Tired of feeling unwell

[NiçkyDoDa]

Hello my name is Nicola I am 48 years old & have been type 1 Diabetic for 37 years I have been uncontrolled since the age of 17 .I have been through everything what I mean by this is that I still don't know to this day why my sugar levels are so out of control my levels were stable when I was first diagnosed at 14 I just don't understand I have tried everything that I was advised to do. I will say that I did defy my illness I eat all of the foods that I was not supposed to by doing this. All my fears became reality in 2014 I woke up one morning with this big thick black in my eyes I went straight to the doctor's & they sent me to my optition & they informed me that I had a hemourage in the back of my eyes so I was sent to the hospital where I received labor treatment this did not work I had 2 operations I was blind for 6 months I can see out of my right eye I have silicone in ,y left one as th retina collapsed. Since I have been taking insulin I never feel well I have asked about this but none of the doctor's or nurses seem to give me a reason for this. Thank you for reading my post much appreciated

 

[Juicyj]

Hello Nicola,

Sorry to hear of the issues you have had to deal with in managing your t1d.

What type of support do you get with your t1d management, so are you under the care of a specialist Diabetes team ? Have you ever completed any course for t1d such as Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating ? Have you ever been given the option to try a pump or indeed change insulins ?

It's hard for me to establish why you feel unwell but what makes me feel unwell with my t1d is running erratic levels, so playing the high/low game each day, lack of sleep through running high during the night then waking feeling groggy and unwell, or going low which can knock me for 7. I try to keep my levels as stable as possible to combat the high/low game and if running high/low I just take it very easy that day. To achieve good stability I eat low carb foods and use a pump which micro manages my levels to keep me in range, I use exercise as a tool too for helping me feel better, it releases serotonin which gives me a boost as well as helping me achieve more stable levels depending on the exercise I do. I try to avoid high carb foods as much as I can, although I don't deny the odd treat I will try to manage it as best as I can with insulin control. Each day is a challenge but if I can start the day with a low carb breakfast and stay below 10 mmol/l it sets me up for the day and I feel I have a head start on my t1d by doing this.

I think if we let it get to us then mentally it can be a strain too which impacts on how we feel, so playing sport or having a passion for something like art/music can take our mind of it, it's important to have past times that can take the mind off t1d too.

Let us know more about yourself and what your current regime is like, perhaps we can help shed some light and support you better ?

 

[Elmas]

Nicola, keep getting info from this forum. Don’t give up, it’s great that you are reaching out. If you can, I recommend you read Dr. Bernstein’s book “diabetes solution”. You will learn a ton about T1 and how to manage it and will therefore put you at ease. It’s not a panacea, it will require work and diligence but the work and diligence will pay off, unlike most of the time when you try your hardest and it’s still a guess as to what the results are going to be, nothing can be more disheartening than that. Been there, done that. No more.

 

[NiçkyDoDa]

Hello Nicola,

Sorry to hear of the issues you have had to deal with in managing your t1d.

What type of support do you get with your t1d management, so are you under the care of a specialist Diabetes team ? Have you ever completed any course for t1d such as Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating ? Have you ever been given the option to try a pump or indeed change insulins ?

It's hard for me to establish why you feel unwell but what makes me feel unwell with my t1d is running erratic levels, so playing the high/low game each day, lack of sleep through running high during the night then waking feeling groggy and unwell, or going low which can knock me for 7. I try to keep my levels as stable as possible to combat the high/low game and if running high/low I just take it very easy that day. To achieve good stability I eat low carb foods and use a pump which micro manages my levels to keep me in range, I use exercise as a tool too for helping me feel better, it releases serotonin which gives me a boost as well as helping me achieve more stable levels depending on the exercise I do. I try to avoid high carb foods as much as I can, although I don't deny the odd treat I will try to manage it as best as I can with insulin control. Each day is a challenge but if I can start the day with a low carb breakfast and stay below 10 mmol/l it sets me up for the day and I feel I have a head start on my t1d by doing this.

I think if we let it get to us then mentally it can be a strain too which impacts on how we feel, so playing sport or having a passion for something like art/music can take our mind of it, it's important to have past times that can take the mind off t1d too.

Let us know more about yourself and what your current regime is like, perhaps we can help shed some light and support you better ?

Hi there thank you for your response to my message I am under diabetic nurses the regime that she had put me on only worked a little while, unfortunately I cannot do any exercises as I am house bound I do some exercises inside, but this funny feeling that I do get is once I have done my injection stupid thing is I cannot describe what this is like. Yesterday before I had my dinner at 5 pm I really didn't feel very well my sugar had gone up to 21 so I increased my dosage & hope that this would help it certainly did as it was nearly 8 pm done a blood sugar & it was only 3.1so done what was necessary . Maybe that this feeling I am having could be the uncontrolled bm' s they have been unstable from the age of 17 years old. I was diagnosed at the age of 14 years life was so different at that stage of my life it actually felt that my life fell apart right then & their. All these years later I most definitely would have done things a lot differently now all that is left is trying to get through each day which is a struggle.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi there thank you for your response to my message I am under diabetic nurses the regime that she had put me on only worked a little while, unfortunately I cannot do any exercises as I am house bound I do some exercises inside, but this funny feeling that I do get is once I have done my injection stupid thing is I cannot describe what this is like. Yesterday before I had my dinner at 5 pm I really didn't feel very well my sugar had gone up to 21 so I increased my dosage & hope that this would help it certainly did as it was nearly 8 pm done a blood sugar & it was only 3.1so done what was necessary . Maybe that this feeling I am having could be the uncontrolled bm' s they have been unstable from the age of 17 years old. I was diagnosed at the age of 14 years life was so different at that stage of my life it actually felt that my life fell apart right then & their. All these years later I most definitely would have done things a lot differently now all that is left is trying to get through each day which is a struggle.

It sounds like you're doing your best, but in yesterday's case, just did a little too much.

Have you done any carb counting course, to help you to estimate your insulin dose, against the food you are about to have?

I'm not T1, so I don't have any lived experience to share with you, but all I can say is, I have watched many folks come through here in predicaments also making them feel despondent. Unfortunately, T1 can be an al-consuming condition, but it can usually be managed to a more acceptable level.

Stick with the forum. Reach out to your team, including their psychologists. They can really help with the mental side of these things. Sometimes the mental burden is almost (if not more) great as the physical one.

There is help out there. You just need help to identify what it is you need, then seek it out.

Don't be despondent.