Type 1 Why do diabetics get tired easily

[Danielle Rafter]

Hello, I'm Danielle and I've been a diabetic for 13 years and recently I've been getting tired through my diabetes waking me up in the night from my dexcom G5 connected to my iPhone.

I've heard that some pregnant women have diabetes and I was actually shocked and when diabetic girls like me have to be careful because it can't be under 4 and over 10 because it may do something to the child and my doctor told me that and I was scared and I still am to have a child but we have to stay brave.

 

[Colin of Kent]

It's not just being woken by alarms. Fluctuating BG levels put stress on the body that non-diabetics don't have to deal with. Any form of stress inevitably takes its toll, resulting in tiredness. I've always been tired, too. I must say, since going keto six months ago, my BG levels have stabilised hugely and I'm less tired these days...

 

[Danielle Rafter]

It's not just being woken by alarms. Fluctuating BG levels put stress on the body that non-diabetics don't have to deal with. Any form of stress inevitably takes its toll, resulting in tiredness. I've always been tired, too. I must say, since going keto six months ago, my BG levels have stabilised hugely and I'm less tired these days...

Lucky, I'm on the diabetic pump and it's helped a lot and my dad gets the low shakes when he's not eaten even though I am the only diabetic in the family and I start panicking because he need to eat food and have the sugar he needs so he drops shaking.

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @Danielle Rafter, You have arrived with lots of great questions.
And do you know the question GPs dread most when they are rushed and behind time? "Doctor, I'm tired".
There are so many possible answers, some very straight-forward, others quite complicated.
Just googling causes of tiredness and reading them all is tiring !!
I recall the amount of vigilance I had when I was first wearing an insulin pump. Would the tubing get tangled? Would i pull the needle out in my sleep? - My sleep and over-alertness took about 6 months to settle. The times I wore CGM devices, the sleep troubles returned because of course the CGM device cannot be too close to the needle insert device of the pump.I had two places to worry about. I would hope that overtime you would adapt to the wearing of two devices.
Of course, diabetes is also alertness required about about thinking ahead, planning for the worse, hoping for the best. I have to remember to take a kit each time a go out. Spare reservoirs/needle inserts/batteries or battery chargers/syringes/needles//spare Novorapid and Levemir and jelly beans - in case the pump fails, battery runs out or I forget to change the reservoir etc.
Add to that needing to watch for hypos, dealing with the anticipated stress of a meeting etc etc.
Other things: highs and lows in blood sugar cause tiredness - one's loses glucose (= energy) that spills out into the kidney's collecting system when BSLs are high and the adrenaline release which can occur during a hypo puts us into a state of alertness and usage of energy that again we can feel tired.
Lack of exercise was the answer my GP gave to me one day when I asked why so many people say there are tired.
Exercise, provided it is not too intensive or prolonged and thus harmful, actually makes us feel more energetic later, helps to improve our insulin sensitivity and some say they sleep better afterwards.
Whilst coffee in the morning usually makes me feel less sleepy, if I drink more than 3 cuppas, or have coffee have 4 pm I stay awake all night - and suffer the next day.
Some of us including me suffer with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA - where my breathing stops intermittently during sleep.
In order to restart breathing my body had to use 'emergency measures' in the form of a burst of adrenaline to wake me to the point where I restarted breathing. Imagine this happening a 100 + times at night ? Very exhausting.
A sleep study proved that was what was happening to me.
Some sufferers, untreated or undiagnosed, have been known to fall off to sleep in the morning at work or whilst driving to work !! Various treatments are available. depending on the severity of one's OSA
OSA is fairly common in T2D, less common in T1Ds like me.
TIDs are also more prone to thyroid disease, adrenal disease and coeliac disease - all of which have tiredness as a possible symptom. I could go on but my hand is becoming tired ........... ......

 

[NicoleC1971]

Hello, I'm Danielle and I've been a diabetic for 13 years and recently I've been getting tired through my diabetes waking me up in the night from my dexcom G5 connected to my iPhone.

