Hi,
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was around 10 or 11, and it was a super hard transition. Even though a few years have passed, I have no more control than what I did before and I have made several attempts to better myself yet they never work out. I am tired of this and a few times I simply gave up. I stopped taking insulin, ate all the sweets in the world, enjoyed sodas other than diets, and my sense of portions were gone out the window. I recently got out the hospital for what might as well have been my 100th DKA. Even though I am so desperately trying to stay on track, I can feel myself slipping already and I fear that I may be in the hospital again soon. Please help and tell me what I should do. My family doesn’t understand and constantly tells me to check my blood sugar and make sure I take my insulin, never asking how I feel or if I am even comfortable doing it.
@rwatkin7 hi Rayna,
It can be a long and scary road when someone tells you that you have an incurable disease. The first couple years you might not even believe them… you might convince yourself that you aren’t sick, that you don’t need insulin, that this is a bad dream, that everything would be fine if things could go only back to the old days, Then we spend… maybe years… trying to figure out what we did wrong to get singled out and punished so bad.
There is a process for grieving. Everyone will have some life-changing losses in their lives. This includes people places and things. When this happens we grieve, during this process it can feel like this is the end of life for us, but then life goes on anyway. We can get stuck in depression and never be able to get out on our own… when this happens we will need the help of others to get through this process.
I can tell you that life will go on, even against your will. There are times and there will always be times, when nothing seems fair,
I did this for many years. I pretended I didn’t have diabetes. I thought in my head that if I pretended hard enough, that I would not be sick anymore and I could return to the “good old days”. This is called “denial”. It is an important part of grieving because if we had to wrap our head around the whole new deal all at once, we might lose it completely. Denial can be helpful in slowing down the realization of this terrible new deal. This can be a disaster if we get stuck here.
I urge you to talk to a therapist if you can see one. and if you can’t, to continue to talk to the people here, because we’ve all been at this spot. Some pass it easier, some like me, get stuck in this part for years. Talking about it, getting angry, helping others, will slowly start to help you to realize this new deal and then get past this horrible truth. This growth will not come easy, but it will come.
good luck Rayna
@rwatkin7 come to think of it Rayna, being tired of it is a really good sign, as long as “it” means the roller coaster of DKA, then trying to do better, then DKA.
Being tired of it, in a way, could mean you are ready to move on. As soon as you stop the war you are having with yourself, the sooner you get to a place of acceptance.
Also - I like ice cream. I like pizza. I like General TSO’s Chicken with that thick spicy and incredibly sweet sauce on it. I eat candy with my boy at Halloween, and I always eat “first birthday” and wedding cake, just because I want to. If you learn how to use insulin, there is no reason you can’t eat “sweets”. This idea of “cheating” and “forbidden” foods is BS. it just takes a lot of learning. If you make too many rules, you will break them.
I made homemade pizza last night, pepperoni. it took me over a year to be able to eat this and have normal blood sugar, but I can do it. I don’t have magic, just patience with myself.
I think you can do it too.
@rwatkin7 Rayna, honey you have no idea how many times I have been down this road. I understand completely and totally how you feel. Physically and emotionally. My name is kaylee and I’m only 14. I have had this for about 5years. And I have been in and out of the hospital, because I would just give up. If you want to talk, I am here for you. I know how frustrating it is. I know how much it takes out of you. In every aspect of your life. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone. If you want to talk, I can help you, and give you some tips. And i think that it will be good for you and I. Because I have been needing someone to talk to, about this too. Please let me know if you want to talk. 
Hi Rayna @rwatkin7, I hear what you are saying and I think I can relate to how you are feeling and to how you resist the so-called correct way to live “because you are diabetic”. I hate THAT label. Many years ago I too was in denial - never told anyone at school, and later at work that I had diabetes and ate and drank as if it didn’t matter - “DENIAL”.
I won’t go into the gory details or into how I’m paying now, 60+ years, but I will tell you how I became to “accept” my diabetes and move on. You didn’t mention your age or for how long you have had diabetes so I’ll assume that you are not older than 20.
My outlook on life and what encouraged me to make a little attempt to take care of myself happened in 1965, mid-twenties, when I realized that someone liked me even after I told her I had diabetes - we had been dating then for about 3 months. She didn’t criticize me for eating stuff nor did she push me to see a doctor [this was long before BG Meters] but rather led me by example - we married the next year and she still is my guide. What I’m trying to say to you, try to put forward the real, honest person you are and be optimistic about yourself and life; first, like yourself and others will gather about you. Accept you as a person.
