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Teachers coping?

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breadman84

Member
Messages
12
Just wondered if there were any teachers out there who had diabetes.

How do you manage the stress?
Have schools made any special allowances?
Are there guidelines about having lancets etc at school?

Any other general advice would be welcome.

I've been diagnosed type 1 for just 2 weeks and only been teaching 2 years. Worried about impact on my career.


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Hi, I'm a teacher and found out nine months ago that I'm type 1. It does get easier, I promise. The first few months were tough - getting used to injecting, feeling tired etc - but you will get used to it all and it will all just be part of your every day life. I do get more tired than I used to but I just pace myself and try to listen to my body. Hopefully your boss is supportive. Honest, it might feel all consuming now but life will get back to normal. Take care.
 
I'm not a teacher but have done some teaching at university - it has the same sugar-lowering effect on me as exercise does! I always take a bit less insulin before I do it.

In terms of managing stress... it took me three years and a nervous breakdown to realise it, but diabetes occupies a reasonable fraction of your time, your head, your life. I was a very high achiever, but I had to give up my old expectations of myself. I had to allow more time for diabetes, allow more time for relaxation, be more forgiving of myself, put in more effort to enjoy life.

A key part of living with diabetes is educating those around you. Not everyone you see, but those who need to know. Your family, your employer, probably your students. Make sure your employer knows that a hypo is a medical emergency that needs immediate treatment. Make sure your family knows that diabetes is a largely invisible disease that is always there, taking little bites out of you, and their support is appreciated.

A big source of pain for me in the early days was that the doctors told me and my parents that hypos manifested with symptoms like "hunger, sweating, shaking", progressing to "confusion, dizziness". They didn't say that hypos could lead to horrible, confusing, terrifying emotions. Terror, anger, aggressiveness. (Maybe you'll have different reactions to a hypo, but the point is that life will be a lot better if you take the time to explain the important things to people.)
 
Well done :thumbup: -- the first teaching hypo is the worst. My situation isn't strictly comparable to yours -- I teach at university and I'm not T1, but I was having regular hypos at first and I found students and (most) colleagues very sympathetic. Occupational health person rightly stressed that it was my job to plan for them, scout out the campus for recovery rooms, have my stashes of jelly babies and insulin prepared in several locations, have a quiet word with designated first-aid people, and most of all to try to get a sense of how my stress levels worked. I found it very difficult to predict exactly what might set me off, but after a while you get a feel for it, with confidence comes control, and with control comes less stress -- it's a virtuous circle that kicks in after a while. My Head of Department had the most stressful job imaginable but you would never have guessed that he was T1. Most embarrassing thing I found was to have to explain to a secretary that during a hypo I might be in tears but would not actually be upset, so she shouldn't worry -- she looked petrified!
 
Hi,

I had diabetes (type 1) for a long time before I became a teacher.

My school allow me to go to regular hospital appointments and they allowed me to go on a carb counting course (and miss 3 afternoons), but that is about the only extra special treatment I get.

Stress makes my blood sugars go higher (but on other people I have heard that it makes their sugar go low). This means that I need to change the amount of insulin I take during term time as opposed to during longer holidays (e.g. xmas, Easter and summer when I actually get a little time to relax). I actually need about 30% more during term time. If I've had a particularly stressful day I also make sure I test more regularly and give myself more insulin if needed.

I make sure that my needles etc are stored in the cupboard in my classroom in my bag and I tend to lock the cupboard or take my bag with me if I leave the classroom so that the students don't have access to my supplies (even though they shouldn't be in my cupboard in the first place!).

If I feel like I'm having a hypo I just do a quick blood sugar test (I keep my BS meter in the cupboard and just quickly prick my finger to check). If I need sugar I just take a couple of dextrose and continue to teach. If I'm out of sugar tablets then at worst I would send a student to the office to ask for 3 teaspoons of sugar.

I hope that helps a bit!
 
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