explaining what it's really like to live with Type 1

JaneC

Well-Known Member
Messages
201
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I really never knew how hard it is for type1's. I don't have it and hope you don't mind my joining in. It sounds so very complicated and i did ask about it somewhere else but never ever knew how very hard it must be. You guys are great and i'm not sure if i would ever have coped as you do. I'm recently diagnosed with type 2 and thought it all depressing but nothing compared with what you all are going through. Wishing you all the best each and everyone. Please i hope nobody writes back and says "we don't need pity" because it's not that i'm giving, it's admiration.
That’s such a nice post, thanks and appreciated.
 

kelp84

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
I have been diabetic for 34 years since the age of 13. While I appreciate all the positive comments made in this forum and the reminiscing about previous treatments, am afraid that mine will not be in this vein.
Personally I've just had enough.
Changing the expectations , treatments and a lot of clueless medical professionals telling me that this is what I am doing wrong has me rather at the end of my tether. Following their guidelines to the letter and finding that my body will not adhere to what they say should happen leads to me being told that I must be doing something wrong.
Hence I've had enough. Am honestly and completely lost. Apologies for being such a downer but it was either post here or scream into the ether which never looks good

Can! Honestly I know exactly how you feel :) it’s very frustrating isn’t it! The people on this forum are actually very knowledgeable I find them really helpful when trying to sort my own levels out
( which seems to be a never ending uphill battle lol ) but I’m not giving up :)

X
 

caa lada

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
scanning my arm with my Libre every half hour or so and taking a series of small injections

Hello Ed,

It was great to read your post. I’ve officially had type1 for about a year, after a T2 misdiagnosis and then an all-too-brief official stint in LADA land.

I’m very fortunate to have a much later life start with T1 at 63, and the misdiagnosis now feels like a gift because it kicked me into high gear, determined to reverse it. So I begin my T1 life stronger and fitter than I’ve ever been.

I’ve also had some practice with developing the level of watchfulness required. Now I’m learning how to make decisions, which feels more like an art form than a science.

I’ve been using a Libre which can at times be helpful, but much of the time proves widely at variance with my glucose meter. So it’s prompted more finger pricking not less. I’ve been low carb for some time and require small doses of novorapid, which I also try to take very small doses as needed, if needed, thru the day. My tiny joke: I’m mimicking a pump mimicking a pancreas. I’m also on a split dose of Lantus.

My endocrinologist worried at the frequency of my Libre readings (“obsessive?”) but then again my last A1C was better than any other he’s seen. That stung a bit, but I’m learning how to convert everything into useful experience and information. He was seeing this as my permanent mode, not my starting point. I’m very much in experimental mode, trying this, trying that. So I’m watchful, and this allows me to feel freer.

This is my first posting. Looking forward to participating. And thanks to you all!
 
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LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
scanning my arm with my Libre every half hour or so and taking a series of small injections

Hello Ed,

It was great to read your post. I’ve officially had type1 for about a year, after a T2 misdiagnosis and then an all-too-brief official stint in LADA land.

I’m very fortunate to have a much later life start with T1 at 63, and the misdiagnosis now feels like a gift because it kicked me into high gear, determined to reverse it. So I begin my T1 life stronger and fitter than I’ve ever been.

I’ve also had some practice with developing the level of watchfulness required. Now I’m learning how to make decisions, which feels more like an art form than a science.

I’ve been using a Libre which can at times be helpful, but much of the time proves widely at variance with my glucose meter. So it’s prompted more finger pricking not less. I’ve been low carb for some time and require small doses of novorapid, which I also try to take very small doses as needed, if needed, thru the day. My tiny joke: I’m mimicking a pump mimicking a pancreas. I’m also on a split dose of Lantus.

My endocrinologist worried at the frequency of my Libre readings (“obsessive?”) but then again my last A1C was better than any other he’s seen. That stung a bit, but I’m learning how to convert everything into useful experience and information. He was seeing this as my permanent mode, not my starting point. I’m very much in experimental mode, trying this, trying that. So I’m watchful, and this allows me to feel freer.

