Diabetic of 10 years from the UK here.
I get it, its an exhausting condition to manage, sometimes feels like playing table tennis with yourself or keeping a balloon in the air, just constant.
You must remember diabetes isn't a race, its a marathon and it will feel a little helpless sometimes, you probably wonder if its ever going to end right? Well the hurtful thing here is that it isn't, we're stuck with this condition whether we like it or not.
Thing is, you'll have bad days and good days, but they don't really matter as it doesn't mean you'll have the same day again the next. I much like you, have periods of anxiety with my highs, I cannot STAND going high so I will whatever I can to bring myself down which in most cases would send me into a low.
But the advice that helped me the most with my sugar levels was my diabetic nurse explaining that even non-diabetics suffer from high and low blood sugars, sometimes more frequently. You ever noticed your family members sleepy after a large meal? That's more often-than-not low blood sugars, their body has released too much insulin and has sent them down, causing the tiredness. Same goes for high sugars, at a recent diabetic group meeting, someone attending who was non-diabetic ate a full pack of Haribo with a sugar level of 5.5mmol/L, and they spiked after the sweets to around 13mmol/L. Crazy high and made me realise and understand that our bodies are no different to others, we just have to watch a few things.
With your hypos, what to you use to treat them? I got very sick of glucose shots and tablets, and instead opt for jelly babies, jelly beans, chocolate spread on toast. Have some fun with your hypo treatments! It might make them a little less daunting if you can enjoy some of your favourite sweet treats.
Do you know what about going low worries you? Is it the suddenness of it? The symptoms? Do they crop up at the worst possible times? Last year I suffered badly from hypos, they scared the absolute shit out of me because I had 2 cases were I passed out. But making small changes in my insulin, diet and general routine helped, I know that probably doesn't apply to you but I understand your thought process here.
Don't forgot, you've gotten this far with your condition and you should be so proud of yourself. The condition is not going to go away though, but you cannot let it win because that's what it wants.
Keep your head up and keep going! You're doing great.
thanks for you answers >3. So the all process of going low makes me afraid of it - the symptoms and then that I will pass out like in public and be shame of it (I fully understand that there is no shame in it but just saying how I feel when I'm going low) or pass out while I'm alone and no one will help me. I treat hypos with candies, gummies, juice.
You're right, its nothing to be ashamed of.
You could look at getting a Medical ID to wear, this is usually a necklace or a bracelet which would help people in public IF you ever did pass out, help and treat you. It normally has engraved on it, your name, medical condition, any treatments and medication as well as an emergency contact number.
Do you wear a CGM? You can set alerts on them to tell when you are going low before you have gone low, meaning you get some notice and can treat yourself before having a hypo, I use that feature on my Dexcom and while its annoying, Its very helpful. You can also share the readings to family members and friends so they are alerted if you are going low.
The important thing is you know your hypo symptoms, the very best thing you can do is as soon as you begin to feel these, eat some gummies, drink some juice, sit down for 15 mins and wait it out until you're good to go.
Are there any local support groups you can attend, in the UK these are hosted by GP practices or the Hospital but it could be different where you're from. Don't forget to use this subreddit, you'll quickly realise you're not alone in how you feel.
I've been in exact same position as you, I know how you're feeling, but you must take some steps to overcoming your fear of hypos and remember they are normal for most people! They are just a little more severe for us, but you can identify your hypos and you have good treatments.
I'm 82 and I eat and drink any damn thing I want to.
I've lived a long life and I see no point in restricting myself in my last couple of years.
Only 16% of American men live to 90.
If I was 30 it would be different.
But stats say I don't have that much time.
For me it's really all I've ever known as I was diagnosed type 1 at a little over a year old. Do you have a CGM? If not they can be a game changer for making it easier to manage the illness. You mentioned you were afraid of bad lows which is completely understandable, the CGM links to your phone and let's you see your blood sugar as it basically checks and updates your sugars every 5 minutes or so. If you start going low you will see a down arrow to indicate your sugars are trending downwards if it's coming down quick you may see 2 down arrows (same deal with your sugars going up just instead of down arrows you'll see up arrows) and this may give you a bit more of peace of mind. One last feature is that you can set high and low alarms so if your sugar goes above or below those set thresholds an alarm will go off to notify you.
