Hi
@kyle dollahan and welcome to the forum! Like
@Juicyj I feel that 'bad diabetic' is not a term which is usefully applicable - there are so many reasons for the achievement of control in diabetes being a challenge, and it is all too easy (especially for those without diabetes, or for those of us with diabetes in times of frustration!) to use pejorative language like 'bad diabetic' or 'naughty diabetic' rather than 'individual' or 'human being' or 'you' or 'me' or 'Kyle'!
I 'suffered' from the 'good girl' thing as a child. Any figure within the range of 3mmol to 8mmol (those were the targets I had back in the 80s) would get 'Good girl!' from whichever parent was assisting me test.
But 10mmol? 12mmol?
No comment.
I knew that the opposite of a good girl was a naughty girl. If they didn't say
anything, that must mean I was naughty.
This had some serious repercussions when I started secretly taking more insulin so I would be more 'good girl' than no comment. Got a bit scary for everyone for a while.
I digress - I'm sorry. I just want to make it clear that there is no such thing as a 'bad diabetic'. There are plenty of diabetics - in fact by the very fickle, rollercoaster nature of this condition, I would say all of us - who find it a challenge to remain in control of it all - the motivation, the frustration, the testing, the numbers we sometimes find disappointing and unworthy of the efforts we are making - who find it really tough to not eat that doughnut and therefore choose to eat that doughnut and then go through the negative feelings about it. But we're human. We're going through all of the things we do in our normal everyday lives, and then we have to do all of the diabetes stuff as well, under such pressure (from ourselves, from our loved ones, from our healthcare teams).
My advice for motivation - well, I could start to list the scary stuff - but that's not my main motivation. My motivation is to feel the most well 'me' that I can for the most part of most days most of the time. Actually I aim very high in terms of my wanting to feel well, but these days I keep things manageable by taking it one day at a time. One meal at a time. One test at a time.
If you're experienced with carb counting and correction doses, you're well on the way. If not, get yourself signed up to your local hospital's DAFNE course. This gave me the power to change my numbers for myself. Get into a routine of testing - have your kit by your bed, and do your fasting test the moment you wake up. That's one down, already. And that's a really useful number to base the first part of your day on.
If you're having a meal, you're taking insulin, and if you're taking insulin (and dose-adjusting for corrections and for carbs), well, it's really handy to know what the number is. Not as something to judge yourself (or be judged) by, but as a tool, a part of the equation.
Start as small as you like, and progress one step at a time.
And you're not a 'bad diabetic'. You're Kyle. Hi Kyle!
Love Snapsy