• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

what are most hard things ? living with diabetes?

Limiting what and how much I eat to what I can cover with insulin without spiking. Waiting to eat when my sugar is on the high side. Waiting in the car after a very slight hypo before I can drive again.
 
Knowing that I have to be totally in control of my blood glucose levels unless I want to be ill again!
I've been there and I call it my hypo hell!

I ain't gonna go back there again!
 
wiflib said:
Nothing, and I absolutely mean that, the last sentence in my profile signature tells you how I feel.
Click to expand...

Totally get where you’re coming from. This has been the kick up the proverbial I needed and have never felt healthier - physically and emotionally.
 
I do not know how to address this the way I want it to come across. So I will say it as such. I do not know what time my Liver goes through this dumping process but I can tell between 3:30 Am and 7:00 Am I have the biggest “Hangover” Feeling one can have. I give my Morning Novorapid to myself. I take one Opiod for 3 back surgeries and a muscle relaxcent and then look up the Low carb Menu and eat. One large Coffee and in 1 hour I am good to Go. Grant Vicat Sir, What causes this Hangover effect?
 
People that think I no longer have diabetes because my results are under the diagnostic cut off levels, so think I am cured and can eat what I like (or rather what they would like me to eat), and think I am OTT for continuing to test and self manage.
 
Australia 1 said:
I do not know how to address this the way I want it to come across. So I will say it as such. I do not know what time my Liver goes through this dumping process but I can tell between 3:30 Am and 7:00 Am I have the biggest “Hangover” Feeling one can have. I give my Morning Novorapid to myself. I take one Opiod for 3 back surgeries and a muscle relaxcent and then look up the Low carb Menu and eat. One large Coffee and in 1 hour I am good to Go. Grant Vicat Sir, What causes this Hangover effect?
Click to expand...
The problem with all these things is that they imply one answer for all. My experience of Type 1 over such a long stretch, one in which so much technology developed as to make life unrecognisable for those at the mercy of guesswork over 50 years ago (or even less), enabled me to rationalise some of the questions I had throughout my formative years. But I would be foolish to claim any kind of expertise. All I can say is that the liver is, amongst other functions, an emergency energy store. For this store to be used I would reckon that the main aim is to keep the brain operating, after all without energy it dies and so does the patient. Does the hangover come from the chemical changes required when the body could well be at a reduced energy level, that is possibly a lower blood sugar level so common in the middle of the night? I used to get hangover feelings after severe hypos, probably for the same reason. I have yet to speak to anyone involved in this type of research, but I bet there are some on the forum who would
be more reliable sources. Again, I have no personal experience with Novorapid or Opiod. What are the side effects of Opiod? quite a few drugs can put BS levels up because of adrenaline.
From my point of view, one of the hardest challenges of diabetes was the unpredictability of it all. Again this is because the body operates on fine chemical reactions, which can be affected by so many variables: temperature, stress, germs, growth, emotion, exercise and even concentrated thought. I once tested myself before and after playing a 12 minute Bach Prelude and Fugue on the organ. I had dropped from 9.5 to 2.8! I hope you find a satisfactory answer.
 
The only really low points are the times when I have to lay down the law to the bossier staff at the medical practice I'm registered at. So long as I can get to see the one doctor at the practice I like and who is impressed with what I am doing, it's OK. I'm also getting one of the nurses ("health advisor" is her official title) on my side.
 
I think religiously eating to my meter every day takes a lot of self discipline which I have taken some time to get used to. I don’t think anyone really likes to be restricted. But, however, once I got into the swing of it I now feel like it’s second nature to me. I really don’t think diabetes has to be a hindrance but more of a learning curve as I am now over 50 I am enjoying learning and re-educatiing myself about real food.

I have even passed this ‘food education’ to my youngest daughter, who thankfully has no medical problems. She has got the perfect figure but she wants to start eating more healthy foods. Despite her svelte figure, she admits she buys far too many Mcdonalds, crisps, biscuits and chocolate etc.

When we now go food shopping together, the trolley looks very colourful with a rainbow of different colours of salad and veggies!


Perfumeflower53
 
The hardest thing is not following a LCHF diet but knowing it is for life!
 
Back
Top