I've heard that some pregnant women have diabetes and I was actually shocked and when diabetic girls like me have to be careful because it can't be under 4 and over 10 because it may do something to the child and my doctor told me that and I was scared and I still am to have a child but we have to stay brave.

Hi Danielle. So you have mentioned the obvious thing that could be making you tired (and anxious?) and as others have mentioned fluctuating blood sugars, hormones or diabetic burnout (stress of management) or a vitamin deficiency (iron, B12 etc.) .I get tired too but especially the day after a hypo if it was strong enough to wake me up!
And re babies, I've had 3 and whilst I was super careful I did have high blood sugars even at the beginning (when the key formation of babies happens) and they are all healthy to date. That's anecdotal and no guarantee but all you can really do is establish good control with your great tech before getting pregnant and taking prescription vitamins (folic acid) and then keep on it whilst you are pregnant.

 

[Danielle Rafter]

Hi @Danielle Rafter, You have arrived with lots of great questions.
And do you know the question GPs dread most when they are rushed and behind time? "Doctor, I'm tired".
There are so many possible answers, some very straight-forward, others quite complicated.
Just googling causes of tiredness and reading them all is tiring !!
I recall the amount of vigilance I had when I was first wearing an insulin pump. Would the tubing get tangled? Would i pull the needle out in my sleep? - My sleep and over-alertness took about 6 months to settle. The times I wore CGM devices, the sleep troubles returned because of course the CGM device cannot be too close to the needle insert device of the pump.I had two places to worry about. I would hope that overtime you would adapt to the wearing of two devices.
Of course, diabetes is also alertness required about about thinking ahead, planning for the worse, hoping for the best. I have to remember to take a kit each time a go out. Spare reservoirs/needle inserts/batteries or battery chargers/syringes/needles//spare Novorapid and Levemir and jelly beans - in case the pump fails, battery runs out or I forget to change the reservoir etc.
Add to that needing to watch for hypos, dealing with the anticipated stress of a meeting etc etc.
Other things: highs and lows in blood sugar cause tiredness - one's loses glucose (= energy) that spills out into the kidney's collecting system when BSLs are high and the adrenaline release which can occur during a hypo puts us into a state of alertness and usage of energy that again we can feel tired.
Lack of exercise was the answer my GP gave to me one day when I asked why so many people say there are tired.
Exercise, provided it is not too intensive or prolonged and thus harmful, actually makes us feel more energetic later, helps to improve our insulin sensitivity and some say they sleep better afterwards.
Whilst coffee in the morning usually makes me feel less sleepy, if I drink more than 3 cuppas, or have coffee have 4 pm I stay awake all night - and suffer the next day.
Some of us including me suffer with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA - where my breathing stops intermittently during sleep.
In order to restart breathing my body had to use 'emergency measures' in the form of a burst of adrenaline to wake me to the point where I restarted breathing. Imagine this happening a 100 + times at night ? Very exhausting.
A sleep study proved that was what was happening to me.
Some sufferers, untreated or undiagnosed, have been known to fall off to sleep in the morning at work or whilst driving to work !! Various treatments are available. depending on the severity of one's OSA
OSA is fairly common in T2D, less common in T1Ds like me.
TIDs are also more prone to thyroid disease, adrenal disease and coeliac disease - all of which have tiredness as a possible symptom. I could go on but my hand is becoming tired ........... ......

It is very tiring because I have to travel quite far to my doctor's and hospital ‍ sometimes I feel like not going half the time because it takes hours in the traffic I was drenched yesterday and I was freezing

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hello, I'm Danielle and I've been a diabetic for 13 years and recently I've been getting tired through my diabetes waking me up in the night from my dexcom G5 connected to my iPhone.

I've heard that some pregnant women have diabetes and I was actually shocked and when diabetic girls like me have to be careful because it can't be under 4 and over 10 because it may do something to the child and my doctor told me that and I was scared and I still am to have a child but we have to stay brave.

