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Type 1 Diabetes And Other Health Issues

S

sophiiehirst

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I’m 19 years old and have type 1 diabetes, bipolar and severe anxiety. I try so hard to control everything but I just can’t! I have my mental health pretty much controlled but struggle so much to do everything, for one reason or another my diabetes always comes last and my blood sugars are awful i rarely check my blood sugars because I would rather just not know. it’s not laziness but I struggle to find the motivation to do anything to do with it! I wear the animas vibe pump but never carb count, avoid meals because I know I won’t give myself the right amount of insulin after, I regularly have high ketones and it’s just getting too much. Scared to talk to my nurse because I know I’m awful at looking after myself but I can’t do it all! I really want to get myself in gear and be a healthy person but I really need help! Non judgmental advice only please I am trying
 
sophiiehirst said:
I’m 19 years old and have type 1 diabetes, bipolar and severe anxiety. I try so hard to control everything but I just can’t! I have my mental health pretty much controlled but struggle so much to do everything, for one reason or another my diabetes always comes last and my blood sugars are awful i rarely check my blood sugars because I would rather just not know. it’s not laziness but I struggle to find the motivation to do anything to do with it! I wear the animas vibe pump but never carb count, avoid meals because I know I won’t give myself the right amount of insulin after, I regularly have high ketones and it’s just getting too much. Scared to talk to my nurse because I know I’m awful at looking after myself but I can’t do it all! I really want to get myself in gear and be a healthy person but I really need help! Non judgmental advice only please I am trying
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Hi @sophiiehirst ,

I don't pump but will tag in some guys who do.
But I have been in a position with unstable BGs which can affect mood & motivation when it all heads in the wrong direction.
It's kind of like a bad relationship.? Only you can do something about it when you're ready to say enough...
Sounds to me like you need to gain confidence with the tools you have to manage your D?

Just see your diabetes as "work in progress.." Slowly surely always wins the race when sorting out the A1cs... ;)

@Juicyj @Mel dCP @himtoo
Edit to add @kitedoc who always seems like a sensible fellow!
 
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sophiiehirst said:
I’m 19 years old and have type 1 diabetes, bipolar and severe anxiety. I try so hard to control everything but I just can’t! I have my mental health pretty much controlled but struggle so much to do everything, for one reason or another my diabetes always comes last and my blood sugars are awful i rarely check my blood sugars because I would rather just not know. it’s not laziness but I struggle to find the motivation to do anything to do with it! I wear the animas vibe pump but never carb count, avoid meals because I know I won’t give myself the right amount of insulin after, I regularly have high ketones and it’s just getting too much. Scared to talk to my nurse because I know I’m awful at looking after myself but I can’t do it all! I really want to get myself in gear and be a healthy person but I really need help! Non judgmental advice only please I am trying
Click to expand...
Hello Sophie, IMO this is all far too hard for a person your age to handle alone. Do you have any emotional / psychological support? And / or support from specialist diabetes health professionals? I suggest you ask and ask and keep saying you need more help. Don't go away and feel desperate on your own. Make everyone's lives a pain to them until they help you!!! It's really not up to you to control everything. You aren't coping - that's completely understandable. Make everyone understand they have to help.
 
@sophiiehirst take it a step at a time. Have you done basal testing recently? If you know your basal levels are ok, you can then work on the rest.
You know what to do . . . just take it slowly. If you eat breakfast, start with that. If not, start with lunch.

You say you don't carb count. I'm not sure if this is because you think you're not doing it properly, or if you've just given up.

I also use a pump and have lost count of the number of times I've become frustrated when my BGs are way off target and haven't responded to changes I've made to basals and/or carb ratios. It happens to everyone at some point. I just persevere and try more changes. You can do the same.

It's easy for me to say just take it slowly but I think that's the best thing.

I can't advise on motivation. I've been trying to lose weight and find it difficult to motivate myself to do that.
 
Hello lovely, it’s so hard, isn’t it? I don’t think people realise the mental toll type one can take on us, especially as we begin our adult lives. As @dancer says, you know what you need to do, even if you just start with one test a day, it’s a start.
 
Hello @sophiiehirst Sounds like you are already doing an amazing job in managing your mental health, that must take a great effort.

The pain with blood glucose control means the more irregular your levels are then the more it impacts on your mental health, so the better controlled you are then the less anxious you will feel.

The question is why you feel it is so hard to manage it ?

If you can just stop for a minute and ignore the feeling of being judged or having to climb a colossal mountain in keeping on track with your control and simply make it your goal that for one day tomorrow you will start fresh and test when you wake, carb count for brekkie, take insulin then test before lunch and take insulin again with lunch, test before dinner and take insulin at dinner and test before bed, try it for one day and report back ?

