Feeling sorry for myself?

[banditbilly]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some encouragment - I am getting a bit 'down' about all this diabetes stuff! I've been taking insulin for the past 2 weeks and my sugar levels have fallen a bit, but are still in double figures? All the 'finger pricking' before meals, the injections etc all seem to be for nothing? I'm finding it hard to accept that I will have to do this for the rest of my life? 😱

 

[AJLang]

I'm sorry to hear that you are finding things difficult at the moment. This is not surprising as everything is still new and you must be in shock. You will get used to it all soon and it all become second nature to you so that you can focus on the rest of your life.

 

[vince13]

Hi, I'm afraid nothing with Diabetes seems to be simple ! I went onto insulin in January this year and, although results were good initially, I've been battling just recently to keep figures in acceptable levels but I do feel I'm getting there.

Is your Diabetes Care Team approachable ? Mine have stressed to me that they are only there to advise and, in the end, it's down to me to work at diet, exercise etc but they are there for advice when I need it and I have bothered them this year a lot and they've been very kind to me.

I'm sure some of the others on here will come up with more practical advice but I just wanted to say you are not alone in trying (and seeming to fail !) in understanding your Diabetes control. Good luck with your journey into insulin-controlled Diabetes land.

 

[Caroline]

The best advice I can give is keep coming and asking questions. I am not on insulin so can't help there, although others wil lhave lots of ideas.

We all get down sometimes, but this forum is great and everyone is very supportive. Everyone listens and there is always help or ideas for things.

I hope things improve for you soon.

 

[margie]

my sugar levels have fallen a bit, :

Try to take heart from the above. All though your levels are still not where they should be they are coming down which s good. Are your team advising you on increased insulin doses? The other thing I will say is sometimes your body is happy with a slow but steady rather than a rapid reduction as its easier for it to cope with that.

So hang in there keep posting and you will get there.

{{{hugs}}}

 

[novorapidboi26]

You have come to the right place for encouragement............

As you say, you have only been on insulin for 2 weeks, so getting the results you want might take a little time............the beauty is with the right advice from your team, you can increase you insulin dose and then start seeing better numbers, which in turn will make you feel a lot better, physically and mentally.........

Keep up the good work..............🙂

 

[Northerner]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some encouragment - I am getting a bit 'down' about all this diabetes stuff! I've been taking insulin for the past 2 weeks and my sugar levels have fallen a bit, but are still in double figures? All the 'finger pricking' before meals, the injections etc all seem to be for nothing? I'm finding it hard to accept that I will have to do this for the rest of my life? 😱

I would say that, at this stage, try not to look too far ahead - that can be very overwhelming. Take each day as it comes, and think of it as just a few minutes a day that you have to occupy yourself with testing and injecting. If you are still on fixed doses this will be the reason that your control might not be as good as you would hope, but it will come as you learn to associate doses with carb-content of food. At this early stage it's better that you are not taking too high doses that might result in hypos and if your levels are coming down gradually then this is better for your overall health.

You will still be feeling a bit rotten because your levels are generally above 'normal' range, plus you will still be getting over the shock and physical effects of diagnosis. There will always be times when you are feeling down - remember that non-Ds feel down too, it's just that when we are feeling down the first thing that we point the finger at is diabetes!

Hope you are feeling much better and more positive about things soon 🙂 If you have a good DSN then it is worth asking for an appointment to discuss how you are feeling with her/him. I did this when I was at your stage and I was surprised at how emotional I became when talking to her (yes, there were tears!), but it really helped 🙂

 

[Copepod]

Banditbilly - while it's natural to want quick improvements, it really is best to lower blood glucose levels and increase insulin doses gradually, so that you don't experience too many "false hypos", which feel like real hypos because your body has got used to higher levels.

Finger pricking before meals is all part of the process, but you probably won't need to test before every meal for ever, although many people on insulin prefer to test very often. Tests are needed before driving, activity etc, but if meals and life are pretty regular / unchanging, then premeal tests can be omitted, once you are on the right range of doses.

Tough to put into practice, but try not to be too impatient. And do continue to ask your DSN and here.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some encouragment - I am getting a bit 'down' about all this diabetes stuff! I've been taking insulin for the past 2 weeks and my sugar levels have fallen a bit, but are still in double figures? All the 'finger pricking' before meals, the injections etc all seem to be for nothing? I'm finding it hard to accept that I will have to do this for the rest of my life? 😱

Hi Billy,
take one day at a time, having a bad day? There's always tomorrow.
Have you actually changed your diet as well as going on insulin? As in cutting back on the amount of carbs you eat? This will improve your numbers as well.

2 weeks on insulin wont see fantastic results the idea is to start of slowly lowering your numbers so you don't end up with a massive hypo due to an overdose of insulin 😱 Lowering to quickly can also trigger more health problems as well.

If you drive make sure you tell the DVLA you are now on insulin if you haven't already done so 🙂

 

[imtrying]

agree with everyone else. it's all just trial and error and everyone's different. please just keep posting and questions or theories you have, and someone is bound to be able to offer some advice 🙂