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stuck in a rut???

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nikkinoodles

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hey, im new to this site and kinda hopin for a bit of support if not a good telling off :? im 31 (and should know better) diagnosed in 2002. on levermir and novorapid, been in hospital twice, near fatal experiance's. i think they call it diabulimia? not crazy about labelling it.

Nowadays im not that worried about the weight issue but got into this habit of eating. eating when im happy, sad, stressed, anxious any emotion that i feel... i eat. Rubbish too..cakes biscuits haribos (alot of haribos) i eat till im overflowing! im i alone with this?

i have a son (13) that i wouldn't dream of allowing him to have such a bad diet So why do i do it?
i dont mind injecting and nearly always start the day with both injections but as the day goes on i dont bother?? or forget?? i just cannot organize or follow any kind of regime.

haven't had a hba1c in over two years..too scared of going and gettin a lecture and my blood testing meter is hidden away collecting dust? my best friend's try and scare me into sorting it out by telling me no-one wants to marry a gal with one leg! but i find it hard :cry:
 
I have type 2 diabetes so take tablets rather than injections, so I don't have that problem, but I do have to make sure I eat a good diet, and I do find that very hard, I often really can't be bothered to prepare some food, but don't want to be hungry, so I eat crisps etc which I don't need to cook, so no you are not alone in this.

Something that I find helps me which might help you, is to make sure you have something pre-prepared that is reasonable healthy and quick to prepare and that you like to eat, to snack on if you need to. A lot of people on these forums that are following a low carb diet like macadamia nuts for this.

Also making sure you don't have haribo etc in the house might help? then to eat it you would have to go out and buy it which might put you off?

I don't know much about type 1 diabetes but I do know you really need a hba1c done asap and you need to self-test too, if you are using insulin I think?, but you know that already. Is your doctor ok, do you think they will give you a lecture about things? if your usual doctor isn't very good you could see a different one at the surgery maybe.

good luck!
 
To be blunt,Nikki,do you want to see your son grow up,do you want to see him get married and do you want to see your grandchildren? Think about the future and start to do something about it now before it is too late.
 
Nickinoodles,

you already know you need to take this seriously, but that isn't enough motivation.
Please don't wait until you lose a limb or a kidney, you'll never forgive yourself.
Get an HbA1c, then use it as your insipration to get yourself in control.
I'm guesing you're a little addicted to the sweet stuff? I was too. Break that addiction and it won't seem like a sacrifice, it'll seem like a liberation. I promise.

All the best,

fergus
 
Come on, Nikki, dust off that test meter, throw out the Haribos and start turning it around!

What better place than here?

What better time than now?
 
Hi Nikki

You've made the first step in writing this post asking for folk to help with motivation, so it seems like you're ready to make the next step.

It can seem like you have to make such huuuuuuuuuge changes to get where you know you need to be, but why not just take it in baby steps to start with - little by little.

Maybe the next step might be picking up the phone and calling the diabetes nurse - this might get you to your next step.

Go for it Nikki, we're all thinking about it, come back and let us know how you get on.

Orchid x
 
nikkinoodles said:
Nowadays im not that worried about the weight issue but got into this habit of eating. eating when im happy, sad, stressed, anxious any emotion that i feel... i eat. Rubbish too..cakes biscuits haribos (alot of haribos) i eat till im overflowing! im i alone with this?
Click to expand...

Hi Nikki

You sound totally like I was last year. I used to eat 4 choccy bars a day, ice cream, cakes, chocolate puddings and loads of haribos and pic 'n' mix. I think the sweet tooth thing really stems from a carb addiction (like Fergus says) and also a stress response. The more sweets you eat, the more your brain craves the sugar high. The only way to get out of it is to break the cycle and go cold turkey. In order to do that you need increased amounts of fat and protein to satisfy your brain instead.

I found out this year since joining the forum, that if you cut right down on carbs and replace the carbs with protein and fat, you will no longer crave all those sweets. I used to spend all day at work wondering when I could next sneak out and go to the sweet shop. Now I don't even think about sweets.

You've come to the right place. You can get lots of advice from the low-carbing experts on here to help with low carbing. You will find your bloodwork (Hba1c and cholesterol) improve so you'll no longer have to put off going to the doctors. It's a nice feeling to go for a diabetic review and get congratulated for your control rather than admonished!

Also, if weight is still something that bothers you, then you should really consider low carbing. Since going low carb, I've lost around 8kg in the last 6 months. I wasn't overweight so wasn't expecting this to happen but it definitely demonstrated to me that eating fat hasn't resulted in me gaining any weight.

Goji :)
 
Hi Nikki

Not much more to add, agree hugely with the baby steps advice. Just choose one thing per week to day and stick to it and over a course of a couple of months, you will have made huge changes. Maybe start by taking novorapid when you eat.
Comfort eating is a natural response to feeling mentally rubbish and what is more likely to make you feel mentally rubbish than being bloody diabetic!!! That applies whether you are diagnosed 1 week or 10 years. If you feel bad, you feel bad. Whats important is what you do about it.

