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Motherhood, Type 1, work & life!!!!!

S

SarahW

Member
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20
Hi all

I have been a type 1 diabetic for 2 years and have recently been on the DAFNE course to control my out of control sugar levels (always high). Although dafne has been brilliant I am finding the whole mother of two kids 4 and 5 years, job, housework, constant dose adjustment, pills, running the house, injections, recording sugars etc etc etc rather a challenge and I feel worn out! I also worry constantly about long term effects which also stresses me out and on the whole now feel anxious most of the time, with everything really. Ha what a barrel of laughs I am....seriously is this how your supposed to feel? (oh and not to mention the size of my handbag now with all the stuff I have to carry round with me all the time) lol
 
Hi Sarah

Firstly welcome to the forum

I can empathise with what you say..

I have 3 children youngest is now 17, and I remember the days of trying to keep it all together, trying to remember whether I packed the nappies diabetic kit etc before getting out the front door…

I can’t give you words of wisdom how to sort it all, but be assured at the children grow and gain more independence then you find it isn’t quite a such a battle…

Mind you the handbag, you’ve still got what constitutes a handbag? What constitutes as my handbag contains two diabetic kits, as I live in a household that the his and hers towels have been dispensed with, and replaced with his and her insulin in the fridge as my hubby is T1 diabetic as well…

But stay around, ask a question or two and we might be able to help with a tip or two..
 
My now 2 year old has had diabetes since he was 8 months old. I'm exhausted most of the time and I am not working (mainly because childcare centres seem to have a problem with a diabetic child). I try as best I can to get more sleep and juggle doing shopping/housework/whatever in between tests/food/insulin. Maybe you just have to stop and do the tests and get your diabetes under control and the rest of your life might seem a bit more managable. Diabetes is hard work but in your situation a pump might be a handy addition. Do you get much help? It might be time to ask for a bit of assistance with the kids, house and other obligations. Look after yourself!

As for the handbag, I have an insulated backpack these days ... how boring.
 
Oh gosh two of you in the same household eh! Thats unlucky. Still I suppose there are worse things to have. Was having a bad day the other day-sorry. A littlie with diabetes must be hard, bless. I can imagine your finding child care hard to find. Most people dont know how to deal with adult diabetics let alone children. We all have our crosses to bear in one way or other dont we. Thanks for the replies.
 
(mainly because childcare centres seem to have a problem with a diabetic child)
Click to expand...

It might be worth asking social services if any childminders in your area are actually diabetic - I used to be a childminder, I'm type 2 and there are two others who live near me, one who is type two and the other type 1.

Just a thought
 
We are also a 2 diabetic household.
Husband has been a T1 for about 35 years. I a T2 for 6.
Of couse all the planning and remembering falls to me. I am very fit and well on my low carb and 2 x 500 Metformin per day.
He has plenty of issues. 2 Charcot feet, eye trouble, a skin problem and kidneys. I've managed to get him to reduce insulin and carbs, so very few hypos now. We used to live with loads of them.
I got one of those City Bags fom Cotton traders and carry spare insulin. T1 has a backpack he takes everywhere, with insulin pens,test kit and Lucozade.
T1 is on Basal and bolus, but they don't have a DAFNE course here, so he doesn't use it quite right. His control isn't all that good. last HbA1c about 7.8%(mine was 5.6%)
I have coped with quite a few drams over the years. Not mine.
 
