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How do I accept my diagnosis?

H

harrybenson

Newbie
Messages
1
Location
United States
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Diet only
Accepting the diagnosis of type I diabetes could be challenging, especially with the knowledge that you will live with it all the rest of your life. What helped you to accept your diagnosis of type 1 diabetes?
 
I'm not a T1 ....

But for me, it'd be looking at others FAR worse off than I am and reminding myself 24/7 that for the grace of you know who, that could be me.

I have a condition and with good control (again 24/7) I'll be OK. That is enough. It is draining, it is difficult but it can be done
 
harrybenson said:
Accepting the diagnosis of type I diabetes could be challenging, especially with the knowledge that you will live with it all the rest of your life. What helped you to accept your diagnosis of type 1 diabetes?
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Hi & Welcome to the forum, not accepting your diagnosis this is the best place you could have come for help and support.

Like @Mike D I am type 2 also but even for us it takes time to accept that we have been diagnosed with this pervasive disease. Once it sinks in and you get on living your life it becomes much easier.

I have nephew diagnosed since birth he's 9 now get on with it very well.

I'm going to Tag @daisy1 who will come a long with along list of information we give to all new members, it will probably be the morning now.

Lots of diabetics can suffer depression when first diagnosed make sure you look round this forum for the help and support that you will need, it will get better.
Neil
 
Hi sometimes it can be a shock with a rocky road ahead, but as your walk on through the up's the downs you just get on with it, and try to do your utmost to get good control. Don't let it define you as a diabetic person, it is just part of who you are. But remember you are in control and don't let it control you, as you're the boss. I also have a granddaughter with type 1 and after the initial trauma, she is a happy and a healthy 6 year old.
Can I ask how old you are and how long you have been diagnosed ? I do know where you are coming from, but try to see it less as a burden ( I know it is very difficult for some) and more a challenge, as type 1 doesn't stop us from doing anything we want to do.
This is a good forum for support and helpful advice.

Take care and best wishes RRB :)
 
Like most people have said it takes time to get used to it! But as said above remember your diabetes doesnt control you nor does it define you.
 
I am fairly newly diagnosed and it was really hard for me at the beginning. I was afraid of blood, needles and everything. But over time I just accepted that whatever I do it will not disappear and if I don't take care about it, it will be just worse for me and my health. Now I look at it like on some kind of fight I have every day, and I'm giving my best to win. Positive attitude is very important and it's key to successful diabetes management. You can still live normally, and the sooner you accept it, it will be easier to you
 
For me, it was an enormous relief to be diagnosed (T1) and told how manageable it was and things. I had been worried that there might be something actually "bad" wrong with me ;)
I was honestly just happy to feel better.
It also helps that I like gadgets and toys and things and diabetes supplies you with loads of that stuff.

I'm very lucky, of course, that I am in a position to be able to look after myself pretty easily as I was diagnosed as an adult. It must be a really hard thing for children and teenagers (not to mention their parents).
 
I'm t2 but knowing if I did nothing then things would get worse, so accepting it was part of the cause, plus I feel that if I hadn't accepted it I wouldn't be feeling as well as I do now.
 
I found if you don't accept it it will take you over and cause problems in your life, health and personal, acceptance for me was the first stage of understanding it but not letting it define me, taking on board the condition realising its not going to go away anytime soon but being able to combat it appropriately with knowledge. I admitted i had it and needed to treat it, realizing it demands my time and effort and taking it seriously and the responsibility lies solely with me.

Also realising the emotional issues ive had are not my fault, diabetes plays havock with the endocrine system and knowing this has been liberating for me, and that others are going the through the same grind and i'm not alone.
 
