very down about diabetes and its effect on my concentration

[hollyslot]

i have just started an undergraduate degree at university.
i feel like my diabetes effects my ability to concentrate significantly due to fluctuating levels. i really don't know what to do as i try as hard as i can to control it, but i have usually 1 low a day but sometimes 2 and on a really bad day 3.
i am so easily feel fatigued and generally exhausted. i can't really concentrate on my work often as i am just so tired.
i am really lost about what to do, i had my appointment at the hospital last week but i don't find them helpful and i only have them 2 times a year.

 

[azure]

Have you found any pattern to the lows? Anything that causes them?

 

[urbanracer]

Maybe try CGM if you don't already do it??

 

[azure]

It's a big change starting at Uni @hollyslot Hopefully, you've registered with a GP there and have access to the local diabetes centre. If you're really fighting to get your BS right, then maybe a DSN will have some good suggestions.

Testing regularly and keeping glucose and snacks near is crucial. Then at least if you test and see that your BS is falling, you can head off the low with some extra food.

Perhaps people here who are currently at Uni can share their tips for dealing with Type 1, or if you prefer you could search for threads.

 

[ewelina]

Have your vit d3 and thyroid checked too. It has a massive effect on concentration/memory and its very often overlooked by our consultants

 

[nickm]

Fatigue really is a big health issue, and doctors are generally ignoring it. As long as your not dead, and have a working heart, nerves and kidneys, doctors call you healthy. Have you ever seen any research or QA on fatigue in diabetic or Addisonian patients? What diet and exercise patterns are associated with less fatigue?
Having to base your treatment on the anecdotes of other patients, rather than research, shows how little attention doctors are paying to the problem.

 

[Ick]

From someone who's been in a similar position, I'd recommend buying something that lets you record lectures, then you can listen to them when you're feeling a bit better if you're finding it hard to concentrate during them. If your seminars count for credit as well let your lecturer know why you might not be participating as much.

Make sure student services know about your diabetes as well for exam time! I never bothered telling them until fifth year as I was quite chilled about everything but was worried about hypos in the important finals.

My advice is more the practical uni stuff than help with the BG control but I found it really useful. Don't let the diabetes put you off doing anything, I spent a year abroad on Erasmus (which included a stint in a Foreign hospital for DKA) and despite the added challenges still loved the experience

 

[hollyslot]

From someone who's been in a similar position, I'd recommend buying something that lets you record lectures, then you can listen to them when you're feeling a bit better if you're finding it hard to concentrate during them. If your seminars count for credit as well let your lecturer know why you might not be participating as much.

Make sure student services know about your diabetes as well for exam time! I never bothered telling them until fifth year as I was quite chilled about everything but was worried about hypos in the important finals.

My advice is more the practical uni stuff than help with the BG control but I found it really useful. Don't let the diabetes put you off doing anything, I spent a year abroad on Erasmus (which included a stint in a Foreign hospital for DKA) and despite the added challenges still loved the experience

thank you, i try to take as many notes as possible and luckily i don't have exams! they do know now too x

 

[hollyslot]

Have your vit d3 and thyroid checked too. It has a massive effect on concentration/memory and its very often overlooked by our consultants

thanks for the suggestion x

 

[hollyslot]

Maybe try CGM if you don't already do it??

i have purchased the libre which is amazing but im not using it all the time as it is expensive x

 

[fletchweb]

i have just started an undergraduate degree at university.
i feel like my diabetes effects my ability to concentrate significantly due to fluctuating levels. i really don't know what to do as i try as hard as i can to control it, but i have usually 1 low a day but sometimes 2 and on a really bad day 3.
i am so easily feel fatigued and generally exhausted. i can't really concentrate on my work often as i am just so tired.
i am really lost about what to do, i had my appointment at the hospital last week but i don't find them helpful and i only have them 2 times a year.

I know what that's like having experienced it myself and yes - I remember once in University passing completely out and waking up in the infirmary not knowing what time of year it was or what had happened to me for about the first 15 minutes. But I survived and I bet ya you will too. Try not keeping as tight of control with your diabetes when you have a full schedule - that's what I ended up doing. And for those who are followers of strict control there have been more than one study on this that have been cancelled due to the mortality rate of its subjects - my endo told me about that after I scored a 7.3 on my HA1C and he said that's perfect - and I said what do you mean? - and that's when he replied that some studies had been discontinued for mortality reasons. So to this day - if I have a hectic schedule, a lot of physical activity or strange hours - I try to ride my BGs in or around the 10 to 11 level - but keep in mind this comes from someone who has lived with type 1 for more than 50 years and has been spared complications and so far mortality

 

[isjoberg]

@hollyslot Have you got DSA? When I was at uni I got the disabled students allowance which was a genuine lifesaver for those off days were nothing is sticking in your mind. The government funded a cheapo printer, a voice recorder and a really nice software which meant I could upload the lecture slides and put the recordings to match the slides. So if I wasn't feeling 100% I wasn't too concerned as I had all the details stored! I also let me flat mates know I was diabetic which was a lifesaver, especially when I was on occasion struck by a surprise plumeting hypo and was on campus without my purse - group whatsapp my friends and they came running with pennies to get me a mars bar

I also signed up for a case worker with the university mental health group as they were very good with allowing a rant and a catch up, as although it was only feeling a little low, a lot of it was tied in with my diabetes control, so this supplemented my six monthly check ups. Overall, just relax a little with the control as @fletchweb said, I took the approach that avoiding hypos and running a little high on occasion allowed me to have more energy and get involved with a lot more than fretting about going low.

