Hello and welcome to our forum.
The first thing that I want to remind you is that, there is someone in a hospital somewhere out there who is praying for the chance that you have in life.
Diabetes is a very difficult condition. But, it is manageable. And this is the most important thing.
It isn't easy but, there are worse things in life than this.
Most of us do not have a perfect handling of our diabetes. Only few people, who have been diabetics for years and have mastered the “trial and error” process have reached a point where they know exactly what they are doing and what works for them. For most of us, the management of our diabetes is a continuous work in progress.
You will read about people who have excellent blood glucose levels. Please, do not get too inspired to start doing what they are doing… these people may have a different (less active) lifestyle than yours or a more “predictable” and “co-operative” diabetes.
Regarding DAFNE, the course gives you certain guidelines. Some of them are applicable whereas others aren’t.
For example, in DAFNE course we are taught that we are not supposed to calculate protein or fat when we inject our Novorapid however, you will see that some diabetics do inject for protein/fat whereas others don't need to.
DAFNE says to inject prior your meal and eat immediately but, most diabetics give 20 minutes to their Novorapid before eating.
DAFNE says not to bolus for lentils, carrots, or grapefruit yet, many diabetics do whereas others don't need to.
According to DAFNE, if you have a yogurt you are supposed to bolus only for its carbohydrate content however, some diabetics bolus for its protein content as well whereas others don't have to.
DAFNE is a general guideline. It is only with time that you will find what works best for you.
Please do not feel frustrated regarding your diabetes as this is only the beginning. We will live together with our diabetes for the rest of our lives so, we need to have patience and a positive attitude. With time, things will fall into place and we will handle our diabetes correctly.
Give it time.
As for hypos, we are all afraid of them. I do not know of any diabetic who is comfortable with hypoglycemia.
I also live alone, just like you, so I prefer to keep my levels a little bit higher than the 5-7 target because, I do not like the possibility of waking up in the middle of the night, all alone, with a blood glucose level of 2.5…
I am not happy that I do this, I would certainly prefer to always be within target but, life is like this… We work, we are active every day, we are carers, we have responsibilities and life needs to go on and, sometimes, it is impossible to constantly run after a hypo at the bank, at work, during grocery shopping or when driving the kids to school. I am guessing that it would be easier to monitor and manage our diabetes if we were pensioners sitting on the couch all day watching telly and doing some gardening…
For me, the most important thing is to stay safe first.
It will be great if we reach 60 without any complications but, let’s just get there first.
Relax, stay away from the low numbers, stay safe and experiment with your food with safety (don't over-inject), monitor and check your levels often, keep in contact with your diabetes nurses and give it time.
You will learn.
We all are.
Stay strong. Stay positive.
Diabetes is our masterpiece; we need to edit often.
Regards
Josephine
P.S. Please check if you can have access to a continuous glucose monitor device like the Freestyle Libre. It will give you some peace of mind especially during these lonely evenings/nights or when exercising.
