• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Been a diabetic for almost 12 years now

G

Garmonia

Newbie
Messages
3
I was diagnosed when I was 11 and I am now 22. I am currently taking Lantus (36 units) in the morning around 10am, and I take the Novo Rapid everytime before/after I have a meal. Dosage always depends on what I am eating but it's normally between 4 to 9 units.

Sometimes when I wake up and I am due my morning injection, I go hypo. So before I do my injetion I have something to eat. As soon as I feel better, I do my Lantus injection but it's always late as it usually takes me around 45 minutes to recover from the hypo. I give myself the usual 36 units. Just wondering if this ok or maybe I should give myself less seeing as I have just had a hypo and have been getting some quite frequently lately...

My diabetes isn't that well controlled at the moment. I rarely do bloodtests and when I do they are reading between 8 and 15. I just feel like jumping in front of a bus at the moment. My best friend recently hanged himself and that has taken a huge impact on my diabetes and University work. Being a diabetic sometimes seems to take it's toll, I have enough in my life to deal with already but there it is, no I can't eat that or no I can't drink that or no I can't sleep in as I have an injection to take... Just recently I've had enough, ya know? I go to my hospital appoinments every 4 months, I get my eyes checked once a year. I just want something out there to make my life a bit easier at the moment then maybe I will control my diabetes a bit more instead of it controlling me...

Thanks for listening.
 
Hi Garmonia, welcome to the forum, and I'm sorry to hear that things are getting you down. Condolences on the loss of your friend too, that sounds like a very sad experience.
22 and at Uni., there's enough for you to be dealing with without diabetes poking its nose in the whole time. What I would say however is that if you get a proper handle on it, you might find the rest of your life gets easier rather than harder.
I don't know what your lifestyle is like, but your blood sugars sound as if they're usually too high, other than your morning hypos. I wonder what's causing these if they happen before your lantus dose?
8 mmol/l alone is too high, but 15 mmol/l is a very dangerous place to be long term. If you let us know a little more about your regime / diet / lifestyle I'm sure you'll find lots of useful advice which might help you make some great improvements.
Take care of yourself,

fergus
 
It's ok for me to complain but I do it to myself, I have no one to blame as to why I feel this way but myself...

Ok, here's what happened today just so you can understand my current lifestyle:

Last night I had some food, a home made shepards pie to be exact with various vegetables. I took my injection after I ate the food and I gave myself 8 units. During the night, I was getting up to go to the toilet every hour and I could tell my blood sugar was high as I also was desperate for water. So I wake up in the morning, I have my Lantus injection at 10am and then I go to Uni. I have eaten NOTHING all day today except a bottle of Lucozade. Right now I am starving and I can feel myself going hypo any minute. My brother and his girlfriend are currently cooking some food and I am too scared to go downstairs to say 'sorry but I need to make some food before I get ill'. So I am going to sit here and wait until they've finished regardless of how bad my hypo gets...

I don't know whats wrong with me, but this isn't the first time I have done this.
 
OK Garmonia, there are a few things you can try to help.
Firstly, if your bg is usually on the high side, there's no reason to take your Novorapid after your meal. It will take 10-15 minutes to begin working and if you eat first, the food has an hour head start on the insulin. You'll end up permanently chasing raised blood sugar with insulin.
Secondly, 36 units of Lantus is a big old dose for a type 1. It's pushing your bg down all day long whereas it ought to be keeping it on an even keel - that's what it's designed to do. It sounds to me as if the Lantus is driving your levels down right now and it shouldn't.
Lucozade? If that's to treat a hypo then that's allright, but otherwise it's not going to do you any favours at all.
Does any of that make sense?

fergus
 
I know nothing of T1, being T2 myself, so I will leave that advice to the ones who do know...

However, I do know a lot about suicide and how it affects the people left behind. I am so sorry you have lost someone in this way. What a tragedy for your friend, your friend's family and you and all your other friends.

People find it difficult to talk about suicide for so many reasons. Talking about it won't put ideas in anyones head and it isn't your fault, however much you might think it is. If you have not seen someone to talk to, go and talk to your tutor or the uni counselling service. This is a truly awful experience and it will have an impact on all kinds of things, including how you manage your diabetes and how well you manage your workload (and other stress) at uni...

Thinking of you.
 
Hi Garmonia

I'm Type 1 too - Diagnosed when I was 21 (now 28), and I've been exactly wher you are now.

Sometimes it all feels pointless - I know when I've been trying hard all week to get my sugars down to 'normal' levels, only for the to spike for no reason, the sense of pointlessness you feel.

