Feeling really nervous

[coby]

After eight months since diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes .... and a lot of deliberations ... I have,today, received my Codefree meter.
I know that it will probably be days (if not weeks) before I build up the confidence to try it.
I know I really have to push myself to use the thing ... I'm terrible with all things new, that are to do with my health.
My Metformin lay untouched in the box for a whole fortnight before I worked up the confidence to start on them, and there's an unopened box of Ketone sticks, together with sample bottles in a drawer ... that my doctor gave to me three weeks ago.
I ask myself "Is this because I'm not accepting this condition, or is it just my total lack of confidence?"
I have three diabetic cook books but I've not cooked a single thing.
Every time I venture on to this site I find my head just swirls around, trying to digest the info on here (and usually failing)
Am I the only lost cause?
How do other people find the confidence?
I'm alone, with a daughter who has Aspergers (which means she cannot mix or go out socially) and I do practically everything for her, and a mother who is in her 90's, immobile, almost deaf & blind, and relies on me, so I am at her house every morning until after I've cooked and cleared away her midday meal.
I am support to them both, but have no support for 'me' and I hope that won't come across as self-pity. I am just clarifying things.
Does anyone think this is why I find my diagnosis such a strain to accept and deal with and I'd so love to know I'm not the only one who struggles

 

[13lizanne]

Hello @coby I think that once you try your Meter a couple of times you'll be hooked.! It's great to see the effect that food has on your blood glucose levels, it lets you plan your meals to keep your BG levels steady. By the way I' m a Mum of an Autistic young man and I looked after a mum in law with dementia, we have a chat thread for families with an Autistic child/member if you want to chat, look under "chat for ASD families"

 

[Freema]

well I dont want to become more ill and live up to the 10-20 years shorter lifespan that diabetics have if they do not seek their blood glucose under control.

.. and I love to learn ... and here in this forum are the best teachers maybe in the world .. so I am focusing on what I can do... and after not sleeping the first 3 nights I found out that I could a least loose some weight ... and eat all that doesn´t raise blood glucose... and that are the proteins and fats and all the green vegetables and tomatoes ... so I started eating lean chicken meat and salats... and cottage cheese low fat for breakfast or even chicken alone some days and nuts to get my blood glucose down right from the start

the problem with diabetic medicine is that it is mearly a stick to lean at and doesn´t solve much , maybe only 10% of the glucose problem... most of the Work we must do ourselves... and that means changing the whole way we eat... at every meal...
I was scared the first few times to use my meter, and especially for sticking myself with the needle, but that is nothing now and yes am hooked actually and use it 5 times a day almost

if we do that successfully , then we are almost the most healthy persons on the planet , if we dont ... we can look forward to a very often very bad prognosis

now 3 month later I am no longer in chock , but still seeking knowledge... diabetes has to be my new lifelong hobby, we don´t have a choice as I see the matter
I too am alone with my daugther and for her I have to live long ... though not a diagnosis so serious like your daugther.. you have a lot to take care of ...hope you find your inner strength in this

 

[13lizanne]

Well done you! Keep on reading round the forum. If you want encouragement read the success stories and testimonials forum

 

[Salvia]

Hi @coby, I guess a lot of us are hesitant about trying new things, I can be that way too, sometimes. All I can suggest is to read the instruction book (twice if you need to) and then just try it - after all, what can happen other than you might mess up a couple of tests strips - so what? You know you will use it eventually, so why not make it sooner rather than later.

About your family, maybe you'd benefit from a bit of help or time out occasionally. 13lizanne has mentioned the forum here, have you checked whether your GP surgery has contacts for a carer support group? There's one at my GP and in the past I found them very helpful.

