Looking for friends

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Lizzie

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all

I am looking for friends. I went on the DAFNE course last year but since then there has been no follow up and I am backsliding. I want to find people who I can chat to via email or face to face maybe. I am 26 and live in London, and have Type 1. I am also fat and am looking especially for other fat type 1s who I can share my experiences with, and people who have struggled with their diabetes.

Lizzie
 
Hi Lizzie,

Forums like this can introduce you to many new friends, I'm not fat nor do I live in London but I am type 1 and here and more than willing to talk via Private messaging or email

Alistair
 
hi lizzie

I'm type 1, 25 and also did dagne just over a year ago. I found the course to be fantastic but I've slipped a bit recently, really could have done with some sort of follow up, it's so much easier to keep on track during the course when you know someone is checking up on you! I've have recently made contact with the nurses who ran the course though and they have been great at giving me a bit of a refresher.

A
 
Hi Lizzie

I too went on the DAFNE course and am slowly slipping, although a lot of the prinicples are extremely helpful. I've always counted carbs and made corrective doses since I was pregnant for the first time 17 years ago - not that I told the medical profession - it wasn't approved of then!!! I would love to be your friend, I have 37 years experience of being type 1 (since the age of 5) - unfortunately I don't fit your criteria of being a fat diabetic but am well aware of the effect insulin has on body mass and the problems of maintaining a healthy BMI - V
 
i'm not fat, i'm not from london and i'm not 26 but i'll be your friend! :D xxxx
 
Hi there,
I'm 23 from London and have had diabetes for nearly 9 years.
I haven't done DAFNE but i do carb count. mayeb you could get an appointment with your DSN or dietician to go over things again and get you back on track.
look forward to getting to know you
 
Hi all

thanks for replying. I probably will get an appointment with my dsn or dietitian. But at my recent annual review I asked if I should see one of them and the doctor said 'only if you have a specific issue to discuss'. I don't, I just want general support. But really they can only tell me what I know already. I feel lousy and do not need to be told that I should eat 5 a day or exercise or take my blood sugars more than I do. I know it already. The problem is I feel so low and unmotivated and I am constantly struggling against this feeling of inertia like I am pushing a bus up a hill. I am under a lot of stress at work and things are incredibly uncertain in other areas of my life which is driving me mad. That feeling of not being in control has seeped into my diabetic control and I have lost that too. I need to somehow regain momentum and I don't know how. Anyone have any ideas how to stop this burnout?
 
I don't think that you shouldn't make an apoointment with them just because you don't have a specific issue. i think some general encouragement can be helpful. soemtimes we know exactly what we need to do, but actually doing it can be a real challenge.

Does your clinic have access to a counsellor or psychologist? It's well known that people with diabetes (and other chronic conditions) are more prone to depression. I'm not sayign you are definatly depressed but you are stressed, and feeling low and unmotivated. It might be helpful to talk things through with someone.

I also think talking here and to others with diabetes is a great thing, because people will understand where you are and what you are going through.

maybe instead of trying to do everything perfectly, you could try to pick one thing that you are going to do this week. For example if you are not testing your blood sugar often, you could start by setting the goal to test before every meal and before bed. once you are able to do that you could add something else in like, trying to eat 3 portions of fruit and veg a day.

keep your chin up
 
Lizzie said:
Hi all

I am looking for friends. I went on the DAFNE course last year but since then there has been no follow up and I am backsliding. I want to find people who I can chat to via email or face to face maybe. I am 26 and live in London, and have Type 1. I am also fat and am looking especially for other fat type 1s who I can share my experiences with, and people who have struggled with their diabetes.

Lizzie
Click to expand...
Hi Lizzie i am a type one diabetic i have been since the age of 16 i am not fat but i am willing to talk to you via private messaging if you want to
 
Hi Lizzie,
I seem to go in cycles of positive, well controlled, confident with my diabetes to miserable, negative and poorly controlled. Sometimes I think I have to just accept that it is not always going to be easy and that I can't control it all of the time. I have just changed my regime to basal/bolus and am finding it tough to eat as well as I did before. I find it especially difficult at work because everyone brings in cakes and snacks which makes me crave sugary foods. The guilt that we carry around with us is horrible.
I don't live in London, but am struggling and always willing to chat 🙂
 
Lizzie said:
Hi all
The problem is I feel so low and unmotivated and I am constantly struggling against this feeling of inertia like I am pushing a bus up a hill
...
Anyone have any ideas how to stop this burnout?
Click to expand...

