What do you least like about diabetes?

I'm a bit worried to hate diabetes cos that'd mean I hate my life, as you say it is all consuming all day everyday. I'm newly diagnosed and am still getting to grips with it so don't want to learn to hate it although I can see the potential downsides to it.

I haven't really had to worry about going out on a night out yet, or in fact deal with any short term sympathy, in fact my gf said only this morning as I inject, "it must be really boring having diabetes". Cheers love thanks for the support, just what I needed to hear right now.

So if I let myself dislike all there is about it I may aswell look forward to the next life and forget this one, but as it is not the case I'm gonna accept it for what it is and agree there are downsides, like finger pricking, infact that is the worst for me, the fact that levels can't be checked painlessly, especially as I'm checking 5 or 6 times a day at the mo.

I don't know what I'm gonna do about carbs yet,whether to restrict them or not, i have been but I need to put weight on as I lost a load in a very shory amount of time, so I would have said I don't like the restricted diet two weeks ago, but now I think I'm appreciating food much more than I ever did. and eating regurlarly which I never did.

I'm only a month into this journey so will maybe have a different view on it when I become an old hand at it, but at the mo, and after the initial disbelief I felt upon diagnosis I have to say I dislike finger pricking and uncaring nurses (not my DSN) who think they know it all, and who couldn't give a decent injection, as now I know can be done.

Someone telling me what I can and can not eat :roll:

Being at the mercy of incompetent HCPs and having tio be prepared for battle all the time. Trying to get others to understand that
I cannot be as spontaneous as I would wish but need to plan ahead= and how a hypo affects me.

Strangely enough the complications I suffer - alhough they make daily life difficult at times don't bother me as much as the above.

I'm T2 and to be honest, I feel I've been dealing with diabetes most of my life and I've sort of 'grown with it'. By the time I was 59 a few months ago when I was diagnosed, I had already adapted my life in lots of ways, because I'd had to. I began disliking certain foods because my body wasn't tolerating them, but I didn't know that. By the time I was diagnosed I was already moving towards LCHF eating simply because carbs made me feel awful. However, because I didn't have a firm diagnosis, I wasn't quite sure whether I was doing right or wrong and was basically in the dark about diabetes.

When I was diagnosed, I was pleased. Not because I had diabetes but because I wasn't just plain crazy. I've suffered terrible depression since my teens, been suicidal several times, so my medical treatment has always gone down the 'depression pathway' with very little improvement.

As for complications, yes I was shocked at first but realised I'd been suffering from a lot of the complications of undiagnosed and uncontrolled diabetes already and those things have all improved - since diagnosis, meds and change of diet, hey presto! Depression has lifted, moods are stable, asthma, gastric, brain fog MUCH MUCH MUCH improved. I feel more like 'myself' than I have for decades! I don't dwell on complications, for some reason I don't feel scared, I was much more scared when I hadn't a clue what was wrong with me and thought I was just mentally ill. That WAS scary.

The few tweaks I've had to make in my diet are well worth the results I've had from doing so. It takes 2 mins to check my blood, it took half a day to sort my kitchen cupboards out, another half day to restock them, many hours scouring the forum, but it's been well worth the effort.

I'm aware that the NHS isn't on top of its diabetes dietary care, because I've been an NHS employee for a lot of my life, so I have no great expectations of it to be honest. I realised their dietary advice went against what my body was telling me to eat anyway, and as for the politics of the NHS and the food industries - well I think it stinks, but there we are.

As for the internet and forums like this - THANK GOD! I learned in 6 weeks on this forum how my body was working and not working correctly, what was happening with it, what I could best do to help myself and I had the ACCEPTANCE, SUPPORT and EXPERIENCE of other forum members to help me understand my own body better than I did. Importantly, also was the CONFIRMATION of my own discoveries, because I've met others going through exactly the same thing.

To be honest, without the forum I think my diabetes experience would be totally different to what it is.

Jelaca said:

I hate Diabetes because I feel like I can never do anything without having to think about diabetes first which is not always easy if you are going for a night out with your friends and you're the only one still fussing around making sure you've done or got everything. Not to mention if you forget to bring your insulin and you're stressing out the whole night.

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That's very true Jelaca, you do have to plan ahead when out for the day or away on your holiday. I've said many times before that diabetes is never far away from your thoughts, I don't mind the injections as such as the modern day pen devices make it so much easier both in time it takes and convenience, however the daily bg testing is a bind to be honest and it would be great if we could wear something like a wristwatch where it constantly monitored our bg.

Taking time off work for diabetes related appointments is annoying and it would be great to get them all out of the way in one day.

I think the thing I hate most is the amount of paraphernalia. With 2, type two diabetics using different insulin and taking different medication it's a nightmare planning holidays.

We caravan a lot and also tend to be away for 2 weeks at a time. Our medication come ready packed from the chemist, so making sure I have enough packs with us isn't too bad. The insulin, needles, sharps bin, testing strips - again we use two different systems - can be a pain. Everything has to be ordered in time and usually it's due the week we are away, so I have to have a double prescription. The GP is very understanding but the chemist can get very confused and I end up chasing them up. I always take more equipment than I need - a cool box is ideal for the insulin - and then it goes straight into the caravan fridge when we get there.

Injecting whilst out and about isn't too much of a problem - you tend to eat out more when you are away. Testing is OK as I have an Accu-check mobile and so there's no strips to dispose of.

I know one thing, I tend to spend more time sorting out our meds than I do with clothes !

