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Type 1
- Thread starter Xxomiifxx
- Start date
- Status
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome
So sorry to hear that you are struggling with coming to terms with your diabetes for a second time. Does it feel the same this time or is there something different.... other things in your life which are causing stress and making the diabetes the rather large "last straw"?
Can you tell us a bit about how you manage your diabetes MDI or pump, which insulins finger pricking or Freestyle Libre and are you able to break it down into what causes you the most difficulty at the moment?
Do you live with anyone who could perhaps take a bit of the strain for you?
Have you spoken to your DSN as they will be experienced in dealing with this as it is quite common from what I have read and many people here on the forum have gone through spells of "Burn out" with it. I am sure some of them will be along at some point to welcome you and offer their support but I will tag @SB2015 and @Inka as I believe they have been through it and will have tips or techniques they can share with you.
In the mean time, if you can tell us a bit more about your diabetes regime as per the questions above and your lifestyle it may help to indicate things that might work best.
Sometimes just engaging with other people who have diabetes can help because we all understand the massive impact it has on our lives and all the times each day every day when we have to think about it and take it into consideration, often subconsciously.... even whilst we sleep it can still be on our mind. I am sure you know that neglecting or ignoring it is not an option which is why you have come to the forum and that is a fantastic first step in acknowledging the problem and seeking help. Now you have to find a way to make it easier..... to just do the absolute basics in order to make it manageable again. Find a "standby mode" which will allow you to coast along for a bit until you are ready to manage it properly again.
For me eating low carb takes a lot of the strain off, but I learned to eat low carb when I was first diagnosed because they assumed I was Type 2. I am not sure trying to go low carb right before Christmas would make anything easier for you at all, so I hope others will have some better tips.
In the meantime, I wonder if you would like to join our "Group 7-day waking average" thread where we post our morning waking reading and exchange a bit of news and banter or have a good moan about how fickle our diabetes is, or celebrate if we get a good reading. It is like a virtual drop in centre, but getting into a routine of taking a reading each morning and posting it, gives you a bit of focus and accountability and can help to keep you somewhere near the straight and narrow if not actually on it. We are a friendly bunch so please feel free to join us if you think it might help you to have that daily commitment. We post good and bad results as it is important for people to see that it is not normal to have good results all the time. Anyway, I will post a link to the thread below and it would be lovely to see you there if you feel like it.... You will soon get the idea of how it works if you read a few of the most recent posts. We don't bother with averages anymore, just our waking reading...
So sorry to hear that you are struggling with coming to terms with your diabetes for a second time. Does it feel the same this time or is there something different.... other things in your life which are causing stress and making the diabetes the rather large "last straw"?
Can you tell us a bit about how you manage your diabetes MDI or pump, which insulins finger pricking or Freestyle Libre and are you able to break it down into what causes you the most difficulty at the moment?
Do you live with anyone who could perhaps take a bit of the strain for you?
Have you spoken to your DSN as they will be experienced in dealing with this as it is quite common from what I have read and many people here on the forum have gone through spells of "Burn out" with it. I am sure some of them will be along at some point to welcome you and offer their support but I will tag @SB2015 and @Inka as I believe they have been through it and will have tips or techniques they can share with you.
In the mean time, if you can tell us a bit more about your diabetes regime as per the questions above and your lifestyle it may help to indicate things that might work best.
Sometimes just engaging with other people who have diabetes can help because we all understand the massive impact it has on our lives and all the times each day every day when we have to think about it and take it into consideration, often subconsciously.... even whilst we sleep it can still be on our mind. I am sure you know that neglecting or ignoring it is not an option which is why you have come to the forum and that is a fantastic first step in acknowledging the problem and seeking help. Now you have to find a way to make it easier..... to just do the absolute basics in order to make it manageable again. Find a "standby mode" which will allow you to coast along for a bit until you are ready to manage it properly again.
For me eating low carb takes a lot of the strain off, but I learned to eat low carb when I was first diagnosed because they assumed I was Type 2. I am not sure trying to go low carb right before Christmas would make anything easier for you at all, so I hope others will have some better tips.
In the meantime, I wonder if you would like to join our "Group 7-day waking average" thread where we post our morning waking reading and exchange a bit of news and banter or have a good moan about how fickle our diabetes is, or celebrate if we get a good reading. It is like a virtual drop in centre, but getting into a routine of taking a reading each morning and posting it, gives you a bit of focus and accountability and can help to keep you somewhere near the straight and narrow if not actually on it. We are a friendly bunch so please feel free to join us if you think it might help you to have that daily commitment. We post good and bad results as it is important for people to see that it is not normal to have good results all the time. Anyway, I will post a link to the thread below and it would be lovely to see you there if you feel like it.... You will soon get the idea of how it works if you read a few of the most recent posts. We don't bother with averages anymore, just our waking reading...
