Wear a bracelet that says you have diabetes!

[karen8967]

This is not good. Try, for one day. force yourself not to post something negative about diabetes. You are in control of all of these things, you are in control of it all.

Totally agree no one wants diabetes but it is what it is and only ourselves can manage it the dns snd consultants can only guide us but ultimately its down to ourselves

 

[JoeT1]

If I was in control it would always say 6.5

Then it's going to take a little working out, but that's totally doable. It won't be that 24hours a day 7 days a week. On the flip side, somebody without diabetes won't be a great number all the time. I have a friend who trials the Libre, monitors his levels regularly as he's a pharmacist. He sometimes hits 9.8 and even higher on occasion. Mostly down to a digestion issue, but he is absolutely fine.

Sure, big spikes aren't wanted, but in life there are certain things that are not good for you. Too much alcohol, sweets, red meat and so on and on and on and on. People though at times will indulge in these things, and will be "not healthy" for a day or a few hours at a time. So if your levels are high for a while during the day....forgive yourself and figure it out. Will a 10.7 this morning effect me in the long run? I was at that levels for what? 2 hours? Maybe it will, but if you can keep your levels to a good point and decent HBA1C, you're doing great.

I understand that perhaps my diagnosis and shock of it all was a little easier than you are handling it. But, I nearly died through DKA, I was incredibly sick with ketones of 3.8 and a HBA1C of 14.3%. You HAVE TO begin to look at even just one little positive of life every day, write it down, read it back the following day and by the end of the week you have a number of positive things to think about.

TRY IT.

 

[Fairygodmother]

@NoKindOfSusie, I got it at a similar age to you and believe me, we’re lucky not to have gone through puberty with T1!
I wore a Medic-Alert bracelet for years but found the clasps were flaky. I now have an SOS which seems fine although I wish the logo were highlighted.
I think the distress felt by anyone who ever needed to help me in an unconscious hypo would be lessened if they knew what they were dealing with!
I also have ICE details on my phone.
Luckily I’ve not yet needed either, and I let everyone I’m with know. If staying with friends I take a glucagon setup and show them how to use it.
It’s only fair - to others as well as me.
Why do you think you’re feeling so bad about T1? Do you want to start a separate thread about it?
Is it the honeymoon roller-coaster? A changed sense of self? A misconception that because it’s called a disability you are now limited by it? Every time you post you sound as though there’s something you’re not letting on about that’s affected you.

 

[Rokaab]

I think the distress felt by anyone who ever needed to help me in an unconscious hypo would be lessened if they knew what they were dealing with!

Gotta agree with that.
As an example: many years back, I had just started a new job, so was really quite stressed, I neglected to tell anyone I was diabetic - and boy was that a dumb move! and I didn't have anything like a SOS badge or anything on my wrist at the time.
In the first week I managed to have a hypo at work (probably due to stress - I'm very much an introvert so all these new people wasn't helping), now since I hadn't told anyone they didn't know what to do, they obviously took me down to a sick/side room to try and deal with me - they ended up having to call my mum (that's really really embarassing when you're about 27! - a lot more so that just the hypo) to see if they could find out anything, they did manage to feed me something and I did come round and was perfectly fine after 30 mins. And of course this worried my mum something rotten as well.
So yeah, letting people know is really very important - an SOS badge or wrist thing is really very useful - and no its not shouting out to the world you have diabetes.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Great post btw @TheBigNewt

 

[stewpid]

Great discussion and to balance out the negativity I have just ordered my bracelet and medical ID card to carry in my wallet with conditions/medication etc.

Recently been struggling to keep BG up and getting really worried that I might have a hypo when out alone or with nobody who knows me. For my own sake and others it makes real sense.

To reiterate what others have already said, yes it can be sh!t being Type 1, and sometimes I think "why me!", but it's down to me to control it.

Hope my bracelet is there when I get home!!

 

[Jeremy_Wood]

I have a tattoo on each inner forearm saying Type 1 Diabetic. Should be seen by a healthcare person taking my pulse?

I wore bracelets ever since I passed out on a four hour bus ride. the only reason I was saved was that there was randomly a girl I went to school with on the same bus - hadn't seen her for years!

This year I moved on to tattoos - the bracelets were always a pain and I worried about the paper inside getting wet, it falling off etc. so I've got myself some good old fashioned ink.

I feel like a right badass now!

 

[Jeremy_Wood]

If I ever get to the point where I am unconscious due to some awful diabetic complication I'm not sure I want anyone reviving me. Can I get a wrist band that says "do not resuscitate?"

I think this is a perspective thing and I am starting to get the idea that my perspective is very different to that of someone who got this disease at the age of 6. My attitude is that I want to get as far away from it as possible and bury it as deep as I can, the last thing I would want to do is put it on a T shirt, "look at me, I'm broken."

You're not a lesser person than anyone else. You've not been picked on by some omniscient god. And you're certainly not broken.

