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Always emotional and scared

O

Ophelia_wallflower

Member
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11
So I've been diabetic for 3 years now, had good control for about 6 months after diagnosis and pretty much running high ever since then. I just turned 20 years old and I'm beginning to worry about myself, my family don't really know what's going on and when they ask me I just say everything is fine but that's a lie..my control is terrible I'm basically only doing just enough to keep me out of hospital but I know this won't work forever.. I am very emotional about it and cry regularly behind closed doors, scared about what the future will bring and if I'm ever going to be able to manage this illness. Its like I know everything that I'm supposed to do but j can't get my head around it even after 3 years.. How does anyone get to a point where they are stable when life is constantly changing? I don't understand how it can even be done .
 
aw ophelia :wave: ...... I feel for you. I am not T1 so not got any experience to pass onto you... just hold on though as there are lots people on here that will be along to give advice and hand hold if need be as I have seen them do with others.

My cousin was T1 and he went through this too ( but could not hide it and family noticed) .... I remember being "called in" to chat with him as being near in age to him but more "grown up" and "good with illness" :crazy: ..... heavens above I did not know much about diabetes but just "was there"for him for a bit. This was nearly 40 years ago and we all know much more about diabetes now ( and still dont know enough at times !)

From what I have picked up there is such a lot going on in every individuals body , especiallyteens / new diagnosed / times of stress, so its really really hard to settle into a regime that is "perfect".

Hold on.........others will be along soon !
 
Talk to someone you trust. Just chatting can be a blessing. I can't help you with diabetes talk I'm t2 and only just been diagnosed. Yoou have come to the right place hun which tells me with the right advice you will do great. Remember people care about you. Hugs Xxx
 
Perfectly normal to feel emotional and scared and I don't think they'll be one diabetic who hasn't felt this way at some point.

It's always better to talk about it and ask for help rather than bottle emotions up, try speaking with your HCP's about how you feel or ring Diabetes UK who will listen to you and offer some advice, forums like this are great places for getting things off your chest and..as I've said we have all been there at some point and can relate to how you are feeling right now.

What motivates most people is to live a long and happy life, diabetes is a pain in the butt at times but there's no reason why we can't live life to the full, provided we take care to manage our diabetes well (or as far as possible) then the future is what we make it, obviously there's no guarantees in life but things aren't as always as bad as they first look
 
Get yourself into a routine by eating the same quantity of carbs for breakfast lunch and dinner from day to day. Write down your levels before and after each meal (2 hours after). 1 unit of insulin will change your levels by about 3 mmol/l so if you start off at 7 before lunch and end up at 10 you know the next day to give yourself an extra unit next time you have lunch. Likewise if you start off at 13 you can give yourself 2 extra units to get back down to 7.

Before you tackle this you must make sure that your long acting insulin is correct. You do this by testing before bed and upon waking. If your levels change by more than 1.6 then you need to change your long acting by 10%. You must make sure that you haven't had any short acting within about 4 hours of going to bed.

Oh and everyone despairs at some point. I've lost count of the number of times I've been in tears. Start off by figuring out your long acting as if that is wrong, figuring out everything else will be more difficult.

Do you do any exercise?
 
Thanks everyone

SamJB, I don't exercise much but I've joined a gym and i am planning to make it a priority in 2013 I started going gym in like September but because my sugar is always high I ended up feeling quite ill after like 10 minutes of exercise..

I never knew that 1 unit of insulin brings down by 3mmol and this will be very useful as I tend to over correct as well. Thanks
 
If I were you I'd hold off on the exercise until you have things controlled a bit better. Exercise will change the amount of insulin you need. For example, when I exercise I give myself one unit less of short acting insulin for the next meal and 2 units less of long acting. After two days I will need to put my long acting back up to what it was.

That being said doing exercise will give you fewer random high readings. Up to you, but probably best not to add an extra layer of something to figure out.
 
Dear Ophelia,

The mechanics of dealing with Diabetes can come later.

First we must see that you are helped to get a grip on the emotional problem.

Please go to a female gp and ask for help - the matter is serious ONLY by
neglect - do not panic. You will be referred to a medical counsellor - it is
your statement, "behind closed doors" that tells all and I promise that there
are people out there that will help you.

With very best wishes,

Rob
 
Ophelia
you are still very young, but I can tell you from experience with my T1 husband, that it is better to try to get under GOOD control. You obviously need support in this. Do your parents help? Sometimes parents make things seem worse, because they worry so much about their children.
It might be worth your while contacting the young peoples' groups supported by Diabetes UK [not connected with this forum] Check out their website.
Knowing you are not alone should be a start. Try to find others of your age where you are too. Diabetes Uk might be able to help here . There's nothing like helping someone else to cope.
Hana
 
Hi Ophelia

Some great advice here. It really is about taking control of things, it may seem insurmountable at first but small steps lead to great changes eventually, you will get there. The roller coaster ride of your Blood Glucose going high then low will have such a negative effect on your moods alone, the way this effects other Hormones and Nuro transmitters all effect our mood swings and mental well being.
When you get more stable BG you will feel a lot better emotionally on the whole, which in turn will spur you on Physically to carry on with positive changes....Great idea from Sam to keep things the same food wise, meal in meal out, day in day out for a number of weeks and test a lot to get things stable, write results down and you will begin to see patterns from adjustments. Then to introduce exercise when you are more stable, don't rush to do too many changes at once.

Just wanted to offer you a hug and say I hope things get better for you.
 
I've just changed hospitals so I'm hoping the new one will be more help, I've never taken a carb counting course but I have done a lot of research on it myself

My parents or family aren't really helpful, family mostly give me sympathy ..dad hasn't a clue what diabetes actually is I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know the basics like injecting or anything.. And mum spends her time telling me horror stories of people who don't control there diabetes..I don't blame them though It's not there fault they don't really understand.
 
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