Do you feel that diabetes has ruined your life ?

archersuz said:

My diabetes is probably genetic. My sister is T2 and I had gestational diabetes 20+ years ago. I have however got my BG level down to non diabetic through LCHF. So don't give up, don't take the DN's words as gospel, prove her wrong! On my DESMOND course, I said I was going to get my levels back to 'normal' and the nurse said "well, you can try". Well guess what, I've done it.

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Brilliant, I love to be successful and you really proved her wrong. MAGIC!

In short No
Life is life and for whatever reason diabetes is part of mine. My choice is wether to get on with it or give up - doing that would leave me feeling that Id chosen to potentially ruin my life in response to a random disease.
Life would certainly be different without diabetes but not necessarily better or worse, just different.

therower said:

Diabetes T1 like ours, affects us all differently.
Now this is only my take on it, nothing scientific, no quoting studies or papers from experts.
Diabetes the " auto immune " condition, diabetes the medical condition is relatively easy to control, time consuming,yes. Inconvenient, yes. Nonetheless it can be mastered and for me maybe takes 30 to 45 mins per day.
Diabetes has a far greater power though, it lives, it grows and it craves negativity and darkness. It wants you to fear it, it wants you to make allowances for it, it wants to infiltrate the darkest corners of your mind in the darkest hours of the night, it wants you to put it first. It wants to be the leader, it wants to take the first step and have you follow. It wants to find parts of your life it can plant a seed to grow, you don't even realise it's planted the seed until it grows. Every morning it wants to fight you, it knows that you can't win the fight, because whatever you do today, no matter how well you fight, you'll still wake tomorrow a diabetic and it'll throw the gauntlet down again.
So why has it not ruined my life?
I don't fight it, I embrace it, it's the reason I overcome daily challenges, it's the reason I push and challenge myself.
I shine a light on it so it can't find that dark corner to hide in.
It does try to mess with me, catch me unawares, plant seeds of doubt but after so many years I'm wise to its ways.
If and when it f***s with me I let it know who's boss. Personally that usually involves pushing myself to physical limits.
So when I look at that time on the rowing machine or the extra set of reps on the weights or the extra half hour in the gym, it's all down to the diabetes, trying to make me weak has actually made me stronger.
When I'm running around with my grandkids playing silly games, carrying both of them home from the shops, when every muscle in my body is screaming for a rest I carry on. I carry on because it's the diabetes that wants me to stop, it doesn't like me having fun, it has no power where family especially kids are involved, it wants me to stop and fail, I have no greater reason to carry on and succeed.
I'm where I am in life and yes I'm diabetic BUT I don't have diabetes it has ME.
Hope this goes some of the way to explain how I am.
Please don't feel I'm trying to lecture or educate you, i am not. I just wanted to explain how me and diabetes exist.

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Brilliant philosophy. I was particularly impressed by
"I'm where I am in life and yes I'm diabetic BUT I don't have diabetes it has ME."
A good place for your head to be. I'm going to borrow it, if that's OK by you.

rmz80 said:

I forgot to mention an important point: If you learn as much as possible about diabetes quick enough you can usually avoid all those horrendous side effects before they appear .

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I didn't much to my regret but I will

CL_in_NZ said:

My last one a couple weeks ago was 37. Given how I ate and drank in Dec/January on holiday and xmas party season I was very happy with that. I don’t currently consider myself diabetic (nor does my GP) as my BG levels are normal and no meds. My goal is to stay that way as long as possible my GP’s goal for me is forever. I am under no illusion that I can’t go back to where I was at and that is fine. I do have scope so that if I eat a burger or some pizza I seem to be OK but I don’t think, and will not try, to do it every day. Funny thing is I don’t even like a lot of that stuff now. I had pizza the other day and I prefer keto pizza now. The cheese and toppings are what tastes good not the crust!

