Help!!

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cmaxwell8

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Type 1
Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this website. I'm 20 and a type 1 diabetic and have been for 8 years nearly! I'm struggling with it all at the moment and often like to pretend I don't have diabetes, am I the only person like this or can anyone relate to this feeling/problem?!! :confused:
Thanks,
Cher
 
Hi Cher and a warm welcome to the forum, I guess all of us at some point have been in denial and if we had a magic wand we would magic diabetes away but as that is not going to happen then we have to stand up dust ourselves off and get on with it.With diabetes you cant become complacent or it will come back around and bite you on the backside, things will get hard at times and often the easiest thing to do is lock diabetes away in the drawer and forget it but it never lets you forget so in the long run its not worth it...Your making a good move by joining this website you need to know anything ask at anytime someone will always be around x
 
Hi Cher, welcome to the forum 🙂 You are certainly not the only person to feel like you do, and you will find many people here who can share experiences with you. How are you struggling? Are your levels not so good, or do you find it difficult motivating yourself to test etc.? What insulin regime are you on?

Please ask anything you are unsure of and we will try our best to help - nothing is considered 'silly' and you're not expected to know it all! I look forward to hearing more from you 🙂
 
Hi Cher and a warm welcome to the form - the best place for links to useful stuff as well as access to the experiences of others in a similar position to yourself.
I haven't been in denial, but I have been guilty of ignoring my diabetes in the past. Trouble is, it is you that will suffer if you don't look after yourself.
It's gonna be with you for life, so you may as well get a hold of it and live a longer and healthier life. That, of course, doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to do as much as any non-diabetic, unless you always fancied being a 747 pilot or a gun-toting member of the armed forces .....
When you have a mo, let us have a brief summary of what treatment regime you are currently on and what your BG's are like - I'm sure you will get many helpful tips on how to improve things, if needs be.
We're all a friendly bunch and no question is considered silly 🙂
 
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Thanks for the quick responses. I'm on multiple injections (Glargine and Novorapid) but for the past year I've hardly been testing at all and I was admitted to hospital last week with severe ketoacidosis and it has really frightened me and now I'm testing 7 times a day (which seems excessive).

I live in the Midlands, in Derby. I feel so alone with it sometimes and no matter how I try and explain, nobody understands until theyre in this situation. I don't know anyone near me who has type 1!
 
cmaxwell8 said:
Thanks for the quick responses. I'm on multiple injections (Glargine and Novorapid) but for the past year I've hardly been testing at all and I was admitted to hospital last week with severe ketoacidosis and it has really frightened me and now I'm testing 7 times a day (which seems excessive).

I live in the Midlands, in Derby. I feel so alone with it sometimes and no matter how I try and explain, nobody understands until theyre in this situation. I don't know anyone near me who has type 1!
Click to expand...

Cher you could turn that stay in hospital into a positive, now you know what can happen if you dont look after yourself, and im sure you dont want to go down that route again, im in a similier situation where im a type 2 but have no other type 2s in my close proximity thats why this place is my best friend.
 
Glad to see you're testing again - it's the only way to understand what is happening to you.
Remember - you can't manage what you don't measure!
Key to success is in understanding your BG results, then acting on them.
I've been T1 for 28 years, but it was only through suggestions on this forum that I decided to experiment with splitting my basal (long-acting) Lantus injections - so far, the signs are very encouraging.

Sorry to hear that you feel like you're on your own, but I bet there's loads of diabetics in the Derby area - maybe worth a look on the Diabetes UK website to see if there are any local groups?

AND you've now got us lot - bliss :D
 
You're on the same as me Cher. Have you been on a carb-counting course, like DAFNE for example? 7 tests a day is certainly not excessive, although it may seem a lot if you have been a while without testing. You should be testing before each meal and before bed, with additional tests when you feel low or high or to check the effect of different foods on your levels. If you drive you also need to test before that to make sure you are safe to do so.

We are having a forum meet in September in Birmingham (a long time off yet, I know!) but you'd be more than welcome to come! Have a look in the Events section for other meet ups. There are lots of people here around your age so you wouldn't feel left out and it can really help to be with people who 'get it'! You might also be interested in Circle D, which has social groups for people 18-30 http://www.circledrocks.co.uk/ 🙂
 
7 tests a day is absolute not excessive! Some teams would consider that the minimum you should test 🙂 so please don't worry about that!

There's another user on here (or is she on facebook? Ah I can't remember!) from Derby who is about the same age as you - I can put you in touch if you'd like.
 
..

My levels are running between about 7-15 at the moment which has suprised me really as I expected them to be much higher!

I'd love it if you'd put me in touch with her..thank you.

I did the dafne course a few years ago but when I turned 18 I completely fell off the 'Diabetes Wagon' and lived like any other 18 year old! I am trying to stay positive since I've come out of hospital because I'm scared of the future if I dont change my ways now. I feel a lot better testing now and recording my results so I can look at where and when they peak.

Me and my family are trying to adopt the Low Gi Diet, do any of you follow this or suggest anything better?
 
Hey, I will talk to her over facebook and get you guys in touch 🙂

The most important thing is that you've got your motivation to get things turned around! Use your team - ask to see your DSN regularly for help with carb counting and adjusting insulin. Logging is a fab way of doing this and really helps you see patterns!
 
Hi Cmax

Very encouraging that you are looking around for help/support/other diabetics experiences.

Post all the questions and frustrations you can think of. You can be sure someone around here will have been there, done that and might just have a suggestion that you could discuss with your DSN/clinic.

M
 
Hi Cher.

Can only echo what's been said. We all try to have time off from diabetes, but it gets us back in the end 🙄

As Steff said, your DKA experience is a wake up call and now you've gone from knowing no T1s to meeting quite a few at once. Another experience many of had for the first time when we joined !:D

Hope you can learn the best ways of taking care of yourself and hope to see you posting.

Rob
 
Hi Cher

Welcome to the forum 🙂 xx
 
Hi Cher - I know exactly how you feel! It can be really hard to cope sometimes. I am 23 and don't know anyone else my age with type 1 diabetes - to be honest I don't think I know anyone with type 1 at all except my younger cousin who struggles a lot, always in and out of hospital but unfortunately due to a family feud between our parents I can not contact her! I live south of Birmingham so not that close to you but not too far either. Since joining this forum I feel so much more positive, I hope it helps you too. I am hoping to go to the meet in Birmingham in Sept, a long way off still but something to look forward too 🙂
 
Remember there is a big big meet up on April 9th in London - everyone is welcome - stay as long as you like (or as short as you like!) would be great to see loads of people there! 🙂 there are more details about it in the Events section of the forum.
 
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