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Thanks for the tag @rebrascora Sorry to hear you’re struggling @Xxomiifxx I’ve had burnout and it’s horrible. There’s no magic cure, but I found a few changes helped relieve the feeling enormously. Firstly, I slightly eased my control - not massively but just a tiny bit. Taking that pressure off was a relief. I also simplified things. I ate a similar breakfast and lunch every day. No need to carb count because I knew what dose of insulin would work for it. For evening meals, I chose from a range of meals, but if it was something new or I ate out, I estimated the carbs knowing I could correct things later - either with a correction dose or a few more carbs. My estimates were usually very good, and not faffing with the counting helped.
I also relaxed my pre-meal bolus timings. When I was stressed, I injected when I could rather than get worked up about exactly the right time. Sometimes I’d only inject shortly before eating, but, again, removing that pressure of ‘I must do’ was a huge help.
I also identified particular things about my treatment that were stressing me, and tried to improve those eg I got a new meter, took a pump break, etc etc. When I was feeling particularly down, I reminded myself how lucky I actually was to be able to use insulin. A quick look at life for Type 1s before the discovery of insulin made me think.
Finally, I made a point of doing more ‘me things’. I watched more films, took time to sit down and read a book, explored topics of interest, etc. Joining this forum also helped me a lot.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Xxomiifxx
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time with your diabetes.
Living with diabetes can be exhausting and relentless, and impacts on your mental health are not at all unusual. And erratic BG can negatively impact your mood, making it particularly difficult to invest the effort required to turn things around.
You have made a great step by joining the forum. Comparing notes with others, sharing experiences, and having folks who instinctively ‘get it’ to walk alongside us as we face the daily challenges and frustrations of blood glucose juggling can be so helpful.
You might find this page helpful
www.diabetes.org.uk
Do speak to your clinic about diabetes burnout, and ask them about the possibility of psychological support, counselling or other options that might be available to you.
And keep sharing your experiences here too. Ask any questions you have, or simply rant and vent about the difficulties you are facing.
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time with your diabetes.
Living with diabetes can be exhausting and relentless, and impacts on your mental health are not at all unusual. And erratic BG can negatively impact your mood, making it particularly difficult to invest the effort required to turn things around.
You have made a great step by joining the forum. Comparing notes with others, sharing experiences, and having folks who instinctively ‘get it’ to walk alongside us as we face the daily challenges and frustrations of blood glucose juggling can be so helpful.
You might find this page helpful
What is diabetes distress and burnout?
Diabetes distress is what some people feel when they’re overwhelmed by the relentlessness of diabetes. This can lead to diabetes burnout. The way you react to things and the emotions you feel can vary for different people. You might feel frustrated, guilty, sad or worried. Sometimes you might...
Do speak to your clinic about diabetes burnout, and ask them about the possibility of psychological support, counselling or other options that might be available to you.
And keep sharing your experiences here too. Ask any questions you have, or simply rant and vent about the difficulties you are facing.
Bruce Stephens
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Twitter just showed me this. (I haven't read the book ("Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When Type 1 Diabetes Is Getting Too Much and You Feel Like Things Are Slipping (Talking Type 1)" by Rose Stewart) and know nothing more about it except that it looks relevant.)
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
As others have said it is not uncommon to go through Diabetes burnout @Xxomiifxx
I hit a wall when things stopped improving for me. I was prompted by people on here to seek help and eventually I listened to them.
this thread summarises the support that I got from the counselling I received. I was tempted to hide away but these posts helped others so I am pleased that I eventually opened up
forum.diabetes.org.uk
I hit a wall when things stopped improving for me. I was prompted by people on here to seek help and eventually I listened to them.
this thread summarises the support that I got from the counselling I received. I was tempted to hide away but these posts helped others so I am pleased that I eventually opened up
Successful strategies so far in dealing with depression and Diabetes
I found it tempting to hide away over the last couple of months. After 9 years of Diabetes I finally hit a wall as HbA1c reached the mid 40s and so no longer improved, spinal stenosis gave me numb feet over night, an MRI showing lesions on the brain and I watched my Mum die of Dementia...
forum.diabetes.org.uk
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