 

[izzyj09]

Hey I'm currently at uni and I feel the same sometimes if my blood sugar swings then I can't concentrate, so here's what I do, I record the lecture on my iPhone or my dictatphone and then when I'm feeling less like death I can listen to it and actually make proper notes ! Also when I go low suddenly in the middle of a lecture as this is known to happen sometimes my friends will record that bit on their phone for me or they just take notes and then I copy them up
I second the have you heard of DSA, because for my diabetes in exams I get rest breaks, which means that if I do feel low then I can stop my exam for 15 minutes and then carry on when I'm up again, also I'm in a smaller room that allows me to eat, drink, give insulin and test all without feeling guilty of disturbing others hope this helps and feel free to message me any questions

 

[hollyslot]

@hollyslot Have you got DSA? When I was at uni I got the disabled students allowance which was a genuine lifesaver for those off days were nothing is sticking in your mind. The government funded a cheapo printer, a voice recorder and a really nice software which meant I could upload the lecture slides and put the recordings to match the slides. So if I wasn't feeling 100% I wasn't too concerned as I had all the details stored! I also let me flat mates know I was diabetic which was a lifesaver, especially when I was on occasion struck by a surprise plumeting hypo and was on campus without my purse - group whatsapp my friends and they came running with pennies to get me a mars bar

I also signed up for a case worker with the university mental health group as they were very good with allowing a rant and a catch up, as although it was only feeling a little low, a lot of it was tied in with my diabetes control, so this supplemented my six monthly check ups. Overall, just relax a little with the control as @fletchweb said, I took the approach that avoiding hypos and running a little high on occasion allowed me to have more energy and get involved with a lot more than fretting about going low.

hi yes i am applying for it, as i also have an eating disorder and just diagnosed dyspraxia. xx

 

[hollyslot]

Hey I'm currently at uni and I feel the same sometimes if my blood sugar swings then I can't concentrate, so here's what I do, I record the lecture on my iPhone or my dictatphone and then when I'm feeling less like death I can listen to it and actually make proper notes ! Also when I go low suddenly in the middle of a lecture as this is known to happen sometimes my friends will record that bit on their phone for me or they just take notes and then I copy them up
I second the have you heard of DSA, because for my diabetes in exams I get rest breaks, which means that if I do feel low then I can stop my exam for 15 minutes and then carry on when I'm up again, also I'm in a smaller room that allows me to eat, drink, give insulin and test all without feeling guilty of disturbing others hope this helps and feel free to message me any questions

luckily i don't have exams, as none of the courses in my uni do! and yes i am applying for dsa. i feel so guilty though when i am high or low as i feel unable to work as i feel so ****. it makes me feel really lazy :/

 

[himtoo]

luckily i don't have exams, as none of the courses in my uni do! and yes i am applying for dsa. i feel so guilty though when i am high or low as i feel unable to work as i feel so ****. it makes me feel really lazy :/

hi there @hollyslot
you should try not to feel guilty , or lazy , or any other negative things

I bet when you are in "flying high " mode you are an absolute star !!!!
Diabetes is not your fault !!

 

[hollyslot]

hi there @hollyslot
you should try not to feel guilty , or lazy , or any other negative things

I bet when you are in "flying high " mode you are an absolute star !!!!
Diabetes is not your fault !!

thank you!

 

[izzyj09]

You shouldn't ever feel guilty about being tired or anything like that, because think about it your body is trying to cope with something that it shouldn't have to do especially when you go low, as it's starving your brain cells of glucose therefore you feel so tired ! I feel knackered when I've been low all night but that's a fact of life and therefore shouldn't feel guilty about it ! chin up xxx

 

[desidiabulum]

Hi @hollyslot -- you have been given excellent advice above. This is just to remind you that some lecturers (like me!) have diabetes too -- I started hypoing during a lecture I was giving last week (imagine getting the shakes with 170 students watching you and the lecture being filmed!). Diabetes is an infernal nuisance and it's not an ideal ailment to have at university, but there a lot of us among teaching staff as well as undergraduates (my Head of Department and my best research student are T1) and we get through it in the end. It will take time to sort out how you can adapt work patterns to fit your diabetes -- and you should never ever apologise for having to ask for essay extensions if you are having a bad week -- but you will get there in the end - hang in there!

 

[hollyslot]

Hi @hollyslot -- you have been given excellent advice above. This is just to remind you that some lecturers (like me!) have diabetes too -- I started hypoing during a lecture I was giving last week (imagine getting the shakes with 170 students watching you and the lecture being filmed!). Diabetes is an infernal nuisance and it's not an ideal ailment to have at university, but there a lot of us among teaching staff as well as undergraduates (my Head of Department and my best research student are T1) and we get through it in the end. It will take time to sort out how you can adapt work patterns to fit your diabetes -- and you should never ever apologise for having to ask for essay extensions if you are having a bad week -- but you will get there in the end - hang in there!

thank you! wow that must've been difficult! x