Well being diabetic gets tedious....

conniecar said:

Again I've gone on here, got answers and must say a big thank you - diabetes is boring and can put you in an angry and lonely place ( wanted to shout at a colleague today for moaning about her health - she had a bloody cold ). So it's at times when it's all getting a bit much I come on here and it always cheers me up. This is less scary than Googling 'sore feet type 1 diabetic' as it's always supportive. We don't need reminding of the bad stuff, we need affirmation that it's tough and we can only try our best to juggle it with life, work, families and emotions. My feet are sore, I've got neuropathy, my eyes are a bit dodgy, I've got Dupytrens in both hands and a frozen shoulder, oh and epilepsy. We've gotta laugh comrades ! I'm phobic about sitting in a support group in case I get singled out ( Wicker Man ) for having occasional lapses in control ( sugar and mental health ) and told off. After 40 years I at least expected a medal. Have a good night and I'm treating myself to a Tunnock's wafer because I'm worth it x

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Really nice post ,allthe best to you

40 years is a long long time with type 1 diabetes @conniecar, I'd give you a medal the size of a dustbin lid if I could.

However another 10 years and you'll eligible for the Alan Nabbaro medal, make sure you apply for it:

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/medals/

Best wishes.

Hi , I've reached 42 years with diabetes and I am a pretty battered old boy . In the last two years I have had a triple heart bypass and a below knee amputation along with all the other things that come with long term diabetes . I have to say that a good sense of humour and positive attitude have kept my head above water , just . It is a very lonely disease only you can help yourself but it's good to talk .

conniecar said:

Again I've gone on here, got answers and must say a big thank you - diabetes is boring and can put you in an angry and lonely place ( wanted to shout at a colleague today for moaning about her health - she had a bloody cold ). So it's at times when it's all getting a bit much I come on here and it always cheers me up. This is less scary than Googling 'sore feet type 1 diabetic' as it's always supportive. We don't need reminding of the bad stuff, we need affirmation that it's tough and we can only try our best to juggle it with life, work, families and emotions. My feet are sore, I've got neuropathy, my eyes are a bit dodgy, I've got Dupytrens in both hands and a frozen shoulder, oh and epilepsy. We've gotta laugh comrades ! I'm phobic about sitting in a support group in case I get singled out ( Wicker Man ) for having occasional lapses in control ( sugar and mental health ) and told off. After 40 years I at least expected a medal. Have a good night and I'm treating myself to a Tunnock's wafer because I'm worth it x

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T1 & Epileptic here too! High five sister!

I can totally get where you're coming from! I have probably had 3 days off sick from my job - two were down to hypos, and the other was because after I went for a head scan before my epilepsy diagnosis, the stress brought on a fit & I keeled over outside Preston Royal Infirmary!
So yes, when I get colleagues moaning about colds/sniffles - and taking time off work for such - I go a bit bat **** at them too! Although I've been very good lately, according to my friends, I now just get an angry looking eye twitch when people start whinging!

conniecar said:

Angry eye twitch ! Love it ! Funny how the epilepsy thing comes up. Do you think there's a link? I've only had tonic clonic fits in the night, so they were misdiagnosed for 36 years as nocturnal hypos! I can laugh now......then after a bit I started with the myoclonic jerks in the morning ( wasn't safe with a cup of tea ) so my husband ( luckily a learning disability nurse so knows a bit about epilepsy) suddenly said ' I've just tested you after that hypo and you're not low, I think you might be epileptic.' So that was that. Stress, alcohol and lack of sleep brought on mine, what about you? I'm on Epilim now and am so bloody glad ( despite piling weight on). I was on another but it made me weirdly down. God this is such a good site. It's good to talk. By the way, virtually grew up in Preston as had relis on Black Bull Lane. I'm from Southport but am in Halifax now

good luck and it was nice to hear from you xxxx

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I can't believe this! I'm tonic-clonic too and I had it misdiagnosed as hypos for 14 years!! Mine actually started as Myoclonic, which is why my mum didn't pick up on it when I was a child (funny you should mention the cup of tea - when I was about 14 or 15, I'd woken up with a "hypo", carried a glass of lucozade into the living room & bam! Massive arm jerk. There was an orange spatter on the lounge ceiling for about a year after that, until my mum redecorated! It was only a few years later, when I was later in my teenage years that we started to think something was wrong. We complained to the GP/hospital, but were told they were hypos (despite the fact I'd almost bitten my tongue off on numerous occasions!
Ok, this is getting creepy now! My seizures are brought on by stress/poor sleep too! Not alcohol though (which makes me very happy!)
I was in a really stressful job before I moved to my current employer, and after the last seizure I had before I was referred to my neurologist, after a particularly bad morning, I thought I was having a hypo, so grabbed a bottle of lucozade off the shop floor & got carried into the back by a colleague (again the myoclonic jerks hit!). Sat down, tried to drink my lucozade, then I remember nothing. I bit my tongue so hard my colleagues panicked - thinking I had blood coming up from my stomach! It was like something out of a horror movie, apparently. Obviously I have no recollection! Then I had to have my MRI & EEG on the same day. Sadly, the MRi was first. Being claustrophic meant I completely freaked out, after my EEG I felt the myoclonic symptoms coming on, then before I knew it, I'd hit the deck right outside the A&E department (hey, points for location right?!) where thankfully, there were half a dozen paramedics stood outside!

My neurologist put my on levitiracetam to begin with, but I had some really bad side effect - it started killing off my white blood cells & preventing me from making any more! So I've been switched on to lamotrigine which is fab. Been seizure free for 17 months now!

Haha really? I'm actually from Morecambe, but had to go to Preston because they don't do EEG scans at my local hospital. I used to work in Garstang many years ago too!

Wow, this is a looooong post!!

Simon_Soanes said:

Hi , I've reached 42 years with diabetes and I am a pretty battered old boy . In the last two years I have had a triple heart bypass and a below knee amputation along with all the other things that come with long term diabetes . I have to say that a good sense of humour and positive attitude have kept my head above water , just . It is a very lonely disease only you can help yourself but it's good to talk .

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You have done well and yes a sense of humour does help and it is a very lonely problem, Did you watch the programme Sugar free farm how silly were these people were, how do they think people get on when they are first diagnosed with Diabetes one day we are ok the next we have to cut out all sugars and we don't get a person telling us what we can eat instead for meals we have to work it out ourselves I can remember spending about an hour or so longer doing my shopping trying to find all the foods that only had 5% sugar or less, How depressed I became after about 4 years with no chocolate and it didn't help because I worked in a shop where we sold sweets etc and I was given the job to order them ( thanks boss) until one day I finally cracked and had a piece of choc and gave the rest to the other member of staff Oooooooo that was good, to Best of luck to you and don't get too lonely just come on here and let off steam and we will answer you. Sue

I have myoclonic jerks too! As far as I know never a 'proper' fit though so I've never even mentioned them to my doctor. I just laugh normally, particularly if my 'jerk' has made the person sitting next to me jump

I've never seen anything about a link between diabetes and epilepsy but maybe there is, although both are relatively common so chances are there are a quite a few who have both.

I hit 30 years diabetic in January so I have a while to wait for my medal....

There you go, I've given you a medal. Anyone with 30 years of diabetes deserves one.

Thanks @Chook :-D

BeccyB said:

Thanks @Chook :-D

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30 years? Amateur ☺

@conniecar There you are - that's your medal for this morning.