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Help me get re-motivated

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emmassweeney

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi.

So I've been type 1 for 8 1/2 years. To start with it was easy, I could do it, my HBA1c was perfect.

Almost too easy that I've got so lazy (for want of a better word) that my diabetes is totally out of control. I brought it back to a HBA1c of 5 when I was pregnant.....but now I'm back to my old ways - 12 (in old measures)!

I need some help getting my motiovation back - help me please!

What things help you stay on track? How to do you make sure you never forget!

Thanks 😉
 
Hi Emma, welcome to the forum 🙂

I would say the best approach is to go back to basics and take things one step at a time - don't try and get everything right all at once or you'll become overwhelmed and dispirited. Small gains will add up to much better control! 🙂

What do you think is your main problem? Do you have problem times of the day e.g. are you always high on waking or after breakfast? There are a couple of steps worth taking right at the start: start a food diary so you know exactly what carbs you are eating in a day, and mark down your insulin doses and readings so you have something where you might be able to spot patterns, and find areas where a small change might lead to a large improvement. What insulin regime are you on?

Exercise can really help, by increasing insulin sensitivity which will lead to lower doses required which in turn make for more accurate dosing. Also, exercise makes you feel good about yourself - find something you enjoy, and that you will be able to fit in regularly.
 
It's not that I have perticular times of high BG it's that I don't have the inclination to test or even inject!

In the past I have gone months without testing - it's less dramatic now but for example when I mislay my pen it doesn't really seem that urgent to me!?

I just can't seem to shake myself out of his rut!

And I'm on Novorapid 3 times a day (5.10.15) with meals and Levemir (20) at night.....
 
Hi Emma Welcome to the forum. I find that it helps if I look at the average on my BG monitor and set a lower target to achieve in seven to fourteen days. So, for example, if my current average is 12 I would set a target of 11, once I had achieved the target I would set it at 10 and so on. All of the lovely people on this forum will support you🙂
 
What I think you need are firstly REASONS to get better control, and KNOWLEDGE of how to achieve this.

You have to find what motivates you. For me, it was going into a clinic when I was 19 and seeing it filled with other people with diabetes who all looked like they'd either just come back from WW1 or the elephant house, and in some cases, both. It was filled with people with barrel shaped bodies and missing limbs, hair, teeth, some in wheelchairs on oxygen tanks...and at 19 that's a hell of a wake-up call. That's what happens if you don't look after yourself. That's part of the reason why I treat my diabetes. All those people were 'diabetics'. I'm a person with diabetes. I will NOT end up like them. I refuse to. My future is in MY control and I will not be sat in that room in 10 years' time unable to breathe or walk.

But of course, not everyone responds to that motivation. So if that doesn't work for you, look for other reasons to stay healthy. You say you were pregnant so I'm assuming you're a mother. Do you want your child to lose their mother at an early age? Do you want to see them when they win a prize or graduate from school? Do you want to be able to stand up at their wedding? Do you want to be able to see your first grandchild? All this might seem years away but it might be motivation to take better care of yourself.

Whatever, you need to find a REASON. You need something real-world, something measurable, with real links to what happens to your diabetes if you don't treat it.

Once you've got your reasons, you need to find ways to help you acheive that. At the very least, I think you should learn to carb count. You're on fixed doses. You won't ever get good control on fixed doses and it certainly won't ever be easy to manage your diabetes like that. Don't worry about this yet. Find your reason first because if you aren't motivated to test or even inject at the moment, you certainly won't be motivated to work to your insulin:carb ratio or read packets etc.

In the first instance though, once you've got your reason, go for baby steps. If you're not even testing and injecting regularly, make that your first achievable goal. I wouldn't even worry about what your blood sugar is doing right now; you should start getting into good habits again. See if you can go for a whole week testing four times a day and injecting for every meal - once you've started that, you're well on your way to turning things round and making a difference.
 
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Errr - why are you on fixed doses of Novorapid?

Have you not been taught to carb count and adjust your doses to match?

Have you not been shown how to test your basal dose to make sure it's exactly right for you?

I'm not saying that as an accusation to criticise you, so don't think that I am. But how 'they' expect anyone to manage properly without that - I just have no idea whatsoever.

I wasn't 'trained' to do it until I'd had T1 for over 35 years. It is the most EMPOWERING thing I or anyone else, has EVER done for me and my D, and as we are inseperable - that would just be ME.

(not counting my first insulin jab, I guess that was pretty important too! :D )

Do you need help with that?
 
It's not that I have perticular times of high BG it's that I don't have the inclination to test or even inject!

In the past I have gone months without testing - it's less dramatic now but for example when I mislay my pen it doesn't really seem that urgent to me!?

I just can't seem to shake myself out of his rut!

And I'm on Novorapid 3 times a day (5.10.15) with meals and Levemir (20) at night.....

What have your clinic offered you? I'm surprised that you are on fixed doses still, it rather defeats the object of having a flexible regime where you match your insulin to what you want to eat. Have you ever been on a carb-counting course, or been offered one? If not, then I would ask your DSN about what is available in your area. It sounds as though you have been left to drift along with whatever knowledge you may have acquired some time ago. See if you can get a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - your library may have one - and have a browse through to see what questions it prompts. Then get an appointment with your DSN so that you can work out a plan.

Don't look back and worry about what has been and gone, that's not helpful. You've made the decision to get things under control, so start today with those small goals. 🙂
 
all good advice so far, you are obviously wanting to do something to improve your diabetes care......you've joined this forum. There are many people on here that can give you brilliant advice. 🙂 I hope you get on track soon!
 
Thanks for all your comments you really are helping me think about all the reasons to get this back on track.....

Sorry those doeses are approximate I do carb count - when I do it! Probably a habit saying it like that! my ratio is 1:10g and 3:1 correction.
 
And today is going well I suppose that's the best way to look at it 1 day at a time......3 tests all within range 🙂 and 2 calculated doses!
 
Oh yes - absolutely - just TODAY ! - and then it's habit forming, isn't it?

Esp when you go berserk one day and do everything wrong - just draw a line under it, forget it and start again tomorrow.
 
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