Hi @Danielle Rafter, I had my daughter at 42 1/2 years old, she is 17 now <3

 

[Danielle Rafter]

Hi Danielle. So you have mentioned the obvious thing that could be making you tired (and anxious?) and as others have mentioned fluctuating blood sugars, hormones or diabetic burnout (stress of management) or a vitamin deficiency (iron, B12 etc.) .I get tired too but especially the day after a hypo if it was strong enough to wake me up!
And re babies, I've had 3 and whilst I was super careful I did have high blood sugars even at the beginning (when the key formation of babies happens) and they are all healthy to date. That's anecdotal and no guarantee but all you can really do is establish good control with your great tech before getting pregnant and taking prescription vitamins (folic acid) and then keep on it whilst you are pregnant.

It sounds tough to keep on top of all that, bet it was tiring and stressful. I'm terrified for my future when I have children

 

[kitedoc]

It is very tiring because I have to travel quite far to my doctor's and hospital ‍ sometimes I feel like not going half the time because it takes hours in the traffic I was drenched yesterday and I was freezing

That is a pity, I feel for you. Are you driving or using public transport? In public transport you might be able to draw and pass the time that way. Also I can imagine the stress of travel does not help one's BSLs, either. And if driving - music, if bussing - music, audiobooks etc. Anything to be able to be distracted and more relaxed. Comfortable shoe wear for walking might take some strain off one's legs, back and spine. ?Layers of clothing to keep warm and dry?
Apologies - sounding like a parent. Do you have nieces and nephews - and their mums you can speak with about having children.
Can you own mother speak with you about how she raised you? Give you some pointers!

 

[Dixon1995]

@kitedoc do you ever get it that people who haven't got diabetes don't realise how tired it makes you feel? I would say recently I have gotten better blood sugar results, my readinds today have all been between 4-6mmol/l, but yet I still today felt tired.

I hate it because when I was 15 I was diagnosed, vividly remembering 1 year before I had so much energy, when I got diabetes and started treatment I got that energy back, but it hasn't lasted long as diabetes is in my opinion digenerative, the longer you have it the worse it gets etc. Sometimes I get so tired I call it Diabetic fatigue where I will literelly pass out from being tired.. it feels like I am not in my own body I know that is wierd to understand.. I know we just have to live with it but it really is hard sometimes to deal with it, especially when people without type 1 diabetes react negatively to tiredness, even family, not their fault though

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @Dixon1995, My experience is certainly that over time, the control of BSLs, the ability to withstand effects of the highs and lows and the maintaining the 'get up and go' is more challenging.
Of course that happens to a degree as we get older anyway and there are individual differences also.
A commercial kite-maker friend of mine is 65, non-diabetic, who is up each morning at 4 am to start making his next kite, travels all over the world to kite festivals and workshops. I cannot imagine doing half of that.
Could I if I was not diabetic? Possibly but it is still remarkable to me that he has done this for 30 years +.
I have experimented with taking Coenzyme Q10, ALA, magnesium, Zinc to see whether I could overcome the tiredness and whilst initially they seemed to help none have had a lasting effect.
I have learned to not stay frustrated by this tiredness/fatigue, as that only makes me more tired!!
Exercise is the thing that seems to help a bit - but then the back and ribs start to ache .........
Distraction such as reading a good book or seeing a good movie or chatting with good friends is the other strategy and hey, laughter involves exercise also.

 

[Dixon1995]

Hi again, that is true enough, and it makes sense I guess, but at 23 I certainly feel like I am 63 sometimes, my dad is 45 and is more active and awake than I am :/ I am active when I am not tired I mean.. but I am more tired than anyone.

I don't get how some people do half the things they do, I see people wake up at 5am to take their dogs on walks, I see people in my family wake up at 7am work a full days shift and say uo untill 11pm and not feel tired once during the day. I used to be able to do all nighters on a videogame fat chance that ever happening again.

