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Diabetes struggle

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
H

Harveen

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi guys I recently had my diabetic check up appointment and it wasn't great. I'm not checking it regularly and its been quite high. Need some tips on how to stay motivated to check it. I have been doing so for the last two days just need to keep going!!
Also, my eating habits aren't great i am a teenager but i still feel i should be eating better and get more active. Any tips on that??
Thankssssss
 
Hi Harveen, sorry to hear your appointment wasn't so great. I'm sure there are some folk on here who could offer some tips 🙂.
Could you tell us a bit more? How often do you test, what insulin do you take?
 
Top tips, they would be: Set reminders or alarms on your phone to check your blood sugar, Same for long acting.. if you are on long acting insulin? Maybe download a few apps. MySugr is a great app that lots of people find really helpful. Without knowing what kind of regime you are on i can't really suggest anything else, Do you carb count, What type of insulins are you on, what meter do you have etc?
 
It's similar to starting a diet and seeing the scales go lower and once that happens it incentivises you to continue with that diet and not be tempted to eat the naughty foods that will increase your weight. The motivation with diabetes is to get your BGs down to the recommended ranges preferably with a low carb diet and taking tests and meds consistently. You will feel better both in body and in mind and your diabetes team will be pleased.
In reality it's going to be tough initially and you will still get bad days but as they say, nothing worth achieving is ever easy. So try getting into a daily routine with your testing and meds.
 
Harveen you are young and therefore any thought of complications will be so far away it probably never crosses you mind as ever happening at all let alone happening to you! And let's face it - anybody that drones on incessantly about them is as boring as hell - so I'm not going to!

Let's face it - when your 'mother' (or anyone older with inferred responsibility eg teachers, doctors etc) says 'Don't do it!' then we tend to regard it as a challenge to 'do it' anyway and show em it didn't affect us in a bad way!

We've all done it in the past I'm sure, however much we may try to insist we haven't. None of us is perfect!

So instead of all that boring garbage - why don't you set yourself a challenge to change something or another out of all the things you've already identified as 'not being right' for the better? Nobody can change absolutely everything all at once - just pick one thing at a time and then do it for long enough to become a habit, before adding something else to attack?
 
Hannah DUK said:
Hi Harveen, sorry to hear your appointment wasn't so great. I'm sure there are some folk on here who could offer some tips 🙂.
Could you tell us a bit more? How often do you test, what insulin do you take?
Click to expand...
Heyy thanks for the reply. I am supposed to check 3-4 times a day. I take novorapid insulin.
 
CosmicHedgehog said:
Top tips, they would be: Set reminders or alarms on your phone to check your blood sugar, Same for long acting.. if you are on long acting insulin? Maybe download a few apps. MySugr is a great app that lots of people find really helpful. Without knowing what kind of regime you are on i can't really suggest anything else, Do you carb count, What type of insulins are you on, what meter do you have etc?
Click to expand...
I use novorapid, yeh i do carb count well most of the time. I have accuCheck. It is a really good meter but I'm just not bothered anymore I need to become more motivated because I do care about my health. Thank you.
 
Davein said:
It's similar to starting a diet and seeing the scales go lower and once that happens it incentivises you to continue with that diet and not be tempted to eat the naughty foods that will increase your weight. The motivation with diabetes is to get your BGs down to the recommended ranges preferably with a low carb diet and taking tests and meds consistently. You will feel better both in body and in mind and your diabetes team will be pleased.
In reality it's going to be tough initially and you will still get bad days but as they say, nothing worth achieving is ever easy. So try getting into a daily routine with your testing and meds.
Click to expand...
Yeh I agree thank you so much for replying.
 
trophywench said:
Harveen you are young and therefore any thought of complications will be so far away it probably never crosses you mind as ever happening at all let alone happening to you! And let's face it - anybody that drones on incessantly about them is as boring as hell - so I'm not going to!

Let's face it - when your 'mother' (or anyone older with inferred responsibility eg teachers, doctors etc) says 'Don't do it!' then we tend to regard it as a challenge to 'do it' anyway and show em it didn't affect us in a bad way!

We've all done it in the past I'm sure, however much we may try to insist we haven't. None of us is perfect!

So instead of all that boring garbage - why don't you set yourself a challenge to change something or another out of all the things you've already identified as 'not being right' for the better? Nobody can change absolutely everything all at once - just pick one thing at a time and then do it for long enough to become a habit, before adding something else to attack?
Click to expand...
Oh my god that is such a good way to go about it. Defo going to try that thank you so much really appreciate it.
 
The other bit of advice, from someone who’s been in your position: don’t try and do too much at once.

So focus now on getting into a habit of testing. The first one in the morning is the best one to start with as you know where you sit then.

As you start to test more, you’ll find there are certain foods that just seem to make your sugars go sky high. Then you can look at the food.

If you want to try and get active, find some club you enjoy. You’re more likely to do it with other people and something you enjoy.

The problem with changing too much in one go is that you could make yourself overwhelmed and then burn out, then you’re more likely to fall back into old habits.

It’s about making smart decisions.
 
Amberzak said:
The other bit of advice, from someone who’s been in your position: don’t try and do too much at once.

So focus now on getting into a habit of testing. The first one in the morning is the best one to start with as you know where you sit then.

As you start to test more, you’ll find there are certain foods that just seem to make your sugars go sky high. Then you can look at the food.

If you want to try and get active, find some club you enjoy. You’re more likely to do it with other people and something you enjoy.

The problem with changing too much in one go is that you could make yourself overwhelmed and then burn out, then you’re more likely to fall back into old habits.

It’s about making smart decisions.
Click to expand...
Yeh that sounds good. I'll start by doing it in the morning then be motivated for the rest of the day. Thank you so much.
 
I'll just ask a difficult question. The answer sums it up very well!

How would you eat an elephant (on the basis that for some reason, you have to) Harveen?

Think about it a bit, before you answer.
 
These pages might help you Harveen, hopefully some relevant information.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Teens .

Diabetes control is a lot to deal with at the same time as growing up. I used to think everyone else was doing a fantastic job of their control and I was the only one making a right old mess of it. Everyone has times when they struggle, that's the nature of diabetes. Think of all the things you are already doing well and try to sort other areas where you know you can improve things. Bit by bit as the others have said you'll find yourself in a better place with improved results to show for it and once you start seeing better results you'll feel really proud of your achievements and want to maintain them. 🙂
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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