Hey! *waves*

DisFanJen

Well-Known Member
Messages
144
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
So I've been using the site for a few months now and realised I never introduced myself. :)

So Hi, I'm Jen (now it feels like an AA meeting, I'm imagining a load of people chorusing "Hello Jen" ;) )

I'm a 51 y\o woman working in the IT sector with a loving wife, a cat, and a lizard for company.

I was diagnosed diabetic about 15 years ago and back in the bad old days when I was on just pills I managed my condition by, well, not managing it. Ol' head in the sand me just believed the pills would do their job so I could go on doing things as before.

Inevitably it all went to pot and I was rushed into the hospital in Jan this year with a DKA. After several hours in Resus (where a doc really freaked me out by mentioning possible multiple organ failure when he thought I was out of it), another day in majors, then the rest of the week on a dedicated diabetes ward, I left there on insulin and with a firm belief that I really wasn't into the dying thing.

Anyhoo, 5 months of total lifestyle change, exercising, eating low carb (not keto, but a lot lower than before, I'm probably eating about 1/3 the amount of food I used to eat and a lot of it is lower carb), etc. and from 6U bolas with every meal and 24U basal, I'm now on 10U basal, no bolas, a weight lost of about 6 stone (well 5st 10 but allow my rounding up), and my numbers are in the 5s & 6s.

I could spend a bit of time listing other non-diabetes related things, like I'm into Disney, D&D, and Formula 1 (I can do eclectic me. ;) ) but these last 5 months (5 months and 5 days to be exact, but who's counting?) have all been about the health and numbers, How high is my BG? How much weight have I lost this week?

You'd think it would become tedious but it's become a kind of game and I can be very competitive.

Using the trusty meter and carbs and cals, it's all about keeping numbers in the zone. And so far it's been pretty good.

Anyway, that's me. How're you all doing?
 

Mungobean

Well-Known Member
Messages
88
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Jen. You have done an amazing job! Wow! I too work in IT and keep cats and a reptile - dear Horace the tortoise.
 
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HomerSimpson

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Jen. I actually have a degree in Cisco Networking. I wanted to become a network engineer, but because of my T1 diabetes, I’m planning a career change. It’s way too active, and I always fear hypos.


Could I ask the type of your diabetes. Were you originally T2 on meds and now you’re T1 (insulin dependent)?
 

KK123

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,967
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Could I ask the type of your diabetes. Were you originally T2 on meds and now you’re T1 (insulin dependent)

Hi there, forgive me for butting in! Being insulin dependent doesn't mean a person is type 1 of course. I wonder if Jen's beta cells have given up or whether her body just wasn't coping with her type 2 and so they've put her on insulin to assist. I think there are a fair few type 2s out there on insulin, a type 2 for 15 years can't suddenly become a type 1 and I don't believe it's possible to have been a type 1 to begin with without anyone knowing for 15 years.
 

DisFanJen

Well-Known Member
Messages
144
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Like KK123 said, I’m type 2 and that doesn’t change. In fact my body is producing insulin which is why with a couple of metformin a day I can get by with only 10U of basal.

My pancreas did stop (or severely reduce) insulin production for a while because of the shock of the DKA but recovered (at least to some extent), which is why I came off the bolas again.

I’m on basal insulin because it works better for me than the pills I was on before. Metformin in larger doses gives me issues for example.

So as my medical alert Apple Watch strap says, I’m an insulin dependent type 2 diabetic.
IMG_1625029825.478972.jpg
 
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Ryhia

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,124
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Jen. I actually have a degree in Cisco Networking. I wanted to become a network engineer, but because of my T1 diabetes, I’m planning a career change. It’s way too active, and I always fear hypos.


Could I ask the type of your diabetes. Were you originally T2 on meds and now you’re T1 (insulin dependent)?
Used to be a network engineer prior to becoming retirement and being diagnosed with D. Couple of others in the office were insulin dependent, one of whom was a network engineer, the other a systems analyst. I'm just around 5ft in height and female - some of the UPs equipment is quite heavy, also having a colleague who was 6.5 who used to like fixing switches high up in the cabinets was a bit of pain, used to have to carry a step stool around with me at times, on the plus side I could get into areas he couldn't. Don't let anything stop you from going for what you fancy.