Does your diabetes regime interfere with your life ?

[anna29]

I have found YES my diabetes regime can and does interfere with my daily routine and everyday lifestyle .

Cant just do all things 'without' having to STOP and test , check , think about my blood sugar levels .
What they are doing or up to , sitting at - within acceptable range or out of acceptable range .

Have to make a detour in my thoughts and stop any activity to check the BG levels
Then have to do my insulin shots as per body need's this .

Cant just simply forget or switch off away from it "completely" .

Same with all our meal planning and shopping too .
Things have to be preplanned and written down with my diabetes in mind .
Have even found I do think the same for my hubby when planning 'his' meals too .
No longer buy in anything 'we' may simply just fancy .
My and His body - is a temple kind of thing 'now' ...

Though I still struggle with the time out for it is constantly needed - diabetes does manage to invade my lifestyle .
Even a happy natter and great catch up with a pal over coffee .
Is invariably spoiled or intruded with - dont you need to check your blood sugars ?

Not to mention 'all' the quick dashes off to the nearest loo - when busy doing things
Piddle away the glucose !

Diabetes has its way - to still interfere in my life .

 

[mrman]

Yes, even when its decided that my diabetes won't stop me doing anything it does and will always interfere. The brain space it takes can be very tiresome in itself. I do try to fit my diabetes around my life but, not always that straightforward.

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[Patch13]

Yup! It takes a lot of mental effort and it's very annoying when I'm really enjoying doing something and think I feel a little bit funny so I better do a blood test just to check if I'm high or low.




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[CollieBoy]

I can't eat Sweets and cakes and full sugar fizzy pop without feeling guilty (but apart from that - Not really <G>)

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I once used to do as I pleased and eat whatever I fancied but that was before the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

That was bad enough since I had to attend a foot tickling session and then see the senior nurse a couple of weeks later as well as doing blood tests to see if I was about to exude sugar from everywhere. In addition to this I was given an appointment to see a dietitian (I'm sure that was a joke) and lots of appointments to have a camera shoved where the Sun don't shine. Three times I was offered an appointment with a shrink. I feel I never get to leave the surgery or the hospital.

I had to have bleepy things because after taking pills for so long I started to forget whether I remembered taking yesterday's or today's and the side effects caused me all sorts of ongoing discomforts and illnesses so back down the surgery again.

Meals are dictated by a little black meter and I go walkies to try to get some control. The walkies are often accompanied by a desire to pee which can be a problem unless I am in the woods.

No, it doesn't interfere with my life ....................apart from the feeling that I am in prison with no chance of release. I'm a bloke you see and we don't take kindly to this kind of thing. Ask any doctor about that.

 

[ElyDave]

Yes

 

[pavlosn]

I will not go as far as say that I am pleased that I have diabetes. I am not.

What I will say is that I am a fitter, healthier person today than I would be without diabetes and the lifestyle changes it has forced on me.

Does it interfere with my life?

Certainly it is a big part of my life but at this stage, as I am a t2 and thankfully have so far remained free of any complications, it is more of an inconvenience than a major hindrance.


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[Garr]

No really, hasn't stopped me doing anything, (apart fae work) it's a bit different but not a huge change to be honest. Just think I was lucky to get it later in life and that my kids are alright.

 

[Sarah69]

Certainly not, I test 4 times a day and inject twice a day it doesn't take much thinking about!

 

[2131tom]

Yes, it steers lots of things I do now - but that's how it should be, I think, if I want to stave off major problems for a long as I possibly can.

Maybe I'm wrong to be so concerned, as I know lots of others on here have far more severe symptoms than I have, but the diagnosis scared me enough - and made me realise I wasn't indestructible - to want to change my lifestyle.

My greatest concern is not to become blasé with time, as a couple of T2 friends I know have become. They both have uncontrolled diets and don't test. One admits to dreading her 3-monthly blood tests and the other just doesn't go to the docs. They've both been living with symptoms for a while and don't show any obvious ill-effects. I've gently suggested they should take matters more seriously but I'm (just as gently) fended-off each time I try.