You mentioned diabulimia? Are you deliberately missing insulin to lose weight then? Or is it is just a happy byproduct of not taking your insulin? Either way, might help it you speak to someone, even it is just your GP.

You owe it to yourself to keep yourself well. You know it makes sense and you know you would hate it if you became ill in years to come and you could have prevented it. You have been near fatallly ill 2x and that should be enough to frighten you into getting some control back. No one will judge you or make you feel silly for any questions you ask so just have a think about it all and get back to us.

Best wishes


L
 
You have nothing but support and encouragement from everyone here and I really hope you go and seek some assistance with your diabetes. You can always try and get some control for a couple of months before you face the HbA1c (you already know this will be high). As a parent with a diabetic son (diagnosed at 8 months) I can tell you I sacrifice a lot to keep him him healthy. He also has Down syndrome so probably wont manage it when he is older but if I had done all this work to have a grown child not look after themselves I would feel very dissappointed. I know you haven't been diagnosed as a child so maybe it is harder to adjust to the new lifestyle. A part of me is thankful that my son will never know any other way to live. I'm sure you have a lot of people that care about you so maybe think of them a bit. We have a local support group that meets every few months. Seeing older people that are type 1 is inspiring when they are living life to the full and healthy. You can still eat sugar as a diabetic but moderation is the key and keep the insulin in balance. In the words of Slim Dusty "In life, there are no rehearsals, it's just on with the show".

Jen. (Australia)
 
Hi Nikki

I cant add anymore than the others as regards to what your doing to yourself, you know the score or you wouldn't have written the post.

All i can say is that i believe we all have a self destruct button inbuilt and on this rollercoster of a life there comes a time when we push that button.

Am gonna share something which i dont very often but i hope it helps you. I was on this downward slide a few years ago when my daughter died she was 9 and had bone cancer after she died i went into self destruct even though i had 2 other kids and it took me a long long time to realise that we only get 1 shot at this life and you have to grab it by both hands and give it a bloody good shake. After a few years i decided that i didn't want to live like this anymore and changed my life completely i started thinking about me for a change. I took control went back into education, qualified as a social worker then left the kids dad who i'd been with for 21 yrs and met the most wonderful man whom i adore, and with him i am managing my diabetes better than i would have done with my old life. ITS NEVER TO LATE FOR CHANGE

We cant change the past but we can change the future and we have to focus on the positive things, you have made a start at this by posting on this forum as this tells me that now your starting to want to get better. But do it in small steps 1 thing at a time and give yourself incentives and little treats along the way, there is nothing better than the feel good factor.

When i feel down and sorry for myself, i give myself a good talking to, i am still alive, i still have 2 arms and legs and i am relatively normal (well as normal as i can be!!!) and i tell myself that there are many who are worse off than me.

So keep your chin up duck, and start to make changes, change is good as it keeps us alert and on the ball. So take this as day 1 in your new way of life and start to live again.

Juliexx

god i dont half waffle!!!!
 
Hi nikki

Welcome to the forum...

I like to reasure you that you aren't the first diabetic to have expericed this, nor will you be the last.. No you can't change your past but as you see by joining here you are starting to change your future..

What is your medical team going to think, they won't tell you off nor are they going to condem you for your past... There are several reasons for this; firstly you've are asking for there help, secondly, they have seen diabetics in your position before and will do so in the future and thirdly they know they can't change your past, but they can help to change your future though and it this bit that is really important to them...


When you go to see them, tell them about any fears or worries you have, don't be ashamed to admitting to bad eating habbits the more information that you can give, the more they be able to help you to help yourself..

I'm sure by what you say about your eating habbits, it is more based on a reaction to being diabetic and once you start to take back the control of your diabetes the easier it is going to be to tackle the eating habbit...

Also ask questions here, we all willing to help and support
 
:D thank you for all the replys you guys posted! im amazed at the advice and well wishes...made me feel a little silly if not self obssessed! well i have not been on here for a while been focusing on work and stuff..the stuff being bloodtest appointments, diabetes clinic, docs app. i have a hba1c of 15.9 which is bad!! but have some advice off the doc to start thoses baby steps, 1st one..take more levermir in morn and 2nd have breakfast with novo rapid and hopefully will want to eat less in the eve. im also going to cut down on baking to maybe one cake at the wkend!! thanks again everyone

nikki xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx :D
 
Nice to hear that things look like getting sorted :)
I found macadamia nuts were a great way to nibble (often, sweets are just a reaction - it's something to do, a bit like smoking, or so I was told) - you can eat them freely, they don't cause side effects, they taste great, have a fabby texture. In fact, I think I may need some addiction classes to get off them! :D
But hey - at least I don't eat sweets and bad stuff any more :)
Not sure they are available everywhere, though :( I went to Wales recently, and couldn't find any in any supermarkets I visited. They can also be a bit pricey.

Keep us up to date with how things are going periodically :)
 
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