Nobody wants to have diabetes and we all agree that it sucks. But if you let it get you down, if you don't make a stand and shout 'F£+! YOU!' then you're the one letting it win. Tell that son of a beech tree that you're not going to let it ruin your life and that you have the strength and the support to punch it in the gut, set it on fire and chuck it out of the window.

Now, of course, it'll climb back through that window and back into your life - it's never gong to go away, but at least it'll feel a little sheepish and be on your back less.

Metaphors aside, take control of your blood sugars. It really isn't all that hard. I promise. Test before you eat anything and inject whatever the calculations say. That's it. That's all I did and I went from HbA1c of over 100 to 54 in 3 months. I used to be in a similar place to you (yeah, I've read a whole bunch of your previous posts) but taking a hold of my life and my diabetes has made me a new person. I feel positive, energised and ALIVE. And I want to stay that way.

It's good that you let your emotions out on here. But listen to what people are saying to you and act on the advice. As @JoeT1 said, you are in control. He didn't mean your blood sugars, he meant your life. You have all you need to be a better peson. It just takes effort.

I look forward to reading a super positive reply to this post...

 

[Toxicblue]

Wear do I buy a bracelet I live in Hastings which is a small town

 

[stewpid]

Wear do I buy a bracelet I live in Hastings which is a small town

Try the link for the ID Band Co. That's where I ordered mine from including engraving of personal details.

www.theidbandco.com/Bracelets

 

[Fairygodmother]

Wear do I buy a bracelet I live in Hastings which is a small town

Some are available on the net. Choose wisely - look at the reviews.

 

[Fairygodmother]

I think some of these are ok - prices vary https://www.sostalisman.co.uk/ http://www.iceid.co.uk/all-products/
But see what others think about them too. I use an SOS one but wouldn’t want you to buy an ICEID one and find it’s not good.

 

[therower]

I have diabetes I.D. on me at all times.
Medical information in wallet.
Dog tag necklace.
Diabetic tattoo on inner left forearm.

Let's remember it's not only times of being hypo that we may need urgent medical assistance. The more they know about us, the less surprised they'll be when we go HYPO CRAZY

 

[Bluey1]

I have diabetes I.D. on me at all tim
Let's remember it's not only times of being hypo that we may need urgent medical assistance. The more they know about us, the less surprised they'll be when we go HYPO CRAZY

Hehehe
I have had a few of them... Education is the toughest part. There was a new project manager, I was working with this week. A very forceful person e.g. I was getting a sandwich for lunch and I asked the sandwich lady for Avocado. This PM was beside me and barked at the sandwich lady NO Avocado. after 3 min of me say Avocado please, the sandwich lady wouldn't give it to me. I was paying for it. I told this PM I was D and I got a small bag of Jelly beans. She took them off me and lectured me. I told her they were my medicine. I'm just as forceful as her, only I don't bully. I dread having a good Hypo around her.

A bracelet will not help in that situation. She wouldn't even call for help. I tried explaining to her and she put her fingers in her ears and carried on nah nah nah nah. She knows all about it and no will tell her different. Oh she is mid 40's.

 

[BunsenHoneydew]

I once worked with someone who liked to comment on everyone's food choices, especially if you were overweight. She had previously been fat and was now very slim so that's why I suppose. The final time she commented on my chips at lunch I said to her "if I want someone to comment on my food choices I'll hire a nutritionist" and she finally shut up.

 

[therower]

@Chowie . If that wasn't so bad it would be hilarious.
I'm not going down the 40 yr old female road. I value certain parts of my anatomy.
I have to disagree about the bracelet though.
A flailing arm adorned with chunky medical bracelet during a hypo........... momentarily makes contact with PM's nose
Bet she would get the message then.

 

[kev-w]

If I ever get to the point where I am unconscious due to some awful diabetic complication I'm not sure I want anyone reviving me. Can I get a wrist band that says "do not resuscitate?"

I think this is a perspective thing and I am starting to get the idea that my perspective is very different to that of someone who got this disease at the age of 6. My attitude is that I want to get as far away from it as possible and bury it as deep as I can, the last thing I would want to do is put it on a T shirt, "look at me, I'm broken."

Well I can understand your first sentence and don't disagree, but you're young, any complications are way way off yet IF you end up with any, but remember a hypo is a lack of oxygen in your blood which starves your brain of it, the longer you spent unconscious the more chance of brain damage there is, and that's why it's not a bad idea to carry some diabetic ID, I keep an "I am broken, here's how to fix me" card in my wallet, I don't like it being there, but it's certainly saved me before....

 

[Bluey1]

@Chowie . value certain parts of my anatomy.

By your avatar certainly not your pancreas.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

If I was in control it would always say 6.5

A non diabetic would not always say 6.5

 

[stewpid]

Great news! Bracelet arrived and I'm really chuffed with it.

It anybody sees it and wants to label me a diabetic then that's their prerogative. It won't worry me because I now feel a bit safer.