Why are you NOT taking care of yourself?

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Permalink Reply by Kevin on September 12, 2008 at 2:46pm

First of all you have to understand that everybody's diabetes is different. For a lot of people their condition is not as easily treated as yours. My best AIC has been 6.3 and thats with checking my blood sugar 7-9 times a day, counting carbs meticulously, and bolusing if its even slightly high (I'm a type 1 on an insulin pump).

Many people are insulin resistant (both type1 & type 2's). I am a type 1 and my body now produces antibodies against the very insulin that keeps me alive. Consequently I have had to adjust basil rates throughout the day (its not a perfect science), and I've had to increase my insulin usage by about 45%. There are many diabetics so insulin resistant that 50 or more units does very little to lower blood sugar levels.

Not everybody is like you Joe. Quit being so preachy and be a little more empathetic. Diabetes never gets easier to control, it only gets more difficult. As a Type 1.5 you will discover that fact.

I agree with Dino's post 100% (the one before this one).

Permalink Reply by Marps on July 6, 2009 at 10:42am

Me too. I have antibodies against short acting insulins too. Ratio went from 1:15 to 1:5 on all available brands of short acting that I know of. I am struggling to get through this until they find something else that will work for me.

Permalink Reply by Preta on September 10, 2008 at 1:36pm

I agree with Lee Ann, you are being judgemental.

Some people don't take the care that you may be taking because they are not well informed. I have been diabetic for 17yrs, I don't know it all. After joining Tu Diabetes I learned a lot more, and I'm sure I will learn more. Also, speaking from experience some people just fall off the band wagon. There comes a time when you are just sick and tired of counting all your carbs, eating lunch at 12pm, or testing yourself in the middle of a party.

Maybe if our doctors were better educated, their patients would reap the rewards. Like I always say we have to be our own doctors and do our own research. I commend you of taking charge of your health, but you shouldn't come down on those that haven't yet.

Permalink Reply by Joe Milam on September 10, 2008 at 5:10pm

Preta,

I am sorry that it came across that way. I really did not mean to come down on anyone more than I was trying to ask a question.... I guess I did not ask the question correctly.

Permalink Reply by Dave on September 10, 2008 at 1:38pm

Just like a day at work, you have good days and bad days. Stress can elevate you BG a lot, you may then check your blood so now what-you bolus and correct it, but because your stressed a normal bolus might not do it or maybe you over do it and you become hypoglycemic. Same thing goes for getting sick and exercising, it is all trial and error. If it were easy people would never have complications and diabetes would be no big deal.

You also do not have a full understanding of the disease yet because you have not experienced it yet. If you are still in the 1.5 stage it is very easy to manage your BG compared to being a full type 1. I know this because I experienced it in my early thirties. Your BG will be subject to swings and craziness that will not always be understood, you do the best you can.

I totally agree with you on the part about taking care of yourself and I want to live as long as possible without problems but it's not worth the effort to get stressed out over others inability to take care of themselves. I worry about me because in the end that is all that will matter. If you start pumping this business of logging all your info becomes second nature and computerized!!

Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Joe Milam on September 10, 2008 at 1:52pm

Ladies and gentlemen... please, I meant do disrespect at all and I did not mean to offend anyone. I just wanted to try and understand a little more about the why's behind some of this research. Again, please understand I am just looking for answers like all of us. Please accept my apology.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 10, 2008 at 2:16pm

(apologies for one of my usual long rants)

On one hand, the questions make perfect sense-- why don't we take care of ourselves?

On the OTHER hand, as many of you already pointed out, we are human and we all face different struggles. When I say that we face different struggles, I literally mean that we are all different:
- we have different personalities (levels of discipline, I wish I was a more disciplined person)
- we all have different families, social backgrounds, different genes...
- we have different forms of diabetes!! And I don't just mean type 1 or type 2, LADA, MODY or OTHER... diabetes is a unbelievably complex condition... there are some people that can drop from 500 to 40 in an hour. Other people who will never go below 80. Simply put, we face different struggles and we have different tools to face them.

If I could not afford to test my blood sugar 10 times a day, my control would be nowhere close to what it is. If... If... If...

Joe-- I think it is great that you have embraced your diabetes and I sincerely hope that you continue to maintain such great control.

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I was honeymooning and a BIG mistake would cause my blood sugar to go up to 150mg/dl and I would FREAK out. Then the honeymoon ended and I woke up above 400 one day and realized that I was facing a whole new struggle. I realized that things that seemed easy before were no longer easy. I think that this is a good theory to apply when dealing with OTHER PEOPLE with diabetes too. We don't know their struggles (physical, emotional, financial, other...). So the best that we can do is help and inspire people to achieve better control. I think that TuDiabetes is an amazing place for this!!

Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 10, 2008 at 2:23pm

Another thought:

Do you ask the same questions when...
... you see someone smoking?
... someone is overweight?
... someone does not exercise?
... someone does not eat enough vitamins?