This is my first posting. Looking forward to participating. And thanks to you all!
Welcome, I did much the same thing after seeing via my Libre exactly what was going on (after running basically blind for two decades), and also ended up dribbling in tiny doses of Novorapid to pretended to be a pump pretending to be a pancreas! Up to 18 jabs a day, some days. My team thought that was going above and beyond the call of duty, so they gave me my first pump last month, and I just love it! Look forward to hearing more from you x
 
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miahara

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,019
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Insulin
Now, almost three years after being diagnosed T2, my GP has agreed to order GAD and c-peptide tests with my next HbA1c test as I convinced her that my symptoms (polyuria and significant weight loss) may well indicate T1 and according to local NHS protocols these ought to have been done at the time of diagnosis.

So, in order to get ready for the news bad or good, and bad/good depends on how I look at it. Good if it solves my weight loss, though not so good if I have to adapt to a new and seemingly complicated regime and lots more stabbing and needles.
I’ve been reading through most of this thread and I thank ALL who have contributed as I’ve gained a very good insight into life with T1 due to all the time and effort given to writing personal accounts.


A question
, and possibly may be the first of many – Does flash glucose monitoring reduce significantly the need for finger-prick tests?

Dave
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
Now, almost three years after being diagnosed T2, my GP has agreed to order GAD and c-peptide tests with my next HbA1c test as I convinced her that my symptoms (polyuria and significant weight loss) may well indicate T1 and according to local NHS protocols these ought to have been done at the time of diagnosis.

So, in order to get ready for the news bad or good, and bad/good depends on how I look at it. Good if it solves my weight loss, though not so good if I have to adapt to a new and seemingly complicated regime and lots more stabbing and needles.
I’ve been reading through most of this thread and I thank ALL who have contributed as I’ve gained a very good insight into life with T1 due to all the time and effort given to writing personal accounts.


A question
, and possibly may be the first of many – Does flash glucose monitoring reduce significantly the need for finger-prick tests?

Dave
You still need to stab to drive (for now) - I don’t do it much otherwise, maybe once every couple of days first thing to make sure my MiaoMiao transmitter is calibrated.
 

Irene Banting

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Meanness. Unkindness. Not much else.
Hi @ Captain_Sensible I applaud you from my perspective as a 51 yearer on insulin. As you might guess I use kite flying as a metaphor for balance. And a crash (hypo) is indeed a humbling. confusing and embarrassing experience and the see saw in BSLs that follows is a nightmare. I remember Clinitest and Testape, boiling up syringes and needles, rolling the syringes with Soluble and Isophane mixes. I met Stan Clarke, the expat Englishman who first made and sold glucose meters, in Sydney and was lucky to buy one of his 'mint' condition meters in 1980. (and have the scarred fingers to prove it) !! I have spent the last 7 1/2 years on an insulin pump which spared me from night hypos, 8 + insulin injections per day, enabled me to keep my driver's license and to complete employment through to retirement in 2014.
One challenge my real astute endocrinologist has set me is how to make diabetes fun. The opposite is easy to answer but not this. Any suggestions from your experience would be gratefully accepted. Best Wishes from Australia, the sun burnt country!!
Hi, I have called myself Irene Banting to honour Banting who discovered insulin and the little research dog whose name was Irene. I remember being diagnosed , aged 11, in 1963. I was in hospital for 6 weeks. The nurses on the ward I was in at Ipswich Hospital clubbed together and bought me an insulin injector gun. Makes you feel old when your sister finds one exactly the same in an antique shop! I had a little container of steel needles wrapped in velvet, and each needle had a fine wire through it to keep the hole from getting blocked. Over the years I have progressed from once daily insulin to twice, and then four, then a pump in 1999 and more recently continuous glucose monitoring. I got my first glucose meter when I emigrated to Perth, WA in 1980. It had its own tiny suitcase which I still have. You had to put a huge drop of blood on the strip, time it, then wash the Blood off with a little bottle of water, then blot it with a tissue and then put it in the machine. It wasn't very accurate as it actually just measured depth of colour. It was called a reflectance meter. I went through many years with terrible control and an eating disorder, so I feel very fortunate to still be relatively well. There is recent research pointing to, I think,4 or 5 separate type one genotypes, one of which appear to have less microvascular complications and less frequent severe hypo's. This research was done in Perth and I was a participant. I suspect I might be in that genotype, as after 55 years I have no retinopathy, and have never had a hypo where I needed help from another person. I feel symptoms at a BGL of about 4- 4.2. I really think it must be so hard for people with hypo- unawareness. The worst things for me are the frustration of aiming for good BGL's, the fear of complications, and severely painful feet and legs for the last 20 years. This has led to me having to give up many of my pastimes like walking and dancing. Still I would rather have T1 than T2 any day.
 