Managing your t1 is a slow burn, not a fast track to miraculous results, none of us get them, but by getting better control will empower you as well as help your mental health, but one day at a time ok, if things don't work out tomorrow try again next day, the fact you have posted is an acknowledgment that you want to do this, happy to help on pm if you need some support X
 
hi there sophie..........i guess that you are asking because you do want to do the D stuff but just find it all too much on top of the rest of your life......so maybe a plan would be to start really slow and aim for 1 thing to do at first.......maybe start with a blood test in the morning..........
and make sure to give yourself a small hug for the accomplishment.......

if you can build on that slowly over a couple of weeks perhaps you can get back your mojo ...............I definitely would talk to your nurse for help too..she might surprise you

The health care professionals are meant to be helping us to look after our mental health living with diabetes as we do 24/7 -- so i would ask for some support in that area as well

do keep reporting back here please... we all really care and want you to do well
 
Hi @sophiiehirst, Do you sometimes feel that all the balls are in the air and you cannot catch and juggle them all?
And you feel that you are to blame somehow ? You do not wish to get into trouble ?
Many of us T1Ds have been there. It sometimes feels like we are back in kindergarten and are fearful of misbehaving.
Please take an even breathe in and out. Why? Because, if you are like me, I hold my breath in, or stop breathing when stressed.
I feel all the anxiety, guilt, worry caught up in my chest and head, milling around. When I breathe out the worry and angst and stuff is expelled and with some further even breaths not too deep, not too rapid I can start to think again.
If I can think I can start to find ways to ease things, step at a time. Before I can make plans I have to put my mind into gear.
Just as friends will say, 'Hey before you speak, please put your brain into gear' (but that is my burden to bear)!
You say your mental health troubles are under reasonable control at present, yeah? That is great and can be even better without the guilt, worry of the ketones and high bsls etc.:):)
The key is realising and remembering that better BSLs, less high bsls/ketone combos, actually makes diabetics (T1Ds particularly) feel better. Now if I am telling porky pies be certain that your current on line support team will tar and feather me, except they will be considerate enough to leave enough skin untarred for me to attach my insulin pump )!! Breathe !! Laugh ! apply appropriate action and expletive if you wish !!
With breathing, your support group and that vast pool of courage in you - you need to have your diabetes troubles out with your nurse. Breathe this through. If need be, write out what you wish to say. What is it like to feel unwell mentally and how do you feel about the added burden of your diabetes.? All humans have at least one soft spot. (but not usually in their head !!) You are not after pity really but understanding. Aim for that with your nurse. If your nurse has the understanding from you of why things have happened the way they have then solutions are easier to work on, as a team, you and your nurse ( fill in here any appropriate duo, Smoky and the Bandit, Laurel and Hardy etc.)
I have an Animas Vibe, called Limpet. Yes it reminds me with that Fur Elise tune, is a pain to read in sunlight, gives me a bit of 'separation anxiety' with need to check that the tubing is still attached, but it simplifies some things compared to injections.
Maybe your nurse and a dietitian can discuss with you a sort of set diet for a time, maybe a week, so that you can do the BSL level, input that and the known carbs, have the pump issue a suggested number of units and see how that goes. Even if the BSLs are not perfect, at least getting rid of ketones would be a first victory, a first step.
I know ketones make me feel nauseous at the very time when insulin and some carbs might be needed to help clear the ketones..
Could you maybe try these things ? breathing, making appointment and preparing to see your nurse, trying what is suggested?
Also remember that to have your mental health troubles in check means that you do have coping strategies and they work.
Use them.
Briefly - add in self humour - not taking yourself too seriously ( that BSL is not my fault, it must be the weather or the appearance of a new asteroid, but I guess I take take one for the team if the weather or asteroid refuses to play ball).
Add humour too, as black or not as you wish. " What I eat to day walks and talks tomorrow. But cucumber makes me repeat." !
Blacker ones on demand !! Let us know how you are travelling !! A worry shared is a worry halved, and much less indigestion. There can be other things to do and try later.
Of course I am only suggesting things based on my experience, not a professional viewpoint.
Comic showing a guy sitting at a job interview in a Training Agency. He says: "I believe that you learn from your mistakes. And I make enough mistakes to train everybody here "!
:):):joyful::woot:o_O
 
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Just thought I’d give a little update, had a scare the other night, very high ketones and a phone call to 111. Luckily I managed to get them down without going to hospital but that has just made me 1000% more motivated to get myself better! Thank you for all the kind words! I can do this
 
Great to hear you say that. Once you reduce the high sugars and ketones you will feel a lot better.
Remember there's plenty of people here who can give advice if things aren't going the way you hoped or expected.
 
As a T1 since 1960 at the age of 14, I did not follow most of what I was supose to do.Ho0wever during the 60's and 70's the testing was done via urine sugars which was about 3-4 hours behind the blood levels? When I was put on a blood glucose meter my figures got a bit better, but I wanted a better sugar control without the effort on me?If it was not me getting married in 1976 were my wife told me to watch my sugar levels which means I got better control and up to now have only got tingling in my feet and now I have to get a heart test done followed by a Kidney scan but my hospital consultant said I'm not doing to bad!
 
sophiiehirst said:
Just thought I’d give a little update, had a scare the other night, very high ketones and a phone call to 111. Luckily I managed to get them down without going to hospital but that has just made me 1000% more motivated to get myself better! Thank you for all the kind words! I can do this
Click to expand...
Sorry that you had to receive such a rough wake-up call of sorts!! Please keep breathing evenly, despite it.
A bird does not sing because she has has an answer, She sings because she has a song.
Keep singing, working away at making it as tuneful as possible, and the answers will look after themselves
(With a little help from your nurse and friends)! :woot::woot::woot::joyful::joyful::joyful:
 
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