Back to the topic. When I got diagnosed I remember feeling like so many things were over for me and it was all downhill (it didn’t help getting consulted about a redundancy then too). At the same time the rational side of me said this is going to be what I make of it. I eat to live not live to eat. It took a while for the rational side to win over the emotional side. There are a lot of things that could happen that are a hell of a lot worse than this. I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could with no excuses for my efforts. At the time it was VERY hard. I hated telling people, I hated not knowing what to eat, I hated people asking me why I had lost so much weight. When I got my first results back it was all worth it. I have adjusted to the diet my weight is stable and I feel better than I have in long time. It was not easy but it was worth it.

So diabetes definitely changed my life but it certainly has not ruined it. Change is hard but change can be good too!

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My latest HBA1C is 38 (Feb 2018).

My doctor also said I’m in “remission”.

SueJB said:

Brilliant philosophy. I was particularly impressed by
"I'm where I am in life and yes I'm diabetic BUT I don't have diabetes it has ME."
A good place for your head to be. I'm going to borrow it, if that's OK by you.

Click to expand...

. It's fine by me. I haven't copywritten it yet, so you are good to borrow. Better still don't borrow it. Keep it.
Have a nice day.

I was diagnosed T2 when I was 36. I'm now 58. I then spent the next five years ignoring it. I carried on eating the wrong things, drinking too much, being overweight despite a hard physical job. In 2000 my liver packed up due to the drinking. I've got some of the complications such as diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy etc, and had my first cataract out at 42 and then the other eye cataract removed three years ago. I had peritonitis about six years ago and nearly died, and the whole process of healing was made very much slower because I was a diabetic. I went onto Metformin, which I couldn't take because it made me so sick, and then went onto gliclazide for several years, although my sugar levels were still too high, but I was frantically resisting being put on to insulin, I hated the idea of injections. Eventually when we moved to where we live now, I joined the diabetic unit of our local hospital and met a sympathetic team of Dr.s and DNs, who persuaded me that this was the right way to go. I've had great back up from them, and the Renal unit, and the Eye unit ever since. I've been on insulin for about eleven years now, have stage 4 CKD and have just been investigated for IBS, but the course of steroids I'm on does seem to have sorted that out. I haven't worked for several years due to back problems, which obviously isn't diabetes related and have awful sciatica at present but in answer the the OP's question - diabetes HAS NOT ruined my life, although I have cursed it many a time, it has given me more to fight it with. My current goal is getting my bg's steady, losing more weight and keeping my kidneys well enough to carry on without dialysis. And this forum is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Yes and no for me it can get in the way but you have to live with it I guess it ****** me off that there isn't a cure for this yet and if they did I'm pretty sure they won't share it with the world why cure people when we can just get money out of them for needles insulin and other stuff let's keep giving them all false hope about finding a cure and sell them or give them a discount on things they need and make more money out of it before I had type one i had plans and dreams to be normal get pregnant and eat what ever the **** I want now if I want to get pregnant there's a risk my main worries is the baby will get to big due to my insulin in take and not being on point with my sugar when you're pregnant you crave bad stuff my other worry is the child coming into the world as a diabetic I would never wish this on a child baby or my enemy I would cry if I had to poke my baby every day no baby should endure that or child I feel like it takes away the child's chance of living like a child they will feel not normal seeing there friends eating junk and treats then one day it's a child's birthday and they don't get a slice of cake or cup cake because the child thinks it's wrong and will say oh you have diabetes so you can't have any and then the child will come home crying saying they didn't get no cake or cup cake ☹ plus it's a killer yes there are other things out there but this kills you slowly and painfully my grandfather had type 2 me type 1 he lost he's sight forgotten every one in his family all his kids and grandkids he was my best friend he didn't even remember me he asked his son to write me a letter because after having a stroke a few times his right side stopped working he couldn't write bed bound he died in the hospital not from old age he was old don't get me wrong but it was diabetes i blame diabetes from taking my grandpa away he was my best friend he promised me to take me fishing when i was young he's dead now and now I have it **** my life i want to be normal get pregnant and eat what ever the **** I want I want to drink and not have to worry about waking up in the night from a low i want to have healthy babies that don't have to suffer and become depressed like me because its a pain in the butt counting carbohydrates and seeing how many calories you ate and how much units or mls you have to inject in side you don't get me wrong type 2 makes it seem so **** easy I'm jealous you guys get to take pills for **** sakes pills and your pancreas still works us type 1 have to live with this ******* you know what the nurse told me in the hospital my Pancras gave up it doesn't work anymore and they don't know the reason why scientist are still trying to figure it out what the **** it's like they drop a bomb on you and sugar coat it to make it sound like it's not that bad then there's the line oh at least it’s not cancer you shove a tube up my bladder because i had ketones dka what ever it's deadly and can kill you you poke me like I'm a Pin cushion oh I'm just checking your sugar and I'll be giving you a needle after every meal and snack you have idk what **** they were pumping in me for dka but my hair was falling out all of it I ended up going bald and wearing wigs so long hair I honestly don't see much pros about diabetes only the weight loss the rest is just hell managing it can be so stressful and you just don't want to deal with it but you have to because if you don't you end up in the hospital again or dead maybe both I remember one time they had to strap me in and i tried to run away too 4 days in a hospital was a living hell nasty food nothing on tv no one to talk to nurse always bothering you and poking you