Now I say all this while being awake at 02:58 but I slept from 8pm until 11pm earliar because I was so tired, now my awkward energy burst arrives..

I used to take Baobab extract supplements and Floradix, and just like you, the effects weren't lasting

I find since getting type 1 diabetes I am not fully me anymore, especially in social settings..this might be hard to do but imagine everyone in a room of people including me is on a radio frequency of 106.4, everyone is on that wavelength, yet for me it feels as though I am there but on frequency 106.3, or they are at 12:55 on a clock but I am 12:54... thats how I best describe it but I did not have that feeling before type 1 diabetes, I can't focus anymore, if more than 2 people are talking to me at the same time I get disorientated, is this due to my illness? Who knows, but because I didn't have these issues before diagnoses I will take it as it is, maybe my period before diagnoses of high sugars led to some irrepairable damage, after all I was told I was 1 day from death upon diagnosis.

I guess you're right, there is no point dwelling on it as it will make us feel worse.. it is just really annoying. Sorry for my going on and on a little bit there, If im talking sh*t, I probably am tired

 

[Danielle Rafter]

That is a pity, I feel for you. Are you driving or using public transport? In public transport you might be able to draw and pass the time that way. Also I can imagine the stress of travel does not help one's BSLs, either. And if driving - music, if bussing - music, audiobooks etc. Anything to be able to be distracted and more relaxed. Comfortable shoe wear for walking might take some strain off one's legs, back and spine. ?Layers of clothing to keep warm and dry?
Apologies - sounding like a parent. Do you have nieces and nephews - and their mums you can speak with about having children.
Can you own mother speak with you about how she raised you? Give you some pointers!

I wish I did but I'm the oldest sister of the family and sadly the only diabetic which is worse because I have no one to relate to or even talk to about the highs and lows and what could help me so my doctors/nurses have to tell me how to lower my HB1C and I hate the annual review because of the cannula in my arm, I should be used to it by now because I've been a diabetic for 13 years

 

[Danielle Rafter]

Hi again, that is true enough, and it makes sense I guess, but at 23 I certainly feel like I am 63 sometimes, my dad is 45 and is more active and awake than I am :/ I am active when I am not tired I mean.. but I am more tired than anyone.

I don't get how some people do half the things they do, I see people wake up at 5am to take their dogs on walks, I see people in my family wake up at 7am work a full days shift and say uo untill 11pm and not feel tired once during the day. I used to be able to do all nighters on a videogame fat chance that ever happening again.

Now I say all this while being awake at 02:58 but I slept from 8pm until 11pm earliar because I was so tired, now my awkward energy burst arrives..

I used to take Baobab extract supplements and Floradix, and just like you, the effects weren't lasting

I find since getting type 1 diabetes I am not fully me anymore, especially in social settings..this might be hard to do but imagine everyone in a room of people including me is on a radio frequency of 106.4, everyone is on that wavelength, yet for me it feels as though I am there but on frequency 106.3, or they are at 12:55 on a clock but I am 12:54... thats how I best describe it but I did not have that feeling before type 1 diabetes, I can't focus anymore, if more than 2 people are talking to me at the same time I get disorientated, is this due to my illness? Who knows, but because I didn't have these issues before diagnoses I will take it as it is, maybe my period before diagnoses of high sugars led to some irrepairable damage, after all I was told I was 1 day from death upon diagnosis.

I guess you're right, there is no point dwelling on it as it will make us feel worse.. it is just really annoying. Sorry for my going on and on a little bit there, If im talking sh*t, I probably am tired

Haha you are not the only one who is tired I went to sleep at 11:45 and woke up at 11:45am and I'm still tired after 12 hours worth of sleep and I wanna sleep more but at the same time I want a Donner kebab haha again I know Morning craves of a diabetic huh? I just want a massive delicious meal that won't make me hungry till when I turn 50 but I don't see that happening and I'm as skinny as a twig.

