 

[nonethewiser]

Thanks
I’ve reached out this week and DSN says I’m suffering from diabetes / pump overwhelm
Yes, found the anxiety does make it worse.

Although not done so myself but some pump users do take a pump break from time to time, sure @Inka is one. Might be something to discuss with your dsn next time you speak. Best wishes & take care.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thanks
I’ve reached out this week and DSN says I’m suffering from diabetes / pump overwhelm
Yes, found the anxiety does make it worse.

A passing thought, @Muddybird_26. Since you joined us on this forum in February you've made over 20 replies, shared some concerns and some medical history and my perception is that you have enjoyed participating - from that wonderful anonymity that we can have here in this forum. You might also enjoy the fun and banter that comes from the General Message Board in a thread called "Group 7-day waking average?".

If you've already looked at some of the comments in that thread you will have noticed people record readings - but not averages (the rationale for that is lost in time, but if you start at the beginning you might find an explanation as well as giving away more time trying to read umpteen thousand posts!!! Better to start straight in to today's posts.). But much more helpfully those participating chat about themselves, the lighter moments in life as well as sharing moments of "anxst" and generally spread the forum news. You might find it helpful to join in and indirectly use that as a mechanism for managing the anxiety you mention above. Sharing can be deceptively therapeutic. But beware - participating can be addictive!

Just a thought.

 

[Inka]

@nonethewiser is right @Muddybird_26 I have taken pump breaks. The longest one I took was 8 or 9 months. I find my breaks useful. I haven’t taken one for a while but when I feel pressure building up, I know I can take a pump break. A change is as good as a rest, they say 🙂

I’d also add that you can still stay on your pump but simplify its use. For example, you can use it for basal only and inject with your pen, or you can ditch all the ‘help’ it gives you and just calculate your bolus in your head without using the bolus calculator. Personally, I can’t be arsed with any of that and don’t use any of the pump calculation or help things. Sometimes it’s the button-pressing and inputting that gets to people so the simple answer is not to do it 🙂

 

[Muddybird_26]

A passing thought, @Muddybird_26. Since you joined us on this forum in February you've made over 20 replies, shared some concerns and some medical history and my perception is that you have enjoyed participating - from that wonderful anonymity that we can have here in this forum. You might also enjoy the fun and banter that comes from the General Message Board in a thread called "Group 7-day waking average?".

If you've already looked at some of the comments in that thread you will have noticed people record readings - but not averages (the rationale for that is lost in time, but if you start at the beginning you might find an explanation as well as giving away more time trying to read umpteen thousand posts!!! Better to start straight in to today's posts.). But much more helpfully those participating chat about themselves, the lighter moments in life as well as sharing moments of "anxst" and generally spread the forum news. You might find it helpful to join in and indirectly use that as a mechanism for managing the anxiety you mention above. Sharing can be deceptively therapeutic. But beware - participating can be addictive!

Just a thought.

Thanks for the pointer @Proud to be erratic, I'll head over and have a look at the thread.
Yes, I have enjoyed posting and sharing etc but it is well overdue. I hav'nt had a discussion with another T1 in 12 years of having diabetes so this has just been brilliant and hugely helpful.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thanks for the pointer @Proud to be erratic, I'll head over and have a look at the thread.
Yes, I have enjoyed posting and sharing etc but it is well overdue. I hav'nt had a discussion with another T1 in 12 years of having diabetes so this has just been brilliant and hugely helpful.

Glad to help. I don't participate in that thread routinely; I'm an avid lurker there - and most of the rest of this forum. But I do intervene once in a while, when I read something that I feel I can't resist remarking on. My antennae twitch if T3c is mentioned, otherwise I have an eclectic interest in all sorts of things posted across the forum.

 

[Muddybird_26]

@nonethewiser is right @Muddybird_26 I have taken pump breaks. The longest one I took was 8 or 9 months. I find my breaks useful. I haven’t taken one for a while but when I feel pressure building up, I know I can take a pump break. A change is as good as a rest, they say 🙂

I’d also add that you can still stay on your pump but simplify its use. For example, you can use it for basal only and inject with your pen, or you can ditch all the ‘help’ it gives you and just calculate your bolus in your head without using the bolus calculator. Personally, I can’t be arsed with any of that and don’t use any of the pump calculation or help things. Sometimes it’s the button-pressing and inputting that gets to people so the simple answer is not to do it 🙂

When you have had a pump break do you mention this to your DSN, just wondering whether they are supportive?? I've not had a pump break in 9 years of being on the pump (maybe it's no shock that I'm having pump overwhelm). You are right the button pressing and various alarms that I can't stop does get to me, especially when the thing beeps at me multiple times during the night due to sensor updating / battery running low and all the other stuff.

Why was it easier with pen injection ( that was a number of years ago).

Good thought re: using the pump in manual mode, had not even thought of that 🙄

 

[Muddybird_26]

Glad to help. I don't participate in that thread routinely; I'm an avid lurker there - and most of the rest of this forum. But I do intervene once in a while, when I read something that I feel I can't resist remarking on. My antennae twitch if T3c is mentioned, otherwise I have an eclectic interest in all sorts of things posted across the forum.

 

[Inka]

When you have had a pump break do you mention this to your DSN, just wondering whether they are supportive?? I've not had a pump break in 9 years of being on the pump (maybe it's no shock that I'm having pump overwhelm). You are right the button pressing and various alarms that I can't stop does get to me, especially when the thing beeps at me multiple times during the night due to sensor updating / battery running low and all the other stuff.

Why was it easier with pen injection ( that was a number of years ago).

Good thought re: using the pump in manual mode, had not even thought of that 🙄

I told my consultant because she had to write to my GP to get them to put a basal insulin back on my prescription. I haven’t bothered telling anyone for my other breaks. My consultant was very supportive and said she knew a few people who took breaks of varying lengths.

 

[Muddybird_26]

I told my consultant because she had to write to my GP to get them to put a basal insulin back on my prescription. I haven’t bothered telling anyone for my other breaks. My consultant was very supportive and said she knew a few people who took breaks of varying lengths.

Thanks, I've an appointment coming up with a diabetes consultant and I'll have a chat with her.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thanks, I've an appointment coming up with a diabetes consultant and I'll have a chat with her.

Do take that opportunity to chat with your Consultant about how you feel generally. You won't be the first patient she's encountered with D "angst issues" and I suspect these last few days have helped a little - not just in airing them but perhaps also in allowing you to think issues through a tiny bit more from a distance.

I always email my Consultant a day or 2 before the appointment. Just writing down the headings, then coming back to each heading and working out what I'm really trying to say does 2 important things for me: it sets an agenda for both of us and clears my mind about what really is niggling me (or worse). My Consultant always thanks me for my email and his report after the Consult always covers anything in my email, even if we barely talk about it. That keeps my GP informed, so a small double win. I should clarify that until we moved to a new County last year my Consultant was in Oxford and my GP in Bucks and neither (then) could see each other's notes. I think since the new regional Integrated Care Systems (ICS) came into existence on 1 June 2022 there has been a recent breakthrough and Trusts can see notes on their patients in other Trusts within the same ICS.