I'm 15 years poorly control and struggling to get on top of it.

[sjm1308]

I've done dafne. I have a pump and libra sensor. I work from home and have no dependants so I don't know why I can't get my head around this flaming disease. My a1c is always around 8% and I'm so ashamed. I feel really overwhelmed and do not know where to start. Can someone take me back to basics in a really simplified way?

 

[Helen40]

Hello there, please don't feel ashamed, having diabeyes is hard work for everyone and you're not the first to have had a period of poor control. I don't think it's ever too late to start again as it were

I now do low carb and ratio my insulin according to the number of carbs I eat, personally I'm very carb sensitive and try to eat no more than 40g a day.

I can have great control all day then boom in the evening it sometimes spikes, frustrating and sometimes unexplained!

I dust myself off, correct the high and start fresh the next day. Gentle exercise like a good walk is great for lowering high bg.

I now avoid lows by setting my alarm to go off at 5 then I check which direction the arrow is point8ng, instead of glugging lucozade i have 2 jelly babies if it's going down, I wait at least 15 min because my cgm has a lag on it, in the past 8 didn't know this and over compensated then went stupidly high.

Low carb has helped me lots I wish I'd have done this years ago! (Aplogies for my typing I have an issue with my eyes currently)

Lots of great people here far more wise than I but I hope this has helped a little x

 

[Mathewted]

The first thing I did when I started to get serious life limiting co-morbidities - diabetes complications - was to blame myself; like all the times I had seizures accompanying hypoglycaemia.

That was a mistake and made things worse. Once I realized that, I slowly - 30 years after diagnosis - began learning more about this impossible disease and reflecting on what was and wasn't working; I started to become more in control of my decisions - less impulsive -and outcomes and glucose levels responded better.

I went from over 80mmol/mol to under 70mmol/mol once I invested in Libre and, crucially, started to look critically at what happened to my glucose levels after meals. That small improvement gave me a lit of hope and I took action on diet and lifestyle big time, ending up in the non-diabetic range of 42mmol/mol and under within 3years remaining there to date.

The reason for that last paragraph is that whereas previously I had no hope, I proved to myself that I could help myself.

I applaud you for posting this and encourage you to take stock and allow yourself the freedom to think how you're feeling and what your goals are for your health as a starting point; from there you may find that you start making relevant decisions that support yourself toward those gials. In my case the goal was not non-diabetic HbA1c but a reduction as I was shamed by my Endo at the time and was letting my family down.

People here can help you work through this by suggesting say, a strategy of small simple actionable steps and that may be easier if you are able to articulate where you are and where you want to be

I do hope this helps but I'm also aware you may feel I've spoken out of turn in which case please ignore my response in favour of one you feel better matches your needs.

ATB

Mat

 

[becca59]

Hi @sjm1308 well you’ve made a start on doing something by posting a plea for advice. Well done! Can I recommend a brilliant book called ‘Think like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner. He takes you right back to basics and as well as being in diabetic medicine is also a Type 1 himself. I often refer back to it when losing the plot.

 

[Juicyj]

Please please don't feel ashamed.. there is no room for shame with living with this condition, you are doing an amazing job without realising it, HbA1c's/graphs are not a target to define yourself by, they are diabetes tools which can help steer us, so try to detach your emotional attachment from them, they act as information only. We can all do more, seriously there is no such thing as perfection with managing this condition.

Firstly contact your DSN and get some support from them, sometimes it helps to sit down with someone and analyse what works and what doesn't, show them your graphs, try and work out where and when you are having issues ? Could a change in insulin help, can they help with a course ?

It's easy with this condition to focus on the negative, but try and think of 3 positives of where you manage well and write them down.

Personally for me I find exercise after eating helps manage a spike, I can't sit still after eating, I get up, walk, do gym or something which stops the arrow heading north, I eat low carb at certain times of the day when I know my insulin doesn't work as effectively, I aim to sleep every night with a stable line so avoid eating late, avoid high fat meals which stops the spike later on, if I want cake I eat it, but bolus in advance and exercise after.

Well done for asking for help, don't beat yourself up though be your own best friend and be kind to yourself, we can help too.

 

[Ipodlistener]

Exercise. If you can walk is great on a daily basis.

Bread go for the seeded loaf.

Sweet potatoes will help your kidneys.

Have things in moderation.

If I have a dessert after a main meal. I take the insulin before the meal. But have the dessert as the insulin is starting to work.

Works for me. Who knows if you don't try.

Good luck