I HATE THIS DISEASE

Welcome

I'm going to tag @daisy1 so she can provide some info for you.

Yes, diabetes is a pain - you're amongst people here who know that well so we sympathise. Do have a read around the forum and ask any questions you like. It's early days for you still, but once you get on top of the diabetes it does get a little easier.

Sorry your Summer relaxing hasn't gone to plan. Hopefully, you can still chill a bit and do some things you enjoy.

TakeItAway88 said:

Hello,

I'm a newly diagnosed diagnosed type 1 diabetic as of the 23rd of July 2015. My mother told me to get a blood test as she noticed I had increased hunger, thirst, frequent visits to the toilet and oral thrush. After the uncomfortable experience of having a needle pushed into my vein to extract blood, I suddenly get told the next day I had type 1 diabetes and had to visit the hospital immediately as my blood sugar was quite high (27.3 mm/gl)

At first I was in absolute shock. I cried and cried countlessly for days on end in the hospital wishing that this was some sort of bad dream I wished I could have woke up out of. Unfortunately, I realised I couldn't and was told I'd just have to live with it. The nurses and my family told me that there was a lot worse I could have been diagnosed with: however in my mind at that moment the only thing worse than what I had could have been death.

It's now been a few weeks and it feels like I'm managing a lot better, even though it's a major pain in the *** . Carb counting, injections and constant glucose monitoring are just a few examples of why this disease is so ****. Not to mention stone-cold food as it takes so darn long to do all the carb counting and injections yadayadayada

And to make matters worse, being diagnosed with this right in the middle of the summer after my GCSE's when I should be relaxing.

Eurgh, this just really sucks. I miss my pre-diabetic life where I didn't have to do all this annoying stuff.

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Hi, I'm 19 and got recently diagnosed last year. It was a shock to me and my mum. I think she cried more than I did! I still struggle to this day with the constant things that you need to do. Although I don't carb count at the moment (it is something I'm wanting to learn) I'm always wary of the things I should eat and if I'm having enough insulin (on set doses). I'm going through a hard time at the minute after being in hospital a couple of months ago following a DKA. I may not be able to give the best advise to you at the moment as I am still stressing about it as well but if you ever want to drop me a message I'm always here for a chat

X

Robynberrill said:

Hi, I'm 19 and got recently diagnosed last year. It was a shock to me and my mum. I think she cried more than I did! I still struggle to this day with the constant things that you need to do. Although I don't carb count at the moment (it is something I'm wanting to learn) I'm always wary of the things I should eat and if I'm having enough insulin (on set doses). I'm going through a hard time at the minute after being in hospital a couple of months ago following a DKA. I may not be able to give the best advise to you at the moment as I am still stressing about it as well but if you ever want to drop me a message I'm always here for a chat

X

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If you want to start learning to carb count there's a very useful app called "Carbs and Cals", and ask for a Freestyle Insulinx or similar BG meter that does carb/insulin ratio sums for you when set up.

I too felt Diabetes sucked when I was first diagnosed, but now 10 months along the road, carb counting, injections and stabbing my fingers has become 2nd nature. I've learned to take it in my stride. Yes I do wish for my old, uncomplicated life back, but that's never going to happen. I've experienced a myriad of emotions as I've gone along and hope the worst of them are behind me now. The first year is definitely the hardest as you have to come to terms with your new life and there's so much to learn as well. Chin up, you'll get there. Btw, howabout calculating your carbs before you cook , inject and then sit down to a hot meal, that's what I do.

@TakeItAway88

Hello and welcome to the forum Yes, it's a real shock and pain but it does get better as you get used to looking after yourself. Some reassurance from members in their posts above to show how they are getting on with it. Here is the information we give to new members - the more you know about diabetes the easier it will get to look after yourself and the new routine.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Hey! I hate this disease too, we all do. But I hated wearing glasses when i first got them and now i wear them everyday without thought, so there is hope that, although you will not stop hating it, you will stop thinking about hating it and that means its essentially gone!

