• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

teenage worries

H

hunni 2

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
hi everyone
so ive been diabetic since I was 1 year and 10 months (type 1). unfortunately since around I was 10 my blood sugars have gone downhill and am also diagnosed wit hypertension. thankfully this is well controlled and my doctor is thinking of getting rid of the medication altogether. ive been really anxious about complications and now that im 17 , im scared that coupled with being overweight I will succumb to complications in a few years. can someone tell me if I change now will I still have a chance at leading a normal life?

Thank you for all your help, you're all amazing
 
Hi @hunni 2 ,

Welcome to the forum.

"Normal" is just a matter of personal perspective..
There is no reason why you can't achieve amazing things.

One can change, ensuring longevity of health which is a platform for your goals.
If I was to offer one peice of advice? Concentrate on your diabetes control before addressing any body image concerns you may have..

Great to see you here! Good luck.

J>
 
thank you so much, the anxiety associated with my diabetes can get hard so I really appreciate your comment!
 


Hunni - Well done for taking the decision to grasp good control.

I'm not T1, so I have no personal experience to offer you, but I have noticed that many longstanding T1s go through a period where good control does happen for probably as many reasons as there are T1s.

You can't change the past, but you an influence the future.

Good luck with it all. Hopefully a number of others will respond in due course.
 
Tension builds and feeds into your fears about outcomes and thus it grows ... in other words, you can have that life. You're so young, there's nothing that can prevent you from achievements you're yet to see.

One thing at a time. Health first, worry about weight and complications later ... rule one rules the rest and good luck on this journey
 
thank you so much for this!
 
I also want to ask, is having cold feet and hands something I should be worried about?
 
hunni 2 said:
I also want to ask, is having cold feet and hands something I should be worried about?
Click to expand...

Hi again,

Do you attend your regular diabetes check up appointments & eye screenings?
Have you had any indication from your HCPs of any potential circulation or neuropathy issues from these tests?
 
h
Jaylee said:
Hi again,

Do you attend your regular diabetes check up appointments & eye screenings?
Have you had any indication from your HCPs of any potential circulation or neuropathy issues from these tests?
Click to expand...
hey,
yeah I attend all of them I have my eye check in a month. they seem to be okay...
 
hunni 2 said:
I also want to ask, is having cold feet and hands something I should be worried about?
Click to expand...
If it's any consolation, I've been T1 since 8, and I've pretty well always tended towards cold hands and feet. Is it a diabetic complication (poor circulation?)? Possibly, and it's also possible that I just have cold hands and feet. It's never yet caused me a problem in my 48 years of T1. But talk to your clinic if you're worried.

When I was your age there were not only no glucometers I also went through a phase of pretty well ignoring my diabetes (well, I injected but that was about it). When I finally found out about glucometers in my early 20s I think my HbA1C was over 10! (13???)
But I got my act together, managed reasonable but by no means brilliant control, and I'm still able to travel the world, go on long walks, etc etc, with all my limbs, working eyes, kidneys etc etc. A lot of diabetic issues can be reversed if you improve your blood sugars. (Oh, and I've has hypertension since 30, so you're not alone on that!). The treatments for diabetes are very good now, which means that the complications which your generation may end up with will be much less severe.

Try not to let fear of complications stop you from living your life. As I age I see many of my non-diabetic contemporaries come down with illnesses which make my potential future diabetic complications seem insignificant. My T1 mother died when she was 78, and it wasn't her diabetes that killed her, it was her smoking. (Whatever you do, please don't take up smoking, it's so much worse for diabetics than it is for non diabetics).

It's really good that you're attending all your clinic apppointments. With eyesight, in particular, there are lots of things they can do to preserve your vision if you start to develop complications.

Good luck
 
hunni 2 said:
h

hey,
yeah I attend all of them I have my eye check in a month. they seem to be okay...
Click to expand...

Brilliant. That's good news.
To be fair. Even non D folk get cold extremities..

Focus on what you have now, & move in the right direction from here..
What you may read about diabetic related health problems is cautionary...
It's not the inevitable with good blood sugar control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…