I am a regular 18 year except for the fact that im diabetic, and even i cant get that through my head. I have been diabetic for more than six years and i really cant get the routine down of taking my medicines and checking my blood levels, and im starting to feel some of the effects, but i really just want a fresh start in life, or can i just start taking my medicine
I know exactly how you feel!
I'm going through the same thing as you!
I generally see my diabetes as second to my life, while in reality it needs to become apart of that life. But just remember that you are not alone!!! (as a diabetic of over 15 yeasr now) i still have these problems. Good luck with getting everything back on track!
Skyler
Hey Skyler,
Thanks for posting :) So good to know we're all feeling a lot of the same shtuff!
It was really interesting to me that you feel like diabetes is "second to your life." It's so hard to make it first, you know? It gets in the way of a lot of things, but not really in a permanent way, more in a "I need to find a better route in order to get through this" kind of way, right?
But then again, if it's second to our life and we can't have much of a life if our diabetes isn't taken care of, then we've got to find a way to make it part of our life, right? It's hard. I don't know the secret, but I admire that you're working towards fitting it into your every day life. You're doing awesome!!!
Ginger
OMG!! DO NOTTT GIVE UP!!!!!!! I felt the exact same way as you! EXACTLY the same way!! It took me actually almost dying to wake up and it was NOT fun at all. I had to force myself to realize that there is sooo much more to me as a person, and soo much more to my life than this dumb disease. I had to grow up and start taking control of my own health, I thought it was my doctor's job to do all the dirty work and make me feel better, and when my visit to her was over and my blood sugar was still too high I thought if the medical professoinals can't "fix" my diabetes then how would I even be able to! So I quit going.
I was diagnosed in 2001, my last doctors visit was in 2001!
Then I became extreamely sick, it was no joke i almost died, my mom found me on the kitchen floor, I could not stop throwing up, my blood sugar wouldn't go down for 3 days!
I have never in my life felt so sick and in so much pain like I did those few days, I couldn't keep plain old water down and all I wanted was something to drink and not have to find a pail to vomit!
My mouth was so dry i was so very thirsty yet nothing would stay down, and because i was so dehydrated that just made more problems in itself.
You can't give up, what good will that do for you and your family, ya it's depressing most of the time but you really can't be that selfish to just give up and let diabetes win. DON'T BE A QUITTER(unless you smoke then quit-ha ha)
Do some research and educate yourself on diabetes, try to stay away from the garbage(I like to call it) you know the stuff that makes you feel scared and gives you nightmares, and read up on those you can relate to that are having success with their diabetes, go to seminars-the fun ones, stick to this site it is awsome, find a mentor your cde can help.
I personally have an issue with food, i love it too much, i went through 3 dieticians before i finally found one i like, i e-mail her when i need advise, i dont know what to eat, or even just to ask how many carbs are in something, she is always there when i need her.
Having a good team ofv experts has helped me ALOT!!
Trust me once you start taking your medication you will 100% feel a difference in how you feel, i love my insulin it makes me feel soo good!!
I dont have lots of money as like yourself i'm in college and have many bills to pay and my job pays me in pennies!! But i put some money away every payday that would usually go on junkfood and have been able to buy test strips, got myself a cool little glucose meter the one touch ultra mini in hot pink-looks like an mp3 player, i test my blood now all the time just so i can look at it!!(I know i'm AN ODDBALL)
I've also become obsessed with checking my sugars, so much so that my dietician told me to test less often,there is no need for me to test so much in one day, (crazy amounts of test strips used in one day) i just really want my blood sugars stabilized, i have protein in my urine and want to help myself before it turns into kidney disease, its early warnings and im taking them seriously.
This is a long message but one last thing, what do you dream of becoming, what is your dream and dont you want to live it, you can only if you take your diabetes into control, and just think of all the young girls out there who feel the way we do, when we get oor diabetes under control, and are living our dreams those girls with the same disease and the same dream will have us to look up to, because we know what the struggles areb but overcame them and they will feel they can too!!
Let me know how you are doing, forget all the negative for now and focus on the positive!!
Roxy
Teens Unfortunately feel they will live forever, at 54 and a TYPE1 Diabetic since the age of 30, I know now that everything I have done to my body in the past has a price. Think of it in these terms, If I carry my monitor, insulin, and glucose tablets with me everywhere I go I can live a long, happy fruitful life, I will find a life partner when it is time to do so and they will help me manage my diabetes, my world will be normal and my life will be happy and healthy, if I choose not to do these things, I will get sick, become weak and overweight, lose critical circulation, develop heart disease, be miserable and DIE.
Thank you for that perspective, David. You're so right, it's of course about the long-term. I think, though, that sometimes that's the hardest part: knowing that all of this effects your future so majorly. It's such an overwhelming responsibility that is sometimes hard to really wrap our minds around. And when we were all diagnosed, at any age, it was that nice big reminder that we won't live forever. Diabetes or any chronic illness really makes you realize just how vulnerable you are.
The future is crucially a result of the choices we make today, on the other hand, I'm not going to live every day out of fear of my possible future. I'm going to live my life as best I can doing the best I can today in the hopes that those daily individual efforts will lead me through a long healthy life.
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Shelby, please don't believe that it's too late for you to turn your health around. Diabetes is a HUGE challenge--for all of us. Whether it's Type 1 or Type 2, it doesn't matter. It's a disease that requires a lot of care and attention.
And to really take great care of ourselves with diabetes we have to make a lot lifestyle changes that involve regular exercise, learning how to eat better, and yeah, accepting that every single day we have to pay attention to our medications and our blood sugars.
When you think about how much work that all is, it's overwhelming! Non-stop!
But giving up is not a choice. You've got a life to live, babe! But you need to decide that you do want to accept diabetes as a part of your life and face it head on as a challenge that you're going to do your best to overcome every single day.
Then where do you go from there? Should you expect yourself to start eating perfectly and going to the gym every day? No, that's something you'll progressively adapt into your life. But you can do it. You can.
Here are a few suggestions:
STEP 1: Accept that everyone in life has challenges, and diabetes is one of mine. Everyone has challenges. Diabetes is mine.
STEP 2: Taking my medication. This isn't like flossing my teeth occasionally when I feel like it. This medication is going to keep my healthy and functioning and alive. I'm lucky this medication even exists in the first place, so I've got to do my best to take advantage of what it can do for my health.
STEP 3: Educating myself on nutrition and exercise. I'll talking to a dietician at my hospital or at my college and find a friend to go on a regular walks with me at the tredmill on the gym. Just walk. 30-45 minutes maybe at first. Then an hour. I will make it a habit as a part of my life so I can live life to its fullest!
STEP 4: Remind myself that I may not always do this perfectly, but I can do my best one day a time. My life is worth living, I owe it to myself and my family to take care of my body so I can live life! Graduate college. Get a dog. Get a job I love. Have a family. Go to the bahamas for vacation. LIVE LIFE!
Here are a few links to some articles I think you might like:
My Pancreas Should Be Making Insulin...
"Just For Today"...
Roxy's Post
Getting Back Into Control
What do you think, Shelby? Is it time give yourself another chance?
Ginger