Hi there, I’ve 2 days into having been diagnosed with type1 and am still trying to process the news and feeling very sad, angry, anxious etc. Worried about having to inject insulin several times a day, also about managing it and the fact I feel completely overwhelmed with this now being my life. Also wondering how this will affect my career as I have a fairly physically demanding job as a landscape gardener. It would be great to talk to some people who could maybe put my mind at ease a little or give any advice on the basics of this (outside of what the nurses told me) thanks.
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Newly diagnosed with type1
- Thread starter Tom37
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
It is totally normal to feel overwhelmed, angry, anxious and a whole host of other emotions after diagnosis. It is actually recognized as being a grieving process, like losing someone very close to you, because you will understandably feel like you are losing the carefree life you had before, when you didn't have to think about all this stuff and diabetes needs a lot of quite persistent "thinking" or planning or consideration and not a little worry at times, but it does all get easier and for me coming here to the forum and asking questions of people who face the same challenges every day has been massively helpful in getting my head around it all and feeling so much more confident in handling whatever it throws at me. I have horses and I work outdoors quite a bit doing manual work on the land, so you do have to be prepared for hypos and figure out how your body responds to food and insulin and exercise/activity so that you find a balance that works for you.... and that is the key with diabetes.... there might be another member who was the same age and sex as you and work as a landscape gardener but how they manage their diabetes may not work for you. To me the key thing is to experiment by testing lots and learning with one eye always on keeping yourself safe, so that you become your own expert in your own diabetes. We all have things in common but how our bodies respond can be very varied.
Always keep testing kit and hypo treatments with you wherever you are. I have a small backpack which I have all my diabetes gear in as well as my phone, keys, money, covid mask etc and that leaves my hands free to work. By little backpack goes everywhere with me.... next to the bed, next to the shower... hot showers or bath are notorious for dropping BG levels into hypos particularly after an active day, out running or walking or horse riding or shopping or visiting relatives.
All I have to remember to do is top up my hypo treatments when I have used some. I almost feel naked without my back pack on these days it has just become an integral part of my everyday life, like wearing a seatbelt in the car. If you forget it for some reason, you soon start to get an uneasy feeling that something is missing.
Anyway, those are the best tips I can offer for now. I hope you have been signed off work for a few weeks in order to get to grips with a basic level of diabetes management but please feel free to ask whatever questions you have or just have a rant about the unfairness of it all and "why me". We all understand those feelings.
Would like to add that I am now fitter and healthier than I was at diagnosis, because I know have to eat healthier and look after myself in a much more conscious way than before, so whilst it is something that I wouldn't wish on anyone, it has probably improved my "health" and probably increased my lifespan and I have met a great bunch of people here , so it hasn't all been bad! 😉
It is totally normal to feel overwhelmed, angry, anxious and a whole host of other emotions after diagnosis. It is actually recognized as being a grieving process, like losing someone very close to you, because you will understandably feel like you are losing the carefree life you had before, when you didn't have to think about all this stuff and diabetes needs a lot of quite persistent "thinking" or planning or consideration and not a little worry at times, but it does all get easier and for me coming here to the forum and asking questions of people who face the same challenges every day has been massively helpful in getting my head around it all and feeling so much more confident in handling whatever it throws at me. I have horses and I work outdoors quite a bit doing manual work on the land, so you do have to be prepared for hypos and figure out how your body responds to food and insulin and exercise/activity so that you find a balance that works for you.... and that is the key with diabetes.... there might be another member who was the same age and sex as you and work as a landscape gardener but how they manage their diabetes may not work for you. To me the key thing is to experiment by testing lots and learning with one eye always on keeping yourself safe, so that you become your own expert in your own diabetes. We all have things in common but how our bodies respond can be very varied.
