- Messages
- 1
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
Hi
I am a 23 year old type 1 diabetic, and have been for around the last 5 years. I am at home living with my parents at the minute so I know I do not have the same financial responsibilities as the majority who post here.
I wanted to ask 2 questions really, but let me give a little context first.
I recently finished up in a temp contract which was extremely difficult for me to complete with my T1. The only work where I am (Rotherham) seems to be working in some kind of call centre. These jobs are all more than 45 HR + per week, and have incredibly irregular shift patterns, and 2-3 hrs from home on public transport . I have found myself bouncing between one position to another either because of unsupportive employers (my previous employer to my last role would not let me test my blood at my desk, have hypo treatment there or even go for lunch on time which had disastorous consequences), or because the nature of the work involved spending large amounts of time sat at a desk and on a bus which means I live at work and do not get enough exercise and end up with extremely high blood sugars, running into the twenties and thirties even when taking 30+ units of background insulin.
My first question is this -
I am a new member here, and it does not seem to be a common problem amongst people with T1, so I wanted to ask - does anyone have any tips, or anything that would help me in any way to get a leg up somehow? At the moment I am struggling to hold down a position for more than a few months at a time. I seem to go through the same pattern of deterioration with each employer until I do actually become unable to work for a few days due to illness, at which point I am let go. Is their anything I can do to make this more bearable, or any way for me to secure a position that is a little more active due to my diabetes that anyone knows about? Maybe their is something I could present to one of these employers which means that they would have to show a little further care towards me and my diabetes? I have queried this with my GP and unfortunately he is as much help as a chocolate fireguard.
I was also curious as to what experiences other members have had with the job centre as well. Obviously as I am unemployed and trying to find work, I have to attend, but this is also with great difficulty. I am given £120 a fortnight, and I have to find £50 weekly rent + bus tickets + my own food from that, and the job centre have absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for me. I have not been able to buy anything suitable to treat Hypo's purely due to lack of funds (I usually have to eat dry shredded wheat - no joke - although they have no ran out too lol). I have needed additional money to have my HBA1C done (as I need to buy a bus ticket to the hospital for example), and they turned me down - or as another example, I had to miss an interview today as it was taking place around 15 miles from my house and I had no money for a bus ticket or anything to treat a hypo. When I asked the DWP for a bus ticket to the interview, I was told to walk there?? When I queried this and explained I was a type 1 diabetic with nothing for an emergency, this made no difference and they still wanted me to walk. I did walk, had a hypo half way there and luckily a shop owner gave me a can of coke when I explained the situation, however I came straight home as I did not feel safe attending the interview at that stage as I knew I would have another Hypo. I have been unable to rearrange this interview yet as I do not want to risk it walking, and I do not know if I will be sanctioned for failing to attend an interview.
Does anyone have any experience with similar circumstances regarding the job centre also? At the moment I just don't really see how it's possible to stay safe under their policies, and again, I am just wondering if there is any kind of exception, emergency payment on even free hypo treatments someone would be entitled to whilst claiming jobseekers? I know there was a tragic story a while ago (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/03/victims-britains-harsh-welfare-sanctions) obivously I am living at home so I'm not at as much risk as someone living alone, but surely there is somewhere I could get help?
Thanks Guys - even if you can't suggest anything to help sort my particular problem, if you have had experiences with employers or the job centre relating to your diabetes in the past, I would love to hear them just so I know I am not alone.
Thanks
I am a 23 year old type 1 diabetic, and have been for around the last 5 years. I am at home living with my parents at the minute so I know I do not have the same financial responsibilities as the majority who post here.
I wanted to ask 2 questions really, but let me give a little context first.
I recently finished up in a temp contract which was extremely difficult for me to complete with my T1. The only work where I am (Rotherham) seems to be working in some kind of call centre. These jobs are all more than 45 HR + per week, and have incredibly irregular shift patterns, and 2-3 hrs from home on public transport . I have found myself bouncing between one position to another either because of unsupportive employers (my previous employer to my last role would not let me test my blood at my desk, have hypo treatment there or even go for lunch on time which had disastorous consequences), or because the nature of the work involved spending large amounts of time sat at a desk and on a bus which means I live at work and do not get enough exercise and end up with extremely high blood sugars, running into the twenties and thirties even when taking 30+ units of background insulin.
My first question is this -
I am a new member here, and it does not seem to be a common problem amongst people with T1, so I wanted to ask - does anyone have any tips, or anything that would help me in any way to get a leg up somehow? At the moment I am struggling to hold down a position for more than a few months at a time. I seem to go through the same pattern of deterioration with each employer until I do actually become unable to work for a few days due to illness, at which point I am let go. Is their anything I can do to make this more bearable, or any way for me to secure a position that is a little more active due to my diabetes that anyone knows about? Maybe their is something I could present to one of these employers which means that they would have to show a little further care towards me and my diabetes? I have queried this with my GP and unfortunately he is as much help as a chocolate fireguard.
I was also curious as to what experiences other members have had with the job centre as well. Obviously as I am unemployed and trying to find work, I have to attend, but this is also with great difficulty. I am given £120 a fortnight, and I have to find £50 weekly rent + bus tickets + my own food from that, and the job centre have absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for me. I have not been able to buy anything suitable to treat Hypo's purely due to lack of funds (I usually have to eat dry shredded wheat - no joke - although they have no ran out too lol). I have needed additional money to have my HBA1C done (as I need to buy a bus ticket to the hospital for example), and they turned me down - or as another example, I had to miss an interview today as it was taking place around 15 miles from my house and I had no money for a bus ticket or anything to treat a hypo. When I asked the DWP for a bus ticket to the interview, I was told to walk there?? When I queried this and explained I was a type 1 diabetic with nothing for an emergency, this made no difference and they still wanted me to walk. I did walk, had a hypo half way there and luckily a shop owner gave me a can of coke when I explained the situation, however I came straight home as I did not feel safe attending the interview at that stage as I knew I would have another Hypo. I have been unable to rearrange this interview yet as I do not want to risk it walking, and I do not know if I will be sanctioned for failing to attend an interview.
Does anyone have any experience with similar circumstances regarding the job centre also? At the moment I just don't really see how it's possible to stay safe under their policies, and again, I am just wondering if there is any kind of exception, emergency payment on even free hypo treatments someone would be entitled to whilst claiming jobseekers? I know there was a tragic story a while ago (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/03/victims-britains-harsh-welfare-sanctions) obivously I am living at home so I'm not at as much risk as someone living alone, but surely there is somewhere I could get help?
Thanks Guys - even if you can't suggest anything to help sort my particular problem, if you have had experiences with employers or the job centre relating to your diabetes in the past, I would love to hear them just so I know I am not alone.
Thanks