 

[AndBreathe]

In my prime, I was a very successful sportswoman. That called for discipline.

What I do now is a variation on that theme, and having had one horrid episode when I was unprepared for an unexpectedly missed meal, with nothing (suitable or otherwise) available to me, I now have a cereal bar in each bag or back-pack I use.

Whilst T1s may have more dietary flexibility that we T2s, I do think we have the easier lot when it comes to living life "on the hoof".

Fortunately, I am un-medicated, so things are undoubtedly simpler still, but that is the reason I am evangelical about remaining just that way. I accept diabetes is a somewhat unwelcome passenger on my life's journey, but it's not getting into the driving seat if I can possibly help it.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

What I will say is that I am a fitter, healthier person today than I would be without diabetes and the lifestyle changes it has forced on me.

I agree with that and for that reason I am grateful to the NHS for giving me the heads up and I am also grateful to this forum for educating me beyond the point that the NHS is willing to go.

I would now like to think that I can manage it without quite so many waiting rooms in my life.

 

[novorapidboi26]

I suppose my regime should have a greater impact on my life, but I don't feel it does.............

I don't ever feel as though I cant have what I want to eat, and DO have what I want.......as I am getting older though I am making better choices, this is not related to the diabetes though.....

I have never been scared or anxious about hypos, which I am fortunate for I suppose........

Being T1 allows for a more flexible diet and being diabetic for 15 years probably helps too, as well as the pump.........

 

[noblehead]

Without a doubt diabetes interferes with life but that's not to say it dictates the terms in which we live it, there are far worse conditions we could be living with and you only have to look at the Children in Need appeals to appreciate what some people have to live with on a daily basis.

 

[smidge]

Certainly does!

I have to plan where I'll be to take my evening basal - there are some areas of my body I don't feel would be appropriate to inject in public LOL

I have to plan what to wear if I'm eating away from home - access to my stomach is required, so I very rarely wear dresses these days :-(

My handbag is huge!

I have to make sure I have enough supplies in case I get delayed getting home - so no spontaneity.

The list goes on and on.

I don't really believe anyone who says Type 1 diabetes doesn't interfere with their life in some way. It is what it is.

Smidge

 

[shane-1]

yes it has made a big difference ,even as a type 2 ,the medication causes its own issues you have to plan where and when your going to get food and whats available and restroom stops must be readily available ,not easy at times .......

 

[desidiabulum]

When my MODY is behaving it is definitely just an irritant more than an interference – just needs a bit of planning sometimes, but nothing like what T1s have to deal with.

My unrelated heart condition has screwed up my work and plans far more than the diabetes has, and continues to do so. But I still think I’m lucky and have got off pretty lightly in Life’s Health Lottery (says he, just before he gets knocked down by a bus). As noblehead says, there are far far worse things out there than controlled diabetes.

 

[ElyDave]

I think anyone who says diabetes doesn't have an effect/impact on their day to day life is deluding themselves. I'd even say they were lying.

I've gone from being a fit, healty 38 year old able to leave the house for work, sport, whatever without a single thought to a fit 40 year old with a lifetime of managing a progressive disease.

I now have to feed a drugs habit (literally) and cannot simply pull on a pair of running shoes or take a bike out of the garage any time I choose because it's a nice day and I want to.

Let's get realistic here.

 

[novorapidboi26]

I don't have a lifestyle like yours and I didn't have when I was diagnosed at 15..........

so yes, It is clear that it does effect your life, lifestyle and choices in comparison to what you were used to.........[but does it 'interfere' as the post asks?]

could you say I was lying when I say it doesn't effect me like that............NO....

its all about how people perceive it...........

going to the toilet interferes with life, but you don't acknowledge it as such as its a normal, every day occurrence...........

as is the diabetes with me.........

 

[mo1905]

Everything we do on a regular basis interferes with life to some extent. I have to brush my teeth twice a day for the rest of my life too ( hopefully ! ). Diabetes needs planning for sure but I certainly don't find it a hindrance.