Edited by moderator for language

Obesity hasn't helped.

hichamgsm said:

Hi everyone and everybody

In fact I sometimes i feel that diabetes has ruined my life

I ask myself why I am ?

Is it a matter of luck ? Or is it inevitable ? Or I was not on the right track


Are several questions

What about you dear? Do you feel what I feel?

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Can i ask in what way its ruined your life?
Is there anything you feel unable to do, that you want?
And when were diagnosed (age) and
Are u t1 or t2?

Oh sorry you feel bad with it.

Bluetit1802 said:

There are many worse conditions than diabetes .... I know, I've had a couple of them.
Diabetes made me focus on my health and take responsibility for it. It motivated me to lose a lot of weight enabling me to feel good and to buy lovely clothes instead of tents.

I look on it as a blessing.

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Which diabetes?
T1 can be a reeeeaaal handful, with irregular patterns of dangerous sugars. Then combine it with another hormone affecting autoimmune disease and that real makes the pattern irregular with tiredness so heavy, its like a hand forcing eyelids down. And when awake, one responds to stress. Thus cause relationship and professional challenges. Whose prepared to out up with that.

caius2x8 said:

Which diabetes?
T1 can be a reeeeaaal handful, with irregular patterns of dangerous sugars. Then combine it with another hormone affecting autoimmune disease and that real makes the pattern irregular with tiredness so heavy, its like a hand forcing eyelids down. And when awake, one responds to stress. Thus cause relationship and professional challenges. Whose prepared to out up with that.

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@Bluetit1802 does recognise type1 is more forocious but experience can cloud other types needs. Weve all done it.

Not at all. In the same camp as @Bluetit1802 @Rachox and others. Diagnosis was the kick I needed to take care of myself. 14 months on I am 6 stone lighter, free of migraines and feeling fitter and healthier - physically and emotionally - than in years. Enjoying life more than in a long time.

patrycja_251102 said:

I was diagnosed a year ago and I am 15 now and I absolutely hate it. I am the only person at school who has diabetes and it makes me feel like an outcast especially when people who don't understand diabetes, make comments and ask stupid questions. I get teased a lot just because I cant eat what "normal " people can. It has ruined my life 100%.

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Try asking the teacher if you can give a presentation at assembly on diabetes.
I presume your t1 from your age. Me. I got when i was less than one. :-0.
Keys are:
What is type 1: destruction of the only cells in body to lower insulin, meaning you cant respond to produce your insulin anymore after eating.
Management of diabetes: t1 diabetics give themselves human insulin produced by scientists in bugs at certain times of the day.
They then need match the amount of sugars in any form, be it starch in bread, pasta, potatoes, fructose in mangoes, sugar in honey, treacle, glucose, sucrose, "any-ose" or cornsyrup in biscuits, chocolates, fizzy drinks.
So a diabetes tends to have less refined sugars as inhected finds its hard to cope with massive spikes in blood sugar levels from any of goodies.

