need help with controllin my diabetes type 1

Hi, sounds like you need to worry more bout your long term health than your weight at the moment. You prob know the risks of not looking after your diabetes, especially eye problems, but it affects almost every part of your body. Managing your diabetes and weight gain, should not necessary go hand it hand, providing you get the balance right. I was diagnosed with type-1 at the age you are now. I can understand how totally fed up you must be especially having it since the age of 7, it must seem really unfair. I remember feeling quite isolated, most people don't know or understand about diabetes, and that itself can be isolating. I did, however feel good when I got the hang of it all, and was able (except for the hypos) to manage and have a normal existance. I partied and got drunk, same as any teenager, it didn't stop me doing anything. I've since had 3 kids and been ID 19 years.
Have your got a specialist diabetes doctor who can advise you? Mayb a dietition could be of help, you are entitled to see these people on the NHS. I think the key for you will be to find the right insulins and insulin regime to suit your life. You want your diabetes to fit round you, and not to let it rule your life. But it is SO important that you learn to manage your diabetes, before you develop any complications. And keep up the exercise.
I hope this helps. What insulins have you been on?
Chin up!
Jus

Jamie,

I know exactly where you're coming from. I was diagnosed T1 as a teenager, just when every other hormone in your body is telling you' you're immortal!' For many years, I simply ignored my diabetes and thought I'd pay attention to it later, when I needed to.

Well, that day will come. For me, it was the day I totalled my car, courtesy of a concrete lampost, during a hypo. I realised then that I needed to conquer it, not before I killed myself, but before I killed someone else instead. Since then, I've figured out a lot of what eluded me when I tried to ignore it. I lost 4 stone in weight, gained 4 children (!), normalised my blood sugars and have no complications, 27 years later.

Taking control of your diabetes won't make you gain weight, as long as you do it properly. I guess you realise that insulin can make you gain weight, but depriving yourself of insulin is a false economy because it will do you permanent harm, throughout your body. And as for the kids, you'll need your health for them too!

All the best,

fergus

Hi Jamie
I'm sorry to read you're having a bad experience with your "specialist"- sounds like he's more interested in making a living than he is in his patients. I've had this experience and found persistence pays off. You need to get another appointment as soon as poss and repeat yourself. These doctors are here for your benefit not their own- you will need to speak up and be heard! Sort out a list of questions to ask, if he's a "specialist" he should be able to answer all your concerns.
It helps to be able to trust the people who are advising you,I found arming myself with info about insulin types and regimes helped me. I contacted the IDDT and they were a great help, they might be able to advise you better.
You will get control of your life and your diabetes, but don't struggle with it on your own. We're always here too, and none of us type-1s are a problem free zone-I'm lucky to have had a lot of support from my husband when I've been struggling with bad times
Let us know how you get on.
Jus

I know exactly where your coming from as well diagnosed at 7 now 25, I know it can be hard but there are always people on the site if you need advice. The specialists are rather annoying aren't they I sometimes think we know more than they do.

I am the first person to say that a mixed insulin regime (2 a day) is much easier to control than basal bolus... if you have a strict daily routine - every meal at a set time, etc.

If you have a more mature lifestyle whereby you don't know when you'll be in from work, if lunches are late due to other commitments, if you have dinner out with dates/friends, you will need the basal-bolus (4 injection) regime (permanently). However right now I'm more worried about your overall control than whether you're on basal-bolus or a mixed regime.

You need to start writing down (in a diary of some sort) what your blood glucose results are each day, how much insulin you're using, and how many carbohydrates you're eating at every meal.

Having to complete this diary every day will also help you remember to inject, test, and so on.

i need a way of remembering to test my blood sugars aleast twice a day

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You need to test more than that in all fairness. You can skip some (like lunchtime ones, if you're at work or out), but you should be measuring BG levels before every injection, and ideally before every meal.

scared to look after myself incase i out on alot of weight, i eat healthy exerise when i can but i think as soon as i start to look after myself i'll get fat and i dont want tht!

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I appreciate this point has already been addressed but I feel I must address it again:This is a very bad road to start down. The choice is very simple - risk a little weight gain now, or risk losing limbs, eyesight, or kidneys to diabetic complications in the not too distant future.

