lexi - get a counselor at high school ASAP. don’t bum. I was there too around the same time in life. you need to get with the local JDRF if there is one. volunteer learn more or go to camp konrad in California. don’t worry. the folks are still learning. you will be ok. I will pray for you. this is normal. it takes a lot. isolating. sad sometimes. peace and trust me - find that counselor. they will help. peace. don
Hi Lexi:
Like everyone who responded to your post, I feel your pain. I’ve been T1D for 45 years, but when I was diagnosed there were no insulin pumps or even BG meters, so my parents had no idea if mine were in range or not. I was 12 when I was diagnosed and had all the same feelings you do, but I didn’t handle it well (neither did my parents; they seemed to be embarrassed that I had a chronic disease). I ended up drinking and using a lot of drugs, which I would NOT recommend to anyone, but I survived and am now on a Medtronic 670G and Guardian 3 CGM; after several years of A1Cs of 8 and above, my last one was 6.8! When I was pregnant in 1981, I had to go to the doctor 3x a day once a week to have blood drawn so they could keep an eye on my BG levels!
You didn’t say how your diabetes is treated, but the pump (after my rep, doctor and I worked out dosing, etc) has been a real help; as I got older, control became more difficult. And, as others have said, emotions and stress can propel me into low BGs in a flash.
In response to Joe’s comment about irritation when people say diabetes has never stopped them from doing what they want to do, I’m one of those people. In fact, being T1D has led directly to my choosing the career I have had for the past 25 years and, as strange as it may sound, I’m grateful. That doesn’t mean I don’t have days in which I worry about my health and feel depressed, but you CAN live a great life with it. I had to develop a warrior spirit and not let it beat me! Wish you the best, and please stay in touch - isolation is never the solution. Thanks for posting.
Hi there. I understand what you’re going through I’ve been there myself. Like you I was the only diabetic at my school and you’re right you do feel alone, but I promise you this: you’re not. You are more than diabetes, you’re just like everyone else even though it may not feel like it at the time. I’ve had diabetes for 25 years basically since I was 2 years old. You can have things just in moderation. Your family may just be scared for you because they don’t know everything either. They’re just trying to do their best for your sake. Don’t be to hard on them. I’ll be praying for you. Know this, if you feel yourself falling ill be here to help pull you back. I’m here for you. Don’t give up. You’re not alone. We’re right there with you.
Thank you so much @cnmcwhirt I know I’m not alone and hopefully one day I’ll feel like I’m not just a disease. It gets hard sometimes but I’ll get thru it eventually!!!
@DDrumminMan thank you so much for this and you along with everyone else have helped me a little more thank you so much!!
I am 15 turning 16 @anitanerwen
You are very young. Firstly in my experience you cannot let your diabetes take control of your life. It is not an easy task. I guess I have been lucky to have the right attitude. I was 20 yrs. old and pregnant with my first, and I was brave to have 2 more kids. Are you on the pump. That really helped and the cgm is terrific, these 2 devices have brought my a1 c down. Some days my body has its own mind, you must say to yourself tomorrow is another day. We cannot be perfect. Tell me a little more about yourself and how you feel. Where do you live? I am in New York area.
Be well and take care of yourself. Remember you are in control, not your diabetes
Anita
You’re very welcome. It is hard and there will be ups and downs. I still go through that from time to time but I’ve realized it gets easier. Hang in there, you are strong. Stronger than you yet realize.
I use the calm app or the breathing app on my fit bit blaze or my iwatch to help me get through those times. You are so much more than your diabetes. You are a person first. I wish you the best of luck throughout your journey and please always know that there is support out there, it just might now be from the people you think naturally would be there first.
Take it from someone who has burnt-out, and tried to come back, negative thinking and self pitty won’t help. Manage your diabetes to live, and do the stuff you want. Don’t just live to manage your diabetes because that is a no-win situation.
I feel you girl I have been type 1 diabetic for little over 10 years now. Nobody in my family has it and I hate when they try to tell me what I need to be doing. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE DISEASE, YOU HAVE NO CLUE!!! It’s like manually controlling your heart rate. It’s hard. In my opinion I don’t think that doctors should be diabetic doctors unless they have the disease. Like I said if you don’t have it you have no clue. I know it’s nerve-racking more than nerve-racking. If I can do anything to help let me know. my name is Tiffany
I just got out of the hospital from dka for the second time in the past few months and have just been having a crappy time with it even though I have a pump a cgm and all the other stuff meant to help. No one else in my family has it either and just sees me as fucking up I’m sure. I’m 28 and feel the dispair.
@Padlewis1990 hey just a thought here- most people don’t realize that DKA is more of a risk on a pump than shots. If you are prone to DJA you can take a small shot of long acting along with pumping. Please check in with your Endo, and I hope you have better results.
Fingerstick glucose meters, continuous glucose monitoring systems, insulin pens, smart insulin pens pumps and whatever else will not manage diabetes on their own. We, each of us as our own “primary care physician” must do the diabetes management thing - and the tools mentioned above offer wonderful assistance if we use them correctly.
The “bright side”, currently there are some interesting bits of technology close to deployment that propose to take over diabetes management for us and allow us [PWD] to be led along without needing to think; that could be OK until something unusual comes along. I’ve met with/spoken with a few people who are “testing” proposed technology who say it works well.
The unfortunate thing about some of the devices now available is that they are not “plug and go” - the new user must be patient and allow the software “to study and learn” each individual body before it can be trusted in its planned automatic management role. And even then, the user must remain aware at all times in the event that wearable brain is not in correlation with how the natural brain is interpreting body sensations.
Padlewis1990- The next time anyone sez anything about fucking up, ask them how long it’s been since they were prescribed and given access to a drug that has the potential to kill them in their sleep.
(and my wife wonders sometimes why I eat in bed.)