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Irene Banting

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Meanness. Unkindness. Not much else.
Can! Honestly I know exactly how you feel :) it’s very frustrating isn’t it! The people on this forum are actually very knowledgeable I find them really helpful when trying to sort my own levels out
( which seems to be a never ending uphill battle lol ) but I’m not giving up :)

X
I have been diabetic for 34 years since the age of 13. While I appreciate all the positive comments made in this forum and the reminiscing about previous treatments, am afraid that mine will not be in this vein.
Personally I've just had enough.
Changing the expectations , treatments and a lot of clueless medical professionals telling me that this is what I am doing wrong has me rather at the end of my tether. Following their guidelines to the letter and finding that my body will not adhere to what they say should happen leads to me being told that I must be doing something wrong.
Hence I've had enough. Am honestly and completely lost. Apologies for being such a downer but it was either post here or scream into the ether which never looks good
I have been diabetic for 34 years since the age of 13. While I appreciate all the positive comments made in this forum and the reminiscing about previous treatments, am afraid that mine will not be in this vein.
Personally I've just had enough.
Changing the expectations , treatments and a lot of clueless medical professionals telling me that this is what I am doing wrong has me rather at the end of my tether. Following their guidelines to the letter and finding that my body will not adhere to what they say should happen leads to me being told that I must be doing something wrong.
Hence I've had enough. Am honestly and completely lost. Apologies for being such a downer but it was either post here or scream into the ether which never looks good
I have been diabetic for 34 years since the age of 13. While I appreciate all the positive comments made in this forum and the reminiscing about previous treatments, am afraid that mine will not be in this vein.
Personally I've just had enough.
Changing the expectations , treatments and a lot of clueless medical professionals telling me that this is what I am doing wrong has me rather at the end of my tether. Following their guidelines to the letter and finding that my body will not adhere to what they say should happen leads to me being told that I must be doing something wrong.
Hence I've had enough. Am honestly and completely lost. Apologies for being such a downer but it was either post here or scream into the ether which never looks good
I have been diabetic for 34 years since the age of 13. While I appreciate all the positive comments made in this forum and the reminiscing about previous treatments, am afraid that mine will not be in this vein.
Personally I've just had enough.
Changing the expectations , treatments and a lot of clueless medical professionals telling me that this is what I am doing wrong has me rather at the end of my tether. Following their guidelines to the letter and finding that my body will not adhere to what they say should happen leads to me being told that I must be doing something wrong.
Hence I've had enough. Am honestly and completely lost. Apologies for being such a downer but it was either post here or scream into the ether which never looks good
Hi Cam I really get what you are saying. Sometimes it all just seems too hard doesn't it. I remember a couple of years ago I went to a new GP. I told him I had had type one diabetes since I was a child and he said "Are you on insulin?" Thank goodness here in Australia we can choose our GP so you can guess I never went back to that one! One of the best quotes I ever heard about T1 was by a diabetes consultant who also had T1 himself. He said something along the lines of " If you consider that we are trying to copy what the normally functioning pancreas does, we are injecting the wrong insulin, in the wrong quantity, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. So ISN'T IT AMAZING THAT ANY OF US DO AS WELL AS WE DO?" So, Cam, you are amazing having this for 34 years and still here, still trying your best. I don't know if this will be of any interest to you, but 6 months ago I started a very low carbohydrate diet. This is pretty contraversial but may be worth a try. There is loads of stuff about it on YouTube, and I am not on Facebook but I expect you are? There is a support group on Facebook for people who are, or want to be, on a low carb diet. The group is called typeonegrit. Before doing this my HbA1 C wasn't too bad but I felt like you describe, with wild glucose fluctuations going up to the high teens and low 20's, and averaging a hypo a day. I was exhausted by it all. Now I have a mild hypo. maybe once every month or so, the depression and frustration and the 'diabetic foggy brain' as I call it have lifted, my HbA1 C is improving and my blood sugars are almost flat. Insulin requirements almost halved, and for the first time since diagnosis 55 years ago I actually think I know what it's like to feel normal. ( My friends might disagree with that one!) There are more and more diabetes endocrinologists, cardiologists, neurologists etc. advocating this approach. Oh, and another huge benefit is I am never hungry any more. And I was an absolute food addict. I am new to this site so I am not supposed to actually post links but there is a fantastic site with heaps of info about this called dietdoctor.
 
