T1 Burnout

[LittleLatios]

Hi everyone.

T1 for 22 years. Getting hit by burnout alot.
I feel like people think this condition is a massive inconvenience for them and I want to scream at them that they don't have to do this every. single. day.
My hospital team have got me on to the Libre and it's reduced my a1c from 124 to 49...but I still find myself getting frustrated after appointments.
The only way I can put this that might make sense is, I feel like i've run a marathon and instead of celebrating at the finish line i'm being told I have to keep running....forever.
Getting that drop took so much effort, and so much of me..... but it just got me retinopathy and the knowledge that I have to keep doing it....

So, what do people do to find their motivation? I have distractions...but not that drive to give a damn anymore.
Thanks for listening 🙂

 

[Bruce Stephens]

So, what do people do to find their motivation?

Routine, mostly, so I don't really need to think about it. (So I inject Levemir at about the same times twice a day, and eat pretty much the same breakfast each day, injecting a small amount of NovoRapid when I wake up (a little more or less depending on what the Libre says), etc.)

I find the Libre is helpful: I use the Time in Range (or in Target, though mostly I use my phone) to judge roughly how I'm doing, trying to avoid going below 3.9 and above 10.0 (but not worrying so much about the above 10.0). That's vastly more useful than thinking about HbA1c: most of the time when I scan it shows me I'm in range (so that's a small amount of positive reinforcement), and I find trying to stay in that fairly wide range is easier to think about than trying to hit narrower ranges before meals (though in reality I suspect things work out about the same).

And on holiday I don't worry so much.

 

[Gary S]

I doubt that there is a single T1 out there who hasn't or isn't going through what you are experiencing. If things get too much, I break all my days down into sugar level readings and concentrate on one reading at a time, because that is all you can ever do. Through experience unfortunately, I know it is only Forums like this and the Diabetes team who you can talk too, so I've long given up on family and friends for support and accepted that they have problems of their own. As the above person has said, I just try to keep my readings between 3.6 and 10 for all tests but there is no point in worrying if it goes over as that is just sometimes unavoidable.
By the way, take the time to congratulate yourself and celebrate because you have done extremely well to reduce your a1c so much, so don't forget that.

 

[trophywench]

Rather than dwelling on the 'OMG this is for EVER!' aspect of diabetes (and it is, always has been and now I'm knocking 70 I'm not expecting any change to that in my lifetime) why not dwell on the fact you rose to the challenge of reducing your HbA1c - and YOU had to do it, nobody else so that is a HUGE success - congratulations! try thinking instead 'Oh, OK - so just carry on doing the same, then!'

I spent a year about 10 years ago getting my A1c down from 60 to 47 but then decided that I absolutely couldn't spend that much time every day for the rest of my life, being so strict with myself and grumpy with other people - hence I haven't. Now it's 52-ish. I haven't dropped dead quite yet, neither has anything dropped off or failed completely.

RELAX.

 

[SueEK]

Hi everyone.

T1 for 22 years. Getting hit by burnout alot.
I feel like people think this condition is a massive inconvenience for them and I want to scream at them that they don't have to do this every. single. day.
My hospital team have got me on to the Libre and it's reduced my a1c from 124 to 49...but I still find myself getting frustrated after appointments.
The only way I can put this that might make sense is, I feel like i've run a marathon and instead of celebrating at the finish line i'm being told I have to keep running....forever.
Getting that drop took so much effort, and so much of me..... but it just got me retinopathy and the knowledge that I have to keep doing it....

So, what do people do to find their motivation? I have distractions...but not that drive to give a damn anymore.
Thanks for listening 🙂

Sorry to hear you are feeling rubbish. As a T2 can I just say how much I admire you T1’s who have to calculate for your insulin and worry about it at night etc. From what you have said it seems to me (who knows zilch) that you have done brilliantly and rather than criticising yourself you should give yourself a huge pat on the back, hard enough to knock you over. Sue x

 

[Thebearcametoo]

You mention that you feel like people think it’s a massive inconvenience and that will put an extra burden on you and make it feel like an uphill struggle. If there are some of those people who you can talk to and ask for support instead of frustration or if there’s a third party who can have that conversation that may help. When you’re dealing with chronic issues sometimes people don’t see the struggle, they just presume you have a handle on it. If they know you’re struggling with aspects of it they may be more supportive.


It’s usual to hit the wall with chronic conditions and T1D is a drag with all the carb counting and finessing your insulin. Having to think about food all the time is a huge drag.

 

[nonethewiser]

So, what do people do to find their motivation? I have distractions...but not that drive to give a damn anymore.
Thanks for listening

Learned long ago not to stress about little things in life, others opinions of what I say & do are meaningless now, you only have one life so live it your way my friend.

Motivation, been around for family first foremost, to relax read books watch tv go for long walk with dog, only distraction listening to 70s music in headphones.

 

[PhoebeC]

Sorry to hear you are having a rough patch. You have done amazing on the HbA1c, so as others have said you should be super proud!

My motivation is to stay alive and well, with my eye sight and limbs for a long as possible, whilst enjoying my life.

The better controlled it is the better we feel, this works both ways, especially mentally. Set some achievable goals. Decide what is important to you health wise and what you are willing to do about it and then just dop your best to do it.

everyone else has given you some fab ideas so go with that and remember we are here for you, we all feel like this sometimes, you are only human. None Diabetics don't really get it, some other Chronic illness people though do.

Take care

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear that you are feeling burnt out @LittleLatios, but others are right, you should feel very proud of what you have achieved, and perhaps more importantly, what you’ve learned about yourself and your diabetes.

You may not relish the prospect of slogging away at that intensity forever, but as others have said, you can drop back a few notches into ‘maintenance’ mode for short a while - a bit like interval training in the gym. Push hard for a while... then drop back to the basics (and perhaps rely on boring foods that you find fairly predictable for a while)... then have another push for a longer period... then drop back a bit for a break.

And sorry to hear about the retinopathy. I understand that rapid changes in HbA1c can sometimes give rise to retinal changes, but I believe that this is often only transient and may resolve in time.

if nothing else... stick around here and share your joys and darker moments too with folks who are walking the walk and instinctively ‘get it’ 🙂