Strict

[New type 1]

I have come to the conclusion that I have to change all my habits to control my blood sugar. When I was diagnosed they told me to be careful about eating sugar but there is so much more to it than. I know didn't want to overwhelm me but guess what I am anyway. So I think the main things for me are a good sleep routine, more exercise (even though my job is a very physical one) and portion control. At the moment I'm thinking it really sucks that I have to change so much but there are days that I realise I should be doing these things already regardless if I have diabetes or not, if I want to be healthy. Having said that does anyone else feel like it's really unfair that we have to think about so much when others can just go ahead and eat?

 

[Leadinglights]

I have seen on here that people say that if you are on the appropriate insulin regime then you should be able to eat a normal healthy diet.
This may need some education like the DAFNE course, the available technology and support from your diabetes team to get a good balance though not without challenges if newly diagnosed.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

How long have you been diagnosed? Yes, feelings of frustration and "why me" and all that stuff are very common and don't ever underestimate how mentally draining it is balancing your BG levels with insulin and trying to compute all the things which impact that like sleep and exercise and ambient temp and what day of the month it is or what colour socks we are wearing 🙄.... OK I exaggerated a bit with that last one.... as well as having to assess and analyze everything we put in our mouths or even breath the aroma of sometimes it seems 🙄

It is good that you have come to a state of mind to want to take control of things a bit more as that can really help to put diabetes more in it's place. It is rather a balancing act between keeping it pacified without having to devote half your life to it, but if you don't give it enough attention it is like a naughty child and makes life difficult for everyone around it,,,, and that can be our nearest and dearest as well as ourselves. I hope you can find a good balance, but the forum is a goldmine of advice and experience from people who face the same challenges, so the responses come from the heart rather than the theory book that clinicians work off. Sometimes just sharing how you feel here and knowing that other people feel the same can be a big weight lifted and just help you to feel more "normal". For that reason, I am really pleased that you have found the forum and hope that it will be as much benefit to you as it has been to me.

 

[Eternal422]

Hello @New type 1 and welcome to these forums.

Sorry to hear how you are feeling, I think we all feel like that from time to time no matter how long we have been living with T1, T2 or any other “flavours” of D. After 20 years of juggling insulin with carbs (and different coloured socks @rebrascora !) I still have days when I get frustrated at not being able to have something to eat without the faff of estimating carbs, calculating a bolus of insulin, adjusting it based on current BG, etc., etc. especially when people around you just sit down to a meal or munch on a snack whilst out and about. But the pain of having to do all this will definitely reduce the chance of any complications or issues further down the line, something I am more acutely aware of now as I age and want to stay in good health to enjoy life.

There is an awful lot to learn and take on board at first, but just take your time with it all and keep asking questions and advice from your healthcare team. Definitely on insulin you can adjust doses yourself to match what and when you are eating, so there is no problem in eating what (and when) you want to eat.

I have only joined the forum this year after being on my own for years and I can tell you it is so refreshing to have people on here experiencing similar things to yourself. There are loads of knowledgeable people to offer their thoughts and advice as well as just being there and supportive, understanding exactly what you are going through. I’ve also joined the Group 7 Day Waking Average thread on the General Message Board here - everyone checks in most days with their waking BG along with a few bits of chat. It’s really great to feel a connection with others even though we have never met in person.

Take care, ask questions and use the support of others on here.

 

[Charlotte DUK]

Welcome to the forum @New type 1

A diagnosis of diabetes can feel overwhelming, especially when so many changes need to be made in your daily life, but hope that you find this forum helpful to draw on, ask questions, have a bit of a rant on a difficult day, or let off steam among people who do understand 🙂

 

[Spathiphyllum]

I have come to the conclusion that I have to change all my habits to control my blood sugar. ... I think the main things for me are a good sleep routine, more exercise (even though my job is a very physical one) and portion control. At the moment I'm thinking it really sucks that I have to change so much but there are days that I realise I should be doing these things already regardless if I have diabetes or not, if I want to be healthy. Having said that does anyone else feel like it's really unfair that we have to think about so much when others can just go ahead and eat?

The answer to your last question is 'Yes!'

But you're onto something really important here: making an effort to get a good sleep routine, get a decent amount of exercise, and eat a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight are things everybody needs to do in order to be healthy. And everybody finds it hard to give up bad habits and develop good habits. In particular, there are millions of non-diabetics who need to lose weight and are trying to lose weight, and they can't "just go ahead and eat" either-- not until and unless they get into the habit of eating healthy food and in the right amounts.

Type 1 adds extra, different problems! As a Type 1 diabetic, it's not actually true to say "I have to change all my habits to control my blood sugar"; you could control your blood sugar while still having an unhealthy diet and not getting enough exercise and having poor sleep. (Those things would make controlling your blood sugar more difficult, but it could be done.) However-- if you use your Type 1 diagnosis as the trigger to give up bad habits and develop good habits, you could someday look back on it as a blessing in disguise.

And, once you get into the habit of doing something, you don't have to think about it very much. That applies to sleep routines and exercise and healthy eating; and it also applies to the specifics of managing T1D-- or so I'm told by those who've had it for longer!

So it is definitely ok to think T1D "really sucks"! But I think it's great that, at least on some days, you can see it as an opportunity, nudging you toward a better life.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @New type 1

Yup! Diabetes can be a right nuisance, that’s for sure.

But it IS something you can work at, and try to keep in it’s box, while living a perfectly normal life, eating healthily, exercising, partying, travelling and all the rest - some things may take a little more planning and a bit of experimentation, but it can be done, for at least enough of the time that you reduce the risks of nasties heading your way down the line.

One frame of mind it was important for me to get into was that it wasn’t about control. It was more like management, and nudging in the right direction.

The human body is a bewilderingly complex thing, and there were so many dials, knobs and switches on this machine - only some of which I had access to. I could try to reduce the number of variables at play… I could carefully notice what happened each time, and try to use that information to make better guesses/choices next time… I could try to set myself up for success… but at the end of the day sometimes my diabetes would just go off on one and do its own thing, and the best I could do was to react (and try not to overreact!).

It’s a lifelong adventure of learning, relearning, adjusting and adapting.

And it likes to throw in the occasional curve ball to keep you on your toes!