(Maybe show a picture of blood sugars before and after food in diabetics vs euglycaemic (normal) people.
U cud try the bloodsugarbattles (bsb)site)

The bsb graph explained.
The lower line shows a non-diabetics responses to meals with small bumps upward in sugar. This is what a diabetic is aiming to achieve in their daily sugars.
The upper line shows how a diabetic responds to meals. See how their line is higher to start ie tgey higher blood sugar. ALL day. And work tbe bumps after meals, are bigger.
This means even with injections of insulin, blood control is difficult in tupe 1 diabetes. Diabetes try not to let tgeir sufars het too high, hence tend refuse the sugary fizzy drinks, sweets, cake :-(. Although sugar in cakes may be replaced with 1/2 granulated sugar, half grated zucchini which produce a beautiful cake. Mmmm.

But why all the effort to avoid hugb bloood sugars? Because high blood sugars promote new poirly formed leaky small blood vessels, "capillaries" in places they should be eg back of eyes, kidneys. High blood sugars also may affect nerves at the end of the limbs. Hence the "special diet" ie not too much junky goodies is wise advice.

On the otherside, diabetes may not receive enough food to match their insulin. Then they have a hypo(low)glycaemic (blood sugar) coma.
Tnis is characterised by tiredness, confusion, snappiness. If a am having a "hypo", either help me drink sips of some sugary fizzy drink like coca cola, not diet or max! If i can't take it or fight, don't force me, ask a teacher to call an ambulance as your friend in the (whereever in the school) is having a hypo.
So there we are.
I hope noone else here gers type 1 diabetes. It causes are partly genetic and some unknown environmental factirs which scientists across are working to identify. Through or other methods, maybe oneday i too can all the goodies i like

So in summary, anyone can get type 1 diabetes. Its a balancing act between not too much sugar, nor too little starchy foods.
---
How about that?
Maybe you dont dancy giving ut or would say other things. Thats fine too. If the teacher, i think they-d be happy to help and hopefully the school tards will get off your case.

therower said:

Diabetes T1 like ours, affects us all differently.
Now this is only my take on it, nothing scientific, no quoting studies or papers from experts.
Diabetes the " auto immune " condition, diabetes the medical condition is relatively easy to control, time consuming,yes. Inconvenient, yes. Nonetheless it can be mastered and for me maybe takes 30 to 45 mins per day.
Diabetes has a far greater power though, it lives, it grows and it craves negativity and darkness. It wants you to fear it, it wants you to make allowances for it, it wants to infiltrate the darkest corners of your mind in the darkest hours of the night, it wants you to put it first. It wants to be the leader, it wants to take the first step and have you follow. It wants to find parts of your life it can plant a seed to grow, you don't even realise it's planted the seed until it grows. Every morning it wants to fight you, it knows that you can't win the fight, because whatever you do today, no matter how well you fight, you'll still wake tomorrow a diabetic and it'll throw the gauntlet down again.
So why has it not ruined my life?
I don't fight it, I embrace it, it's the reason I overcome daily challenges, it's the reason I push and challenge myself.
I shine a light on it so it can't find that dark corner to hide in.
It does try to mess with me, catch me unawares, plant seeds of doubt but after so many years I'm wise to its ways.
If and when it f***s with me I let it know who's boss. Personally that usually involves pushing myself to physical limits.
So when I look at that time on the rowing machine or the extra set of reps on the weights or the extra half hour in the gym, it's all down to the diabetes, trying to make me weak has actually made me stronger.
When I'm running around with my grandkids playing silly games, carrying both of them home from the shops, when every muscle in my body is screaming for a rest I carry on. I carry on because it's the diabetes that wants me to stop, it doesn't like me having fun, it has no power where family especially kids are involved, it wants me to stop and fail, I have no greater reason to carry on and succeed.
I'm where I am in life and yes I'm diabetic BUT I don't have diabetes it has ME.
Hope this goes some of the way to explain how I am.
Please don't feel I'm trying to lecture or educate you, i am not. I just wanted to explain how me and diabetes exist.

Click to expand...

