Type 1 How come I can not control my diabetes?

Alex_B

Well-Known Member
Messages
168
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm trying so hard to control it, I take extra insulin when I need to, I test my blood sugars daily, I eat the right stuff. Everyone I have talked to says they can control their diabetes, but not me. Why can't I? I am doing everything my DSN told me to do?

I tested my blood sugar yesterday and it was 22.1, I took 20 insulin (I'm only suppose to take 16) but when I checked on it after an hour and a half - to an hour it had only gone down to 21.0. I feel like I should take 30 novorapid just to see if it goes down, but I will get had a go at. I can't win, I try to control it and fight it, I get moaned at, I don't control it I get moaned at. If it doesn't work soon, im quitting insulin.

I can't tell my DSN about the insulin not working properly because she will only say I am making excuses. I just want to go on strike and I probably will soon.
 

leslie10152

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,110
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Ignorance
Don't surrender because of one person. Find someone who really does understand your plight. Fight for your life...it is yours, it belongs to no other. I have had similar experience. I feel your pain and frustration. If this fool does not understand....find someone who does. Life is for the living.
 

TorqPenderloin

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,599
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I think I saw that you're 20 years old, is that right? If so, you're at the toughest time in your life but just know that things get better. Being that age is hard enough. You're learning to become an adult, figuring out who you are as a person, PLUS you're learning to deal with managing type 1 which makes it so much harder. Above all of that, (at least for me) the hardest thing I had to learn to deal with was failure. Honestly, I still struggle to deal with failure, and I'll be 29 years old in a few days.

Try to remind yourself that everyone fails, and some of us fail A LOT. I played baseball in university and had a batting average of about .300; I was considered a great hitter, yet I still failed 7 out of 10 times. In my first sales job after university, I knocked on peoples' doors. On average, I had to ring 50 doorbells just to get one appointment. That technically meant I failed 49 out of 50 times. However, it also meant that I was successful on the 50th try and I learned to appreciate that.

Try to realize that you're very brave for what you're doing right now, and know that it gets better. I was older (27) than you when I was diagnosed so I don't truly understand what you're going through but I have a bit of an idea.

My point in all of this is to keep your head up. Learn from your failures but then forget about them. Also, never forget to celebrate your successes. Also remember that just because you fail DOES NOT mean that YOU are a failure.
 

azure

Expert
Messages
9,780
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I'm trying so hard to control it, I take extra insulin when I need to, I test my blood sugars daily, I eat the right stuff. Everyone I have talked to says they can control their diabetes, but not me. Why can't I? I am doing everything my DSN told me to do?

I tested my blood sugar yesterday and it was 22.1, I took 20 insulin (I'm only suppose to take 16) but when I checked on it after an hour and a half - to an hour it had only gone down to 21.0. I feel like I should take 30 novorapid just to see if it goes down, but I will get had a go at. I can't win, I try to control it and fight it, I get moaned at, I don't control it I get moaned at. If it doesn't work soon, im quitting insulin.

I can't tell my DSN about the insulin not working properly because she will only say I am making excuses. I just want to go on strike and I probably will soon.

Hi @Alex_B I promise you that there's NOBODY with perfect control. We all have highs sometimes or things go,wrong.

First thing - if you're 22 then the correction dose of insuoin could take 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours to start getting your BS down. That's normal when you're higher than approx early teens or so. So it's not your fault.

I find the trick to Type 1 control is consistency. What I mean by that is watching my BS, etc and keeping it in between my target range by gentle 'knocks'. If things go mad, then I find it a lot harder to get back on track. It's like steering a car - lotss of gentle compensatory movements keep the car on track.

Routine helps too. It makes things smoother and simpler. Eg I usually eat the same breakfast and lunch each day because I'm busy and I don't want to think too much. I know what insulin dose I need to take and that simplifies my life a lot.

Regular meals help too as I find if I get too out of routine my BS becomes mor unpredictable.
 
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
If I had followed the advice of the team from the local hospital who were assigned to educate new diabetics I would have failed to lower my blood glucose levels in spectacular fashion.
People who have not a clue are being assigned to manage diabetics, and given misinformation to hand out.
I'm a type 2 but I can't imagine that it is any better for type 1s, as the nurse confidently asserted that type ones don't need to bolus for tinned baked beans - something which many people were astonished to read.
I find that some foods spike me far more than others, even if they have the same number of carbs - it could be something of that sort which is overwhelming the insulin you inject. Have you ever recorded a proper reaction to the insulin, and can you recall what you ate before getting it?
 

BeccyB

Well-Known Member
Messages
465
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I'm trying so hard to control it, I take extra insulin when I need to, I test my blood sugars daily, I eat the right stuff. Everyone I have talked to says they can control their diabetes, but not me. Why can't I? I am doing everything my DSN told me to do?

I tested my blood sugar yesterday and it was 22.1, I took 20 insulin (I'm only suppose to take 16) but when I checked on it after an hour and a half - to an hour it had only gone down to 21.0. I feel like I should take 30 novorapid just to see if it goes down, but I will get had a go at. I can't win, I try to control it and fight it, I get moaned at, I don't control it I get moaned at. If it doesn't work soon, im quitting insulin.

I can't tell my DSN about the insulin not working properly because she will only say I am making excuses. I just want to go on strike and I probably will soon.

Well I don't know who you've been talking to but if you read around on here you will find plenty of us that have trouble controlling diabetes!! You certainly aren't the only one.

You say you're doing everything your DSN has told you to - what has she told you? Has she taught you about carb counting ratios and correction doses? Has she mentioned the DAFNE course, or something similar? It's sad but true that not all our DSNs are as good as they should be! Whatever the problem is I'm confident that with the advice and help of everyone on this forum we can get you to a much better place - please don't give up x
 

novorapidboi26

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,828
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Structured education is what you need so you can evaluate your own doses and make changes to them without any input from the nurse......

Your basal needs to be established firstly otherwise any meal time doses or corrections not working cant be sorted....

What do you know about dose adjustment at this point?