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kitedoc

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,783
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
black jelly beans
Hi, I have called myself Irene Banting to honour Banting who discovered insulin and the little research dog whose name was Irene. I remember being diagnosed , aged 11, in 1963. I was in hospital for 6 weeks. The nurses on the ward I was in at Ipswich Hospital clubbed together and bought me an insulin injector gun. Makes you feel old when your sister finds one exactly the same in an antique shop! I had a little container of steel needles wrapped in velvet, and each needle had a fine wire through it to keep the hole from getting blocked. Over the years I have progressed from once daily insulin to twice, and then four, then a pump in 1999 and more recently continuous glucose monitoring. I got my first glucose meter when I emigrated to Perth, WA in 1980. It had its own tiny suitcase which I still have. You had to put a huge drop of blood on the strip, time it, then wash the Blood off with a little bottle of water, then blot it with a tissue and then put it in the machine. It wasn't very accurate as it actually just measured depth of colour. It was called a reflectance meter. I went through many years with terrible control and an eating disorder, so I feel very fortunate to still be relatively well. There is recent research pointing to, I think,4 or 5 separate type one genotypes, one of which appear to have less microvascular complications and less frequent severe hypo's. This research was done in Perth and I was a participant. I suspect I might be in that genotype, as after 55 years I have no retinopathy, and have never had a hypo where I needed help from another person. I feel symptoms at a BGL of about 4- 4.2. I really think it must be so hard for people with hypo- unawareness. The worst things for me are the frustration of aiming for good BGL's, the fear of complications, and severely painful feet and legs for the last 20 years. This has led to me having to give up many of my pastimes like walking and dancing. Still I would rather have T1 than T2 any day.
Thank you Irene for your story ( and your recognition of insulin's founder and brave subject) - boiling up needles and glass syringes, wrapping up insulin bottles, watching and waiting to see if complications appear or not, all bring back so many memories. It all makes one realise how much of a 'lottery' life really is.
I imagine you have also been in receipt of a Kellion medal and well deserved!! I am sorry to hear of your feet and leg troubles and hope there is some way of at least ameliorating the pain and disability. ? Swimming, canoeing as activities maybe?
Best Wishes for happy pumping and easier living :):):)
 
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Irene Banting

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Meanness. Unkindness. Not much else.
Thank you Irene for your story ( and your recognition of insulin's founder and brave subject) - boiling up needles and glass syringes, wrapping up insulin bottles, watching and waiting to see if complications appear or not, all bring back so many memories. It all makes one realise how much of a 'lottery' life really is.
I imagine you have also been in receipt of a Kellion medal and well deserved!! I am sorry to hear of your feet and leg troubles and hope there is some way of at least ameliorating the pain and disability. ? Swimming, canoeing as activities maybe?
Best Wishes for happy pumping and easier living :):):)
Thanks! I have learned to live with the feet:- strangely enough, my sister has non-diabetic- neuropathy and her feet are worse than mine! Yes I have my Kellion. You too? And another memory just came to me of this boiler-thing we had in our kitchen to boil the syringes and needles in. And my older sisters feeling sorry for me and sucking the sugar- coating off pieces of chewing gum and giving me the bit inside
 