 

[kitedoc]

Hey @Dixon1995, I know that feeling of being different to others starting back from my teens.
I was diagnosed in 1966 at age 13. I think wearing the badge of difference it is a mind thing - knowing no others present are likely to have the same issues with common social things like choice of food, eating and drinking alcohol.
I found that it was too much of a hassle to go out late, misbehave, drink because there was always the possibility of a downside for me.
I had to be vigilant enough with everyday things like knowing where and when my next meal would be (this was before MDI), making sure I had my insulin and injection gear with me. Why risk hypers, and particularly hypos, for the dubious distinction of following the peer group.? And the embarrassment of hypos was a very restrictive factor.
In the end as I kept maturing (well, more like snakes and ladders in progress)! I decided that keeping well and doing just enough to blend in was the best way forward. If I could handle that then the difference I felt was less important. I could use the 'mask of confidence' and be sociable, develop means to divert the offer of alcohol or a sweet dessert etc.
I also threw myself into a stubborn independence phase: walking, swimming, canyoning, 7 day canoe trips through wilderness country - (all the sorts of things diabetics are cautioned about doing - the 'do not do these at home' type activities)! -whilst taking all the precautions I could. And after this period of daftness which really only proved I was different - I realised that I had proved to myself I could do those things but I did not really need to show the world that.
Of course I miss the energy and feats of that time but am wiser as to the vanity of it all. I thought about the now obvious consequences of becoming unwell diabetes-wise on a 7 day canoe trip and the imposition on the rest of the party.
Nowadays, maintaining good BSLs, enjoying exercise and knowing to stick to sensible limits has allowed me to feel more content and to not allow the treadmill of the rat race to define my life.
Working smart has replaced work hard and long. Finding friends and acquaintances to talk with, share and debate things with (and not necessarily agree with one another - a Government/friendship is only as strong as its opposition/ability to encompass difference), find fellow hobbyists, discussing things on this site add meaning to our lives.
I blame advertising, consumerism, the food industry, political interference, and half a dozen other things for the evils of this world - and the weather. (Not that I am shirking responsibility)!!!!!
Apologies for the return rant !!!

 

[kitedoc]

I wish I did but I'm the oldest sister of the family and sadly the only diabetic which is worse because I have no one to relate to or even talk to about the highs and lows and what could help me so my doctors/nurses have to tell me how to lower my HB1C and I hate the annual review because of the cannula in my arm, I should be used to it by now because I've been a diabetic for 13 years

This forum/site is a wonderful place to ask, rant, seek answers/suggestions, share recipes and information, tell jokes and everything in between. I guess the main thing with families is that they learn to recognise when you are hypo and what to do to help. People who know you will recognise what particular signs and behaviour you exhibit in early "hypohood". Some pets/service dogs can do the same.
The earliest part of the onset of hypos can be a bit seductive too, in the feeling of adrenaline boosting a feeling of well-being, the exhilaration, clarity and the idea that that drawing, thought, action is splendid.
The reality soon hits however as thoughts start to muddle, repeat themselves and float out of grasp. Like most inspiration the remembered or noted down ideas have a 50:50 chance of being remotely novel or inspirational. But that is not too bad a ratio !!
This is not mania just an exurberance and it ends with feeling down, cheated and tired.
Being hyper or hypo does not change one's dreams. End of rant.
To end, 2 by-the-ways: On the home page under "Living with Diabetes" are the recommended BSL ranges and you will note that for pregnancy the peak BSL after a meal is measured at the one hour mark (not > 90 mins or at the 2 hour mark).
I imagine you have been told this by your health team but it does to hurt to mention it.
I read on diabetes education pamphlets that mineral and vitamin supplements are needed throughout pregnancy and with breastfeeding. Recommended brands of these exist. (pregnancy and breastfeeding supplements). Iron, iodine(220mcg), folate, Vitamins D, B3, other B (1,2,5,12), selenium, zinc etc..
Best Wishes. Happy Drawing of dragons and other fauna!!

