Struggling With Type 1

Hi @Schillers

I think the trick is to have the right mindset. Yes, you can ignore your diabetes - but it won't ignore you...

I think of Type 1 as a nasty little beast which I can't get rid of (yet) but which I can keep in its cage. It can be kept in its cage by testing, taking the right doses of insulin and controlling your blood sugar as well as you possibly can. That way, it's less likely to pop up unexpectedly and bite you on the a**

My advice is to take tiny steps towards a daily routine of testing, carb counting and injecting. Yes, it's tedious and it's not fair that other people don't have to bother to do all this, but until a cure comes (and it will do) all we can aim to do is look after ourselves and keep the diabetes down in its place so we stay as healthy as possible and can enjoy our lives and feel our best.

Get back into the habit of testing and injecting, and the more you do it, the more automatic it'll become.

Schillers said:

Hi guys,

I first got diagnosed as Type 1 in October 2014. I joined the forum around then and the tips and hints were grateful. Through my own idiotic moves, I started to lose the will to take my insulin with my meals and even stopped all together for around 8 months.

I am not sure if it is me being forgetful that has led to this or whether perhaps I am a little embarrassed of being diabetic. I was 23 when I was diagnosed and, as expected, it shook my world right up. It has made simple things a much harder task. Going camping, I forgot to take any insulin the whole time I was there and only realised when I got home. Perhaps you guys have a few hints and tips?

Finally, I wondered how you properly came to terms with when you were diagnosed (Regardless of how long ago this was)? Sometimes I think 'Maybe if I just pretend that I'm not diabetic, it will just go away?'.

Sorry for the ramble. Just feeling it at the moment.

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Hi @Schillers

My official D day was also October 2014, just a few days before my birthday and a vacation in the Canaries, which was fun whilst trying to bring my glucose levels down. The big differences (I think) between yourself and me is that I was coming up to my 54th birthday and many people I'd spoken to during the preceding weeks had said "perhaps you're diabetic" in response to me boring them with a list of my symptoms. By the time the quack confirmed it, it wasn't a huge shock.

I vaguely remember the taxi journey home from the hospital after being given my first insulin shot, I had 3 flex pens, a meter and some needles and I'm just sitting in the back of the taxi thinking I have to inject every day now!

I do think that you need to try an work out what it is that's stoppping you from injecting, only then can you begin to tackle it. Sure I have off days, and sometimes I forget or can't be bothered but in the end I focus on what's important which for me is maintaining good health for as long as possible. I only have to read through the list of possible diabetic complications to make myself carry on with the daily chores of testing and injecting. Set a reminder alarm on your smartphone if remembering is the real issue.

You mentioned being embarassed and whilst I suppose I can understand where you're coming from there's really no need for it. It's not like you gave yourself the illness through a decadent lifestyle or something. Barring a medical breakthrough, we are going to be stuck with diabetes for a long time so I hope you get this sorted.

Good luck.

Hey @Schillers I was diagnosed 4 years ago and yes it was a huge shock, but I knew there and then I had to take ownership of this. Yes I was scared and am still about the possibility of complications, which may or may not happen, but more so I learned to be aware of the future but live in the present, which means testing, treating and controlling this. I have had rough patches and I am sure I will have many more, but with each comes knowledge and the fact that I learn from each mishap to ensure I stay on track for the future. It's not going away and that was the shock realisation for me.

There really is no time like the present to start taking control, no one is going to force you, you don't have to tell anyone what you're doing but if you're not managing it properly then there is only one person you are going to let down. Giving yourself the best chance of a healthy long life is your call. Just try and find yourself a friend whether it's your DSN, consultant, partner etc who you can confide in, talk through why you're not managing and try and work out what you need to do that will improve this for you, whether it's trying a new meter, using an app to track your BG levels, going on a DAFNE course, finding another type 1 to become your buddy who you can talk to daily, whatever will get you to the place you need to be.

This isn't a condition to be embarrassed about either, I too was the same, scared to inject/test in public, but my partner one day told me to just get on with it and since then I couldn't care a hoot who's tutting or watching, they don't live with it, I do and I need to do this to keep in range, I need to stay well and that means doing it wherever necessary.

I hope you do find your mojo, it's always a fresh start tomorrow

Hi, I can understand completely where you are coming from. I was diagnosed at 13, and have struggled with my diagnosis ever since, I'm 40 now. I can only tell you from my own experience that its a really difficult adjustment to make, and accept. It was only through some counselling a couple of years ago for a major depressive phase that I came to realise just how much an impact it has had on my life and how much I have neglected to look after myself. I would ask your gp or dsn for some support, and be honest with them about your 'non compliance', as they call it. Do you have a close friend, partner or relative you could talk to also? I have been helped by reading posts on here about other peoples struggles, so whatever you're finding difficult there are plenty others in the same situation! X

Type 1 really sucks sometimes I think for me the biggest problem is that I do everything "right", never skip injections, never cheat on my diet, etc but I still get horrible numbers. It feels like there's no point in doing things because you'll just end up high anyway. The thought of complications in the future makes me want to take care of myself, and also remembering how horrible I felt when I was diagnosed and my numbers were so high.

I totally get what you mean about how embarrassing it is sometimes. When people find out I'm diabetic they always assume it's type 2, even if I tell them otherwise, and say unhelpful things like "exercise more" and "you shouldn't be eating that". I do finger pricks and take injections in public, but I hate telling people that I have diabetes.

I was diagnosed a year ago (aged 54) & was devastated. Counselling helped & I then decided to look on my disease as a health & fitness challenge : I read Bernstein's guide to normal blood sugars & researched online to work out what I needed to do to be fit & healthy. I have to look on my diabetes as a kind of nutrition / fitness hobby. I test & inject in public : I hope that being visible helps people get used to seeing what we have to do - I'm not embarrassed- I'm the same person, just doing what I need to do to stay alive & well. Take care of yourself