Are there any little things you do in your diabetes management that you know you shouldn't, but do anyway?
With my pump I usually let the reservoir run down to zero units and if it's not convenient to do a site change then, I just wait. Sometimes I'll eat and wait hours before getting around to the new site. Always causes a crazy high, I always say I won't do it again...
And sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and feel my blood sugar is high, but instead of testing and taking a quick bolus I just roll over and go back to sleep.
Oh, and one time I was super tired but my husband was in the mood to be intimate. I told him my blood sugars had been really off that day (a lie) and that we should wait for another time.
And I'm terrible about emptying the used strips from my test case so I find them all over the car, house, etc.
I thought I was the only one who let the pump reservoir go to 0 units and then not change it till I was ready! I always say I won't do it again also but, of course the next time comes around and I do it again...The night time highs, yep I am a culprit of that too haha
I am glad that others have the same naughty habits I do, makes me feel better! haha
The strips are all over the place for me! lol I get yelled at >.< one bad habit of mine is to guess a figure where my sugar is at and just take some insulin for a meal ):
I always let my pump run out of insulin- it's too expensive to waste! I will even set an alarm in the middle of the night if it's due to run out, to try and avoid a high glucose.
You're a diabetes poster child of good behavior angiemarie if you actually wake yourself up to change your pump when it runs out of insulin!
Do you do anything naughty in your diabetes care? Anything that would make your endo and diabetes educator shake their heads and wonder where they went wrong? =)
yeah, but I'm 14 weeks pregnant right now, so I'm behaving better than I ever have in 26 years! My "dark ages" of T1 was definitely as a teenager in high school -- some things I'd rather forget :-/
That definitely makes sense. I was a diabetes poster child during my pregnancy and it didn't seem difficult. But it takes a lot of work and over the years I've gone back to less strict control.
I think that's a very very bad idea, with type 1, it takes so much of your time that you rarely stop to think about how it effects the loved ones around you.
I let my blood sugar get too high and had a sever heart attack (triponin level=54) due to muscle spasms from high sugar. I am 22 with 10.3% body fat and am in poster child shape, if it can happen to me considering the shape i was in, it could DEFINATELY happen to you. I remember holding my Mom while she cried over me, while i screamed "im so sorry!" over and over. We both thought i was going to die right there and it was because i let my diabetes guard down.
If you are ok with putting a loved one through that instead of just spending a couple minutes to do only what you're expected to do, then ya, i would say your totally fine doing it! :D /thumbs up
Not trying to be vindictive or mean with that response, just speaking the absolute truth to you, even if its not what anyone on this forum wants to hear. We are diseased. We have things we HAVE to do. We fail... our body WILL fail as well. Simple enough.
Hey Scott, sorry to hear about your experience. I believe the "Do it or youre gonna die" speach does very little to inspire the clinically depressed, except maybe to push them further down a hole which keeps them from helping themselves. Heck if it really worked, therapists would be replaced by drill Sergeants tomorrow. I beleive that for each life there is an individual understanding that comes from their own personal experiences. It might be to live for someone else (like a baby) it might be out of respect for others, something completely different, or for me, it was because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired after 20 years of really bad control (my examples of naughty is not like letting my pump reservior hit 0).
as far as the frailty of bodies... I have 2 words - "Keith Richards" a living example that a body can take an awful beating and keep going, but to be more serious, I think you are right, I don't know if the next high or low is going to kill me, so I count my lucky stars and do the best I can do today.
I think we all find our own inspiration... or we die, and we know it, we're diabetic, not idiots. But by contrast, I am the type of person who becomes demotiated by fear, and I found it very difficult to overcome not taking care of myself because I was so afraid. I did eventually anyway.
I am curious though - were you refering to anything specific with "anyone on this forum wants to hear"? I find the people here genuine, and honest, and caring, well... except for the occaisonal troll and spammer but they are few and far between, thank goodness.