As someone has said, depression is much more prevalent in people with diabetes. According to the Diabetes Care course I recently took with the OU, it's about 35% in people with diabetes, compared to about 5% in the general population. That's why you are proably asked if you've lost interest in anythng you used to enjoy or some other similar questions.

It's something I've suffered a lot with in the last few years, including ending up in hospital after an attempted overdose.

If you want to talk, feel free to send me a private message. Talking is the best therapy, especially if you share common experiences.
 
Hi Lizzie! See, all these nice people are happy to be your friend. Just remember, you are not alone. A lot of us, I'm sure can identify with how you feel. I think your depression is definitey to do with the diabetes. I have never felt depressed ever until the diabetes set in and I have NOTHING to be miserable about yet I at times I am so low. Just remember its the illness not you. So from this 'mouldie oldie' keep your chin up! You will always get support on this site.
 
DAFNE is Dose Adjustment for Nomal Eating and is a course aimed at type 1s.

It aims to teach you how to adjust insulin doses based on your diet, usually by carb counting.
 
hiya lizzie.i thought i was in control of my diabetes and not it in control of me until recently.have just been told that im to go onto basal bolus regime which im hoping will make me feel better than im feeling at the mo.ive only had diabetes for just over four years so may not have alot of experience in dealing with it but if i can be of any help maybe just a listening ear then plz feel free to bend it.xx
 
Hi. I am 33 with type 1 but not fat or from London. My local PCT doesn't do DAFNE which is a pain as I would love to go on one. I eat healthily, and am a Vegan. I don't know how to carb count and am rubbish at maths so probably couldn't cope with it anyway. I walk most places as public transport is expensive and I don't drive pr cycle (am probably only able bodied person in Uk who can't ride a bike but never mind). I will be your friend. 😡
 
Kiddymonster said:
Hi. I am 33 with type 1 but not fat or from London. My local PCT doesn't do DAFNE which is a pain as I would love to go on one. I eat healthily, and am a Vegan. I don't know how to carb count and am rubbish at maths so probably couldn't cope with it anyway. I walk most places as public transport is expensive and I don't drive pr cycle (am probably only able bodied person in Uk who can't ride a bike but never mind). I will be your friend. 😡
Click to expand...

You're not alone! I'm 50, just diagnosed Type 1 in May, and I also tend to walk due to the expense of public tranport - plus, it's often quicker! I don't drive either - failed my test twice twenty years ago and haven't tried since, plus, I can't ride a bike!

My PCT did a course over 3 mornings which included carb-counting, it was very good. As I understand it, DAFNE courses are 5 full days, which surprises me as we picked things up on our much shorter course.
 
Hi Lizzie, we have lots of friends here, and lots of support. It is nice to have face to face chats, but this site is in your home ALL the time. Even on Christmas Day!

If you need help from health care professionals ask, you may have to persist, but ask. It is your healthand happiness.

I am type 2 and (ahem) built for comfort. I'v tried various diets over the years, so I know it is difficult to get it off. It is even more difficult now I have sedantary job too.

Keep your chin up, and remember we will support you.
 
hi Lizzie,

I am 27 years old and have type 1 although I have had it for 15 years now. I am fatter than I should be and live in Reading. Even though I have had diabetes for a long time, I still have times when I feel like I am doing nothing right and whatever I do my DR then tells me is wrong.
If you want to talk anytime on here or online messengers, let me know. I am not the world's best diabetic though so I may not be the best to give advice, but I am still here and happy (most of the time)

Kirsty
 
need someone to talk to

HI Lizzie

It seems people are more than willing to be ur friend and chat 2 u!
I am 24, live in south london and went on the DAFNE course in july.
I seem to go in circles with my diabetes, i have been diabetic for 11yrs and find it really hard sometimes. The more i try to keep it under control the less i am able to do so. i was recently diagnosed with an under-acctive thyroid too!
And put on a lot of weight i've gone from a size 12 to size 16 in 3 months which i find really depressing cos all i get tols is how i need to loose wait:(
if u wud like to chat just let me no and mayb we can swap e-mails mayb we can moan to each other as its harder to talk to people who don't have a clue what we go thru!!
 
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