Before I forget, let me welcome you to TypeOneNation - here you will find people with whom you can relate and receive encouragement.
Only advice Id say is to dissect everything you’re worrying about into one day increments and go from there. Ask yourself what you can do TODAY to make TODAY a better day than yesterday.
Every day you wake up is a chance at a do-over. Take advantage of it.
30 separate “Todays” adds up to a month. and so on, and so on, and so on.
Hi, Rayna @rwatkin7.
First, give us a sense of how old you are. If you are in your teenage years you’ll see many, many threads on this forum from people your age who are experiencing similar feelings to yours, and find themselves struggling with managing diabetes. Your situation is not uncommon. Unfortunately, it can be deadly and/or it can lead to debilitating complications (but you are aware of that).
I am especially concerned about some of what you posted →
So, is it that you have no one you can talk to about how you feel about having diabetes? And is it that your family believes that “just” checking your blood glucose and taking your insulin “will make it easy”? Hmmm…
My reading of your post makes me think that you would benefit from a little emotional support from your family. But, for whatever reason, they may not be able to appreciate what a challenge it is to be a teenager with diabetes. It’s tough!
I’ll get right to the point - based on the limited information I have, I am of the opinion that you need to visit with your physician alone. Tell her/him that you need someone to talk to about how tough it is living with diabetes. Explain that you don’t feel like you get much support from your family. Tell your physician that you really want to learn how to manage your diabetes but, emotionally, you feel overwhelmed.
If your physician is a thoughtful person, he/she will “hear” what you are saying and will acknowledge that living with diabetes is a real emotional challenge. Your physician will then refer you to a skilled diabetes educator or counselor who will listen to your concerns and will help you begin to find the emotional strength to help yourself learn to manage diabetes. It won’t be easy. But if you keep working with your educator/counselor you will begin to find hope that you can learn to live with diabetes. Then, with practice, you’ll find it easier to manage your diabetes. You’ll begin to feel better physically, and you’ll begin to have more confidence in yourself. Now that would feel better, don’t you think? The alternative (what you have been living through) doesn’t seem too appealing.
Rayna, I’ve had diabetes for more than 60 years now. And in my many years of practice as a neuropsychologist I had occasion to see many, many people who struggled with managing diabetes (and were dying from its complications). I will never tell you that it is easy to do, but, with the right support, you can begin to learn to live well. There are many of us who have.
Please visit with your physician. Explain how you are feeling. Then work hard with a diabetes educator/counselor to change your life the way you say you want to. Please make that “investment” in yourself. You’re worth it!
Bill
Okay so first of all I want to say sorry for the wait for a reply, I had the MOST trouble logging back in. Secondly, I am proud to say that my A1C has gone down from 11.2 to a 9.6 cheers really hard. Thirdly. in a few weeks i will be the new recipient of a pump that has long been needed. I’m so excited. I have read all the replies and I just want to say that this is the most amazing forum anyone with diabetes can ever participate in. I never expected this much encouragement to carry on and how to deal with things. Also, I am 19 years old because so many were asking. So around 8-9 years I’ve been dealing with this and I am just now getting back on the track that I feel comfortable with so thank you for your positive messages.
Thank you for this because there was a lot of stuff I stopped eating because they said it wasn’t good for me such as cake (I still don’t eat it anyway because it’s always been to sweet to me even before I got diagnosed). Candy I am kind of chill with such as nerds or mints or sweets tarts but only if they come in those boxes that only cost like $1. It took me a while but now I really do try to eat a little healthier than i was before, and its mostly fruit but still. i have seafood every few months or when i can and i enjoy it thoroughly. i no longer stray from highly carbohydrated foods because i now know that i can just cover it all with i dose of insulin
The thing with my family is that when i say i do take my insulin shots and then the next day I get super sick, they do not believe me. The some how I end up in the hospital and my mom tells the nurses and doctors the same thing. I feel so put down when she says that because I really do take care of myself and when she says things like that, it makes it seem (to me) that she doesn’t really understand that it isnt particularly MY fault that my body doesnt react with the insulin the way its supposed to. But now that I have switched from Apidra to Humalog, I feel that I am doing so much better so thank you
Rayna,
It’s so nice to see you’ve seen improvement! That is super! And it’s good to see you’ll soon have a pump. It will take a while to get it “dialed in,” and it won’t be something you can just “set and forget” - it will take a bit of work just like what you have been doing with injections and using your glucose meter. But it is so much easier with a pump.
