Type 1 Diabetes and Work

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Honey45

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all. I need some advice. As part of my job I work from home, travel to clinics, and work out of the office. So I am driving quite a bit. Today I had my usual lunch time clinic which I drive too and my bloods were too low for me to drive safely. I hate it when this happens as I know I’m going to be late and I have to explain it to my colleagues who do not understand. I’m going through some mental struggles at the moment and by saying that I was unable to get to the clinic on time to my colleagues and manager, I just felt like a burden, especially where I am new. I’ve been I’ll quite a lot since starting as it is my first job away from working at home 24/5 and so I’ve been face to face with lots of people in the community. I’m just trying to look after me but i feel like I’m being a burden on my work. It could easily happen again yet I will feel worse when it happens again because my colleagues were angry that I let them know so last minute. I know as i type this out I sound so stupid but it’s really effecting me and my already diabetes anxiety aswell as general anxiety. I keep saying to myself I’m being a snowflake lol but I can’t help the way it’s all making me feel. I almost rang in sick for the whole day because of how bad I felt. It’s not good. Anyone else get feelings like this? Makes you resent diabetes.
 
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time with your feelings about work.

Diabetes is covered by the Equality Act, which means that legally employers should make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support employees with diabetes.

It also seems that your anxiety may also playing on your mind, and that you are worrying about ‘feeling a burden’, rather than being told by work or colleagues that they have worries or concerns.

Is there someone at work (and HR department, or your line manager) that you could have a chat with, to discuss your worries, and how things are playing on your mind.
 
If I have to drive at a certain time I set an alarm an hour before to check things out to ensure that I won’t be too low when the time comes. That helped a lot, and with the new sensors with the alarms it can help to set targets slightly higher on those days.
Well worth chatting to someone at work if you can and to talk through the ways round the problem. When I was still working and had a hypo which prevented me from getting to an appointment, my line manager suggested I out a two hour slot between appointments so that I could drive there, then do some work, or if I had a hypo I could work while I waited before setting off. I had only just started the job so I was very worried about having the conversation but she was brilliant.
 
I’d test an hour before driving too, or set the low alarm higher so you can treat it before it goes low. When you need to be somewhere on time you have to be organised earlier in advance, not just hope your blood sugar will be okay.
 
Honey45 said:
Hi all. I need some advice. As part of my job I work from home, travel to clinics, and work out of the office. So I am driving quite a bit. Today I had my usual lunch time clinic which I drive too and my bloods were too low for me to drive safely. I hate it when this happens as I know I’m going to be late and I have to explain it to my colleagues who do not understand. I’m going through some mental struggles at the moment and by saying that I was unable to get to the clinic on time to my colleagues and manager, I just felt like a burden, especially where I am new. I’ve been I’ll quite a lot since starting as it is my first job away from working at home 24/5 and so I’ve been face to face with lots of people in the community. I’m just trying to look after me but i feel like I’m being a burden on my work. It could easily happen again yet I will feel worse when it happens again because my colleagues were angry that I let them know so last minute. I know as i type this out I sound so stupid but it’s really effecting me and my already diabetes anxiety aswell as general anxiety. I keep saying to myself I’m being a snowflake lol but I can’t help the way it’s all making me feel. I almost rang in sick for the whole day because of how bad I felt. It’s not good. Anyone else get feelings like this? Makes you resent diabetes.
Click to expand...
I totally get it. I work from home mostly but sometimes need to drive to the college I work for or to hospitals, care homes etc. I know it is trial and error at first. I am now thinking I might want to get a one of those constant monitoring systems. So it can alert me before it becomes a hypo...I have already begun carrying jelly snakes and snacks with me.I now check if I get a slight headache or feel hungry before lunch is due those seem to be my cues .Yes diabetes is a right pain. If you are not fighting the condition you are fighting the drugs, or the weight and each affects the other.I see some of the others are suggesting the constant monitoring systems. Maybe we both need to see if anyone has mentioned good ones in the technical links on the forum. I dont know about you but I feel like a pin cushion now and beginning to think paying for a system worth it. My GP only gives me 50 strips a month to test. I had to buy some extra to take on holiday for 6 weeks but still be careful as they do not seem to have sure smart ones Down Under.
 
