How do I deal with this?

[teen-girl]

Hi I'm a 15 year old who was diagonosed last year in 2011 on March 15th, (the day after my brother's birthday) with type one diabetes. :thumbdown: :cry:
I take good care of myself and am on novorapid with food and levimir at bed. I carb count using ratios and my accu chek expert. My hba1c was 12.6 when diagnosed and now its been 7.2/7.1 for the last year. I rarley seee my dsn or dietican, as they only care about newly diagnosed patients and not me, beacuse I know what I'm doing. I am doing GCSE's for the next two years and I have alot of stress in my life. But even though I do eveythign right, things still go wrong, and I have high bloods, even though I correct them with extra injections. But all the other type one teenagers i know do not take care of themsleves at all, and seem in a better state then me. I am fed up of being the only actually bothering to look afetr myself and I still get big mood swigns when i'm high. I get quite depressed about tis sometimes, can anybody help me with advice.
Thank you xx :eh:

 

[robert72]

Hi teen-girl and welcome to the forum

You are doing the right thing by actively looking after your diabetes. It may be a bit stressful at times when things don't go the way they should, but it will pay off in the long term.

Stress itself can cause you blood glucose to rise, so try not to worry too much. Your Type 1 friends may seem to be in a better state than you, but if they don't look after themselves they have a higher risk of complications later on.

Your HbA1c's look reasonable so keep up the good work. We all have bad days so it's good to come here to let off steam or ask for advice.

Robert

 

[shop]

Hi Teen-girl,

Firstly well done for doing so well so far :thumbup: It must be tough being diagnosed as a teenager. Its sad that so many other teenagers dont take their diabetes seriously. ( there have been posts on here from adults whe were diagnosed young and didnt look after themselves and are now either having to deal with the consequences or worried sick about complications they may get soon. )

You say they seem to be doing better than you that may or may not be the case. If you are feeling down I would speak to your DSN you need help as becoming demotivated could seriously affect your control. There could be a simple explaination for the highs and you could sort it out easier than you think! Even something like the fact that you are still growing and hormones!

I can understand you feeling fed up but dont let it stop you getting the help you need. I am Type 1 but I am 42 diagnosed 6 yrs ago. I have only just discovered carb counting and am still learning. so don't feel experienced enough to advise you properly. If however you are having to correct alot it may mean you need to increase your levemir. Have you been advised how to do this? Possible try it and wait for 3 days to see the result.

You have a lifetime ahead of you and I would hate for you to suffer for not asking your DSN for help.

There are some really helpful experienced Type 1s on hear that may have more advice.

Give your self a break it is not easy and you have been doing really well

:thumbup:

 

[teen-girl]

Thank you and yes i increase my levimir by 20% or 2 units and am currently on 27 units. I think I need to get back to school and my bm's should normalize as holidays do starnge things to my bm's.

 

[Glados]

Diabetes AND exams... That's a lot to cope with. I really admire you for taking your health into your own hands and working at it, alongside all the school work! :clap: I'm sorry that support is so hard to find (yesterday my DN made me feel like I was wasting her time, just by having a routine check up :***: ) but at least you can come here for a boost. :thumbup:

Keep it up, you are amazing!

 

[Cheryl]

If you do much less activity during the holidays it will have an effect. Perhaps you walk to school, or to & from the bus stop? You do PE? Walk to the shops at lunch time? All of these things work together to increase your metabolic rate. If you don't do these in the holidays, your metabolic rate slows down quickly & you don't burn calories as fast as usual.

I am on a pump, so the effects are much more pronounced, but I need about 20-25% less insulin at weekends than during the week. This is because I sit at a desk all day Monday to Friday, then on the weekend I'm doing the house chores, gardening, cycling, walking etc etc.

So, have a chat with your DSN, it takes courage to demand attention, but you're entitled to it & they should offer assistance to anyone who asks for help. Discuss your term time & holiday activity levels & see if they think it might be worth getting into a routine of increasing your levemir during the holidays.

Stress can also raise blood sugar, so you may need more insulin when you know that you're stressed too.

Good luck with your exams.

 

[teen-girl]

Thank you yes I try to bakance my stress levels for exams and not having hyos during them. I also have trouble asmy pre menstural bm's are differnt each month because they stopped when I was diagnosed because I lost so much weight

 

[ebony321]

Hi TeenG,

My period's also stopped for about a year because i lost so much weight and it took me a while to get stable BG's, they were irregular for a while but slowly sorted back into a regular routine so i suspect yours should too.

You should definately be proud in the fact that you are making good effort to take care or your diabetes, nevermind what other people are doing, think of yourself as a good example to others Don't worry about not always getting it right, nobody gets it right 100% of the time and even the most experienced and controlled people have high readings sometimes!

Have you tried telling your nurse outright you struggle with BG's occasionally? She might just be under the impression your HBA1C is good for someone your age and assumes your doing great, just ask her for advice and i'm sure she'll be happy that you brought it up and want to help and advise.

It's also unfortunately normal to get moody and cranky when your BG's are high, i'm certainly guilty of that one and it can be frustrating.

Have you considered an insulin pump? I had trouble with high BG's before i switched from injections and like yourself i was doing everything by the book but it never seemed to work and i was chasing high BG's with corrections alot too. It seems you would be a good candidate as you definately seem to have the drive to take care of your diabetes which is essential for the pump being successful, you can alter your basal rates (like background insulin) temporarily, which would be great to tackle those rises in BG due to exam stress.

Try not to worry too much, it sounds like your doing a great job considering your circumstances so don't be too hard on yourself. If your BG's are giving you mood swings come on here and have a good shout about it, we don't mind cos we know how it feels

 

[teen-girl]

Thank you yes they have said to me that I could have a pump. It I don't like the idea of having it on me all day. But I would speak to me nurse. It I haven't seen her since the summer and my dietician ignored me last time I went to clinic and they only book me in every 6 months as I have good control

 

[ebony321]

I didn't think i would like being attached to it but i forget it's there as it's just tucked in my pocket and my tubing is tucked away! Not for everyone but always something to consider

Think you need to see them both then, i'm sure if you contacted the clinic they would see you. Do you contact your nurse outside of the hospital? I email my nurse quite frequently, as i'm on pump she likes to know how im doing, i find it handy i can just drop her an email if i have a question. I'm pretty sure your nurse will have an NHS email address.

Also are your parents involved in your diabetes care? If you feel uncomfortable asking to see someone for a chat then maybe your parents could step in for you?

 

[teen-girl]

Yes my mother also works at the nhs and handles the practical things with me by carb counting and stuff. My dad also helps by giving me emotional support when I'm feeling down. My nurse has never given us an email address and when we do get through to her she ends up talking to my mum and ignoring me :/

 

[ebony321]

Awwe that's good you have support from both angles from your parents then.

Maybe you could ask her if she has one and would she mind if you emailed her questions every now and then, if i'm stuck with my blood glucose results i often email a few days worth to my nurse and she's good at spotting patterns and will advise where she think i need to tweak a little. At least that way you can ask whatever you like and you cant be hi-jacked!

 

[teen-girl]

I might try that thank you for your advice XD