Its been just over 1 year since i was diagnosed, and it took me about 3 months to physically nail down treatment routines, and ease back into exercise etc, beyond the first 2 weeks though it never really effected my daily life, or social life. Its more of mental battle as you will find, so really take some time to level up your mental grip on diabetes. Don't let yourself get sad! Sadness breeds sadness, and that usually means poor management. So chin up robot, do what needs to be done and get on with your life.

The first tip i can give you to make things easier is simple - EAT LOW CARB.
The less carbs you eat means the less insulin you need means the less chance you have of screwing up the dose and going low or high.
The second tip is - LEARN. Learn everything you can possible learn about diabetes, management, what your readings mean, what your trending means, what foods do what and why. Once you start absorbing information it gets so so so much easier!

You got this.

Instead of hating it, just don't think about it. Nothing has changed from last month, or last year you are still you, sometimes you just stick yourself with a needle. Just know why, and when, and thats that!

Welcome to the forum @TakeItAway88

Your in good company here as we have all been through the same emotions that you are experiencing at this present moment in time, things do get easier but by far the first few weeks and months are the worst. Take care and do stick around.

Similar experience here I was diagnosed in April albeit type 2 was all sorts of emotions at first then quickly got it under control and set about trying to beat it in to remission (success stories) thought I was on my way to that.. only today to be told I'm a type 1 honeymooning so another kick in the ..ahem.. but from my brief experience it does get easier and you'll be surprised at what you remember about what foods do what and .. For me now it's just a waiting game for when ill need insulin .

TakeItAway88 said:

Thanks. I'll take what you said in mind. I'm new to this forum so I don't know whether I should reply to every comment or what. Lol

What you said was really uplifting and I appreciate it.

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Welcome You don't need to reply to every post, just if you feel like it. I really feel for you, I know it must be so frustrating. For me, having type 2 is nowhere near as much of a drag day to day as T1 would be. Each type has its good and bad points I guess. I do know what it's like to get bad medical news and to have to face having a condition for the rest of your life. I have endometriosis, which causes pain and other issues to do with periods and all those "women's issues" lol. It's been 15 years since I was diagnosed... it was a shock to begin with and I felt really down, but it got easier with time.

Hang in there, and feel free to ask us anything you want to ask. In my perfect world, there would be a service where someone experienced with living with T1 would be there beside your hospital bed in those first days where you have to come to terms with the diagnosis. Oh well, at least this forum is here, better late than never.

TakeItAway88 said:

Hello,

I'm a newly diagnosed diagnosed type 1 diabetic as of the 23rd of July 2015. My mother told me to get a blood test as she noticed I had increased hunger, thirst, frequent visits to the toilet and oral thrush. After the uncomfortable experience of having a needle pushed into my vein to extract blood, I suddenly get told the next day I had type 1 diabetes and had to visit the hospital immediately as my blood sugar was quite high (27.3 mm/gl)

At first I was in absolute shock. I cried and cried countlessly for days on end in the hospital wishing that this was some sort of bad dream I wished I could have woke up out of. Unfortunately, I realised I couldn't and was told I'd just have to live with it. The nurses and my family told me that there was a lot worse I could have been diagnosed with: however in my mind at that moment the only thing worse than what I had could have been death.

It's now been a few weeks and it feels like I'm managing a lot better, even though it's a major pain in the *** . Carb counting, injections and constant glucose monitoring are just a few examples of why this disease is so ****. Not to mention stone-cold food as it takes so darn long to do all the carb counting and injections yadayadayada

And to make matters worse, being diagnosed with this right in the middle of the summer after my GCSE's when I should be relaxing.

Eurgh, this just really sucks. I miss my pre-diabetic life where I didn't have to do all this annoying stuff.

Click to expand...

We all know what your going through and remember that your not alone,I too got diagnosed type 1 in july after been taken into hospital with the typical symptoms,thrush need to drink all the time and having to get up to go to the toilet endlessly.people on this site are amazing and will give you excellent advice so remember that where all in this together keep ya chin up girl