Sorry you’re stressed @Honey45 Yes, Type 1 is a pain when you’re working. It’s always on your mind at crucial points of your job. Setting your Libre Low alarm at 5.6 is sensible. It’s what mine’s set at and I find it allows me to ward off hypos. Also, could you have less visits in a day to give you a bit of leeway if you were delayed?

As for you colleagues, I doubt they’re thinking badly of you. It’s probably just an automatic reaction that they’d have to anyone. If someone does actually make a comment, tell them the rules around hypos and driving.
 
You'd quite possibly be wasting your breath trying to tell em the actual rules - far easier to say eg Well, the Law doesn't let me drive right at this very moment. As soon as it does, I will. I should know in (however long)
 
Sorry to hear that you are feeling under pressure as a result of this situation. I know it is frustrating enough when I get caught out by a hypo when I exit the supermarket and want to drive home.... invariably happens in the middle of summer on a baking hot day when an hour in the car means that my dairy/frozen produce is melting without the added pressure of unsympathetic work mates, so I do feel for you.

Can I just clarify that you know the rules regarding driving as some people including myself were a little confused at first. I know we generally say you have to be 5 to drive, but if you are between 4 and 5 you can just eat some carbs and drive.... You don't have to wait until you are above 5 to drive.
If you are using LIbre, double check when it says you are hypo. My Libre reads lower at low levels, so quite often, Libre will say that I am below 4 when I might actually be 4.3 or even 4.5, so it is always worth double checking with a finger prick unless you definitely feel hypo. Don't rely on Libre to double check your hypo recovery as it will alomost certainly take 15 mins longer than a finger prick to show that your levels have come back up. Obviously you still need to wait 45 mins after your levels are back into range, but if you are relying on Libre only, that could easily be 30 mins longer, so that can all make a difference to how long you get stranded and "timed out" or if perhaps you don't need to be at all.

As others have said, setting your CGM alarm higher to get plenty of notice of your levels dropping and maybe topping up with a jelly baby or two or a couple of prunes or dried apricots or whatever, if that happens, would also be an important preventative strategy.
 
Last edited:
I worked with an idiot (no his mame was no Wayne Kerr) who reported me saying the sight of blood made him feel ill. As I discretely did my BGs under the desk it didn't add up. Anyway a director asked his wife (an ex nurse) who said I could do them in the toilet. The nearest one was quite grubby but I found a rarely used one in the basement so took 10 minutes out three times a day. In my view this as fair enough as these clowns used to disappear around a dozen times a day for a ciggy. I was glad to see the back of them. And it turned out the ex nurse only practiced for a few years after qualifying over 20 years before. And the little trouble maker's mum was Type 1 anyway. He caused issues for me a number of times but I have no idea why - probably needs 2^6 goes at Wordle! 🙂
 
MikeyBikey said:
I worked with an idiot (no his mame was no Wayne Kerr) who reported me saying the sight of blood made him feel ill. As I discretely did my BGs under the desk it didn't add up. Anyway a director asked his wife (an ex nurse) who said I could do them in the toilet. The nearest one was quite grubby but I found a rarely used one in the basement so took 10 minutes out three times a day. In my view this as fair enough as these clowns used to disappear around a dozen times a day for a ciggy. I was glad to see the back of them. And it turned out the ex nurse only practiced for a few years after qualifying over 20 years before. And the little trouble maker's mum was Type 1 anyway. He caused issues for me a number of times but I have no idea why - probably needs 2^6 goes at Wordle! 🙂
Click to expand...
I'm still a registered nurse though I don't practice, I now teach it...and from simple hygiene purposes I would not dream of telling someone to go to the toilet to take their BM. In the same way nursing mums objected to being told in restaurants to go and breast feed their babies in the toilet. So disrespectful of you.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top