it all feels new and complicated

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Lauraa1

Lauraa1

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I've had diabetes t1 for nearly four years now, I was diagnosed after falling into a coma and my control has been on and off, more often than not its been really bad, I'm trying to get better at coping with the condition, but its like trying to control it from being diagnosed again, does anybody have any ideas on how I can try and stay on track? :confused:
 
Hi Laura, welcome to the forum 🙂 Good to hear that you're trying to get to grips with things, hopefully we will be able to help you!

What insulin regime are you on? Have you ever been on a diabetes education course, like DAFNE for example? I would highly recommend getting a copy of Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas. It contains clear explanations about all aspects of managing Type 1 diabetes - doesn't matter how old you are too, I was 49 when diagnosed and still find it immensely useful. How helpful are your healthcare team - doctors, nurses etc.?

I find the best way to start is by recording as much as you can in a diary - your blood test results and times, insulin doses, and everything you eat and drink, including the amount of carbohydrate in everything. This might sound a bit daunting, but if you can stick with it for a couple of weeks you should start to see patterns emerging - times when your levels were high or low after eating certain things or at certain times of the day. You would then be able to look for ways that you can improve things. Once you have a good handle on things you won't need to be quite so detailed in what you record, but it makes a very good start to get your mind focussed on things.

If you have any questions at all, please ask. Nothing is considered 'silly' and you're certainly not expected to know everything, but there will usually be someone who knows the answer or has a similar experience to share 🙂

I look forward to hearing more from you 🙂
 
Hi Laura & welcome. 🙂 Do you mind me asking what regime you're on; pump, multiple injections or mixed insulin? Before I got the pump I was on multiple daily injections (mdi) & had to muddle along until finally I got to do a Dafne (dose adjustment for normal eating) course - it was like someone had turned the lights on as I finally had a handle on some basic rules for doses, exercise, coping in sickness, carb counting etc. have you done one of these courses? Some areas also do refreshers so it might be worth chatting to your dsn. There are also some excellent books around, there's one Northerner always recommends but I can't remember what it's called 😱 plus 'think like a pancreas' is good too.

Is there anything that might be kicking things out of kilter? Stress, hormone changes, changes to activity patterns etc can all throw a spanner in the spokes! 🙄

Take care xxx

PS LOL - Northerner beat me to it!!
 
Hi Laura

Sorry to hear you've been struggling :(

One of the best things you can do I suppose, is to compare notes with others.

As Northie says, the single biggest help you can give yourself is a good amount of information about what is going on.

If you have not been testing regularly then that is a major first step on the road to better control. Try to be structured, and don't worry about what the results are. This is not about 'good' or 'bad' numbers right now, it's about getting some information to help you make decisions. The improvements will come, maybe rapidly, maybe over the course of a year or two - but they will come, if you stick with it.

What sort of insulin regime are you on? How many injections a day and what sorts? Have you been taught to 'count carbs' in the food you are eating?
 
hi Laura.... welcome to the forum. I can't add anything to what Northerner and Twitchy and Everydayupsanddowns have said ... but just wanted to welcome you x
 
thankyou for the welcom 🙂
im on the mixed injections, i'm always worried about my results on the meter because i know it worries my family, plus i have a really sweet tooth, its got better recently but even though i know i shouldn't, i always end up eating something really bad, but sometimes not testing and eating what i want can kind of make it seem like i haven't got the condition.
then i go through states were i manage to control it again but can never seem to keep up the progress.
i say I'm testing about once a day every day so far and i am doing all of my injections now but i'm still eating really bad foods.
 
Hi Laura, I guess you can see that you are in denial still, but you've made a great move towards accepting your diabetes by joining here 🙂 Don't let changes overwhelm you, but do try and do something positive each day towards your goal. It may seem easier at times to ignore things, but it is clearly preying on your mind that you are not taking the care that you need to in order to stay healthy. If your blood sugar levels are poorly-controlled then this will also have a detrimental effect on your mood so you need to be especially determined to break that cycle. You can do that with our help and that of your nurse. When did you last have an appointment with your nurse? Whenever it was, I would suggest contacting her now and telling her what you have told us. If you could start the food diary I mentioned earlier then this would really help her to assess how best to help you.