kitedoc

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,783
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Pump
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black jelly beans
Thanks! I have learned to live with the feet:- strangely enough, my sister has non-diabetic- neuropathy and her feet are worse than mine! Yes I have my Kellion. You too? And another memory just came to me of this boiler-thing we had in our kitchen to boil the syringes and needles in. And my older sisters feeling sorry for me and sucking the sugar- coating off pieces of chewing gum and giving me the bit inside
Yes, Irene, I have a Kellion from 2016. I recall an old aluminium pharmacy container with a basket inside for the needles and syringes fashioned from (clean)!! flyscreen wire and boiled up on the stove, then syringes and needle were transferred to a butter dish containing metho. I do hope there are ways to ease your feet trouble. Maybe a pain specialist will have some answers ??
How wonderfully helpful and considerate your elder sister was! Occasionally I would have some cake, usually in relation to exercise to burn it off later, and my brothers would remove and eat the icing first.
 

Irene Banting

Member
Messages
23
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Type 1
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Meanness. Unkindness. Not much else.
Thanks for your interest. I do appreciate it. Sadly I have been through just about everything. Insoles,(carrier bags full of failures) Evening Primrose oil, Lyrica, Tramadol, Imipramine, plus others I've forgotten, and a pain management clinic at a major teaching hospital. All they offered really,was increasing doses of Tramadol until,I was taking 600 mg a day, AND Lyrica. And was actually a walking zombie. I did some daily meditation and weaned myself off all these medications and now just live with it.
 

Irene Banting

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Meanness. Unkindness. Not much else.
Thank you Irene for your story ( and your recognition of insulin's founder and brave subject) - boiling up needles and glass syringes, wrapping up insulin bottles, watching and waiting to see if complications appear or not, all bring back so many memories. It all makes one realise how much of a 'lottery' life really is.
I imagine you have also been in receipt of a Kellion medal and well deserved!! I am sorry to hear of your feet and leg troubles and hope there is some way of at least ameliorating the pain and disability. ? Swimming, canoeing as activities maybe?
Best Wishes for happy pumping and easier living :):):)
OMG I don't believe I got the dog's name WRONG! What ever made me think it was Irene? Maybe the T1 has addled my brain of course her name was Marjorie! Oh well looks like I am stuck with calling myself Irene.
 

kitedoc

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Messages
4,783
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Type 1
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black jelly beans
OMG I don't believe I got the dog's name WRONG! What ever made me think it was Irene? Maybe the T1 has addled my brain of course her name was Marjorie! Oh well looks like I am stuck with calling myself Irene.
Hi @irene, I am sure there were many dogs used in the name of diabetes research. It is the thought that counts!!
 
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Lynne C J

Well-Known Member
Messages
108
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Currently, life as a type 1 for me is scanning my arm with my Libre every half hour or so and taking a series of small injections (typically around 10 a day at present) through the day.

Injections and Libre scanning is the relatively easy part.

Needing to sometimes wait to eat until your sugar comes down so that you don't spike your sugar levels super-high from an already high level is one of the annoyances.

Having to make dozens of not easy decisions about how much to inject and when, what to eat, how and when. Taking into account a range of different factors every single can be mentally tiring some days.

Never being able to go much more than 500-yards without taking kit and glucose with you just in case your levels start dropping (or sometimes rising -depending how far you're going).

Having your emotions and ability to cope (physically and mentally) tied to your sugar levels. Low sugar levels making you slow and unable to cope with usual tasks that would be a doddle. High sugar levels making you irritable and/or lethargic plus can also initiate short term depressive symptoms. Both low and high sugar levels amplify emotions making it that bit harder to keep one's head together under some situations.

Having to delay or interrupt sex because of low blood sugar.

Urinary tract infections being more likely if sugar levels have been high for several hours or over a number of days -particularly if stressed at the same time.

Occasionally having to battle off feeling depressed about the risk of developing long-term complications if sugar levels having been high for longer than I'd like.

