HELP!

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Michael Leighton

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Type 1
Hi all,
I am a 20 year old male, I have been diabetic the best part of 10 years now. I used to have my insulin via an insulin pump but have lost the funding due to poor control. I feel that now I have no insulin pump, my control has worsened. I cant remember to take my insulin and very rarely test my bloods. My confidence has massively dropped in looking after myself. I now have a very young daughter and I am stressed through study.
If anyone has any wise words or ideas I can use to better my control I would be very grateful!

Thanks for now!

Michael
 
Michael Leighton said:
Hi all,
I am a 20 year old male, I have been diabetic the best part of 10 years now. I used to have my insulin via an insulin pump but have lost the funding due to poor control. I feel that now I have no insulin pump, my control has worsened. I cant remember to take my insulin and very rarely test my bloods. My confidence has massively dropped in looking after myself. I now have a very young daughter and I am stressed through study.
If anyone has any wise words or ideas I can use to better my control I would be very grateful!

Thanks for now!

Michael
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Hi Michael, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear you are struggling so much :( You have a very important motivation to get on track with things, which you are very aware of, I'm sure - your little daughter. You're not alone in struggling like this, it happens to many people, and seems to be a particular problem when people are transitioning from paediatric to adult care. I would suggest taking things one step at a time - start doing a test before meals for example, set an alarm to remind you to take your insulin (what insulin are you on currently?). Once you can make things a habit then it only need take a few minutes of your day, instead of all the time I suspect you spend worrying about not doing it and what the consequences might be.

It might be worth asking your team if you can go on a DAFNE diabetes education course. Many people I've known have really benefited from it - not just from what they have learned about diabetes, but also being with others who are in the same position and can share experiences with 🙂 There's a bit of a tendency sometimes for people to assume that, because someone has been diagnosed for several years they must know everything, and that simply isn't the case.

Also, it might be worth asking your team is you can have a Freestyle Libre on trial. If you don't know what that is, it's a kind of continuous glucose monitor - you stick a sensor on your arm then just scan it whenever you need to know what your blood sugar levels are - much simpler than messing about with a fingerprick! 🙂
 
Hi Northener,
Thanks for the welcome! I need to seek help, because one day I want to be able to walk my little girl down the aisle.
Its re-assuring knowing that im not the only one in this position. When in school, my control was great. I had a great routine and everything was done the way it was supposed to.
It seems that since I have left school and the routine has changed, I have not adapted. I currently take Novorapid and then 1 injection a day of degludec.
The DAFNE course sounds like a good idea and I will be sure to put that idea forward next time I am in clinic (3 weeks time).
I think one of the main problems I have is that my mind is set that I am not normal, you know?
Ive always had the confidence issue of injecting in public, the thought of someone staring and thinking im a freak!
I know its silly to think those things, but I cant help it!
When in clinic the doctor who I see can often be patronising and he comes across rude, how do I solve that one?

Thanks!
 
Michael Leighton said:
I think one of the main problems I have is that my mind is set that I am not normal, you know?
Ive always had the confidence issue of injecting in public, the thought of someone staring and thinking im a freak!
I know its silly to think those things, but I cant help it!
When in clinic the doctor who I see can often be patronising and he comes across rude, how do I solve that one?
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Don't worry Michael, you are perfectly normal - if you can define what 'normal' is! 🙂 I imagine your confidence issues about injecting in public won't have been helped by the withdrawal of your pump, but it's essential that you bear in mind that people don't usually notice, and if they do so what? It's something you need to do for your health. You wouldn't think twice about someone getting out an asthma inhaler, would you? No different to that, especially since the pens we use have such tiny needles you can't even see them from a couple of yards away, and nothing like the syringes that used to be used 🙂

As for the doctor, you need to stand your ground. It's your health, and it's his job to help you get the best control you can - it's what he gets paid to do! Make him work for you with practical suggestions instead of what sounds like him making judgements about you 🙂 Or get a referral to a different clinic/doctor if possible. You know more about your diabetes than anyone else, and it's YOU that needs to manage it 99.9999% of the time, so let him know how you feel and ask how you can resolve things 🙂
 
You are very young to be dealing with all this. Do you have a relative or friend who could go to your appointments with you? Sometimes it helps to have a bit of back up. The advice you gave been given appears very good and you obviously want things to improve - or you wouldn't have posted. Good luck
 
Structured education is definitely one way to get you motivated thats for sure, BERTIE or DAFNE......

For most folk the methodical approach actually encourages you to test because you want to see how well your previous calculated dose done etc...

Sit down ASAP with your diabetes team and get something organised.....

What I do find strange and frankly, unacceptable is that you were given a pump without first completing some kind of course on dose adjustment.....it madness.....sheer madness....they must have had funding burning a hole in their pockets.....
 
Hi Aingealah,
yeah things have gotten very stressful and hard over the past couple of years, my mum normally attends with me and she understands what I mean when I say my doctor is a little funny with me. Hopefully I wont be seeing the same doctor, as the one I have had trouble with runs the pumps clinic. As I am no longer on a pump, hopefully I wont have to see him.

Thanks!
 
Novorapidboi26,
I was given the insulin pump aged 11-12, I had the animas then I had the Medtronic, but only this year lost the funding to get a new one.
 
Michael Leighton said:
Novorapidboi26,
I was given the insulin pump aged 11-12, I had the animas then I had the Medtronic, but only this year lost the funding to get a new one.
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So how did you get on using the pump then......? Surly you would have been testing all the time?

How is your knowledge of dose adjournment...? I assume you wern't told what doses to take whilst on the pump....
 
I got very lazy with the pump, my attitude towards my diabetes wasn't very good.
I just used to think 'well its attached to me ill just have the carb but no correction!'
Dose adjournment means nothing to me currently!
 
I think you have failed here big time.....honestly, i would be having strong words with your consultant....

once its all programmed in your don't have a choice about a correction dose.....you would actually need to make additional effort to remove a correction dose......

you need to start again from scratch........learning about dose adjustment etc......how each insulin works, how it effects you personally.....

its a blessing in disguise really.......once you have got educated you could maybe think about the pump again, but thats a while off from where you are now....

as your here asking for advice and help thats a very good sign, means you are ready to move forward......

what would you say should be the first thing to do regarding your doses etc....?
 
I think im not getting enough of my long lasting, I remember from when the control wasn't too bad, I was running higher later in the day. I take my long lasting on a night before bed. I think im not getting enough to last the whole day.
 
Michael Leighton said:
I think im not getting enough of my long lasting, I remember from when the control wasn't too bad, I was running higher later in the day. I take my long lasting on a night before bed. I think im not getting enough to last the whole day.
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Hello, Michael, and welcome to the forum. I don't have any first hand knowledge of Degludec ( Tresiba for those who know it by its brand name) but I considered changing to it recently, so I know that each daily injection is supposed to last for three days, so they overlap each other and give a smooth line, so it seems unlikely that it could be running out every afternoon. However, we are all different, and you need to mention your thoughts at your clinic appointment, and ask for guidance in doing some basal testing to make sure that it is covering your background needs.
I personally find it easier then to sort my short acting mealtime insulin, once I know my basal is sorted.
 
Glad that you have come to the forum Michael. A good step in making progress. I suspect that once your DSN/ Consultant see a change in your attitude they will be only too keen to help you make adjustments.

An understanding of the role of each insulin, carb counting and using correction doses, will certainly make your use of the pens or pump more effective, and help you to get back on track. A good start is just to get back into the habit of testing before each meal. If you can find a way of recording these (manually or electronically) you can then start to look for patterns in what is happening.

Keep us updated and keep asking questions.
 
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