Would we judge someone who can only afford bread and butter for not eating a well balanced meal? I think that everyone should have the chance to manage their diabetes well... but it isn't quite that simple.

I am going to pull an all-nighter tonight to finish a research paper. I had fast food for lunch cause there was no time to shop or cook. Frozen pizza for dinner. I will probably eat fast food or popcorn (mmm...) for breakfast. I am a big advocate of tight control, but sometimes I also need to live my "non-diabetic" life when I'm just a normal PhD student. I will do my best, but still living my life... with diabetes! And next week will be a better week....

Permalink Reply by Joe Milam on September 10, 2008 at 6:47pm

Kristin, you are trying...

Why should I care about someone who doesn't care at all and lets their health go. I guess that is a good question for myself. I don't care about a smoker's health because they know better, right? Or do they?? This gets into the other side of the story that is hard, if not, impossible to figure out... that crazy human element...

Just like 15 or 20 years ago when everyone was saying... smoking is bad for you, stop smoking! It took 15 to 20 years for that to finally ring home for a lot of people. Yet, people still smoke.

I have things under control right now... but when things get out of control am I just going to put my arms up? I have no idea. All I do know is I want to stay healthy no matter what changes come my way. I hope and wish the same for everyone with diabetes, it just hurts to see and realize all the individuals we will lose because they either did not care for themselves or at least try to.



To answer your question, yes I do ask myself questions when I see a person smoking, etc... but I feel that the questions I ask myself are going to be different next time.

And yes, the answer to the question is there is no answer....

Permalink Reply by Kristin on September 10, 2008 at 7:01pm

You'll be just fine, Joe! When things got out of control, it sometimes took me a while to figure out how to control or to find the motivation to control them, but I keep on keeping on. You will too! And we're here and can understand all the ups and downs of this struggle! It's much easier to manage when you know that you are not alone...

Permalink Reply by Cody Turner on September 10, 2008 at 2:28pm

The diagnosis of a chronic disease is hard for some people to grasp. Plus not everyone can afford good medical care or even doctor's in there area that even remotely understand diabetes. In the town I live in you have to travel minimum 45 min for an endocronologist. Plus being diagnosed as diabetic when your an adult means totally changing your lifestyle. Some people are set in their ways and don't want to change even if it means having a longer life. And as for type 2 diabetics no they don't have it any easier. Yes they can make lifestyle changes but the key there is lifestyle changes, you have to totally change your life when you have been living it that way for years. And sometimes type 2's get misdiagnosed and are actually type 1.5 and are on the wrong medications for years and even them sometimes it never gets diagnosed properly or the proper treatment for it. And not all type 2's can handle the oral medications as they do make you sick. And as a diabetic you should also know that some days there is no reason for high or low blood sugars at all. Insulin is a hormone and as with all hormones, it flucatuates from day to day and you never know how your body is going to react to it.

Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on September 10, 2008 at 3:06pm

Sorry, Joe. I know you didn't mean to offend, but I'm with the veterans on this one. First of all, I wouldn't be here if it was easy to achieve control. If those "4 things" were as simple as they seem on paper. Or if the "4 things" worked.

I would wager that there is a not a single one of the 4,000 of us here who doesn't know the results of the DCCT. Some of us waited on pins and needles for its results to force insurance companies to begin coverage for pumps (called SCII in the study - subcutaneous continuous insulin infusion) and for some, simple coverage for meters and strips! But most of us who have known diabetes our whole lives know that doing everything right and seeing results doesn't always correlate. Why can a smoker at age 90 die peacefully in his sleep and a healthy athlete die at 30? When I woke this morning in the 200s and took a bolus, I was trying to be good. Two hours later, when I dropped like a rock while I was teaching and I ate my glucose tabs to correct it, was I not attempting to be good? Did I expect to be 287 less than an hour later? The daily living, breathing animal that is diabetes doesn't always care that you're trying. Yes, I understand the importance of good control. If someone can tell me HOW to achieve it everyday, that'd be awesome.

I always feel secretly sad when I read blogs in our community where the writer says they finally have it down because they had their first day of "all good sugars." Maybe I'm just a cynic. Maybe I'm resentful. Maybe I have just been at it too long. Who am I to tell them that tomorrow brings a whole new day? I've had this a long time. I can recall in my life the few-and-far-between "all good sugar days." I'm sure I circled them on a calendar and possibly threw a party (which probably included a spoonful of ice cream and then there goes tomorrow)!

I love what Kristin said about overweight people, etc. How supportive would a Weight Watchers meeting be if someone who was losing a few pounds a week waltzed in and asked why the rest weren't trying harder and don't we know that those extra ten pounds will kill us? You know you're supposed to drink 8 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Why don't you? You know that carbon monoxide is bad for the ozone. Why do you drive a car? It's not so easy to practice a perfect regimen - especially when in practice, it does not even promise perfect results.

That being said, you guys take care of yourselves, d**n it. This community means to much to me. :)

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