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Im having some trouble help please

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diya.m

Newbie
uh hi so im a teenager whos had diabetes for 8 years now. For the majority of this time i, until maybe a year or so ago i had managed decently by herself with help from my mother.....but recently over the past year specifically my management has become awful and im scared. I dont have any mental illnesses, at least im pretty sure i dont, but ive just lost all motivation to keep track of my sugars. Ive normalised higher readings and brush it off as ok, i say that ill do better and check more often and keep it at a good level and i do so for a few days...but then fall into my old habits again. I eat meals and snacks and tell myself "I'll give the insulin a little later" and then just end up forgetting entirely. i dont know how to make myself take it as a priority anymore.

The only reason im asking for help is that it breaks my mothers heart when she looks through my data and sees how little ive been doing and it hurts her and i hate feeling like im hurting her. For context shes been with me and has been helping me through this since i was diagnosed when i was 8.......and i dont want to feel like im letting her down.

so yeah, any help or anything really would be amazing. thank you.

p.s. i dont know how this forum stuff works so sorry if this was weird
 
I'm an old type 2 so no help for you at all. It strikes me though that it may be helpful for you to see a psychologist. To me- with absolutely no expertise it sounds like you might have struck a bit of burn out. You've had to manage it for a long time and that itself can be hard particularly with a disease with no obvious complications straight away.

As a mother this breaks my heart. It sounds hard for both you and your mother. I really think talking to someone may help- they may be able to give you some strategies.

More helpful people will be here soon- I'm sorry you are struggling.
 
Hi @diya.m, like @VashtiB says it sounds like you might be having some burnout, this is completely normal. It would be worth speaking to your DSN, they'll be able to help and they'll have heard it many times before, they should also be able to advise about seeing a psychologist.
I think a good way to improve is to do it gradually so that things become habit, so for example you could do an extra blood test a day, and do it at the same time each day. Then you can add another one. Does your blood tester have an alarm/reminder? Or could you set an alarm on your phone?
I had difficulties when I was younger, my mum and dad had always helped with reminding me to check my blood or do my insulin, and then as I got older they stopped and it was left completely up to me. Maybe your mum thinks that as you're older now you can manage on your own, but perhaps you could ask her to help remind you. You could tell her you're finding it difficult and I'm sure she'd want to help in any way she can.
 
Welcome to the forums. I too was diagnosed T1 at 8, to a T1 mother who nearly died when she was diagnosed, so she luckily diagnosed me very early in the T1 process. But when I was a teenager there were no glucometers and the only blood sugar test consisted of doing a chemistry experiment with some urine in order to detect sugar in it. And I must admit that I really lost what little control I had in my teens - though I didn't exactly forget to take insulin I used to eat when and what I wanted and ignored the amount of carbs I was supposed to be having for my meals (In those days you injected once or twice a day and had fixed doses of carbs at fixed times.) And the chemistry experiment didn't happen.

For me, the big change was when I was finally sent to a hospital diabetic clinic in my early twenties, and they suggested that an hba1c of 13 was too high, and I could use a basal/bolus regime to take control of my diabetes. At this point I knew my control was terrible and was scared that I would be told off by the nurses, but actually they were non judgemental and much more interested in seeing what they could do to help me rather than criticising me for my (extreme) lack of diabetic motivation.

But for you now, I would hope that you might get access to a continuous glucose monitor and/or a pump, which should make it much much easier to keep track of things. Diabetic burn out is common at all ages, but really really common in teens. Your diabetic team will have seen it all before and you are definitely not alone.

Lots of virtual hugs. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
 
I really feel for you, it must be so much harder to be diagnosed as a child & navigate good control in your teens.

As the mother of an 18yr old there isn’t anything I wouldn’t still do for my son. Yes as you grow up you need to learn to handle things but you don’t have to do it entirely alone. Talk to your mother, I bet she would jump at the chance to help you & she’s maybe afraid that if she nag’s you things will be worse. Parents don’t have all the answers, we learn how to navigate life with you. I’m fond of saying parenting never gets easier, just different.

I note you live in the UK and these constant lockdowns, reopening & closing of schools is a nightmare. My son has lost out on so many things this year - a job, he’s resitting a GCSE, his driving test has been cancelled twice, seeing friends, celebrating his 18th. It is a stressful time to be a teenager right now, your life has been dramatically changed & I’ve no doubt it’s not helping with diabetes management.

Stick around the forums & we will support you however we can. Nothing in your post was weird.
 
Hi. It can't be easy when you are young. You should always take your Bolus insulin before a meal and if you don't you may forget as I often do. So, try to get into the habit of Bolus first, say, 15 minutes before eating and then eat. I assume you are carb-counting i.e. adjusting the Bolus for the carbs in the meal. Also avoid overdoing the carbs in a meal. Keeping the carbs under control will reduce spikes and avoid possible weight gain (mostly a problem as you get older)
 
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