Come on T1s!

[Shannon27]

Morning everyone!

I've let my control slip quite badly since Christmas, since i was high for 2 weeks with flu. I can all but guarantee my A1C is going to be way up - i'm due to be seen in the next month. I'm also starting to think of kids in the next 2 years, but i have a long way to go before i even want to try.

Today i woke up with a reading of 15.3, and i'm feeling fed up with this being the norm. I feel fine too. I will admit i am quite lax with rules, i eat rubbish and i can be quite lazy. I don't test as often as i need to either.

Something my DSN has asked me to do is upload to Diasend, which i haven't yet done. Honestly, i've been quite ashamed of my readings. So i'm setting myself a challenge of uploading at the end of each working day before i shut off my laptop.

I'm feeling particularly stubborn and motivated today and i think it's time for a change. Here's to hoping i can keep it up!

Anyone else struggle for motivation?

Shannon x

 

[porl69]

Hi @Shannon27 I used to struggle for motivation constantly....it wasnt until my stage 4CKD diagnosis that I decided it was time to look after myself properly full time.

You have taken the 1st step which is usually the hardest step to take. I can understand if you think your readings are not good then you are reluctant to do it. My DSN/dietitian and consultant all understand that we can go thru rough patches (burnout) and or colds and flu.
I upload my meter/pump once a week. Keep it going Shannon.....

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

Sounds like a plan you got there @Shannon27 .

Yep, I'm kind of motivated. "Had" some plans for this year..

Just stuck in "limbo" dealing with & waiting the outcome of some bureaucracy at the moment.
Lol, the horsepower is there. Just can't seem to gain the right traction..

 

[Juicyj]

Heya @Shannon27 It is tough going at times and we know what we have to do, it's seeing the same numbers all the time which can deflate the enthusiasm, I get it at times, last night I was hitting mid teens but instead of waiting for the numbers to come down I simply had my dinner and carried on, I took a correction before bed and had to do another through the night to get myself back down into single digits this morning, but to me starting the day in range helps my mood for the day.

The lesson we have to learn is to not be so hard on ourselves and beat ourselves up over it, just accept it and move on.

In regards to testing, I think it's the fact you know deep down the number may not be the one you want so why bother finding out. Can you get a libre ? It's a good tool to motivate yourself with your testing, the numbers tend to fall into line more easily when you've got a handle on them, speak to your DSN about your testing and see if they can at least give you a trial with one, it will help hugely with your motivational issue, also keep talking about it too, speaking to others will help you confront it more and want to take control, we are all here to help

 

[Shannon27]

Heya @Shannon27 It is tough going at times and we know what we have to do, it's seeing the same numbers all the time which can deflate the enthusiasm, I get it at times, last night I was hitting mid teens but instead of waiting for the numbers to come down I simply had my dinner and carried on, I took a correction before bed and had to do another through the night to get myself back down into single digits this morning, but to me starting the day in range helps my mood for the day.

The lesson we have to learn is to not be so hard on ourselves and beat ourselves up over it, just accept it and move on.

In regards to testing, I think it's the fact you know deep down the number may not be the one you want so why bother finding out. Can you get a libre ? It's a good tool to motivate yourself with your testing, the numbers tend to fall into line more easily when you've got a handle on them, speak to your DSN about your testing and see if they can at least give you a trial with one, it will help hugely with your motivational issue, also keep talking about it too, speaking to others will help you confront it more and want to take control, we are all here to help

I've been on one trial and loved it! Last time i saw them they were talking about maybe putting me on a second "trial", the sensors are a little out of my price range at the minute as i've recently bought a house i'm not eligible for prescription as i don't test 8+ times per day. Sometimes i don't hit 4. So i need to remedy that!

I'm starting the Harcombe diet as of tomorrow (this evening but you gotta start with full days ha!), this is a low carb diet where you get an optional allowance of 50g dry weight brown rice or quinoa per day, and gradually reintroduce things like dairy, berries etc. I'm expecting a rough couple of weeks while my hypo awareness reassigns again, but looking forward to experimenting with food a bit more!