You say you want something to make your diabetes a bit easier at the moment....I used to feel like that too. The way I dealt with it was to start testing more - almost obsessively. That 30 second action 10 times a day meant I had an idea of where I was heading (nearly always up!) and meant I could deal with it all more effectively. It's a small thing but it made me feel like I had some control over what was going to happen (at least if I knew I was high I could be nearer a loo and a drinks machine! :D )

It does sound like your Lantus is on the high side, although I found when I was on it that in order to wake up with reasonable sugars, and keep a lid on them during the day, I was on about 35-40 units myself, and had frequent night-time hypos. I switched to Levemir which is better, although I am still looking for the perfect solution!

One thing that used to motivate me (and still does to some extent) is a chat with my DSN. Even a new meter to play with (all new readings!) can trigger that effort in me to want to make it better.....Maybe get an HBA1C and see where you're at and then give yourself a target of bringing it down a bit over 12 weeks, or even just keeping a log of regular tests.

It was only when I kept a detailed diary that I realised how things were working (or not!), and how I needed different amounts of insulin all the time. It also provided the hospital with evidence that I would really benefit from a pump, so am on the list awaiting approval now.

Diabetes is a *****, I won't lie to you, and definitely something we could all do without! BUT, it's not going anywhere (yet!!!), and I guess until we all get stem cell transplants and are cured (hooray - Forum party when that happens!!!), it's actually easier to try and get on with it, that to deal with all the cr4p that comes about when we don't.


Hypos make you feel like ****. Let's start by trying to stop those.....small steps, small targets but all the time improving the bigger picture.

Trust me, once you're sugars start levelling out you WILL feel more positive (I feel like I'm being poisoned when I'm they're all over the place and my husband knows to steer well-clear!). In the meantime don't be afraid to ask for help (I think of it as making my doctors etc earn their pay! :wink: )

ma5on
 
I have a hospital appoinment next week so I will tell the doctor then how I am feeling and see what he/she says. I say he/she because everytime I go to the hospital it's always a different doctor, I have never seen the same doctor ever since I've been at this hospital, must be 2 years now...

I remember when I was first diagnosed they used to send me to the Beta Cell clinic at Roehampton Hospital. This was an adult clicnic designated for much older people and there I was, a scared 14 years old boy surrounded by all these old, ill looking people...

Anyway, thanks for all the advice, it is much appreciated.
 
Good for you - make that doctor work for his money!!

Can I suggest you write down all the things you've mentioned - I know it sounds menial but when you're sitting there and the clock's ticking it's easy to tell them everything is fine. Try bullet points and don't leave until they've heard what you have to say. It'll cost them a lot more precious clinic time later if you run into complications.....

The first hospital I was at was in an area where most people moved to for their retirement - I was the talk of the Diabetes Centre there when I was diagnosed Type 1 - the nurses all knew me (sadly, my first and only VIP experience so far :) ) I remember sitting in the waiting room full of people in their 70's - mostly in wheelchairs, missing bits and pieces. Not a great picture!!!

However, looking back now, it's kinda reassuring seeing all the older people there cos at least they ARE there. Despite all the **** treatment they experienced in the early days of diabetes (my dad had needles his parents had to sterilise for him!), they're still here!!! It makes me feel fortunate we have progressed so much.

You know another thing I've started doing aside from testing? I joined the gym and now go for a couple of hours every other day. This has given me a focus outside of my diabetes, and has also gone some way to helping my control improve (although wouldn't recommend a hypo on a treadmill - I must have looked plastered wobbling off it - or like an amateur...'all the gear and no idea etc...!')

I've set myself the goal of maintaining some kind of fitness programme. This means that while I need to maintain good control of my sugars, I don't feel like that is the soul purpose behind doing it. As a result I also have a bit more freedom about what I can eat - the odd sneaky stick of Twix before working out etc.....Yum!!! I am also hoping to lose weight in the process, but more importantly just feel better about myself (and kick my husbands **** at Wii boxing - he's too smug!). Exercise improves my mood so much that I can look at everything more positively. I know it's a cliche but as a reformed exercise-phobe, I can honestly say it makes a difference.

On a scientific note, Lantus SHOULD give you the freedom to sleep in occasionally without affecting your sugars too much, although I suspect your dose may be too high if it's causing you hypos - either that or you might need to split it - ask your doctor/DSN before doing this though!!! You could even change insulins - Just cos you're on it now doesn't mean you have to stay on it - if it ain't working.....

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend - life is hard and unfair enough at times without diabetes thrown in. I think it's great though that you are talking about how you feel - don't try and bottle stuff up, I know from experience it just makes things worse. Anytime you feel like talking/ranting or just having a moan, just post on here or you can message me. I think this happens to all of us, whether it's at diagnosis or a few years later and we all need support to overcome it. I genuinely believe that only a diabetic can truly understand how we feel though without needing much in the way of explanation......and we're all here if you need us!

Take care

ma5on
 
Back
Top