Mostly for me, type 1 diabetes is fine to deal with when control is good. But, when control goes a bit skewiff, the little persistent things can add up to the short term difficulties and that's when things get tough and you want to scream a bit inside or out.

Type 1 can amplify things. When life is tough, the type 1 makes everything that bit harder. However, perhaps the dealing with the tough stuff makes us a bit sunnier and brighter when the good times do happen?

Ed
You sound as if you're struggling a bit. I've been T1 for 38 years and it's not easy, you have to consider your BG all the time. I'm good with my diet, get it wrong eating out sometimes. Main thing for my sanity and health is exercise. I go running several times a week, only 3.5 miles usually, walk lots and do yoga and Pilates. I have a very supportive family who can spot hypos before I do sometimes, that helps. At the end of the day I was determined to live my life and travel a lot in spite of diabetes. Off to Australia on Monday, it will present some challenges but it's my Life and I'm mostly loving it! I'm also 71 so life is much better than the alternative!
 
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Sweetkey83

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Thanks for your interest. I do appreciate it. Sadly I have been through just about everything. Insoles,(carrier bags full of failures) Evening Primrose oil, Lyrica, Tramadol, Imipramine, plus others I've forgotten, and a pain management clinic at a major teaching hospital. All they offered really,was increasing doses of Tramadol until,I was taking 600 mg a day, AND Lyrica. And was actually a walking zombie. I did some daily meditation and weaned myself off all these medications and now just live with it.


Thanks for your interest. I do appreciate it. Sadly I have been through just about everything. Insoles,(carrier bags full of failures) Evening Primrose oil, Lyrica, Tramadol, Imipramine, plus others I've forgotten, and a pain management clinic at a major teaching hospital. All they offered really,was increasing doses of Tramadol until,I was taking 600 mg a day, AND Lyrica. And was actually a walking zombie. I did some daily meditation and weaned myself off all these medications and now just live with it.
Good morning @Irene Banting you sound like a true survivor, a word used quite a lot by dr Bernstein. Type one grit was set up by rd dikeman a good friend of Bernstein, they all use his approach, his diabetic university on YouTube is amazing. It’s what got me switched over to a low carb lifestyle. I’ve been following his approach for a year and half now. With nearly normal sugars around the clock. I had a really bad time when my dad past last year, it’s still getting me now but I’m getting help with that. My blood sugars have been massively effected by what was going on and started to get pains in my legs and feet, also my shoulders. I was given lyrica and some other neuro pain blockers that I never took as the side affects seemed to be worse than the problem I was trying to solve. I know dr Bernstein says that most neuropathy complications can be reversed on low carb with normal blood sugars, give it some more time, he says the pain may get worse as the nerves re grow but it is reversable in many cases. Have you tried a high dose of cbd? I find it very helpful with pain and general well being.

All the best ;)
 
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Irene Banting

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
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Meanness. Unkindness. Not much else.
Good morning @Irene Banting you sound like a true survivor, a word used quite a lot by dr Bernstein. Type one grit was set up by rd dikeman a good friend of Bernstein, they all use his approach, his diabetic university on YouTube is amazing. It’s what got me switched over to a low carb lifestyle. I’ve been following his approach for a year and half now. With nearly normal sugars around the clock. I had a really bad time when my dad past last year, it’s still getting me now but I’m getting help with that. My blood sugars have been massively effected by what was going on and started to get pains in my legs and feet, also my shoulders. I was given lyrica and some other neuro pain blockers that I never took as the side affects seemed to be worse than the problem I was trying to solve. I know dr Bernstein says that most neuropathy complications can be reversed on low carb with normal blood sugars, give it some more time, he says the pain may get worse as the nerves re grow but it is reversable in many cases. Have you tried a high dose of cbd? I find it very helpful with pain and general well being.