 

[Shannon27]

Hi,

Sounds like a plan you got there @Shannon27 .

Yep, I'm kind of motivated. "Had" some plans for this year..

Just stuck in "limbo" dealing with & waiting the outcome of some bureaucracy at the moment.
Lol, the horsepower is there. Just can't seem to gain the right traction..

I'm sure you'll get there! I am a major procrastinator, so taking this step is a really big thing but i already feel more positive about it having the plans there is half the work, once you jump the next hurdle of starting them i think (and hope) the rest will fall into place

 

[Shannon27]

Hi @Shannon27 I used to struggle for motivation constantly....it wasnt until my stage 4CKD diagnosis that I decided it was time to look after myself properly full time.

You have taken the 1st step which is usually the hardest step to take. I can understand if you think your readings are not good then you are reluctant to do it. My DSN/dietitian and consultant all understand that we can go thru rough patches (burnout) and or colds and flu.
I upload my meter/pump once a week. Keep it going Shannon.....

It's great when you have a good DSN, mine doesn't judge, just listens to what i want and offers advice. When you upload, do you have to include carb intake and insulin dose etc as well? I don't always carb count, a lot of my insulin intake is guesstimation (based on experience ha!)

 

[Juicyj]

i'm not eligible for prescription as i don't test 8+ times per day. Sometimes i don't hit 4. So i need to remedy that!

There you go, that's your incentive lovely - if you can set an alarm and hit that target each day then fire it back off to your DSN and get that prescription, that would be fantastic, go for it Shannon you can do it

 

[porl69]

It's great when you have a good DSN, mine doesn't judge, just listens to what i want and offers advice. When you upload, do you have to include carb intake and insulin dose etc as well? I don't always carb count, a lot of my insulin intake is guesstimation (based on experience ha!)

My meter is connected to my pump so carbs etc get uploaded. I even put in snacks as I can use .1 of a unit of insulin. Doesn't sound like much BUT makes a huge difference.
What meter do you use?

 

[Shannon27]

My meter is connected to my pump so carbs etc get uploaded. I even put in snacks as I can use .1 of a unit of insulin. Doesn't sound like much BUT makes a huge difference.
What meter do you use?

The Contour Next One, there is a function to set targets and input carbs and insulin etc on the phone app for it - do you think these would get uploaded if i uploaded just from the meter?

 

[porl69]

The Contour Next One, there is a function to set targets and input carbs and insulin etc on the phone app for it - do you think these would get uploaded if i uploaded just from the meter?

Good question. Simple answer from me is...no idea sorry, I have the contour next link and download that to the Medtronic Carelink page.

 

[Shannon27]

Good question. Simple answer from me is...no idea sorry, I have the contour next link and download that to the Medtronic Carelink page.

Just been looking, i didn't have the Diasend uploader app on my laptop so just got that! It's taking a long time to load though! Going to try doing it via the app instead

 

[Juicyj]

The Contour Next One, there is a function to set targets and input carbs and insulin etc on the phone app for it - do you think these would get uploaded if i uploaded just from the meter?

Yes Shannon you can share from the phone app: https://www.contournextone.co.uk/#section3

 

[Shannon27]

Diasend doesn't work with Contour next apparently, so you've got to plug in the monitor!
Is it meant to take ages the first time round?

Later: got it! Blimey there are a lot of reds

 

[localshop]

Morning everyone!

I've let my control slip quite badly since Christmas, since i was high for 2 weeks with flu. I can all but guarantee my A1C is going to be way up - i'm due to be seen in the next month. I'm also starting to think of kids in the next 2 years, but i have a long way to go before i even want to try.

Today i woke up with a reading of 15.3, and i'm feeling fed up with this being the norm. I feel fine too. I will admit i am quite lax with rules, i eat rubbish and i can be quite lazy. I don't test as often as i need to either.

