Hello, I’m need of advice please.

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StephB

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello. I’m a Type 1 Diabetic and have been for about 12 years now, I was diagnosed when I was 13 and now I’m 25. My relationship with diabetes has always been a hard one. I’m needle phobic and went through therapy in order to do my own injections which took a good 3 years. I often also don’t really test my bloods (only checking when showing signs for hypos or hypers), but I have been trying to improve this!

anyway my main struggle atm is work, and more importantly hypos at work. Over the past two weeks no matter what I do (reduce insulin, eat more, test more) I keep having a hypo…everyday. My work “try” to be understanding. I’m a snappy hypo kinda diabetic and I often fine myself seeming short tempered in hypo state. I’ve said this, I’ve informed them that it is in no way personal, however everyone always does take it personal and I have no idea what else to do.

I wrote my own protocol for work, detailing my own personal signs and symptoms and what to look out for, I added additional information about severe hypos I’ve had and how this impacted me. But I just feel it’s never sinking in.

because of my needles phobia and anxiety of change tbh, I am very reluctant to use one of the Libre systems but I had been given the free trail….and honestly i don’t want to do it. However I feel pressured from work to do so, ive only been noticing these hypos recently since I’ve became more stressed with this.


any advice…and I mean anything please it would be a massive help!
 
Hi Steph, the more you get stressed the more hypos you will have. Been there. The stress caused me to drink coffee and eat chocolate as you knows caused bsl spikes and hypos. I’m on the libra 2 now and I have set an alarm to let me know before I go into a bad hypo tbh and it helps.
What do you think…
Chris.
 
Chipster88 said:
Hi Steph, the more you get stressed the more hypos you will have. Been there. The stress caused me to drink coffee and eat chocolate as you knows caused bsl spikes and hypos. I’m on the libra 2 now and I have set an alarm to let me know before I go into a bad hypo tbh and it helps.
What do you think…
Chris.
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I just have so much anxiety regarding the Libre…I don’t think it will help in work.

I literally wrote what I consider and my diabetic care team consider a good one. Yet still people miss my signs at work and then I feel I’m becoming more anxious and eating sugary stuff but then I end up low anyway.

I think my biggest fear around the Libre is… I don’t get great reception in work on my phone, I don’t like the idea of something there all the time reminding me and everyone I’m diabetic, and what if I can’t do it, and work is annoyed or angry at me.
 
The libra tag I hide under my t shirt sleeve . Like you I’m conscious of people knowing I’m T1d so I never tell them and try hide it.
It uses the blue tooth on my phone so will alert me if going low I set it at 4.5 but going to change this to 5 to give me more time. What sort of work do you do… you don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.
 
Chipster88 said:
The libra tag I hide under my t shirt sleeve . Like you I’m conscious of people knowing I’m T1d so I never tell them and try hide it.
It uses the blue tooth on my phone so will alert me if going low I set it at 4.5 but going to change this to 5 to give me more time. What sort of work do you do… you don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.
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I just don’t know how I feel about it. I mean everyone is making a few fuss cause I’ve actually agreed to the trail, I’ve been rejecting it the past 2 years opting to stay on my normal Humlin M3 twice a day insulin. This regime has always been alright for me.

I’m a nursery teacher… preschool teacher.
 
Chipster88 said:
If you set the libra you wouldn’t need to rely on the people at work hopefully.
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That’s the thing, I’m not relying on them though..,I know full well when I‘m having a hypo etc, I just wrote out my signs and that cause they never just let me get on with it and a protocol is needed in case of inspection etc.

I just feel like I can’t do anything in this place without them being like “maybe you should check your bloods” I’ve been checking at times before when I’ve been like 5.6 cause they’ve asked and as this goes on and then with my increase in hypos these past few weeks I just feel like my body is trying to make me have some kind of breakdown.

ive never in my whole time with diabetes felt it so difficult to deal with than I have right now.
 
It’s not about the other people or anything it’s about what’s best for you. All I can say is try it.
I’ve noticed in summer my insulin works quicker too with the heat.
You’ll have a stressful job been a nursery teacher too.
 