Always keep testing kit and hypo treatments with you wherever you are. I have a small backpack which I have all my diabetes gear in as well as my phone, keys, money, covid mask etc and that leaves my hands free to work. By little backpack goes everywhere with me.... next to the bed, next to the shower... hot showers or bath are notorious for dropping BG levels into hypos particularly after an active day, out running or walking or horse riding or shopping or visiting relatives.
All I have to remember to do is top up my hypo treatments when I have used some. I almost feel naked without my back pack on these days it has just become an integral part of my everyday life, like wearing a seatbelt in the car. If you forget it for some reason, you soon start to get an uneasy feeling that something is missing.
Anyway, those are the best tips I can offer for now. I hope you have been signed off work for a few weeks in order to get to grips with a basic level of diabetes management but please feel free to ask whatever questions you have or just have a rant about the unfairness of it all and "why me". We all understand those feelings.
Would like to add that I am now fitter and healthier than I was at diagnosis, because I know have to eat healthier and look after myself in a much more conscious way than before, so whilst it is something that I wouldn't wish on anyone, it has probably improved my "health" and probably increased my lifespan and I have met a great bunch of people here , so it hasn't all been bad! 😉
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome @Tom37 🙂 What you’re feeling is totally normal. I felt angry and upset for months. It’s still such early days for you. My advice is to let yourself feel those feelings - they’re justified - but know that they’ll gradually ease. As far as injecting goes, again, that becomes easier and pretty much routine. The insulin pens we have now are so simple and relatively painless.
As far as your job goes, that will be fine. You might have to make a feel adjustments to your insulin to get that right, and you might have to have ‘top up’ snacks (without insulin) but you’ll slowly learn how your body works and what give you the best result.
Here are two two great books about Type 1:
Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.
And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s great for adults too)
As far as your job goes, that will be fine. You might have to make a feel adjustments to your insulin to get that right, and you might have to have ‘top up’ snacks (without insulin) but you’ll slowly learn how your body works and what give you the best result.
Here are two two great books about Type 1:
Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.
And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s great for adults too)
Hi @Tom37 - I was diagnosed aged 37, just over a year ago and for a moment it felt as if my whole world was knocked off kilter - all plans were out the window and I felt like I was no longer in control of my destiny …. A year or so later and diabetes is just another part of who I am… and it rarely bothers me (ups, downs and weird days aside).
I would largely echo what @rebrascora and @Inka said.
What you are feeling is only natural - grieving makes sense; your life has significantly changed; but i have every faith you will transition through the grieving process and reach acceptance - that one day you will wake up and things will have become normal - the injections will become routine - you will probably learn carb counting which will mean you can eat most things you want too (though if you are like me you will probably avoid carb centric meals- aside from the occasional pizza!), you might as @rebrascora mentions become more healthy (i did), you will likely end up on some form of CGM of FlashGM (like the freestyle Libre) meaning finger pricks will become an occasional rather than regular thing, you will find yourself much more in control, and the seemingly huge elephant in the room that your diabetes probably currently feels like will shrink down…and life will carry on…
For me I think there were 2 things that really helped me most on my journey:
“Owning” my diabetes. When I was diagnosed I wanted to know everything about diabetes I could and I trawled the internet- but I found that two books were most helpful. @Inka has mentioned Think Like a Pancreas by Garry Scheiner.
The other (which is quite similar) was:
Take Control of Type 1 Diabetes - Dr David Cavan
I found once I knew more about diabetes I became more comfortable with it, more comfortable with: managing it and talking about it (both with my friends and family and) especially with my diabetes team… I was able to become more involved in the discussion…I became capable of adjusting my doses to match my food/exercise - I felt much more like I was able to effect my diabetes and not just have it effect me!