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I'm 5 weeks since being diagnosed as type 1, my whole view has been what's the point getting upset/down/moaning etc, I'm still going to wake up every day and it's still going to be there. So for me acceptance and dealing with it were my only options. Despite still not having a handle on my blood sugar levels I'm not letting it stress me. I'm not putting my life on hold or shutting myself away from the world. I was at a gig on Sat night, my friend and I managed to get right down the front of the crowd, then 9pm came and it was time for me to take my insulin, rather than running off to the loo and hiding I just thought to hell with it, I've nothing to hide or be ashamed of so I just did what I had to right there (the band weren't on stage so thankfully the crowd wasn't jumping around!) But that was a huge step for me. I figure it could be worse. It's a controllable, manageable condition and I will control/manage it!
 
Its funny, I was talking to someone earlier today and found myself saying that if I could be magically cured today, what would be the first thing I would do and I had to answer honestly that I dont think I would take the cure!!.........Since my diagnosis two years ago (type 1 incidentally) my life has changed in so many ways, I am healthier, happier, and too be honest I really dont miss anything, eating at set times and no snacks means that extra thought is given to the meals I do have and boy do I enjoy them !!, Low carbing was a challenge but when you find a diet that works for you it is surprisingly easy, sometimes I feel guilty for being so positive about what is at the end of the day a nasty condition and yes the testing and sticking pins in thing is a pain in the whatsit, but as others have said, rejoice in the fact you can live a relatively normal life and give thought to those that are a hell of a lot worse off than us.
 
I was diagnosed nearlly 11 yrs ago,
i have other illnesses that i have no control over and that are horrible and tbh i don't mind diabetes as at least im in control of it , there are lots of other illnesses that are worse:)
 
I think (and this goes for everyone, t1, 2, 1.5...) that whatever you feel today won't last.

We all get down, up and sideways at different times, and since this is for life, sooner or later we are going to cycle through everything. Even acceptance is just one part of the cycle.

But the upside of that is that no matter how low you feel, you can be sure that sooner or later it will lift. :)

And I do agree that, of all the possible life long conditions, then provided we take care of ourselves, diabetes is one of the least burdensome, even if it doesn't always feel that way.
 
Hello, it is not nice ,,no one likes to cope with chronic conditions not really ...
But we just put our brave faces one and well we sort of deal,with it ..

Easier to say of course ,,because there are good times and not so good ...
But as long as you know what you are controlling , you will come to tearms with dealing with all that you have to ....

I wish you all the best ..kat
 
Brunneria said:
I think (and this goes for everyone, t1, 2, 1.5...) that whatever you feel today won't last.

We all get down, up and sideways at different times, and since this is for life, sooner or later we are going to cycle through everything. Even acceptance is just one part of the cycle.

But the upside of that is that no matter how low you feel, you can be sure that sooner or later it will lift. :)

And I do agree that, of all the possible life long conditions, then provided we take care of ourselves, diabetes is one of the least burdensome, even if it doesn't always feel that way.
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I hope a LOT of people read that Brunn :) The acceptance I found was the hardest part and once you get that into your head, the rest flows.MRD :)
 
I think if you are newly diagnosed it can be a bit of a shock dealing with it, i felt numb about it. It became just an inconvenience.
 
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I had no trouble with accepting my diagnosis...especially given the fact that I was initially diagnosed as T2 by my GP..I knew different though and was delighted when I was finally diagnosed as T1 and could get the proper treatment I needed (ie. insulin and not gluophages). Now three months on I would agree with Spencer67 in saying that it is now more of an inconvenience than anything else. The simple fact that I've got an incurable condition negates the "why me" factor. There's simply nothing I can do about it. When your islets of Langerhans are gone , they're gone for good. If I want to live I just gotta get on with life with insulin injections, carb counting etc. In some ways being T1 is better for me than being T2. I can eat whatever Iike so long as I "insulate" for it :) Just take the positives out of it and don't let it dominate your life.
 
My partner at the time said of my type 1 diabetes, that my body has switched from automatic to manual drive, in relation to eating. That will always stick with me, and I try to view it that way!
 
I am not diabetic.
I have diabetes.
 
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