StephB said:
That’s the thing, I’m not relying on them though..,I know full well when I‘m having a hypo etc, I just wrote out my signs and that cause they never just let me get on with it and a protocol is needed in case of inspection etc.

I just feel like I can’t do anything in this place without them being like “maybe you should check your bloods” I’ve been checking at times before when I’ve been like 5.6 cause they’ve asked and as this goes on and then with my increase in hypos these past few weeks I just feel like my body is trying to make me have some kind of breakdown.

ive never in my whole time with diabetes felt it so difficult to deal with than I have right now.
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I’m my case 5.6 I class as low and normally try to run at 7 plus tbh.
I know I’m struggling with it too tbh.
 
Chipster88 said:
It’s not about the other people or anything it’s about what’s best for you. All I can say is try it.
I’ve noticed in summer my insulin works quicker too with the heat.
You’ll have a stressful job been a nursery teacher too.
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I’m not going to write it off.

and yeah, definitely bloods always go lower in the summer and I expect that. Thank you so much for your responses, much appreciate!
 
StephB said:
I’m not going to write it off.

and yeah, definitely bloods always go lower in the summer and I expect that. Thank you so much for your responses, much appreciate!
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It’s ok Steph. Let me know how you get on. Sometimes it’s good to talk to other people in the same position.
Chris.
 
I would never class 5.6 as low. Low to me is anything below 4.5, high to me is anything above 12. I normally stick in the 5-9 range when it’s behaving, but as ive said it’s just not atm.

Yeah it is. There’s another diabetic at my work but she doesn’t treat it. Forgets her insulin, told me she normally sits at 22-25 and I just can’t even respond to that. She can’t wrap her head around why I’m struggling so much and I think to myself if I cant even get the other diabetic in my work to have some understanding of my condition then I’ve no hope lol.

Again thank you! I will let you know how it goes.
 
Hi @StephB I have a needle phobia and I’ve recently got the Libre 2. I’ll admit that the first time it took me ages to insert it. I kept feeling faint. However, it was far, far less bad than I imagined, and better than an injection. It’s a fantastic bit of kit, and being able to scan is so quick. The best thing is that the arrows on it show you which way your blood sugar is going so you can top-up with carbs and ward off hypos. The alarms are also excellent.

Wearing the Libre, I’m completely unaware of any internal bit. It just feels like someone stuck a badge on my arm. I’m only aware of it in order not to knock it off. It’s brilliant.

Another thing to say is that I presume your Humulin M3 is due to the lesser number of injections? Could it be the proportions of that mix no longer suit you? Finally, could this very hot weather be causing your hypos? I’ve found my blood sugar more erratic.
 
Hi @StephB, I see you are taking M3 premix, which does allow you to take fewer shots per day, but is more difficult to fine tune, especially for type 1, as it is a fixed dose solution.
I took premix for 2 years and to deal with the hypos I had to always carry lots of fast carbs; and the hypers drove me to despair, a separate pen of novorapid helped, but often I would ride the roller coaster all day. Moving to separate basal and bolus made such a difference.
Using Libre has made the biggest difference to my management of diabetes, it is a game changer.

I think you are already aware of the possible solutions to your issues, but for your own reasons are reluctant.

  • Swap your M3 for separate basal and bolus shots
  • Use a libre 2 for alarms to help prevent hypos
  • Aim for a higher glucose range while at work
  • Graze while at work (Eat a little between every lesson)
 
Inka said:
Hi @StephB I have a needle phobia and I’ve recently got the Libre 2. I’ll admit that the first time it took me ages to insert it. I kept feeling faint. However, it was far, far less bad than I imagined, and better than an injection. It’s a fantastic bit of kit, and being able to scan is so quick. The best thing is that the arrows on it show you which way your blood sugar is going so you can top-up with carbs and ward off hypos. The alarms are also excellent.

Wearing the Libre, I’m completely unaware of any internal bit. It just feels like someone stuck a badge on my arm. I’m only aware of it in order not to knock it off. It’s brilliant.

