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3 years with type 1

cockercas

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I joined this site nearly 3 years ago.
I was diagnosed on the 10th of december 2014.
I remember the crushing feeling of trying to watch what i eat and pretty much starving myself incase it made me 'high'.
The specialist was a waste of time and whole thing felt like a box ticking exercise and them saying the book says you must do this. It was a pretty low time.

So i stopped listening to them, got my head down and recorded everything.
Got into a routine and figured things out by myself.

An example of this was just been told to inject 10 units of background insulin and 10 units of rapid and then spending the whole working day drinking coke because of hypos.

Since then ive got my Hba1c down to 41.
I can't remember when i last had a hypo, it was a long time ago.
I dont see the specialist anymore, just my GP who actually listens, the specialist couldn't seem to get it into his head that i dont take insulin with my tea because i cycle after and the insuli would make me hypo, it didn't fit in with his 'book'.

I got my motorcycle racing licence this year and started to race motorbikes and plan to race at the isle of man in 2019
The fittest ive ever been.
Before been diagnosed i couldn't cycle 3 miles now i can do 30 with ease
I plan on cycling coast to coast next year.
Ive just started boxing too.

Been type 1 has only effected my life for the better.
I still eat chocolate and kebabs, i still have my down days but im not going to let it beat me.

The biggest thing i realised is there is so much rubbish relating to diabetes online, what works for one wont work for another and its hard to filter the rubbish from the good stuff.

The biggest thing i took from it though was if you wanted a chocalate biscuit have it and cover it with insulin, because if you dont thats what gets you down and at the end of the day your spending the rest of your life sticking needles in your backside.

Im not sure what i wanted to achieve coming back onto he to write this but mabey it will help someone realise that having type 1 isn't the end, its the start of something new.
 

10/12/2014 here too!
 
@cockercas . My sentiments exactly. Diabetes 27 yrs ago made me what I am today.
Must admit I can't do the bloody motorbikes though, had one, kept falling off. Decided I just didn't have what was needed to be a biker.
Congratulations and well done on how you've incorporated diabetes in a positive way into your life.
 
Hey @cockercas - very well said! I sometimes wonder what my health level would be if I didn't have diabetes as my life style would no doubt NOT be as healthy as it is now.
This particular rings true when two of my non diabetic friends (known them for years) both had heart attacks this fall and the bottom line is - you got to take responsibility for your own healthcare and those who do tend to do much better than those who don't.

Have a good day!
 


I fall off alot crashed 5 times this year, fortunatly i bounce well.
Took me a little while but unless YOU take control of it then it wont take control of you.

Its the whole i can't eat that but you can aslong as its covered with insulin.

I remember spending a couple of hours in asda looking at carbs on the back of the shopping. Swapping things for lower carbs and putting things back.
But if you swap something thats 60g carbs for something thats 30g carbs you still have to inject so might aswell get the one you want.
That was the turning point for me.
 
@cockercas . I try to eat what I perceive to be healthy and beneficial for me.
Gym 6 days a week, kids and now grandkids, heavy manual work and not so heavy now, as led me to eat and live the way I do.
If I want / need a 100g carb meal, then that's what I have. If I can justify it then that is all that matters to me.
I avoid what I see as junk food not because I'm diabetic but because I want to be healthy.
Good luck with the motorbikes especially the Isle of Man ( a braver man than me )
 
The thing that struck me was that every diabetic is different and i was told this at 3 years old and it is right, if we were all the same we would only need 1 doctor for all the UK but we are not. As i got diabetes in 1979 everything was strict have only this may carbs and this insulin, eat nothing like chocolate or coke. Now i have had my share of run ins with doctors at my local hospital, i do recall telling him that i was going to put him through the window if he would not stop wagging his finger in my face and i am not a violent person. When they send you to see someone about your diet and how much insulin you should take well they would say take that many units for that jkt pot i said no i will hypo. The final straw was when they wanted me to go on the DAFNE course to learn to carb count so i could get my insulin pump i told i new my body better than them and i had been carb counting for over 25 years and not just looked up some research, they sent me on a half day course. Then i got my pump and was doing everything the said but my BS were all over they even took me in to hospital to try and sort it but i said what good is this i am lying on the bed when i go home i won;t be. In the end after 6 months i asked my GP to refer me to Newcastle and the consultant there got it sorted in 3 weeks but he also listened to my point of view. I am pleased you have got yourself sorted but it shows that some doctors just treat you as a number. Good look with your two bikes and its not the best idea to see how many times you can fall off!! You will have given people hope that they need
 
Love your attitude and approach mate. I was DX 2 months before you, and in much the same vein my life is much healthier now than ever before. Check out my latest challenge, using diabetes as a motivating factor in my life is key
https://type1bri.com/zero-marathon-359-days
 

The bike racing keeps me focused, been to the doctors today and he has passed me fit so i can apply for the 2018 race licence.

Having something to focus on is a massive help.
Good luck with the marathon
 
I like your style! I pretty much run my own show too. I have the advantage of being able to prescribe my own insulin so I don't have to see doctors. I went 25 years unable to obtain medical insurance here (diabetes is a "preexisting condition") so I bought my own gear for my self. I'm glad you got your license.
 

Lucky for me the the GP sorted it for me not to attend the specialist and to see him insted.
He is happy that i can sort myself out and i only have to see him once or twice a year.

As someone else mentioned, its the finger wagging/treating you as a child.
If your not taking anything positive from the appointment then its pointless going.

They forget your a human and not a number.
 
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