I’m glad your physician changed your meds. And I hope your mother appreciates that the change has made a difference (i.e., it wasn’t you being the problem).
Hang in there. You’ll get this figured out. And with your pump you should continue to feel better and better.
Let us know how you’re doing from time to time.
Bill
Look, here’s the hard part. Moms, Drs, and just about everybody else with our diabetes can’t seem to understand.
T1D so far can’t be cured. Everyone here understands this part, we are all individual. What works for, may not work for you. Unfortunately, you gotta step up and hold true to what works. As long as what your doing doesn’t hurt you worse than the disease already has! In essence your in control and need to stay in control. No one else knows you better!
Some drs understand and will help you help yourself. Others don’t seem to get it. If you get everything under “control” and your numbers are good, keep it that way. It’s working! You have to question everything and everyone! Drs included! Find out why your doing this or that, before you do it. Work with the dr, not just do what they say.
Ever since I did the explaination of I need to know why and what will happen if I continue, I got better answers. Better explanations. I told them straight up, when I was hospitalized, for testing, that I was not giving up my insulin or any of my meds period. I got 20 reasons from 20 different people that said I had to. Till I talked to dr working on me and said look my #s are great, I’m not gonna change what I’m doing just because you say so. I’m not letting anyone else telling me when to take my shots, or if I need to fix my lows on thier schedule. I told him why I wouldn’t do it. To my surprise, they backed down and left me alone! Everything went smooth and they did the colonoscopy and endoscopy with no problems!
I drop incredibly fast and not eating on my schedule creates major problems. The dr realized that I knew who, what, why and most importantly when I needed to do things. I couldn’t and wouldn’t wait until somebody else said it was ok to do something. I proved it with my daily records and had my Endo backing me doing what I’m doing.
It’s important to listen to dr! But when it’s not right, it’s not right. Don’t ne afraid to step up and say so! But you also have to your homework and prove it as well!
Good luck
Charlie
Hi
If you are not getting good support from your family then maybe reach out to a good healthcare team. We are fortunate enough to be able to go to the Barbara Davis Center which is a leader in diabetes care. They provide us with adequate nutrition information and support that allows us to learn and they teach us tricks along the way. There is better teaching and support out there that will allow you to eat whatever you want. Sounds like you could use better support. It’s very difficult to handle all these emotions yourself and if you have someone else to lean on it helps ! Don’t give up- one day at a time. You just need armed with resources.
Hi @rwatkin7. I’m so sorry for the frustration you’re feeling. With a chronic medical condition it’s important to have the support of family and friends, and sometimes they do they best they can but just don’t know specifically how to help. Some families go to counseling, while some individuals just get “in their face” and tell them what they need - sometimes that’s what it takes. Of course I don’t know you or anything about what you and your family have tried, so I can’t preach - just make some suggestions and observations, which you can keep or toss. I’m glad you’ve found this forum because there are people who have lived with diabetes for decades, such as myself, as well as ones who are relatively newer. You should be able to make some connections here that can help you, even if the family on this site is not related by blood.
Again I don’t know what you’ve tried, but you say you’ve had diabetes for a few years since being diagnosed at 10 or 11, so I’m guessing you’re in your teens or early 20s. Children are pretty much reliant on their parents to find a medical practice and specialists; and sometimes the office you go to isn’t a good fit. So if the medical team you’re seeing isn’t providing the support and education you need to get your numbers where you want them to be; to get you feeling happy and healthy and able to do the things you enjoy - you might want to shop around and find a practice that does, With a physician and Diabetes Nurse Educator who’s willing to work with you to develop a regimen; a nutritionist who can help you focus on taking control to stay healthy, refresh your nutrition education and carb counting so you don’t go off the rails; and perhaps personal counseling (in addition to or in lieu of family) - hopefully you will be able to get back on track.
From your post it sounds like you really want to, so if your current medical team isn’t working for you, find one that does. Wishing you the best.