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Basal/bolus question

G

Gaz77

Member
Messages
22
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Has anyone have any thing good to say or good experience with diabetes? Hopefully I don't sound bad or anything but i am drivinyself mad assuming that I'm going to loose a foot or something, or I'll go blind so just if anyone has any good experience I'd love to know, I've been diagnosed T1 in April and couldn't cope as also the side affects of spina bifida so I can't take hi fiber, and worst of all I am an alcoholic and was in recovery for 3 years, then with stress and worry last while I've started drinking again, reasoning I'm going to get a fatty liver/cirrhosis anyway, so I'm in a bad way so if anyone has any things good to say or how to cope, it'd be great to hear, thank u all, take care, Gary
 
Hello @Gaz77 - I'm 5 years into my diagnosis now, I have to admit I found the diagnosis hard to come to terms with in the 6 months afterwards and ended up seeing my GP and taking up medititation to cope, I know we are all different but I do think coming to terms with this helped me cope better and manage my condition. I am at a stage where the process of testing and taking insulin is matter of fact and I don't obsess over numbers anymore, I live a pretty full life and run and cycle, I don't let diabetes rule my life but I do think becoming an expert as quickly as you can will help accept and cope with the diagnosis. A good book to read is 'Think like a pancreas' picking up a copy will help you hugely. As I said earlier we are all different, do you feel alcohol is your coping mechanism ? Can you get help for this ? From my experience and from talking to others here there is every possibility that if you do look after your type 1, exercise, eat well and cut out the drinking that you too should also live a healthy complication free life, none of us know for sure what our futures are going to be like, but living in the present and looking after yourself without worrying about the future is a good way to live your life.
 
1) there's no reason why being type 1 requires you to eat high fibre

2) there's no reason why being type 1 increases your risk of getting fatty liver / cirrhosis. Your risk for that is coming wholly from your alcoholism.

3) yes, having diabetes does bring with it a risk of diabetic complications. These risks are mitigated, or normalised, by controlling blood sugar. How are you managing your diabetes and what sort of blood sugar levels are you seeing? There are plenty of people with type 1 who live long healthy lives with no significant complications. Type 1 isn't a sentence for complications, there's no reason why well managed diabetes should result in loosing a foot or going blind. I would suggest you are looking only at the headlines on diabetic complications without reading the detail and educating yourself about what the risks actually are.
 

Hi juicyj, thank u very much for your reply, even your tone of message makes me more positive, take care
 
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Thanks Caterpillar, my BG isn't to bad, usually 4-6 and 5.5-8.5, thanks again
 
Hi there @Gaz77
I have been Type 1 diabetic for 45 years ( so far ) and I seem to be doing ok

ok -- I have got a bit of trouble with my eyes -- but I still drive
I have a pretty good life so I can't complain.

I know we are all different and I hope you can come to terms with your diagnosis
( all of us on here are cheering you on to do just that )

Go You !!
 
The idea with diabetes is simple. If you manage to regulate it well, your body will be EXACTLY as fine as if you were non diabetic. This sounds easier to say, because managing your diabetes is actually a difficult thing to do. However, you've just been diagnosed and it takes a long time to get your head around this sort of treatment, so don't be too hard on yourself, and take the time to learn. Diabetes is not a problem on the short term (except for hypos), but I sincerely doubt you will have an efficient management, especially in the sort term, if you drink too much.

My experience is that successful or smart people are not those who can solve complex problems, but those who can break complex problems into simple ones and solve them one after another, not as a whole. Therefore, I suggest you try to sort out your drinking habit if it is out of hand, because alcohol is actually interracting with diabetes in very unpleasant ways, both in the long term and the short term (I'm not going to detail this, I'm sure you've been told). I am optimistic that you will succeed because 1) you were in recovery in the past years, so you know how to handle this and 2) I actually know very well some people who had alcohol issues, and couldn't solve them, until they got really worried; fear can be an amazing motivator, and if you are here, I have no doubt you will be able to use this to get past everything.

Please feel free to let us know how things are evolving.
 
What do you enjoy doing? Diabetes shouldn't hold you back, shorten your life or limit you. I confess I don't know enough about your spina bifida to say how it might affect you as all are different, but you've nothing to fear about T1 diabetes making it any worse. Once you've got used to the amount you need to inject for each meal and got a carry case for your pens (frio are good if it's warm), test kit and glucotabs, the world's your oyster! You can go anywhere, see amazing things, or just enjoy the green leaves in the local woods or park.
Hope you've got a good DSN you can discuss things freely with, one who's helpful and supportive.
There's probably a diabetes group in your area too - it's good to speak with others who have it and are cheerful.
A bit of comedy helps in the low times, or a good book to lose yourself in!
I've had it for 47 years, I still drive, my eyes are good, my feet are good, my organs all function well, and I didn't have the benefit of starting my diabetic life, when I was 20, with all the benefits of the kit and knowledge we have now.
So get out there, kick the booze, smell the flowers and the coffee, and have a long, happy and healthy life.
 
Thanks so much for the very positive replies, I feel a lot better about things, and as in AA, I need to take a day at a time rather than wasting it worrying about the future, thanks and you all have a great day
 
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