All the best ;)
Thanks Sweetkey83. This site is amazing, everyone so kind and supportive. I have been doing very low carb for 6 months. Probably not quite Bernstein- level, but around 20 to 50 g a day. Like you say, my levels have been much better for most of the 6 months. It is very reassuring that you say that he says the neuropathy may get worse before it gets better, as my feet have inexplicably worsened in the last few weeks, so hopefully he's right and it will improve. Strangely enough my Specialist and my podiatrist think my problem is only slightly due to neuropathy, as I have been diagnosed as having only mild neuropathy. The other issues are that I have lost just about all the fat-padding on the soles of my feet, so I am virtually walking on bone. And I have plantar fasciitis too. You have inspired me to even greater efforts to normalise my BGL's further. So far, for the 6 months, I have kept them fairly flat, but at around 5 to 9-ish, so I will up my nasals now and try to lower them a bit more. I was on Facebook but left for various reasons. Do you know if there is any T1 grit support available off Facebook? If not I will rejoin.
As far as CBD is concerned, I have certainly thought about it. What do you know about the legalities of it? And the cost? I am in Australia.
 

SilasH

Member
Messages
8
Having had Type 1 diabetes for 45 years, many people say to me that it must be easy to control by now. Well, it's not! Much of the way diabetes is treated has improved beyond recognition since I was first diagnosed.
Insulin pens are brilliant compared with the old glass syringe I was given on day 1. Humalog and Lantus are a great combination for people who need to eat straight away but Humalog does not cope well with pasta because it is so slowly absorbed and Humalog acts so fast. I used to have to mix two animal insulins myself in the early days and lunch time was a critical to eat. You could not miss or delay a meal without paying a high price.

Testing kit has advanced hugely. All I have in the early days was Clinistix for dipping in your wee. As soon as Blood Glucose meters came out I bought one and have used one ever since. I would be utterly lost without my Aviva Expert meter which calculates my Humalog dose by computing a corrective dose and allowing for my anticipated carbohydrate intake. You can also apply modifiers such as Illness or Stress or Exercise. I have this fine tuned to my lifestyle.

I have tried the Libre Freestyle but find it too expensive for continuous use. My county limits who can get these on the NHS quite stringently. Loss of warning signs is not a qualifying reason, but I think it should be. It is the main reason I go out of bounds so often. Fortunately I am on a relatively low dose of insulin and am quite sensitive to the medication. A little exercise goes a very long way for me. I have tried the Dexcom 5 system which is (IMHO) superior and will alert you before you go too low. I look forward to the time when this is readily available.

Despite all my self control and efforts there are days when for some unknown reason things go off the rails. I am pretty good at estimating my food intake after all these years. I do so wish all food labels had the same tabular format for the dietary analysis though.

When things go awry and you have tried your hardest to stick to the diet and do everything right, it does get very frustrating. I do hate going to sleep when I am high because we spend roughly 1/3 of our lives asleep and this must have an adverse effect on one's HBA1C.

For the casual observer, a diabetic looks just like any healthy person. I wish all health professionals were given a small, one-off, dose of Humalog to help them understand what a Hypo is like. I also wish there was a greater distinction between Types 1 and 2 because they are often confused but are very different conditions.

I try very hard to do all the right things but Christmas is not a fun time for me. Too much idleness, too many temptations and too much food.

Overall, I count my blessings. I am still a fit and healthy 66 year old. There is much research in progress which improves the lot of fellow diabetics like me. I have participated in some of this and will probably do so in the future. Somebody has to be the human guinea pig! I would recommend it to all readers.

Silas
 
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Madmaureen

Well-Known Member
Messages
140
Type of diabetes
Type 1
You sound as if you're struggling a bit. I've been T1 for 38 years and it's not easy, you have to consider your BG all the time. I'm good with my diet, get it wrong eating out sometimes. Main thing for my sanity and health is exercise. I go running several times a week, only 3.5 miles usually, walk lots and do yoga and Pilates. I have a very supportive family who can spot hypos before I do sometimes, that helps. At the end of the day I was determined to live my life and travel a lot in spite of diabetes. Off to Australia on Monday, it will present some challenges but it's my Life and I'm mostly loving it! I'm also 71 so life is much better than the alternative!
Wish I had your confidence Alaska!!