Once you establish a routine around managing your diabetes, the whole thing becomes a whole lot easier - you no longer need to sit and worry or feel guilty, you can spend just a few minutes each day and then forget about it 🙂 Accepting you need to deal with it will liberate you from that constant background worry. Also, do start testing more regularly - as has been said, don't worry what the numbers are for now, they are merely providing information.

Once you have made your appointment with the nurse, I would suggest you discuss changing your insulin regime to multiple daily injections (MDI, also known as 'basal/bolus'). This will give you much more flexibility in managing your diabetes than a mixed insulin.

Do you know what your last HbA1c was?
 
I'm already glad i joined, no-one else in my family has this and one of my friends has t2, its nice to hear positive feedback though 🙂 i have an appointment on the 13th of this month to do a blood test and talk through how to help me best.

i think it is purely seeing the numbers infront of me that worries me, so i dont do the tests but i have been trying to encourage myself more and more.

i hadn't heard of the multiple daily injections routine, but i will be with a nurse soon so hopefully we can talk through it.

i dont remeber my HbA1c, it was a long while ago.

thanks again
 
Ah, good to hear that you have an appointment due 🙂 I think everyone is dismayed if they see high numbers when they test, and I know many people will avoid testing because of this, but not seeing it won't change what the levels are. It's easy for me to say, because I'm one of those people who has to know - I can't bear NOT knowing, whatever it is! 😉

With MDI, if you test and it is a high result then you can 'correct' it by taking some fast-acting insulin, so you have more control.

One of the reasons this site was set up is because the lady who started it was Type 1 for over 30 years and had never met another - in the population as a whole we're actually quite a rarity! 🙂 Well, you've now found hundreds of us and everyone is really friendly so you can say what you want to us and know that we will understand. 🙂
 
and its so refreshing already, in such a short time, i honestly wasn't expecting for there to be so many people here :D
 
Hi Laura

A warm welcome from me too. You have made a really positive start to wanting to change things and take control, well done. Northerner has given you some very sound advice. Do talk openly to your nurse about how things have been and how you want to start taking more control. Hopefully she will be 100% behind you and will be very helpful. She may well offer you her mobile number or email address so you can keep in close contact for a while.

If you do go onto MDI (multiple daily injections) there really is scope there for the odd 'naughty' thing as you can just inject the appropriate amount of rapid acting to cover the chocolate/ice cream/whatever goodie you fancy, whilst still maintaining tight control. Definitely worth asking about.

This is a wonderful place for advice, friendship and support, so keep posting on here, asking anything you want and sharing any good news and frustrations, and people will pop up and help you or congratulate you as appropriate.

Good luck with your appointment.

Tina
 
Welcome to the forum Lauraa1 🙂
 
a big welcome from me too and remember seriously no questions are regarded silly here x🙂
 
Hi Laura, I've had T1 10 times as long as you!

It's a flipping nuisance at times but to be honest, dunno why or how, even though I can't claim to have been an angel at times (if ever !) I have nearly always 'just got on with it' - and then somehow, it's never stopped me doing anything I want to, when I wanted to do it.

So OK I have to flipping test every time I just nip up the road in the car (even to go to the doctors! LOL) or whatever it is that's annoying me momentarily - but have to get it done, then I immediately forget about it and do what I want.

One thing I would say, if you ignore your diabetes completely - then it WILL most likely bite you in the bum. It doesn't like being totally ignored. Do you?

Think about it - why risk that happening if you don't have to?
 
Lauraa1 said:
and its so refreshing already, in such a short time, i honestly wasn't expecting for there to be so many people here :D
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, I was reading a couple of posts and by the time I had finished they were two new members saying hello. Everyone has a slightly different story but I am guessing the same goal.
 
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