Hi Sarah, well it will get better.I tried for over 10 years to have kids.Went throught all kinds of treatment to have kids.Been type 1 since i was a teenager.Well i ended up getting divorced met my new partner and had 4 sections in 5 years!!!!i had bad times in the hospital and my first daughter was only 13 months old when i had my son.I was told by the hospital to get sterilised after my fisrt born but i thought i would only ever have 1 child and couldnt believe it when i was pregnant again!i again never thought i would have another baby well i did.Then i ended up having a 4th child.The doctors in the hospital couldnt believe it because i was told id probably never have any kids!!!they are now 22 21 19 18 all still live at home.When they were babies i just had to get on with it dont know how i did but got through it.Had loads of hypos etc and tiredness but i was that happy after being told i would never have kids i just had to get on with it.It was more stressful in the hospital trying to sort out my blood sugars than when i came home.Another thing i know i may be lucky to have had diabetes for so long and no complications but i am very happy with my life (dont get me wrong i do get upset a lot of times) i think you only have one life so you get on with it.Anyway hope you feel better and just carry on as you are and everything will be ok
 
Hi Sarah - I'm a mum with type 1 diabetes, I have 2 children now aged 15 and 10 - they both developed diabetes when they were 9 years old. We just came back from holiday - its all the diabetes stuff we had to make sure we had with us. Tell you the I am tired a lot, but it's my hubbie I feel for (the only non diabetic in the family) - he's just great with us all, puts up with our hypos and strops etc :shock: he's great!

Orchid x
 
Hi Sarah

I remember those days well and just to confirm you can get through this. Your children will give you so much pleasure and they will not always be young. I have had this for 30 years and wish now I had thought about myself more however recently my husband had a colostomy bag fitted due to nearly dying and let me tell you I wuld rather have this!! To have a leaking poo bag attached to my belly all the time is not good. At least as long as we are fairly sensible we can live life to the full - hardly ever! Think of other things like cancer and what would you rather have? Be calm, exercise with your kids and teach them to eat sensibly they will thank you when older. i am so proud of mine they are the most caring, loving people I could not have asked for anything more.
 


Dear Sugarybibs,

your story has made my day!!
My story the same but now with my 2nd hubby, we still cant fall pregnant. And yesterday I got my blood results back and they NOT good. My folic acid is danger low. 93 should be 186-580ish. The bad side of this is we are about to start IVF. On the 28th March!! I start my injections. But now my doc says I should put it on "hold" for 2 months until my folic acid levels come up and sugars go down. HbA1c was 8.2. Its normally 7. I honestly thought I was eating correctly until I found this website on Sunday! So now Im in a catch 22....really want the IVF to work 1st! Oh and low folci acid can cause spina bafia to unborn babies!! GULP!!!...run!!! I carying all night last night! Hubby and I chatted and I suppose teh only thing to do is put all IVF on hold? Im 37 and that clock is ticking...which Im ready to throw out the window!

Just thought I'd share this with yoou as your story was inspiring to me.....thanks!

Take care
Ursula
 
Hi Ursula.Keep looking on the brightside you will probably have a child one day.I remember i didnt know i was pregnant because for a start my (monthlys) stopped years before.I had years of fertility treatment (when i was married) nothing worked.I never took any fertility drugs when i divorced.I was out clubbing smoking etc.What most people do when they are young.The least thing i thought of was being pregnant.When i went to diabetic clinic for my 6 monthly diabetes consultation they tested my water and asked me if i knew i was pregnant !!I nearly collapsed.I had been with my new partner for 6 months!!Well anyway the doctor said i had to go in the hospital becaused my blood sugars were very high and a danger to myself and the baby!!i did go in for a long time but the baby (some baby now 22 years old!!) just had to have the 24 hour blood tests in her heel and was fine.Anyway ursula you will be looked after very well and i wish you all the luck.Let me know how you get on.
 
Hi All

I decided not to go down the fertility nightmare as only just diagnosed as having diabetes type 2 , underactive thyroid and polysistic overies on the day I went for my fertility treatment appointment. Decided more drugs where not what I needed, plus sugars were out of control. Decided on the adoption route instead. My two arrived with me at 8 months and 22 months and the day after they arrived at home I had a diabetic appointment at hospital and found out I had been misdiagnosed and was indeed a type 1. So two new little ones and a big bag of needles to contend with in space of 1 day. You guys however, do have some real stories of life going on. And yes I agree we could all have alot worse
 
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