"you'll still wake tomorrow a diabetic and it'll throw the gauntlet down again."

This made me smile. As a T1 for over 40 years, i,ve had goodness knows how mornings i was lucky to crawl to a bottle of fizzy drink, hands shaking so much i can undo the cap, banging the bottle against my teeth as i slurp it to correct a low. I reachex the stage where i'm fitting. But then now i have Addisons too realky which complicates things.

NewTD2 said:

My latest HBA1C is 38 (Feb 2018).

My doctor also said I’m in “remission”.

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In remission from T1 diabetes?!
Are sure not a T2?

caius2x8 said:

Which diabetes?
T1 can be a reeeeaaal handful, with irregular patterns of dangerous sugars. Then combine it with another hormone affecting autoimmune disease and that real makes the pattern irregular with tiredness so heavy, its like a hand forcing eyelids down. And when awake, one responds to stress. Thus cause relationship and professional challenges. Whose prepared to out up with that.

Click to expand...

Responds badly to stress, due to the hormone replacement maybe i'm not sure.

caius2x8 said:

Try asking the teacher if you can give a presentation at assembly on diabetes.
I presume your t1 from your age. Me. I got when i was less than one. :-0.
Keys are:
What is type 1: destruction of the only cells in body to lower insulin, meaning you cant respond to produce your insulin anymore after eating.
Management of diabetes: t1 diabetics give themselves human insulin produced by scientists in bugs at certain times of the day.
They then need match the amount of sugars in any form, be it starch in bread, pasta, potatoes, fructose in mangoes, sugar in honey, treacle, glucose, sucrose, "any-ose" or cornsyrup in biscuits, chocolates, fizzy drinks.
So a diabetes tends to have less refined sugars as inhected finds its hard to cope with massive spikes in blood sugar levels from any of goodies.

(Maybe show a picture of blood sugars before and after food in diabetics vs euglycaemic (normal) people.
U cud try the bloodsugarbattles (bsb)site)

The bsb graph explained.
The lower line shows a non-diabetics responses to meals with small bumps upward in sugar. This is what a diabetic is aiming to achieve in their daily sugars.
The upper line shows how a diabetic responds to meals. See how their line is higher to start ie tgey higher blood sugar. ALL day. And work tbe bumps after meals, are bigger.
This means even with injections of insulin, blood control is difficult in tupe 1 diabetes. Diabetes try not to let tgeir sufars het too high, hence tend refuse the sugary fizzy drinks, sweets, cake :-(. Although sugar in cakes may be replaced with 1/2 granulated sugar, half grated zucchini which produce a beautiful cake. Mmmm.

But why all the effort to avoid hugb bloood sugars? Because high blood sugars promote new poirly formed leaky small blood vessels, "capillaries" in places they should be eg back of eyes, kidneys. High blood sugars also may affect nerves at the end of the limbs. Hence the "special diet" ie not too much junky goodies is wise advice.

On the otherside, diabetes may not receive enough food to match their insulin. Then they have a hypo(low)glycaemic (blood sugar) coma.
Tnis is characterised by tiredness, confusion, snappiness. If a am having a "hypo", either help me drink sips of some sugary fizzy drink like coca cola, not diet or max! If i can't take it or fight, don't force me, ask a teacher to call an ambulance as your friend in the (whereever in the school) is having a hypo.
So there we are.
I hope noone else here gers type 1 diabetes. It causes are partly genetic and some unknown environmental factirs which scientists across are working to identify. Through or other methods, maybe oneday i too can all the goodies i like

So in summary, anyone can get type 1 diabetes. Its a balancing act between not too much sugar, nor too little starchy foods.
---
How about that?
Maybe you dont dancy giving ut or would say other things. Thats fine too. If the teacher, i think they-d be happy to help and hopefully the school tards will get off your case.

Click to expand...

Sorry for the multitude of typos

caius2x8 said:

In remission from T1 diabetes?!
Are sure not a T2?

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Oops sorry i confused who posted the question. I see you're a new T2.

Absolutely not and I have been T1 for 57 years today.