 

[dbr10]

After eight months since diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes .... and a lot of deliberations ... I have,today, received my Codefree meter.
I know that it will probably be days (if not weeks) before I build up the confidence to try it.
I know I really have to push myself to use the thing ... I'm terrible with all things new, that are to do with my health.
My Metformin lay untouched in the box for a whole fortnight before I worked up the confidence to start on them, and there's an unopened box of Ketone sticks, together with sample bottles in a drawer ... that my doctor gave to me three weeks ago.
I ask myself "Is this because I'm not accepting this condition, or is it just my total lack of confidence?"
I have three diabetic cook books but I've not cooked a single thing.
Every time I venture on to this site I find my head just swirls around, trying to digest the info on here (and usually failing)
Am I the only lost cause?
How do other people find the confidence?
I'm alone, with a daughter who has Aspergers (which means she cannot mix or go out socially) and I do practically everything for her, and a mother who is in her 90's, immobile, almost deaf & blind, and relies on me, so I am at her house every morning until after I've cooked and cleared away her midday meal.
I am support to them both, but have no support for 'me' and I hope that won't come across as self-pity. I am just clarifying things.
Does anyone think this is why I find my diagnosis such a strain to accept and deal with and I'd so love to know I'm not the only one who struggles

You should not hesitate to try your meter. It will give you the confidence to gain more control of your situation. Good luck

 

[coby]

Hi @coby, I guess a lot of us are hesitant about trying new things, I can be that way too, sometimes. All I can suggest is to read the instruction book (twice if you need to) and then just try it - after all, what can happen other than you might mess up a couple of tests strips - so what? You know you will use it eventually, so why not make it sooner rather than later.

About your family, maybe you'd benefit from a bit of help or time out occasionally. 13lizanne has mentioned the forum here, have you checked whether your GP surgery has contacts for a carer support group? There's one at my GP and in the past I found them very helpful.

Thank you for your reply. I cannot manage the time to go to any support groups, I'm afraid. My time is all taken up. I couldn't even do the DESMOND day ... or the two half days suggested instead, because I just don't get free time to go. All I have to myself is the couple of hours per evening which is when I come online. I don't go out after dark. It's nice to know that other people have some experience of struggle though, as I don't feel so alone with it.

 

[coby]

Hi @coby, I guess a lot of us are hesitant about trying new things, I can be that way too, sometimes. All I can suggest is to read the instruction book (twice if you need to) and then just try it - after all, what can happen other than you might mess up a couple of tests strips - so what? You know you will use it eventually, so why not make it sooner rather than later.

About your family, maybe you'd benefit from a bit of help or time out occasionally. 13lizanne has mentioned the forum here, have you checked whether your GP surgery has contacts for a carer support group? There's one at my GP and in the past I found them very helpful.

Oh My Goodness! There are 82 pages in the instruction guide! How will I ever take it all in?

 

[coby]

You should not hesitate to try your meter. It will give you the confidence to gain more control of your situation. Good luck

I hope to be able to understand all the instrutions in the book. It will take me a few days to get my head around all that before I move on to trying to fathom out how to fit in the testing. I won't get time in the mornings to test. I already know that ... but I'm hoping to be able to do it before the last meal of the day as it's the only time when I can test an hour before eating. Thank you for your reply

 

[JohnEGreen]

@coby Most of the book you can just glance through.Once you have set up the meter the test is simplicity itself wash hands with non scented soap or such like, put a strip in the meter **** the finger pricker grit teeth if you have them place pricker on end of finger no not there try moving it to the side a little so not on the pad of finger grit teeth again press button get drop of blood out present end of strip to blood drop wait five seconds read level on meter. remove strip dispose of strip and if you had an uncle he would probably be called Bob. Hope you remembered to put Lancet in pricking device it would be painless without it but fruitless as well.

I do this morning noon and night the only alternative is ignorance of what is going on with your BG and not being in control of your D.

If you do not gain control and get sicker and sicker who then will take care of son and mum.

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Salvia]

Thank you @JohnEGreen, beat me to it

Edit: Sorry @coby - I didn't really mean diligently read through every word/page

 

[coby]

@coby Most of the book you can just glance through.Once you have set up the meter the test is simplicity itself wash hands with non scented soap or such like, put a strip in the meter **** the finger pricker grit teeth if you have them place pricker on end of finger no not there try moving it to the side a little so not on the pad of finger grit teeth again press button get drop of blood out present end of strip to blood drop wait five seconds read level on meter. remove strip dispose of strip and if you had an uncle he would probably be called Bob. Hope you remembered to put Lancet in pricking device it would be painless without it but fruitless as well.