Trying to respond to this on my phone sorry if I double post or my typos are numerous. I was not stressing our responsibilities as diabetics but rather our obligations and responsibilities to those who are closest to us and love us the most. Let’s face it, they are more afraid of us dIeing suddenly then we are. This means that not taking proper care of ourselves is selfish for their sake. Yes I am a military man and I know it comes out in what I say, that was the reason for my comment that it’s not what people on this site want to hear, because I know my approach to type 1 is more stern and rigid than the usual type 1 diabetic. I did not intend you call anyone an idiot. I was simply pointing out how black and white our condition is, with no gray area and very little room for compromise. My tone may be aggressive, but I am also capable of empathy and sympathy, please never feel it is my intention to hurt anyone. My only point in my response was, do you think your love ones, who worry about you everyday knowing they can’t help, would appreciate knowing that you are willingly not following proper medical care?
Scott - i happen to agree with you. I was just feeling it for some folks that might not be able to see the rational outcome if they are overcome by depression or fear, and because years ago it was me. no offense intended or taken, and I am really glad you are active on our site.
I get what you're saying Scott and am glad you've found what motivates you. I'm not a disciplined person and doctors who tried to scare me straight were never effective.
And I've had diabetes for a long time. The sad reality is, better blood sugars can help avoid complications but it's not the only factor that contributes to them. Diabetes is a lot more gray then you could ever imagine.
It's been awhile since i've been on the forums, but this thread caught my eye. I've been a T1 for three years (diagnosed at 25). I am not on a pump yet, but I am guitly of reusing my pen needles. I will just leave it on the pen and recap it. knock on wood i haven't had any issues.
I also went through a period of time - like the first two years - where I thought the doctor was wrong and I wasn't actually diabetic (despite getting high readings). the husband would get a candy bar, i should probably get one too. fortunately, i've learned my lesson.
Scott, I agree with our loved ones depend on us to take care of ourselves. Our loved ones should be the reason we want to disiplin ourselves to the diabetic lifestyle. Although I would say, we are NOT deseased, we have a condition, A condition that requires use to do things that non-diabetic folks cannot (or will not) understand. I have had diabetes for 30 years now and have seen treatments change dramatically. Even if "being naughty" is how an individual decides to live his or her life these new treatments can still ward off complictions for some time. I do not codone being a naughty diabetic but can see how easily it is to fall into that rut.
Gina, yes I've been naughty, in the past, now I am working very hard to not be naughty. There is not enough room here for me to say every thing I've done wrong but, I can relate.
My wishes to everyone for continued health, wealth, & happiness. Take care of yourselves, your loved ones depend on you!
Letting insulin drop to 0 units in the pump before changing...all the time! Using diabetes as an excuse to get out of being late for work? Ya I've been there a few times, but abusing it would be outright wrong, so it is very rare that I do that.
Scott- hi this is my first post on here --I felt compelled to put in my 2 cents--My 11 year old son has had type one for three years and I truly appreciate your point regarding a persons' loved ones--I try very hard to help my son see the value in having good control in terms of benefitting himself( better ability with sports, feeling better, its easier to avoid problems before they occur--lows/ highs being a pain to deal with as well as dangerous)--but as a mom my number one feeling is always--I love my son and would do anything to keep him well-Id gladly take on this dreadful disease if I could instead of him but we all know thats not how it works. I applaud you for your wisdom and caring in this--Im trying so hard to instill in him a desire or habit or whatever motivation works to stay healthy and treat diabetes with respect--as something that must be dealt with appropriately--and give him as much independence as I can so that when he truly is independent of my supervision he will be ok. I feel for anyone dealing with this disease--it is always there--no vacations--no days off --its easy to get burned out --and Im not even the one with the disease--anyway--thanks for articulating some of my feelings--and know that your mom is lucky!!
i am pretty naughty when it comes to changing my lancet (i use the poker with the barrel of 6 lancets - cant think of its name atm) Ill go like agez without putting in a fresh barrel of lancets
I live at home cuz im a minor still. And a few times a day my mum says to me " Tobi i found another damn test strip on the floor "
Also i rarely empty my dirty test strips out of my equipment case