Data The second thing that really helped was getting the Libre 2 ( there are other CGM devices on the market) I am a huge fan - getting semi real-time data allows one to make informed decisions - to see the effects of food, (especially carbs), insulin and exercise have on your sugar levels and to both learn and make adjustment from that data.,.. and not having to do endless finger pricks to get that data is amazing (especially if as in your case you work with you hands) Another advantage of a CGM is the ability to set alarms if your levels are too high or low, it’s not perfect but I find it mentally liberating (especially when running) and imagine it might be useful to you too especially given the physically demanding nature of your job…
I think and hope you will be amazed at how quickly you adjust - but it’s tough - taking time to come to terms with it both mentally and physically is important - being angry and grieving is ok - and exploring those feelings is positive - but equally it is important not to get lost in them.
This is a great forum filled with people with good advice and inspiring stories - hopefully someone else with a physically demanding job will be able to put your mind at ease- failing that, it’s a good place to ask questions. Most importantly - know that you are not alone.
Best of luck
I would largely echo what @rebrascora and @Inka said.
What you are feeling is only natural - grieving makes sense; your life has significantly changed; but i have every faith you will transition through the grieving process and reach acceptance - that one day you will wake up and things will have become normal - the injections will become routine - you will probably learn carb counting which will mean you can eat most things you want too (though if you are like me you will probably avoid carb centric meals- aside from the occasional pizza!), you might as @rebrascora mentions become more healthy (i did), you will likely end up on some form of CGM of FlashGM (like the freestyle Libre) meaning finger pricks will become an occasional rather than regular thing, you will find yourself much more in control, and the seemingly huge elephant in the room that your diabetes probably currently feels like will shrink down…and life will carry on…
For me I think there were 2 things that really helped me most on my journey:
“Owning” my diabetes. When I was diagnosed I wanted to know everything about diabetes I could and I trawled the internet- but I found that two books were most helpful. @Inka has mentioned Think Like a Pancreas by Garry Scheiner.
The other (which is quite similar) was:
Take Control of Type 1 Diabetes - Dr David Cavan
I found once I knew more about diabetes I became more comfortable with it, more comfortable with: managing it and talking about it (both with my friends and family and) especially with my diabetes team… I was able to become more involved in the discussion…I became capable of adjusting my doses to match my food/exercise - I felt much more like I was able to effect my diabetes and not just have it effect me!
Data The second thing that really helped was getting the Libre 2 ( there are other CGM devices on the market) I am a huge fan - getting semi real-time data allows one to make informed decisions - to see the effects of food, (especially carbs), insulin and exercise have on your sugar levels and to both learn and make adjustment from that data.,.. and not having to do endless finger pricks to get that data is amazing (especially if as in your case you work with you hands) Another advantage of a CGM is the ability to set alarms if your levels are too high or low, it’s not perfect but I find it mentally liberating (especially when running) and imagine it might be useful to you too especially given the physically demanding nature of your job…
I think and hope you will be amazed at how quickly you adjust - but it’s tough - taking time to come to terms with it both mentally and physically is important - being angry and grieving is ok - and exploring those feelings is positive - but equally it is important not to get lost in them.
This is a great forum filled with people with good advice and inspiring stories - hopefully someone else with a physically demanding job will be able to put your mind at ease- failing that, it’s a good place to ask questions. Most importantly - know that you are not alone.
Best of luck
Welcome @Tom37
Although it was nearly 20 years ago, I remember the grief of my diagnosis.
I am not the type to cry but there were definitely tears
I was incredibly lucky that one of the first things my DSN said to me was "diabetes should not stop you doing what you want". It hasn't. Unlike some here, I have not changed my diet. I ate pasta last night and had pizza last week.
For me the important thing is to manage my diabetes and never try to control it. Control is a word I really dislike because diabetes can be unpredictable. There are so many things that affect my blood sugars that something will knock it off kilter. It you try to control it, you will be disappointed and diabetes will control you. It can dictate when you do something, what you eat, it can stop you doing things. That is not the life I want.
So, eating what I want, exercising often, having a sometimes stressful career, having an active social life (when there is no pandemic), traveling lots to weird, far away places (when there is no pandemic) has continued since my diagnosis and, after 18 years, I have no complications.
So, ask questions, rant, laugh and be as big a part of the forum as you want. But don't let diabetes control your life
It gets easier.