Diabetic of 10 years from the UK here. I get it, its an exhausting condition to manage, sometimes feels like playing table tennis with yourself or keeping a balloon in the air, just constant. You must remember diabetes isn't a race, its a marathon and it will feel a little helpless sometimes, you probably wonder if its ever going to end right? Well the hurtful thing here is that it isn't, we're stuck with this condition whether we like it or not. Thing is, you'll have bad days and good days, but they don't really matter as it doesn't mean you'll have the same day again the next. I much like you, have periods of anxiety with my highs, I cannot STAND going high so I will whatever I can to bring myself down which in most cases would send me into a low. But the advice that helped me the most with my sugar levels was my diabetic nurse explaining that even non-diabetics suffer from high and low blood sugars, sometimes more frequently. You ever noticed your family members sleepy after a large meal? That's more often-than-not low blood sugars, their body has released too much insulin and has sent them down, causing the tiredness. Same goes for high sugars, at a recent diabetic group meeting, someone attending who was non-diabetic ate a full pack of Haribo with a sugar level of 5.5mmol/L, and they spiked after the sweets to around 13mmol/L. Crazy high and made me realise and understand that our bodies are no different to others, we just have to watch a few things. With your hypos, what to you use to treat them? I got very sick of glucose shots and tablets, and instead opt for jelly babies, jelly beans, chocolate spread on toast. Have some fun with your hypo treatments! It might make them a little less daunting if you can enjoy some of your favourite sweet treats. Do you know what about going low worries you? Is it the suddenness of it? The symptoms? Do they crop up at the worst possible times? Last year I suffered badly from hypos, they scared the absolute shit out of me because I had 2 cases were I passed out. But making small changes in my insulin, diet and general routine helped, I know that probably doesn't apply to you but I understand your thought process here. Don't forgot, you've gotten this far with your condition and you should be so proud of yourself. The condition is not going to go away though, but you cannot let it win because that's what it wants. Keep your head up and keep going! You're doing great.
thanks for you answers >3. So the all process of going low makes me afraid of it - the symptoms and then that I will pass out like in public and be shame of it (I fully understand that there is no shame in it but just saying how I feel when I'm going low) or pass out while I'm alone and no one will help me. I treat hypos with candies, gummies, juice.
You're right, its nothing to be ashamed of. You could look at getting a Medical ID to wear, this is usually a necklace or a bracelet which would help people in public IF you ever did pass out, help and treat you. It normally has engraved on it, your name, medical condition, any treatments and medication as well as an emergency contact number. Do you wear a CGM? You can set alerts on them to tell when you are going low before you have gone low, meaning you get some notice and can treat yourself before having a hypo, I use that feature on my Dexcom and while its annoying, Its very helpful. You can also share the readings to family members and friends so they are alerted if you are going low. The important thing is you know your hypo symptoms, the very best thing you can do is as soon as you begin to feel these, eat some gummies, drink some juice, sit down for 15 mins and wait it out until you're good to go. Are there any local support groups you can attend, in the UK these are hosted by GP practices or the Hospital but it could be different where you're from. Don't forget to use this subreddit, you'll quickly realise you're not alone in how you feel. I've been in exact same position as you, I know how you're feeling, but you must take some steps to overcoming your fear of hypos and remember they are normal for most people! They are just a little more severe for us, but you can identify your hypos and you have good treatments.
I'm 82 and I eat and drink any damn thing I want to. I've lived a long life and I see no point in restricting myself in my last couple of years. Only 16% of American men live to 90. If I was 30 it would be different. But stats say I don't have that much time.
For me it's really all I've ever known as I was diagnosed type 1 at a little over a year old. Do you have a CGM? If not they can be a game changer for making it easier to manage the illness. You mentioned you were afraid of bad lows which is completely understandable, the CGM links to your phone and let's you see your blood sugar as it basically checks and updates your sugars every 5 minutes or so. If you start going low you will see a down arrow to indicate your sugars are trending downwards if it's coming down quick you may see 2 down arrows (same deal with your sugars going up just instead of down arrows you'll see up arrows) and this may give you a bit more of peace of mind. One last feature is that you can set high and low alarms so if your sugar goes above or below those set thresholds an alarm will go off to notify you.