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Life

J

jcr0205

Member
I know this isn’t the brightest of subjects but I’m 40 this year and getting ‘older’ is really bothering me.

I’ve been type1 for 24 years and I’ve got quite a few complications due to not looking after myself. All I can think about is I’m heading towards the other side sooner rather than later, I feel like there’s no point in life and I’ve got nothing to look forward to other than ill health
 

Hi @jcr0205

With regards to your thread title (Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy.) "don't talk to me about life..."

Regrets, I've had a few... But then again, to few to mention. (& certainly not appropriate on your topic.)

I'm 51. (43 as a D.) Been lucky in some respects had a "rock & roll" lifestyle..

What are the positive boxes you can currently tick? & what is your goal.??
 
I imagine a lot of us have felt the same way at one time or another. I know I do from time to time. Have you felt like this for a while or is it more recent? I find if I have something to look forward to it helps, it doesn't have to be major things, just something to take my mind off feeling low for a bit, like planning a day out.
 
Hi @jcr0205 There are many of us on the forum who did not look after ourselves in the early part of our diabetic lives. I won't risk boring many posters who have heard my story many times. What I will say is that I had complications by as early as 13 years old, and that these ultimately led to a kidney/pancreas transplant in 2013, after 54 years of Type 1. I reached the depths of depression at the age of 21 and I am now 61. I have always been an optimist, except in those darkest moments. Please believe me that it is not too late to start looking after yourself - in many ways you have done this by reaching out on this forum. Sharing your despair is more than half the battle. As several medics have said to me over the years "Stop beating yourself up!" I hope you succeed. All the very best.
 
You may not have much time left on this earth, or, you may have a very very long time left on this earth! You simply just don't know and neither does anyone else, diabetic or not. You have already lived much longer than many others and will also have less life than many others too.

In the end what matters most is what we do with our time here no matter how long or short. It's quality not quantity that matters. Whatever time you have left, be it long or short don't waste it with worry and regrets! Embrace each and every day for it will pass more quickly than any of us are ever prepared for. Life is all the more precious for being shorter. So make every moment count!

To quote a certain well known Moderater here, GET BUSY LIViNG!
 
In response I can only think of the words of Albert Camus.

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
 
Hello @jcr0205 Have you spoken to your diabetic team or GP about how you are feeling ? There may be support available you can tap into to help you manage these feelings ?

How are you doing these days, are you looking after yourself ?
 
Hi @jcr0205 49 years of T1D here and a few major complications due to VERY bad control. No one knows hoe long we are here for BUT while we are here make the most of it my friend. T1D has not stopped me doing anything I have wanted it to nor will it stop be doing anything I want in the future (apart from being an astronaut BUT thats another story).
As @Juicyj has said maybe get in touch with your diabetic team OR GP and tell them how you are feeling, there will be some help/support out there for you. Take care
 
You're still young and although you may have some complications there's still a chance to change your outlook and maybe improve some of the conditions you are living with. Are you looking after your health now? If not then maybe you need to see someone to talk about your mental health too.
I've just had a few days in hospital myself (47yrs, Type 2? or LADA, being checked as I have a BMI of 20 or thereabouts). I haven't looked after myself either, feeling low in mood and finding everything such an 'effort', working full time, single mum, no money blah blah. But ... I was in a ward with some elderly ladies and I figured, F**k this I'm 47 (had started to think I was more like 100) and my gran lived to 92. There are people around me who want me to 'get better' and are putting in effort, so I should blooming well do the same.
There is support and advice out there, take it up, we don't know for sure what is on the other side (sorry if I have offended any one with religious beliefs - not intended but personal belief), so make the most of what is on this side. Diabetes is a pain in the **** but I hope you can turn things around. BW

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I am Type1 and now in 62nd year of insulin injections.
I am now experiencing the effects of getting old (Aching knees) but not suffering from any diabetic complications that I know of.

My process is to maintain the Same level of insulin daily and to tune the BG balance by what I eat. This means that I am able to enjoy sticky buns and sweet tea when I need to work outside. I am expecting to have 2 or 3 trees to cut up and move in the next few days with the wind as strong as it is here so my daughter has promised to bring me 2 chocolate swiss rolls and a couple of pints of bottled brown ale to lubricate the task.

So having never worried about being T1 and just got on with things has worked for me -
and - I saw my consultant for an annual review last Friday and received the compliment " I have just scanned your notes and realised that you have been Diabetic for over 60 years - You must be a genius! Well done for learning about the condition and finding what works well for you"

My motto is - I can do anything that anyone else can but I take my sandwiches with me. ( I do not recommend cheese and tomato sandwiches on a jet ski - they are difficult to eat when flavoured with sea water!)

So put simply - look after your BG and just enjoy life!
 
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Always remember that you can't change what you did yesterday, but you can change what you do tomorrow, draw a line under yesterday and start again afresh. Things happen but they don't necessarily have to happen again. So you've recognised that you made bad choices in the past ( just ask about my first husband!) but we have the ability to learn from what we've done good or bad, accept and move on. I'm a pensioner now T2 for three and half years and looking back I made plenty of stupid decisions but I've rarely repeated them, unless it involved chocolate!
You can and will change throughout life it's normal so draw a line and start a fresh page tomorrow good luck. You don't have to get through this on your own you will always find support here and perhaps explaining how you feel to your GP would help?
 
