Hi I’m 23 years old and have diabetes for about 7 years and I have a really hard time staying healthy and out of the hospital. My sugars run all over the place they are never stable. I was born with one kidney and one adrenal gland. If you have any ideas on what can help please let me know. Thank you.
Hi, sorry to hear you’re having such problems right now. People with one autoimmune disease, like type 1, are more likely to have another. Hormone imbalances are another big one with type 1. Maybe ask your doctor to run a thyroid test, make sure everything is functioning there as it should. Also, I have no idea if you are male or female, but I noticed improved predictability in my levels once I went on the Nuvaring (birth control). If applicable, perhaps research your synthetic hormone options. On another note, try to stick to a routine; it doesn’t guarantee the same results all the time, but it does help, and it makes it easier to spot the causes and effects surrounding blood sugars. And try to stick to pop/water when out with friends: alcohol can seriously impact your blood sugars for hours after you’ve stopped drinking. I hope any of this helps and that you find what works best for you. Good luck!
hello @Kwebster93 welcome to T1N. I am sorry to hear about your control problems but I have to tell you that after ~35ish years of T1 my sugars can run all over the place. Do you pump? are your troubles highs or lows I am guessing both?
Things to check: if you are pumping, there can be many issues around infusion sets and sites. crazy blood sugars (strange high sugars) can be a result of infusion sets and sites that are scarred, bent, occluded, irritated, etc. I hope you are carb counting - as a general way to calculate how much insulin you’ll need for a meal.
testing is also really important, for me not just before meals but at about 2 hours after, because if I made a mistake there’s a way to see the difference at 2 hours can tell a lot about if you have enough insulin to cover a meal or if “something happened”
I use a pump so I can program basal rates. this keeps me closer to the best basal rates for me. still, when the seasons change i need to skip meals and see if my fasting blood sugar is rising or falling. I generally call this a “tune up”. I also use a CGM for this purpose. ONe thing I learned is that if I go low/no carb and medium fats and proteins, my blood sugar is very flat. I was able to keep my blood sugar at about 75mg/dl for 2 days no spikes even after meals. If you are comfortable with tweaking and changing your own insulin, then I have seen that diet and exercise changes make the most impact on blood sugar control (in my opinion). The best reference manual is “Think like a Pancreas” book which you can buy on Amazon.
if you are not comfortable making your own changes to insulin or diet, or if you use MDI, or if you are unhappy with your control in general the best thing is to get with an endo or CDE and go over your lifestyle and see what things you can do to improve. Even after 7+ years, there is always new things to learn and other ways to look at it.
good luck!
Hey thank you for the advice. I do have hypothyroidism which means I have something called Schmidt syndrome because I have 3 autoimmune disease. I am on pump but no sensor. And I emit salt faster than I take it in
Hi. I realize this is a month late, but I’ve had T1D for many years and thought I might be able to help. When I was a little younger than you are now I have an excellent doctor who taught me how to keep my BGs in tight control. He said to check my BG before eating, 2 hours after eating, and again about 4 hours after eating. That’s the best way to figure out how the food you are eating is affecting your blood sugars. From those numbers you can figure out how to adjust your insulin to get better control. It may seem like a lot of work, but you only need to do it for a week or two at first, after that it’s only you are eating something new anytime or if your sugars are off to figure out why. If you’re not sure how to adjust your insulin I’m sure your doctor can help you once you have these numbers for him/her to look at.
This has worked for me. I’ve been diabetic for 52 years and have no complications! Hope it helps you, too!
PS: That’s HAD an excellent doctor! Sorry!
Hey Kwebster93! Just now joining to this conversation a little late but I found I can relate to your situation very well! I have 5 other 4 other autoimmune diseases in addition to Type 1 diabetes and as I’m sure you know the road has not been easy! In my teens (15) I was diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism, autoimmune hepatitis, an autoimmune eye condidtion, and adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease). It wasn’t until about 3 years later I was then diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. My diabetes has definitely been the biggest stuggle to deal with. As you know since our adrenal glands are not functioning as they are suppose to it has a big impact with our diabetes. Are you on a steroid? I find that my steroid dose effects my sugars, my energy levels are always up and down and a number of other factors also affect my sugars. I do have an insulin pump (omnipod) and have tried a CGM but did not care for it. It’s always a balancing act to try and adjust insulin rates and ratios and I don’t think they will ever be perfect but they have gotten better through the years. Know that you are not alone because our situation is a tiny bit different from some. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’d love to hear more about your story!
Hi! I was diagnosed when I was 40 years old, and I knew nothing about the disease since nobody in my family or friends had it. Now, at age 70, I know more than I ever wanted to know! My son was diagnosed at age 32, and it has not been easy for him. Anyway, my control is best when I do everything as close to schedule as possible. I eat the same amounts at the same times every day when I can. I balance my meals very carefully, and stay aware of those foods that tend to spike my levels, like rice and pasta. 1/4 C. is a full serving of those for me. I even try to go to bed at the same time…of course, that is not always possible, but when I change something drastically I test my blood more often. As it is, I test 10 times a day, including before I drive anywhere, before I eat, and during any physical exertion like gardening or biking. I also test any time I wake up in the night, just in case a low blood sugar has awakened me. I no longer have warnings that I can feel of low blood sugars, and they occur sometimes for no apparent reason.
It is hard, but I have gotten used to it. So far I have no horrible side effects. My A1C is in the neighborhood of 5.2. The important thing is to keep doing things you love, and not allow yourself to feel overwhelmed.