 

[Danielle Rafter]

This forum/site is a wonderful place to ask, rant, seek answers/suggestions, share recipes and information, tell jokes and everything in between. I guess the main thing with families is that they learn to recognise when you are hypo and what to do to help. People who know you will recognise what particular signs and behaviour you exhibit in early "hypohood". Some pets/service dogs can do the same.
The earliest part of the onset of hypos can be a bit seductive too, in the feeling of adrenaline boosting a feeling of well-being, the exhilaration, clarity and the idea that that drawing, thought, action is splendid.
The reality soon hits however as thoughts start to muddle, repeat themselves and float out of grasp. Like most inspiration the remembered or noted down ideas have a 50:50 chance of being remotely novel or inspirational. But that is not too bad a ratio !!
This is not mania just an exurberance and it ends with feeling down, cheated and tired.
Being hyper or hypo does not change one's dreams. End of rant.
To end, 2 by-the-ways: On the home page under "Living with Diabetes" are the recommended BSL ranges and you will note that for pregnancy the peak BSL after a meal is measured at the one hour mark (not > 90 mins or at the 2 hour mark).
I imagine you have been told this by your health team but it does to hurt to mention it.
I read on diabetes education pamphlets that mineral and vitamin supplements are needed throughout pregnancy and with breastfeeding. Recommended brands of these exist. (pregnancy and breastfeeding supplements). Iron, iodine(220mcg), folate, Vitamins D, B3, other B (1,2,5,12), selenium, zinc etc..
Best Wishes. Happy Drawing of dragons and other fauna!!

Yeah I have heard that dogs have the intelligence to smell out high or low BG and they can sniff out cancer and that's amazing how they can do that.

Training dogs shows that you can make them do anything like catch a ball in mid-air, in a way our diabetic control is like a dog because we have to train it to be in single figures and stay in the right areas which is right for us.

The devices we use now-a-days are more significant than when we used to inject like 8 hours a day and I'm with the omnipod and its amazing and easy to use, the worst part is that you have to change the batteries and it resets the time and year even the month and then change the cannula

 

[kitedoc]

Maybe more pump designers need to be diabetics to better understand the difficulties they create and avoid them.
We can use feedback to encourage pump manufactures to up their game. Yes, we have to put up with some glitches and inconveniences in the hope that things will improve - and they must. Some pumpers have developed ways to overcome or minimise these difficulties and their input to this site is much appreciated.
We may have our training, orders and the like as diabetics, but that does not give health professionals the right to label us as a group and apply one rule for all or to discriminate between us on dubious grounds.
We are individuals with our own likes, dislikes, fears, joys, exasperations and beliefs, and our bodies as not robotic.
We are allowed to be cheeky; to be heard and listened to; interested in ourselves and not seen as experimental subjects; defiant at times; confident and not be kept dependent; not to be cowed or threatened by being labelled as having 'bad' readings and thus at risk of complications; to be human; to be rascals, explorers to a degree; to know limits but not ones set by others to our detriment.
Of course we are reliant (as T1Ds) on insulin and are extremely grateful that insulin was able to be extracted, purified and now manufactured in time for us to use it and continue to live.
Compared to the 'good old days' with 2 types of insulin available, boiling/sterilising up glass syringes and re-useable needles, urine testing only for glucose and ketones and no pumps in sight - we now, in this day, have much to be grateful for.
Saying: Having Type 1 diabetes is like having an incurable itch. I can apply treatment to the itch in various ways, with a Three Bears and Goldilocks tale betting result: too much, too little or just right.
I can rail against it and fight it, I can try to ignore it and hide it from others or I can try to live with it.
Now, having said that, please pass the porridge !!!

