Diabetes 2 with borderline personality disorder

[mrtim]

Hi i have recently been diagnosed with diabetes type 2 but have been struggling with life for a few years with borderline personality disorder.
When i was diagnosed with diabetes it didnt seem to matter to me as like anything else in life means not much.
I have been put on metformin but havent taken my medication to date as with all my medication im on i forget to take it but to me its not worth while as im not able to keep to any diet and only eat sweets, chocolate and drink cans of coke,i do have a neighbour who works at a chip shop that drops of food most nights.
I have severe pains in my feet and back of knees and my hand and arms hurt,i have told the doctor this and was put on medication thats for epilepsy i cant remember the name but it began with a G but this medication didnt do the trick,i told my diabetes nurse this but she didnt want to know.
I am basically house bound now as i live in an upside down house,living room and kitchen upstairs and bedroom and toilet down stairs and i cant manage the stairs at all and have fallen down the stairs several times and breaking my toes,
I have been begging my mental health team for help but getting nowhere and doctors seem useless.i cant go shopping due to mental illness and pain,the pain is so much some days that i have seriously thought about self amputation,why not i cut myself up on a regular basis
I have tried to read all i can about diabetes but due to mental health problems i cant take the info in,
Im heading towards self harm and suicide with the pain and really struggling to go forward,i cant diet as i cant cook as im a danger as i forget the cooker is on,
I dont know why im posting this because my life is very bleak at the best of times...sorry for a dark post

 

[angieG]

Hi,

Sorry to hear you are having a rough time and not getting any help.
Please do not think of self harming and do go back to your Doctor or Nurse and do your best to persuade them to refer you as you do need help to deal with all this.
Feel free to ask any questions on here as we will try to help and offer advice.
The pains you are feeling in your feet, hands, arms and legs could be caused by high blood sugar levels. If you can get a test meter so you can keep an eye on what the food you are eating is doing to you. Coke, chips and stuff like that will only make you feel worse and then you will feel even more depressed.
Please have a read around this forum and see what others are eating as this will help you to feel better and if you can start to take control of your food you may start to feel better about dealing with the condition and life in general.

Don't give up, you can beat it.
All the best
Angie

 

[daisy1]

Hi mrtim and welcome to the forum. I am so sorry you are feeling so bad now and I'm sure that being diagnosed with diabetes in addition to your other problems was a shock.

You have now got some friends on here who all would like to help you, angie for example and other members who will no doubt be along later to give you some support and friendship. Have you got anyone who lives near to you, your kind neighbour for example, who you could talk to? Angie has given you some very good advice.

I really do think that you need to have another try at getting some help although it seems so difficult. You need to talk to someone who can help you. Maybe your neighbour could help you find someone. I don't know how the English health system works as I live in Switzerland but maybe you would be able to see someone else. Other members will be able to give you some advice on how to go about this and on other help which would be available to you.

I hope this information which I have included below will help you to know a little more about how to cope with your diabetes. I know there is a lot of information but just read a very little at a time so it will sink in better. This is the basic information we give to new members. I hope it will give you confidence to start off with little steps to look after your diabetes. As you go along, ask all the questions that come to mind and someone will help.
All the best
Daisy




BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[hussar72]

Hi mrtim.
I suffer from bpd as well as bi-polar and PTSD and was diagnosed type 2 in Feb so I understand a little of what you are going through. I burn and cut myself as well as lots of other maladaptive behaviour. I have been ill mentally for 20years and never thought I would get any better.I always knew I would die by suicide eventually. That is until the last six months when I was lucky enough to be accepted on a dialectical behavioural therapy course (DBT) its a year long and I will prob do it twice. I would urge you to look into the possibility that your health care trust run one and if not find out the nearest as one girl travels from an adjacent area to attend the one im on. Six months ago I could not leave my house and now im almost able to go shopping and I haven't burnt in 6 weeks. Just tonight fir the first time in years I tipped the whisky I was about to drink down the sink. As you know BPD will be with you for life but there are skills you can learn to implement to prevent you keep climbing up the distress scale if something goes wrong. I dont know how I would have dealt with my diabetes diagnoses without my mental health team behind me and I beg you to keep on at them and demand help. I actually had to go to my local paper to get the help I needed but that was on a bi-polar high, it worked though so do anything to get the help. Please look into DBT I promise you it works and although it is hard to attend the first group as you can imagine with your illness, you will be surrounded by fellow sufferers.
Best regards.

 

[lauren_rp]

The pain you're experiencing sounds to me like neuropathy. I have it and it is very painful. If you get the right type and dose of medication soon enough some of the pain might even be removed. I left it for months and now have worse damage than if I had gone sooner. I would say don't wait go as soon as you feel able.

At first you might not get the right type of meds but you must try to persevere - being in pain like you are is terrible and at times I have been suicidal with it because it grinds you down, which is the last thing you need on top of everything else.

At first I was given Gabapentin only a very low dose and it did nothing however, I gradually had the dose upped and along with a few other meds the pain became more manageable. Good and bad days just like everything else. I recently found Gabapentin becoming less effective but have been prescribed Lyrica (Pre-gabalin), which is related to Gapapentin but you need less of it to do the same job. I would say this along with tramadol has been most effective to bring my pain down.

I know exactly how constant pain effects people and it seems like there is no way out but if you can get the strength up to go to your GP and tell them how badly your life is being affected by pain, I am sure they will do everything possible to help you. Please don't give up, I was at the stage of wanting to throw myself out the window I had almost no hope left - once I got on the right pills it was as if I could finally hear myself think and breathe. It doesn't remove the pain altogether and the meds make me really tired but they have saved my life and I hope they can do the same for you. If you need me to give you a list of meds I am on just let me know and I can list them for you.

Kind regards
Lauren

 

[kerrycakes]

I also have bad amongst other things...in dome ways, id already come to terms with having to take meds for the rest of my life, so was one less thing to get my head around when i was diagnosed 22 March this year. I have huge control issues, especially round food, have had an eating disorder since childhood but have managed to flip this around and used the control to control the diabetes, if that makes sense? I also use pre gablin and find it helpful for anxiety. Umm not sure what else to say but that keep bugging at mental health team and drs and try and keep strong. And no self amputation! I know how hard not hurting yourself can be, its something else I've been battling for a very long time, but it can be done. Much luck to you and to everyone who is struggling. x

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[kerrycakes]

*bpd not bad, silly auto correct!

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