Looking for a little support!

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KathleenJ

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all,

My name is Kathleen, I'm 24, I was diagnosed when I was 9 years-old, and I live in Brooklyn, New York.

Ever since I was young, I've been surrounded by people with diabetes (when I was diagnosed, my mom and dad started a summer camp for children with diabetes), but now that I'm older, I really feel lacking in support. I see a CDE who is helpful, but my problem is that I have crippling anxiety about diabetes.

I check my blood sugar upwards of twenty times a day, even while I'm wearing the sensor, because of how absolutely terrified I am of going super low or super high, but that anxiety doesn't translate into great blood sugars! I overthink and overcorrect on both ends. And I'm a perfectionist, so I get really down on myself.

My last a1c was 7.4 (down from 8.2 three months prior), but I can never seem to get much lower. I worry about complications all the time! Are there other people out there who have bad anxiety? I take anti-anxiety medicine and see a psychiatrist weekly, but sometimes, nothing feels like enough!

I feel like this site might be really good for me.

Thanks for reading!

Kathleen
 
Hi Kathleen and welcome to the forum 🙂

I'm coming from a different angle to you, as it's my son who is type 1 (he's 12 now), but I do understand the constant anxiety! I'm guessing you're on a pump since you mention sensors. Do you wear sensors full time or just occasionally? My son uses the Veo pump with a sensor perhaps once a month, and I'd love him to have them full time, as the low-predict and high-predict alarms are so useful. Do you use these? He tests 10-12 times a day (including me doing a couple of tests during the night). Upwards of 20 sounds a lot (your fingers must be fed up!), but if you have a hectic lifestyle or do a lot of exercise maybe you feel more in control knowing what your levels are doing.

Try not to be too hard on yourself about it. As long as each test serves a purpose (ie you take some useful action based on the results), then they are worth doing. It's hard to put your diabetes on the back burner when you do need to think about it all the time. Sounds like you are doing a great job with the reduction in your a1c 🙂
 
Hello Kathleen, welcome. There are lots of helpful and knowledgeable people on the forum who can help you.

Try to remember that you're a normal person with one extra thing to bother with in your life. You should be able to do whatever you want, albeit with a few adjustments now and again. Whilst your anxiety about complications is based on real risk, you are doing all that you can to reduce your own risk as far as possible. Worrying about it won't help... but I know it's hard to let go of a worry once it takes root. 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum KathleenJ.

You'll have to excuse us, that most forum members are based in UK or Republic of Ireland, or are British / Irish living in other countries, so there's a lot of discussion about NHS (National Health Service) etc. I'm not sure what a CDE is? C?? Diabetes Educator? Obviously, these boards tend to be busiest during daytime GMT / BST (Greenwich Mean Time / British Summer Time)

But somethings are universal, so do ask, and we'll try to help.
 
CDE is a Certified Diabetes Educator (nearest equivalent here is the DSN). The Endo is the Consultant Endocrinologist.
 
Thanks, Redkite. I've worked with so many mothers of children with diabetes (through the summer camp I volunteer at), and I have to say that sometimes I wonder what side is more difficult to be on! Good for you for being active on forums and such.

I exercise a lot, which causes me to go low a lot. It's so complicated sometimes! Thanks for the support on my a1c. I just worry that I'll never be able to get it much lower than the lower 7s because I'm so anxious and sensitive to lows.

The sensor is a blessing and a curse. I like being clued in, but sometimes it causes me to overthink and react to trends too quickly, as opposed to waiting for things to even out a bit. Does that make sense?
 
Copepod, thanks for the support. I used to be so relaxed about it, but now that I'm an adult, I find it hard to detach from my anxiety or not feel guilty for 10-15 years of slightly high a1c's (always between 7-8). I'm super healthy, just ran a half marathon a year ago, eat well, etc., and sometimes I forget that that's a factor as well! I need to give myself more credit for my other aspects of health that seem to, at times, get overshadowed by my shame in non-perfect a1c's.

AH DIABETES. So silly. 🙂
 
Hi Leelee, thanks for the tip off! I was reading the posts and got excited about the forum, so I joined, forgetting that it was a UK based operation. Is it okay that I'm on here? I understand if it's not!

CDE stands for Certified Diabetes Educator.
 
Hi again Kathleen, don't worry about not being UK based, everyone is welcome wherever they live 🙂. I look at plenty of non-UK forums too, the only problem is getting my brain to understand the BG levels in mg/dl instead of mmol/l that we use here!

If you do lots of exercise, have you had a look at the Runsweet website? Lots of tips on there for managing type 1 and sport:

http://www.runsweet.com/

I find the sensor can't always keep pace with rapid changes in BG levels when my son is exercising, so tend to rely more on blood testing. The sensor comes into its own in the hours after exercising, when you can see if things are starting to run lower than they should!

Don't feel guilty about your historical a1c's, as (a) you can't change history, and (b) 7-8 is actually pretty good for those teenage/early 20's years. Which summer camps do you help with? 🙂
 
Hi and welcome from me too -New York has to be my most favourite place! love it and Carmines the best place to eat! mind you those were pre carb counting days- welcome again
 
Of course you're welcome, KathleenJ - just wanted to explain why things mught seem quiet sometimes when you're awake, and that abbreviations and systems are different - at least we don't have to cope with health insurance companies (except for travel insurance issues)
 
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