Loving the quote from your friend! Sums it up quite well!

I have diabetes since the age of 4 and I am nearly 30 now, and yip every day is a challenge. Not all bad though, I have honestly been through all stages , in my teens and early twenties I was no where near the ‘model’ diabetic. In fact only recently since my husband and I decided we might like children, have I really been focusing on getting my hba1c down, and stable. The constant testing , carb counting etc, and recently new to the pump, is a full time job. But how I see it, is in order to bring a new life into my world, I need to start caring for my body , so that this new life has every chance to be normal!
Diabetes has never been an overbearing factor for how I live my life, (when at times it should have been) but now it is simply take care of myself and my diabetes to the best of my ability.
It’s me who will then see the results, (or feel them as the case may be)
I have always strived to be the best at whatever I do (job wise, friends , family etc) why not add controlling my diabetes to the list!!

Well said Aaron. I’ve been saying lately that there is no such thing as a ’stable T1′ – unless we work at it as you have so accurately portrayed. Some days I feel as though I’m playing ‘catch-up’ all day, another day it is popping jaybees, and just occasionally everything goes swimmingly. I try to remember that the HbA1c is not everything. It is the sustained high blood sugars that cause the lasting damage and those of us who use a pump can so quickly correct the highs. I remember saying once that if I did with injections what I do with the pump I would be labelled, compulsive-obssessive (which, incidentally I was once when I met one specialist and he learned I was using a pump – he considered it completely over the top).
So really it is only other T1s who can really empathise with the dilemmas that we get into and what we do about them.
I was having my ‘annual check’ at the GPs the other day and I was asked if I have more than 1 hypo a week! My reply was that some days I seem to go from one hypo to another. After 35 years, which I have probably mentioned before, I have no signs of complications. With care we can have a happy fulfilledf life and do most anything. I know I’m speaking as a T1 diagnosed as an adult and for those who have been through childhood/adolesence the challenges are greater.
Hang in there everyone – there just may be that ‘cure’ or clue to easier managing sooner that we think.

I have always wondered what is normal with doctors telling me off for having too many hypos or swinging too much. Since being on the pump I am having less swings (long may it last – one week so far and loving it) but I have hypos most days and sometimes several times a day.
Listen to the useful advice from doctors and ignore some of the other stuff.
And yes I am currently being obsessive compulsive.

Wow Aaron how true. Sometimes I think to myself that I am constantly thinking about my Diabetes. It never stops. I hate that tem “stable diabetic”. there is no such thing as stable. Things are constantly moving and changing. Kathy – I definitely have days with heaps of hypos. I call them “low days” I just seem to go from one hypo to the next. Other days things are pretty good and then some days I have highs that I can’t get on top of. Penny good luck with the pump. I would never give mine up. It has made such a huge difference to my life and my health. I went to the Optomestrist this morning and no sign of neuropathy which is great after a year on a pump. I had some mild neuropathy before. I constantly wonder if my diabetes is normal, I used to think that I was the only one who had up and downs and I was doing something wrong but after meeting other Type 1’s I know I am pretty normal. I did want to ask though how often you do basal testing. I find my basals are constantly changing and not sure why so just wondered how often I should be basal testing. Also how do you do basal testing as I find not eating meals like lunch or dinner pretty difficult. I am a constant grazer.

I recently had a friend of a friend diagnosed with T1 diabetes, got a text from her mum one Friday night saying that she was going to have a weekend off as it has all been so exhausting, I remember thinking to myself how lucky she was that she was able to take a break from the whole thing. It is a constant battle which sometimes I am sure is down to good luck even if we have good management. Hopefully the good days far outweight the bad

Hi, I’m really pleased to be able to read about your experiences. I’ve had T1 for just over 2 years. My condition is almost always on my mind, however, this morning first time that I forgot to inject prior to breakfast. This is cause I had to go to work as the electrician was installing lighting and I was running late, took my toast with me to eat. Wasn’t till 12.30pm that I tested and realised I didn’t inject. Today has been hard. Been high and when I got home from work I did heaps of sweeping around the house and now I’m 6.

Who forgets one injection on any one day? Do you inject later in that day to make up for it?

Another question; i haven’t been writing my diary of my diet for ages. Does anyone do a diet diary?

Tania

Thanks for the words of encouragement and solidarity everyone!

I’m so pleased to hear that the pump is going well Penny – long may it continue to improve you life

Tania – I used to forget to take insulin all the time. I was so bad at it that I even used to borrow insulin off my workmate sometimes to get myself sorted (thanks Nic!) so don’t feel guilty about forgetting. It will happen from time to time and all you need to do is take some insulin to bring you levels back to normal (depending on what your insulin sensitivity factor is). Certainly don’t beat yourself up about it though!

Kathy – if you can do it for 35 years and have no complications then so can I, that’s what I thought when I read your comment so thank you! It is hard yakka and it is only other T1s that get it

Birdie – I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. You do the best you can with what you have available and that is all that you can do. Good on you!

Tania – have forgotten several injections (and also ended up as the medical support for a childrens diabetic camp without my own insulin!). I just inject when I remember. Diet diaries are a real pain. I am no good at keeping one.