Although it was nearly 20 years ago, I remember the grief of my diagnosis.
I am not the type to cry but there were definitely tears
I was incredibly lucky that one of the first things my DSN said to me was "diabetes should not stop you doing what you want". It hasn't. Unlike some here, I have not changed my diet. I ate pasta last night and had pizza last week.
For me the important thing is to manage my diabetes and never try to control it. Control is a word I really dislike because diabetes can be unpredictable. There are so many things that affect my blood sugars that something will knock it off kilter. It you try to control it, you will be disappointed and diabetes will control you. It can dictate when you do something, what you eat, it can stop you doing things. That is not the life I want.
So, eating what I want, exercising often, having a sometimes stressful career, having an active social life (when there is no pandemic), traveling lots to weird, far away places (when there is no pandemic) has continued since my diagnosis and, after 18 years, I have no complications.
So, ask questions, rant, laugh and be as big a part of the forum as you want. But don't let diabetes control your life
It gets easier.
Elenka_HM
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum, Tom!
Can't really say much that hasn't been said in previous responses. Just insist that you feelings are completely justified and natural, as it's all so recent and there is so much to learn, but it will get better. I am barely 2 months in (also type 1) and I already feel much more positive about the condition. It's more integrated in my day to day. But also, take your time to adapt and to go through your grief, no rush.
The forum definitely helps a lot, both for information and for feeling you are not the only one!
Can't really say much that hasn't been said in previous responses. Just insist that you feelings are completely justified and natural, as it's all so recent and there is so much to learn, but it will get better. I am barely 2 months in (also type 1) and I already feel much more positive about the condition. It's more integrated in my day to day. But also, take your time to adapt and to go through your grief, no rush.
The forum definitely helps a lot, both for information and for feeling you are not the only one!
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I just needed to cry. Waste of time of course, as was ranting and raving - but not being an Action Woman having a damn good sob took less effort. Husband was great, just told him he didn't need to say anything, just be sympathetic, give us a kiss and a hug, put his arm round me and let me sit next to him and cuddle me, which he could do while watching the evening news on TV - till the sobs and tears died down.
To begin with every day. After a month - 2 or 3 times a week. After several months of it not happening at all, it happened again - and it was only then when I realised it hadn't happened for a while, IYSWIM.
To begin with every day. After a month - 2 or 3 times a week. After several months of it not happening at all, it happened again - and it was only then when I realised it hadn't happened for a while, IYSWIM.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ah @Tom37 that’s rough. 
But lots of us, as you can see, have been there before you, and felt that rage, sadness, grief, frustration, fear and worry… and made it out the other side.
Diabetes is a right PITA at times, but generally speaking it IS something you can manage - well for a lot of the time anyway - and it shouldn’t stop you from doing whatever you want to. Just that some things may need a bit of extra preparation and some lateral thinking.
There was a thread a while back where people offered their ‘former selves at diagnosis’ 5 top tips for diabetes management based on what they had learned in their time with the condition. Maybe some things in there will be helpful?
forum.diabetes.org.uk
But lots of us, as you can see, have been there before you, and felt that rage, sadness, grief, frustration, fear and worry… and made it out the other side.
Diabetes is a right PITA at times, but generally speaking it IS something you can manage - well for a lot of the time anyway - and it shouldn’t stop you from doing whatever you want to. Just that some things may need a bit of extra preparation and some lateral thinking.
There was a thread a while back where people offered their ‘former selves at diagnosis’ 5 top tips for diabetes management based on what they had learned in their time with the condition. Maybe some things in there will be helpful?
5 Top Tips for Better Diabetesing
Just found myself absently wondering what I would say to myself if I could go back in time ‘Bill and Ted’ style and offer newly-diagnosed-me some hints and tips for better diabetes management, and a better relationship with my diabetes from future-me. What 5 hints and tips I might offer myself...
forum.diabetes.org.uk
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