Motivation:(

[nn001]

Hi guys

I have been T1 for 3.5 years now, for the first year my control was amazing. But I have been absolutely appalling for the last 2.5 years I would imagine, the motivation is not there for me to treat hypers as they’re just so common for me now….my HBA1C was 74 in October 2024.

Do you think I have done irreversible damage? Is it too late to take control of this to ensure I keep my legs and eye sight as I’m freaking out. I have a fear of lows but I also have a massive fear of complications

 

[Antje77]

Hi guys

I have been T1 for 3.5 years now, for the first year my control was amazing. But I have been absolutely appalling for the last 2.5 years I would imagine, the motivation is not there for me to treat hypers as they’re just so common for me now….my HBA1C was 74 in October 2024.

Do you think I have done irreversible damage? Is it too late to take control of this to ensure I keep my legs and eye sight as I’m freaking out. I have a fear of lows but I also have a massive fear of complications

Hi @nn001 , welcome to the forum.

You've only been T1 for 3.5 years, and only had trouble with it for 2.5.
Very unlikely you have caused damage threatening your sight and legs in such a short time.

What do you need to get on top of it again?
If you're running high most of the time and try to chase the hypers with your bolus insulin, you might want to look into your basal dose first.
Insulin needs change, and if your basal (long acting) dose is off, it's almost impossible to get the bolus (short acting) right.

Do you use a CGM like Libre or Dexcom?
Have you reached out to your diabetes team to ask for help? Not only with managing diabetes, but also with managing your fears and burn out. It's very common and your team likely has experience with struggling patients, they might be surprisingly helpful!

Keep asking on here as well, many of us are happy to share our own experiences and tips!

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @nn001

Glad to hear you're reaching out - I think at this point it's wise to take stock and consider where you are at, after the initial hype has worn off and we are left to our own devices it's easy to let things slide I think, we can't see any damage being done so complacency and burn out can easily set in, it's at this point getting your team on your side is vital, speak to your DSN and explain what's going on, this is what your team is there for, they can get you on a course or look at how to help you manage this more easily, Antje has made some great points above.

I too have a massive fear of complications, mine are losing my teeth which can happen when running high glucose levels, the excess glucose is released through sweat, tears, urine and saliva and this can feed tooth decay and cause periodontitis resulting in tooth loss, also sight loss as I don't want to be dependent on others, this drives my focus to keep levels stable and in range. I use a Tandem Slim and Dexcom G7 so I have far fewer hypos now and no way as severe as when I was injecting, also more stable levels during sleep too - which has helped massively.

Any idea what's driving the lack of motivation ?

Hope you can find your mojo again and remember there's always someone here to talk to if you just need a push or to off load.

 

[erikame]

Hi guys

I have been T1 for 3.5 years now, for the first year my control was amazing. But I have been absolutely appalling for the last 2.5 years and playing here I would imagine, the motivation is not there for me to treat hypers as they’re just so common for me now….my HBA1C was 74 in October 2024.

Do you think I have done irreversible damage? Is it too late to take control of this to ensure I keep my legs and eye sight as I’m freaking out. I have a fear of lows but I also have a massive fear of complications

You can start by making small changes, like tracking your sugar levels at the same time each day.

 

[CheeseSeaker]

Good you're looking to improve (we all go through bad spots).

You can make changes which will prevent long term (or worse then today) problems occurring (impossible to tell if you have damage so far - thats where your medical team come to help.

Consider a CGM (libre, dexcom or whatever) - to tell you when high and low, and start to understand what you can and can't do.

Possibly a HCL might be a good fit to help you - (Hybrid Closed Loop - almost like an artificial pancreas that will do some of the work for you to control and keep you in range) but again you need help from a medical team to advise.

If you can - talk to the hospital (or whoever looks after your T1 care) and go in with an open mind - you can make your life so much better, you just need to take the first steps to improvement.

Its never too late to improve - thats true for all of us