Sianne – not sure if can extrapolate this. Been told by my new team at national womens that to really test my basal I need to not eat for 10 hours (i thought this meant just overnight but apparetnly the day also – not done this as yet and not looking forward to it)

I agree with you Aaron it is great knowing people that have had diabetes longer than me and are still enjoying their life without complications

Aaron, the email re your post came in just as my husband got back from actual surfing on the West Coast and tracked black sand through the house! I agree with the quote, well put.

I have to say I’ve been good at keeping on top of my diabetes since I had my baby but the effort I’m putting in is probably half what I did pre preg and during the pregnancy. I am definitely keen to have another child at some point but the thought of having to go back to that extreme level of monitoring, recording, measuring, more blood testing, ever-changing requirements etc makes me think I won’t rush into another pregnancy too soon!

Hey Nic
just interested in you comment re: pregnancy, and having a baby with diabetes, have read lots, as I am currently trying to get my levels stable, and Hba1c down to 6 its at 7.6 at the moment, so we can try for a baby!
I know it is hard work! Any other advice?
I have done lots of reading regarding it, but always nice to hear first hand from someone who has done it!

Cheers
Bridie

Hi Bridie – good luck for the pre preg! You’ll be surprised how quickly it comes down with the right advice and lots of careful monitoring.

I’ve done plenty of posts about pregnancy, and they’re all here:
http://www.beingdiabetic.co.nz/2009-12-20/pregnancy-with-type-1-diabetes-the-summary/

I will also be talking about my pregnancy journey at the August Diabetes Youth New Zealand conference, so you could come along to that too:
http://www.diabetesyouth.org.nz/news/article/2010-dynz-conference/

Tania, I am always forgetting whether I have done my injection, not because I forget, but because I have done it so many times I can’t remember whether I’ve done it 10 minutes ago or whether I am remembering the last injection I gave. Like tonight, for instance. I shall be testing myself in 2 hours to make sure – in fact, I always test myself 2 hours after a meal, ever since I became OCD about testing. That’s where the pump is great – it remembers for you. I did get one of those pens that remember, but it broke down after a month so I chucked it out and went back to relying on my brain. Which probably has early onset dementia thanks to too many high blood sugars.

Aaron, I love the surfing analogy! I am always thinking up blood sugar analogies – tuning a radio that is constantly going to static, walking along a tight rope, being a newton’s pendulum – must add surfing to the list. It is so true, you are constantly adjusting because just when you’ve got it right someone moves the goal posts (rugby analogy).

As always folks, your comments never cease to fascinate me and I read them with and an amorous degree of, in surfier slang, “Haggard” Which means, awesome, bodacious. Just 100 percent cool intense surf.
If I was to pick a common thread from them it would be the swings and do they cause more frustration than anything else? I think they do.

Kathy. You must qualify for the first user group of pumpers in this country. Was the first one large? Like the first BG meters?

Has anyone ever told a medical person to… err! Get on their surf board and go ride their wave someplace else? I would be interested to know.

Sarah. I think you should start a thread with your analogies. I did see some on an American Diabetes site, but they were very conservative and something orginal Kiwi always brings a smile.

Well Roy, ‘back in the old days’….. it was almost, but not quite, top secret. I new there were a few others out there in other parts of the country, but had no idea who they were or where they were from. Each district seemed to do their own thing. In MidCentral there were about 4 of us, but we found each other, no one ever got us together, we made our own contact. One is a good friend and we see each other a bit. We used to go walking together at sun-up with her dog and we even went off to Sydney for a long weekend – we touched the ground running and had a whale of a time. I know in Auckland at that time the pumps were being used with diabetes/pregnancy, but people didn’t continue with them after delivery. It would actually be interesting to do some research about it. The trouble is that some of the companies don’t exist any more and I don’t know who one would approach for records. It would also be interesting to know just how many people use a pump now.
It was the same with the first glucometers – very few were using them and there was constant argument about how accurate they were. I always found that they were very much within the range of my ’series’ when I went to the lab.
I remember a big fuss because a meter (not mine) gave a reading up over 15 and the lab reading was about 3 whole numbers different (I can’t remember which way), but I felt the whole point of the exercise was lost – it was well out of the normal range and that was what we wanted to know. Things are a lot more hi tech now and we’ve certainly made great progress. I’ve really enjoyed this blog – you are all such an encouragement – it is such a big help.

Sianne – what you can do (recommended to me by our diabetes centre dietician) if checking/testing your basal levels on a pump – is to only eat protein – no carbohydrate – (meals for that duration) – so you don’t feel empty tummied but can check that bgls are staying where they should without bolussing.
So eg could have an egg or two, some cottage cheese (these are a dieticians recommendations – they may not be your food of choice!) maybe yogurt (but check as I think has carb in it). She said if the bg levels are where they’re meant to be over a couple of days (I think) of doing it for the morning thru to /and including – lunch, then proceed to doing this for the afternoon then again I guess for the evening meal? best check this with a specialist /dietician as I’m unsure about doing it coming up to going to bed time?! – I haven’t tried it at all myself yet – so can’t report on how it worked for me!. Should give it a go though if just for the excuse to eat a pile of bacon and eggs for breakfast!