Something my DSN has asked me to do is upload to Diasend, which i haven't yet done. Honestly, i've been quite ashamed of my readings. So i'm setting myself a challenge of uploading at the end of each working day before i shut off my laptop.

I'm feeling particularly stubborn and motivated today and i think it's time for a change. Here's to hoping i can keep it up!

Anyone else struggle for motivation?

Shannon x

it annoys the heck out of me when I wake up high. Sometimes it's just high for no reason, and I end up having loads of fast acting to bring it down. Then of course it goes low which is almost as annoying. It always seems to go low before I want to go out somewhere too, and it stubbornly refuses to climb. All in all it's bloody frutrating. Just remember that we ALL have periods of better / worse bloods and you'll be right as rain before long. Keep testing though, it does help!

 

[Shannon27]

Thanks for all your positivity folks! Talked it over with my fella, we're going to clear the house of the rubbish we have in and start the diet next week! Then we're not giving up easily when there's only healthy food in! I know this sounds like procrastination but i have some meals planned that sound deeelish
In terms of testing, i have an alarm going off every 90 minutes

 

[therower]

@Shannon27 . Great advice from everyone as is to be expected.
I think everyone ( Type 1 ) loses that focus, motivation and commitment at some point.
Remember you have all the tools and experience to control your diabetes.
Sometimes we have to go right to basics, no little tweaks here and there, we do that everyday.
Strip everything back to the bare bones. Look at the problem and look at how to solve it.
This is where you’ll find out things you’ve probably forgotten.
20 years experience if I’m correct, is what will pay dividends. All that knowledge.
Good luck.

 

[MeiChanski]

Hello @Shannon27

Sending you a hug! I was wondering if you’ve spoken with your team or GP to speak to someone like a clinical psychologist or someone specialised in burn out. Testing 3-4 times a day is a good starting point, it’s better than nothing and there’s information for your team and you to work on. Like you are not turning up to a party empty handed y’know if you can ask about a carb counting course, it would help as well but bear in mind, you’ll have to test more when doing that course. (you might get a libre with it. I heard some people have to do DAFNE in order to get a libre)

I understand about the whole hba1c going up. I started a pump almost a month ago and I know 110% my hba1c went up but hey, it’s okay. Not everyone’s hba1c stays levelled, some fluctuate from time to time.
Best of luck to you!

 

[Shannon27]

@Shannon27 . Great advice from everyone as is to be expected.
I think everyone ( Type 1 ) loses that focus, motivation and commitment at some point.
Remember you have all the tools and experience to control your diabetes.
Sometimes we have to go right to basics, no little tweaks here and there, we do that everyday.
Strip everything back to the bare bones. Look at the problem and look at how to solve it.
This is where you’ll find out things you’ve probably forgotten.
20 years experience if I’m correct, is what will pay dividends. All that knowledge.
Good luck.

20 years i've been diabetic too, all that knowledge and sometimes you just gotta have that chocolate going back to basics sounds like a good idea for me! Thank you

 

[Shannon27]

Hello @Shannon27

Sending you a hug! I was wondering if you’ve spoken with your team or GP to speak to someone like a clinical psychologist or someone specialised in burn out. Testing 3-4 times a day is a good starting point, it’s better than nothing and there’s information for your team and you to work on. Like you are not turning up to a party empty handed y’know if you can ask about a carb counting course, it would help as well but bear in mind, you’ll have to test more when doing that course. (you might get a libre with it. I heard some people have to do DAFNE in order to get a libre)

I understand about the whole hba1c going up. I started a pump almost a month ago and I know 110% my hba1c went up but hey, it’s okay. Not everyone’s hba1c stays levelled, some fluctuate from time to time.
Best of luck to you!

Might be a good idea to look into it - my main issue is motivation so a specialist in burnout would be great! I've been enquiring about DAFNE, but nothing yet! I think i need to show that i am actively trying to carb count and/or test regularly, from what i remember. I've started setting alarms so i can start testing enough to be eligible for the Libre on prescription, so hopefully it'll become second nature in a few weeks! Hugs back