OK so you didn't take care of your diabetes when you were younger, lots of people will say the same, but it's what you do from here on in that counts. Diabetes won't stop you doing much other than flying a plane and maybe deep scuba diving so there's lots to look forward to. Even a day when the sun shines and you see the first snowdrops is something to celebrate.
I hope you manage to come out the other side of your depression, we'll all root for you.
 
T2 and lots of illegal substances in my younger years.
None I might add for the last 35 years.
It's only rock n roll but I liked it!
I'm heading for 70 not far down the road and I'm hoping to at least reach 80.
Diabetic retinopathy four or five years ago .... reversed for the next years check .... had it again the year after not got it anymore.
Fight dance play work at life.
Life is what you make it really within the means that are available to you.
One of the most uplifting things you can do with your remaining thirty or forty years and it costs nowt is help others.
Any kind of others who need it.
Go out there and get stuck in.
 
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Hi jcr0205 - a great big hello from South America!
I'm 82, T2D for about 15 years, following a moderate LCHF diet that keeps my weight and BG stable, just married again, drink with my friends (all 80+) every Friday night, dance occasionally, travel a bit when possible, and still work part-time with online consulting. Keeping busy keeps my mind from getting depressed and walking keeps my legs and lungs fit - I live at 12,000 ft above sea level. I've changed careers twice since I was forty, so don't worry about being "older", you're just getting into the swing of things and you've got lots of time to enjoy new efforts, experiences, and pleasures (as well as the inevitable pains that go with life). There is a great poem that advises "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul" ("Invictus" by William Ernest Henley) - which is a great read for anyone feeling down with life. Another modern saying that became famous in the recent Spanish elections is "Yes, it can be done" (SI SE PUEDE). Nobody promised us a rose garden, but we can make our own, despite the thorns! Somebody else said that "A happy man changes what is possible to change in life, puts up with what can't be changed, and knows the difference between the two". Since you are the driver of your own vehicle, you don't want to go down or back, so GO FORWARD, find new interests, keep busy, keep active, enjoy what you can, live with the conditions you can't change, love the best in live and put the rest to one side. Many of the people who share this forum have been T1D for many years and have learned to adapt to the conditions - there are always conditions, but they become less of a burden once accepted. Anyhow, "Yes, there is a Santa Claus, Virginia" despite the night-time blues and blahs; he can be found with a bit of faith in oneself, positive thinking, and optimism. YES, YOU CAN DO IT!! Best wishes to you for a great life - enjoy it, young man, you're only half-way through!!
PS: My 52-year old daughter, a bad-ass weight lifting fitness nut with three adult children, has just started her own new business of consulting for fitness and diet - SI SE PUEDE - GO FOR IT!! Good luck and great living.
 
Hi I could say welcome to mid life crisis but I don't really think there is a specific starting age. Every one charges around feeling invincible with no thought about mortality or what stage of life they are in until something happens, maybe bereavement or ill health that takes something away from you, which gives you time to think and with too much time on our hands we may start to think deeper of which I myself am guilty. so in a nutshell fill your time with other enjoyable alternatives be it a hobby or simply reading or if possible getting out a bit more. I guess what I am trying to say is escapism is good for the mind, don't dwell on negative thoughts of growing old because I would gladly swap my 57 years for your forty ( terms & conditions apply ) and I know a few 90 year olds who would trade ages with us in a heart beat.
 
Gosh I'd hate to be 40 again! I was still recovering from first husband, working full time and more plus caring for my Mum and Brother. Mind you I was still driving but driving up to 150 miles to get round my work area every day then didn't have T2 or not that I knew.
I think you just have to accept the age you are and enjoy it. Mind you until very recently one of my friends thought I was still 29 as that's what I told her every year, took her 8 years to catch on!
 


Hello from America,

One question--isn't depression of of the symptoms of diabetes for some people? I think you should see a doctor--both medical and psychological. Life is so short and so precious. Please don't just accept how you are feeling. I am new to diabetes (Type 1 - LADA). I am 61 and have had other autoimmune diseases in the past. My feeling is that none of us know how long we'll be on this earth, but I have learned that I need purpose to be happy--and I need to be surrounded by loved ones. Do you have good people around you? Take care. Glad you are on this forum.
 
um hi guys, i’m really new to this, and i only downloaded it because i’m scared i have diabetes. i’m 16, really thin, weigh up at around 60 kilograms (around 9 stone) and am around 5 foot 11 ( not sure what that is in cm). but i’m noticing some symptoms e.g fruity and sweet urine, and thirst, i get infections sometimes, and my vision goes blurry a fair amount. i tend to eat quite healthily but i let myself go with sweet things and snack on chocolate and sweets quite a lot. i’m just scared whether i have diabetes and don’t want to ask my parents to get a test without having some advice from supportive people online, thanks in advance,
joe
 
I’m loving these responses. Reading them all with hope and love for all of you..... and me too!
 
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