I do this morning noon and night the only alternative is ignorance of what is going on with your BG and not being in control of your D.

If you do not gain control and get sicker and sicker who then will take care of son and mum.

Good luck and best wishes.

@coby Most of the book you can just glance through.Once you have set up the meter the test is simplicity itself wash hands with non scented soap or such like, put a strip in the meter **** the finger pricker grit teeth if you have them place pricker on end of finger no not there try moving it to the side a little so not on the pad of finger grit teeth again press button get drop of blood out present end of strip to blood drop wait five seconds read level on meter. remove strip dispose of strip and if you had an uncle he would probably be called Bob. Hope you remembered to put Lancet in pricking device it would be painless without it but fruitless as well.

I do this morning noon and night the only alternative is ignorance of what is going on with your BG and not being in control of your D.

If you do not gain control and get sicker and sicker who then will take care of son and mum.

Good luck and best wishes.

Thanks for the humour and advice John

 

[coby]

Hello @coby I think that once you try your Meter a couple of times you'll be hooked.! It's great to see the effect that food has on your blood glucose levels, it lets you plan your meals to keep your BG levels steady. By the way I' m a Mum of an Autistic young man and I looked after a mum in law with dementia, we have a chat thread for families with an Autistic child/member if you want to chat, look under "chat for ASD families"

Thank you for your message and for telling me about the help and support on here for parents with autistic children. I will certainly look at the pages when next able to come online xx

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Oh My Goodness! There are 82 pages in the instruction guide! How will I ever take it all in?

The manual for mine is pretty thick as well, but the English section is quite small compared to all of the foreign language sections.

You should also have a quick start guide to get you off and running.

Best of luck with your try.

 

[DumfriesDik]

You could load your finger pricker the night before. It only take five seconds to do first thing in the morning. Could you build it into your routine, like brushing your teeth? The information is useful for you to take control of diabetes.

I test when I first wake up and just before my evening meal.

Confidence will come with practice, so give it a try and you will see that will soon get the hang of it. After all if this buffoon can do it, I suspect just about anyone can.

 

[chalup]

Find a youtube video on how to test blood glucose. Most meters are basically the same. And really you can't successfully be a caregiver if you don't take care of yourself. It will catch up to you. I know this from personal experience. take care

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

There are 82 pages in the instruction guide!

You only have to read the English (if that's your preferred language).

Apologies if too flippant, I can see you have a lot on your plate, caring for daughter and mum, that's a big responsibility. Coping with what you already cope with would suggest a meter would be a walk in the park.

I hope that eventually you will treat all these new things as just being part of your life. Good Luck, I'm sure you're more than capable.

 

[coby]

You could load your finger pricker the night before. It only take five seconds to do first thing in the morning. Could you build it into your routine, like brushing your teeth? The information is useful for you to take control of diabetes.

I test when I first wake up and just before my evening meal.

Confidence will come with practice, so give it a try and you will see that will soon get the hang of it. After all if this buffoon can do it, I suspect just about anyone can.

Hi .... The reason why I said I cannot test in the mornings is because I don't have enough time to retest afterwards as I'm out the house and then not back in until 1ish

 

[coby]

You only have to read the English (if that's your preferred language).

Apologies if too flippant, I can see you have a lot on your plate, caring for daughter and mum, that's a big responsibility. Coping with what you already cope with would suggest a meter would be a walk in the park.

I hope that eventually you will treat all these new things as just being part of your life. Good Luck, I'm sure you're more than capable.

But this is just it! I'm not. For a start I've posted a new thread just this morning because I don't understand how to set up the meter, so now I can't use it.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

But this is just it! I'm not. For a start I've posted a new thread just this morning because I don't understand how to set up the meter, so now I can't use it.

What meter do you have? I'm sure that with the combined knowledge and experience of forum members giving a helping hand will be a walk in the park. Think positive, and by that I don't mean positive that you can't, positive that you can and will.