I was a bit glad when the dr said I was prediabetic, carbs make me feel rubbish and give me diarreah but everyone was always like "oh one little cake won't hurt you" "just this once will be ok" etc but now I can just tell people I have to eat this way (low to no carbs) because of the prediabetes and it kinda shuts them up.

What I don't like is the testing and logging food diaries and carrying the test kit around, and the possibility that even though I try to watch what I eat, one day I might still get complications, but there's not much I can do about that really.

I also don't like how difficult it is to find suitable food when out and about, everything for lunch seems to be sandwiches and crisps, so I have to be organised and take my own food, make sure I've been shopping and cooked and prepared stuff for the next day every evening.

Not being able to go out without carrying loads of stuff: Insulin; blood testing equipment, dextrosols, quick acting carbohydrate. Trying to keep up with everyone else. Feeling low blood when the phone rings. Getting up in the morning with a blood sugar of 2.5. Not being able to go to sleep when blood sugar is below 10. During the menopause not knowing whether the sweat is a low blood sugar or a hot flush. When will manufacturers of blood testing monitors realise that we need a very small device to carry on our person. Abbot used to do a small pen. They discontinued it because people said numbers were too small to see. Type 1's
are not all blind. Just being able to forget this damned disease for one day and be free of watching the clock and worrying that people think I am idiot when I start talking 19 to the dozen because I am going low blood sugar. Trying to read a dress making pattern and not being able to absorb the information because I am going low. Not feeling hungry but blood sugar is low. Waking up in the middle of the night with a low blood sugar. Trying my darnedest to keep my HBA1c below 8 and not acheiving it. Hating going for annual check because I am never praised for still being in good health after 30 years on insulin. The list goes on..... One good thing is I do have an annual health check!

I'm coping rather well for the moment, but then some days I find myself injecting around 10 times. Two shots of basal. 7 shots of bolus, I have around 4-5 meals and 2-3 shots for correction. This allows me to achieve near normal blood sugars, but I'm not enjoying the marks left on my stomach. In all fairness I'm eating whatever I want, whenever I want...I haven't adjusted my diet much.

Oh and dumbass people who think all forms of diabetes is limited to fat asses, :|

Other than that, It's no biggie, the way I see it things could be a lot worse, I'm fortunate I've ended up with diabetes rather than some super bad illness...

Never doing anything spontaneously..
Or if I do, regretting it!

Wow, may be I have an extremely simplistic view on this.

But seriously, I pack my bag with my Novorapid pen, test strip, tester and finger prick and I'm at liberty to do whatever the hell I want...?

Blood sugar too high? Inject more insulin.
Blood sugar too low? Eat some food.

I follow the above and find my life has not changed at all. Yes I have to inject so many times a day, but really, it takes no more than 10 seconds each time.

Hi, What I hate most of all about having diabetes is not being to eat exactly what I fancy, I crave bread and potatoes and rice and pasta more than anything!!!!! :thumbdown:

GlazedDoughnuts said:

Wow, may be I have an extremely simplistic view on this.

But seriously, I pack my bag with my Novorapid pen, test strip, tester and finger prick and I'm at liberty to do whatever the hell I want...?

Blood sugar too high? Inject more insulin.
Blood sugar too low? Eat some food.

I follow the above and find my life has not changed at all. Yes I have to inject so many times a day, but really, it takes no more than 10 seconds each time.

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Same with me, I just test bs before getting behind wheel of the car otherwise test gear and spare insulin in a bum bag plus some hypo treatment.
I can honestly say diabetes does not interfere with my daily life, I refuse to let it. If there's a problem I sort it and move on.

having to stop doing what i am doing to test my blood levels and inject insuline.
not being able to eat what i what and when i want.
high blood sugar levels= going to the loo alot/ thirtsy/ fever/ being sick
not being able to go to resturants and eating anything i have limited choice ceoliac disease n diabetic!

95FEB said:

having to stop doing what i am doing to test my blood levels and inject insuline.
not being able to eat what i what and when i want.
high blood sugar levels= going to the loo alot/ thirtsy/ fever/ being sick
not being able to go to resturants and eating anything i have limited choice ceoliac disease n diabetic!

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That sounds a major failing on your so called care team.
Learn to carb count and adjust your insulin correctly and things will improve dramatically for you.
I also find it hard to believe you can not go to a restuarant for a meal. Not every food on the planet has gluten in it.

Eating out isn't too much of a problem and we opt for Toby/Crown carveries as they offer meat and loads of veggies, You can have a decent meal and cut out most of the carbs.

Yes we do slip and have chips plus fast foods - but when you are on holiday in a caravan and eating with a group of friends it's extremely hard to refuse. I think there should be periods when you should be able to relax slightly and take a holiday from it. Once home we stick strictly to the diet and make a huge effort to improve it even more.

We both take mixed insulin, so injecting twice a day with meals can be a pain and there are times when we have had to inject after the meal. The way round it, is to have a meal out at lunch time.

Yes I do hate my diabetes, especially at this time when all the appointment start to come through, but I am learning to live with it and accept it.

storryvickster said:

Hi, What I hate most of all about having diabetes is not being to eat exactly what I fancy, I crave bread and potatoes and rice and pasta more than anything!!!!! :thumbdown:

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This is going to be the worst thing, with christmas coming.

But, i've previously done christmas without all the junk (when i first started atkins a few years ago), so I know it can be done. I'll just have to keep a good stock of pigs in blankets!

DKA, and the food police - yes, diabetics are allowed to eat! Even cake...