 

[Danielle Rafter]

Maybe more pump designers need to be diabetics to better understand the difficulties they create and avoid them.
We can use feedback to encourage pump manufactures to up their game. Yes, we have to put up with some glitches and inconveniences in the hope that things will improve - and they must. Some pumpers have developed ways to overcome or minimise these difficulties and their input to this site is much appreciated.
We may have our training, orders and the like as diabetics, but that does not give health professionals the right to label us as a group and apply one rule for all or to discriminate between us on dubious grounds.
We are individuals with our own likes, dislikes, fears, joys, exasperations and beliefs, and our bodies as not robotic.
We are allowed to be cheeky; to be heard and listened to; interested in ourselves and not seen as experimental subjects; defiant at times; confident and not be kept dependent; not to be cowed or threatened by being labelled as having 'bad' readings and thus at risk of complications; to be human; to be rascals, explorers to a degree; to know limits but not ones set by others to our detriment.
Of course we are reliant (as T1Ds) on insulin and are extremely grateful that insulin was able to be extracted, purified and now manufactured in time for us to use it and continue to live.
Compared to the 'good old days' with 2 types of insulin available, boiling/sterilising up glass syringes and re-useable needles, urine testing only for glucose and ketones and no pumps in sight - we now, in this day, have much to be grateful for.
Saying: Having Type 1 diabetes is like having an incurable itch. I can apply treatment to the itch in various ways, with a Three Bears and Goldilocks tale betting result: too much, too little or just right.
I can rail against it and fight it, I can try to ignore it and hide it from others or I can try to live with it.
Now, having said that, please pass the porridge !!!

Haha pass the porridge That's funny but you are right that diabetics should be making these devices because they know what to do and things like that.

 

[Dixon1995]

Hey @Dixon1995, I know that feeling of being different to others starting back from my teens.
I was diagnosed in 1966 at age 13. I think wearing the badge of difference it is a mind thing - knowing no others present are likely to have the same issues with common social things like choice of food, eating and drinking alcohol.
I found that it was too much of a hassle to go out late, misbehave, drink because there was always the possibility of a downside for me.
I had to be vigilant enough with everyday things like knowing where and when my next meal would be (this was before MDI), making sure I had my insulin and injection gear with me. Why risk hypers, and particularly hypos, for the dubious distinction of following the peer group.? And the embarrassment of hypos was a very restrictive factor.
In the end as I kept maturing (well, more like snakes and ladders in progress)! I decided that keeping well and doing just enough to blend in was the best way forward. If I could handle that then the difference I felt was less important. I could use the 'mask of confidence' and be sociable, develop means to divert the offer of alcohol or a sweet dessert etc.
I also threw myself into a stubborn independence phase: walking, swimming, canyoning, 7 day canoe trips through wilderness country - (all the sorts of things diabetics are cautioned about doing - the 'do not do these at home' type activities)! -whilst taking all the precautions I could. And after this period of daftness which really only proved I was different - I realised that I had proved to myself I could do those things but I did not really need to show the world that.
Of course I miss the energy and feats of that time but am wiser as to the vanity of it all. I thought about the now obvious consequences of becoming unwell diabetes-wise on a 7 day canoe trip and the imposition on the rest of the party.
Nowadays, maintaining good BSLs, enjoying exercise and knowing to stick to sensible limits has allowed me to feel more content and to not allow the treadmill of the rat race to define my life.
Working smart has replaced work hard and long. Finding friends and acquaintances to talk with, share and debate things with (and not necessarily agree with one another - a Government/friendship is only as strong as its opposition/ability to encompass difference), find fellow hobbyists, discussing things on this site add meaning to our lives.
I blame advertising, consumerism, the food industry, political interference, and half a dozen other things for the evils of this world - and the weather. (Not that I am shirking responsibility)!!!!!
Apologies for the return rant !!!

I enjoyed the rant man thankyou for that it was good to read, youre right, our health, bsl readings and general well being is far more important than anything else wishing you good health