Another thing to say is that I presume your Humulin M3 is due to the lesser number of injections? Could it be the proportions of that mix no longer suit you? Finally, could this very hot weather be causing your hypos? I’ve found my blood sugar more erratic.
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I’m trying best at the moment to not think about actually doing it, or having it. I know it’s benefits, a child at my work had one and a pump and I admired her cause she’s like 4 and able to do this, and at the time I was 24 and couldn’t even phantom doing such a thing.

that’s why I know I’ve already made a big step ordering the thing. Does work consistently though? I’ve seen a fair amount of reviews that haven’t been so kind.

Thats one of my main fears, the HOW it is in you? You know? A badge in your arm does not sound pleasant at all!

Yes, I have been on Humalin M3 since I was 15, after finding out I was allergic to the Novomix insulin I was on before. I also take Humalog to reduce hypers but this has been fairly recent, just this past year.

And yes, that’s why I’ve been trying to eat more carby lunches, especially at work. However, I do think it’s what Chris has said and that I am simply stressing myself too much. However I only ever knew this to raise your levels.
thanks for your reply.
 
On your arm not in 🙂 I don’t feel anything in me at all. I don’t feel my Libre. If I do stop to try to make myself be aware of it, it just feels like a little badge-size piece of plastic without any pin stuck to the outside of my arm. That’s all. It’s far less ‘intrusive’ than an injection. There’s a tiny filament like the width of a hair that’s in you but I’m not aware of that at all.

The inserting thing reminds of of one of those children’s stampers that you used to get where you pressed down the plastic cylinder on paper or someone’s hand and it made a little print of a smilie face or whatever. You don’t see anything happening. When you remove the inserter, everything is done. All you need to do is make sure the plastic badge like thing is stuck to your arm properly. The outer plastic badge bit is the Libre basically. The tiny filament is an absolutely minuscule fraction of the device.

Yes, mine has worked very well. I’ve had a couple that failed but I just returned them to Abbot and they were replaced. I use the Libre reader and love it. It takes away a lot of fear.

I agree - stress can make me both high and low too. The Libre removes a lot of my stress at work - a huge amount. It also means testing is a million times easier and I’m not worrying about going low.
 
Hi @StephB ,

I'm also needle phobic and struggle with inserting my Libre for about 2 hours every time I need to change it but it is 100% absolutely worth it!

As @Inka says, you're almost completely unaware that it's on you expect for making sure you don't knock it off.

I find the build up of the thought of putting one on is the worst bit for me, the actual insertion takes less than a second and it's never hurt me at all.
 
Not thinking too much is the trick @Jacen017 I try to focus on the order of what I’m doing and talk to myself. I push through each step carefully but purposefully without unnecessary pausing.

@StephB I put a new Libre on today and thought about your fears. There is no needle to see, neither before or after insertion. All you do is get the two bits and assemble them, which takes a few seconds. I really made myself focus on the insertion today, trying to identify when it happened, but I honestly couldn’t feel anything. The only thing I will say is that the inserter thing makes a definite noise when you press it. This is good because you know you’ve done it properly and can get it done with confidence, but it can surprise you first go.

Watch the insertion video a number of times over a few days so you’re happy what to do and get used to it better. Chose a day to insert it when you’re not rushed and are calm. If you need any help, however small, do ask 🙂
 
Thank you so much everyone.
I will admit I’m terrified to do it, but it’s arrived today. Your messages have filled me with a bit more confidence and reassurance.
I think my real main fear is the children at work, I know they have a habit of pressing a colleagues hearing aids and they’re always so intrigued with my finger pricks already, would them touching it cause issues? I don’t exactly want to be walking about with long sleeves with summer weather.
 
StephB said:
would them touching it cause issues
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Touching is fine, but it's not impossible to remove it! It's like a plaster with a plastic disk, stuck to your arm.

I'd guess it'll probably be fine. You mention one of the children uses them (presumably without anyone ripping it off). There are straps and other things on sale that can fix it more securely, if necessary.
 
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