How about being "in the zone"?

[mrtn.pllr]

Do you know that special kind of feeling, the "flow" when you are so preoccupied with an activity (be it work, gaming, or really anything) that you don't pay attention to the passage of time? When your ego starts to become one with that special kind of activity and you are so much in the zone?
I know that, and I love it. That's really something that makes living my life worth it.
What will happen to that feeling with my T1 diabetes? How can I burry myself into an activity for hours/days without stopping if I have to eat and dose and check BG? Does this mean the end of just sitting down for 10 hours straight and coding (I'm a programmer ) or gaming or marathoning the Lord of the rings trilogy?
I can't imagine getting into the zone with these strict and regular painful ceremonies. But then the question rises. Why should I keep myself alive if I can't have these moments anymore?

 

[Brunneria]

The last time we marathoned lord of the rings we (of necessity) had multiple breaks - toilet, food, receiving a phone call, etc.etc.
These are unavoidable aspects of life.
Similarly, nowadays I have a necessity to get up and move around every hour or so to keep my joints oiled.
There are many other health conditions that require maintenance throughout the day, and multiple conditions lead to multiple, sometimes conflicting, maintenance requirements.
None of those are necessarily anything to do with diabetes.

So while diabetes adds to that kind of necessary interruption, it is not unique in its necessity or its ability to distract, and can be fitted in with all the other trivial detritus that we get to deal with on a daily basis.

 

[Shannon27]

Do you know that special kind of feeling, the "flow" when you are so preoccupied with an activity (be it work, gaming, or really anything) that you don't pay attention to the passage of time? When your ego starts to become one with that special kind of activity and you are so much in the zone?
I know that, and I love it. That's really something that makes living my life worth it.
What will happen to that feeling with my T1 diabetes? How can I burry myself into an activity for hours/days without stopping if I have to eat and dose and check BG? Does this mean the end of just sitting down for 10 hours straight and coding (I'm a programmer ) or gaming or marathoning the Lord of the rings trilogy?
I can't imagine getting into the zone with these strict and regular painful ceremonies. But then the question rises. Why should I keep myself alive if I can't have these moments anymore?

You can still have these moments, it probably doesn't feel like it at the minute but your diabetes will become routine for you. Then you will realise that you can still enjoy things the same!

It might help if you set alarms on your phone every 2-3 hours (or however often you test). Unfortunately, yes it is an interruption in everything (i can appreciate the Lord of the Rings marathon-ing, especially if you're into the extended versions which is over 12 hours of screenplay!) but it's something you WILL get used to. At work, let your boss and your workmates know that you might need to take a small break every now and then, they should understand.

When gaming, hit the pause button (depending on the game - things like Dark Souls just don't have a pause button ) or if you're planning a long session, plan breaks into it. It's really not hard and ultimately you'll feel better about yourself for making sure you're looking after your diabetes AND enjoying yourself! I know i do

I play D&D with my partner and his brothers and some other friends, sometimes at weekends we do full day sessions. I love it but have to make sure i test my sugars in any game downtime and i have to set alarms to remind myself as it gets really involved, and i would forget otherwise!

As i said in my previous comment to you, make sure you plan it around your life. Don't let it take over because then it will feel impossible to manage.

If you need any advice feel free to message on here, hope all this helps

 

[Antje77]

I imagine you haven't gone for days without eating a single thing or needing to pee. Testing your bg takes a lot less time than visiting the toilet and you don't even need to get up to do it. If I'm in that kind of flow I'm way more annoyed when I need to pee than with occasional bg checks.
As said in the other thread, you can eat just like you did before on those days, just give yourself some time to get adjusted.
Good luck!

 

[porl69]

10 hours straight programming!? Did you pee or get up for a cuppa during those 10 hours? I am guessing yes. Doing a BG test takes less time than making a brew or a glass of squash. You are new to T1D, so you have a lot to learn. Soon it will become second nature and you will be doing BG tests and injecting and eating without really thinking about it. It takes time BUT it will come.......

 

[annliggins]

You get on with it pal ....its your life now