I appreciate that you are a young woman and image will be important to you, but the choice of how to live your life has already been made for you by nature. It's not fair, I know (I was diagnosed at 9, and at 24 as a young man I'm often annoyed at the level of self discipline I must have when compared to my mates), but it's just the way it is.

I should also say that it's not as hard as you may think. At the start of this month my average blood glucose reading was 12mmol/L. Today my average was (not counting bed time obviously) 4.98mmol/L. That's been in just 10 days. You can fix any problem if you just dedicate time and energy to it.

The specialists are rather annoying aren't they I sometimes think we know more than they do.

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Oh we often do. We often do.

jamie_lee88 said:

i've been 2 the doctors they were abit more helpful this time i asked questions got answers but not realli an explanation of wot i wanted. i had 2 learning doctors in thats probably y i got answers. confused got telt wen i was 1st diagnosed were i can nd cant do my needles nd now i'm gettin telt other wise. so abit confused with tht but atleast their payin attention now not like b4

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I mean this in the nicest possible way... you have to change the way you type - I'm still not entirely sure what that post said. :|

Glad I'm not the only one who couldn't read it .

Jamie
I hope you manage to sort out your control, btw my memory is rubbish too I've managed to get into the habit of doing it from day 1 (late type 1 from 32yrs old).Almost anything that's not routine I tend to forget!, GL anyway .


Btw I joined up here because I am still having problems stabalising my Bl sg after 5yrs of trying!!, I'm beginning to wonder if my job (I'm a mechanic,so varying loads of physical activity) is compatible with Diabetes, though I'm getting close now to controlling it.
I suppose I should start a new thread rather than hi-jack this one?

If Steve Redgrave can get a gold medal or six with type 1, you can be a mechanic with it.

It's all about your control method. What insulins are you on and how often do you test? I would imagine a workshop is hardly the ideal place to do a BG test.

I'd heard on the news he had type 2 (which I thought was odd), but anyway he had something like 8 injections a day, I can't do that! .Also I expect he knew how much exercise he was going to do for each training session or race, I don't for each days work.

I do BG tests in the tea room, on a work day I BG test 5 times a day & I take 5 injections.
2 for breakfast (1 novarapid, 1 Levemir) & test, 1 test at T-brk (no injection), 1 test @lunch & 1 inj(novarapid), 1 test at afternoon Tbrk (no inj.), 1 test for dinner & 2 inj.(novarapid & Levermir).
I can give you quantities if you like.

Today was good except my lunchtime BG, that was probably partly due to my tbrk 1/2 sany being a thick crust instead of a normal slice :roll: , though it may of also been due to something else I ate that I might now have to cross off the list (it was ok to eat before), I'll see by tomorrows readings. Little things like that I can account for & correct so ignore that inccident, its the random BG spikes with no apparent cause that does my head in!
About the varying physical 'loads', sometimes I can be on my feet all day (excl breakes of course) moving about fixing/servicing etc, that's not usually a probablem unless I heavily exert myself ,saying the beating the cr*p out of an old exhaust to get it off! ,that can make me hypo latter on, still that's relatively rare. The bigger problem is when I end up doing a load of computer diagnostics on cars, I can be sitting around for hours if it's a problamatic car or doing multiple diag jobs. This puts my BG up high as I'm not burning it off, that's why I'm wondering if being a mechanic is compatible with type 1 Diabetes, but I haven't come to that decision yet.

Btw are we ok hi-jacking this thread like this? ,I'm quite happy to start a new one if need be.

Jamie_lee, as a bodybuilder, I can understand your concern about possible fat gain with insulin usage.

However, let me tell you that it doesn't have to be that way. As long as you minimise fat consumption during the time that your insulin is active, you should be fine.

However, dietary fat is essential to good health, as long as it comes from 'good' sources like olive oil, fish oil, flax seed oil, etc. So don't avoid fat altogether. Just don't get your fat from crisps, chips and takeaways, etc.

If you are so concerned about weight gain, then you should consider regular exercise. Our bodies were not 'designed' to sit around all day doing nothing other than watching TV or using a computer. Exercise promotes health and wellbeing, both physical and mental. Just make sure that you do it safely because diabetes and exercise can sometimes create problems. However, if you join a gym, then tell the staff there and they should be able to advise you on the safest way to exercise with your condition.

If you can't/won't join a gym but decide to exercise anyway, then let us know and we can advise you.

All the best
Alex