Please help me
Hello everyone,
I joined this community a couple of days ago and the welcomes and mesages have been great! To that end, I am very encouraged and feel like maybe I can get better at this "diabetes thing." Especially after reading some of the other posts. So thanks.
Please be patient and bear with me.
To wit, I am 52 years old and my diabetes was discovered when I was 6 months pregnant with my last child (he's now 21). Of couse I was shocked and angry but I followed all the rules, was very strict with my diet and exercise. Consequently, I delivered a big (9lbs. 13 oz baby) healthy baby Although I am slender and with a medium frame, my son's father was a big guy (6"6' and 300 lbs) so we weren't surprised he was big.
So, after his birth, I had a "honeymoon" period of about 2 years then the diabetes came back. So, they have classified me as a Type 1. I'm saying all of this to say that now I am not a very good diabetic. My previous H1AC was 11.5 but this month it was 9.5. Still very very high, I know, but has come down some. I walk for an hour each day, sometimes I do exercise videos. I'm not a big eater (previously suffered with anoerexia many years ago), don't eat a lot of carbs, eat fruits and vegetables and the like. They have diagnosed me as a "brittle diabetic" because my sugars fluctuate so much and can go from too low to too high quickly. I am on a sliding scale of Humulog (3-10 units depending on the amount of carbs I'm eating and 34 units of Lantus at bedtime, also 1600mg of Glucophage, which I don't think is helping me at all)). In the past I have been in the hospital frequently with DKA and once was in the hospital for 2 months because of it. However, that was at least 3 years ago.
So the end of my story is that I would very, very much like to regain control of my blood sugars. It's begininng to get the best of me - I am depressed and feel like whatever I do to follow the rules best as I can, it's not good enough and makes me fell like a big failure. I've done so many other things in my life well (strong woman, raised four kids, have 5 grandchildren, had a lovely and exciting career). I am scared to death of the complications that this disease can bring; mainly, dialysis and blindness. I feel fortunate that these things have yet to occur. I have recently re-enrolled with the Diabetic Care Coordinator at my hospital and I have taken different diabetes classes in the past. So, do you all have any suggestions on how to take steps to regain control and improve? Thanks for listening and sorry it was sooooooooooooo long!
I joined this community a couple of days ago and the welcomes and mesages have been great! To that end, I am very encouraged and feel like maybe I can get better at this "diabetes thing." Especially after reading some of the other posts. So thanks.
Please be patient and bear with me.
To wit, I am 52 years old and my diabetes was discovered when I was 6 months pregnant with my last child (he's now 21). Of couse I was shocked and angry but I followed all the rules, was very strict with my diet and exercise. Consequently, I delivered a big (9lbs. 13 oz baby) healthy baby Although I am slender and with a medium frame, my son's father was a big guy (6"6' and 300 lbs) so we weren't surprised he was big.
So, after his birth, I had a "honeymoon" period of about 2 years then the diabetes came back. So, they have classified me as a Type 1. I'm saying all of this to say that now I am not a very good diabetic. My previous H1AC was 11.5 but this month it was 9.5. Still very very high, I know, but has come down some. I walk for an hour each day, sometimes I do exercise videos. I'm not a big eater (previously suffered with anoerexia many years ago), don't eat a lot of carbs, eat fruits and vegetables and the like. They have diagnosed me as a "brittle diabetic" because my sugars fluctuate so much and can go from too low to too high quickly. I am on a sliding scale of Humulog (3-10 units depending on the amount of carbs I'm eating and 34 units of Lantus at bedtime, also 1600mg of Glucophage, which I don't think is helping me at all)). In the past I have been in the hospital frequently with DKA and once was in the hospital for 2 months because of it. However, that was at least 3 years ago.
So the end of my story is that I would very, very much like to regain control of my blood sugars. It's begininng to get the best of me - I am depressed and feel like whatever I do to follow the rules best as I can, it's not good enough and makes me fell like a big failure. I've done so many other things in my life well (strong woman, raised four kids, have 5 grandchildren, had a lovely and exciting career). I am scared to death of the complications that this disease can bring; mainly, dialysis and blindness. I feel fortunate that these things have yet to occur. I have recently re-enrolled with the Diabetic Care Coordinator at my hospital and I have taken different diabetes classes in the past. So, do you all have any suggestions on how to take steps to regain control and improve? Thanks for listening and sorry it was sooooooooooooo long!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mimi Copeland on -
Hi Everyone,
I just want to thank everyone again. After the advice about counting carbs - well, I started doing that for the rest of the day for every meal, counted carbs. it's only been 3 days now but the responses to my bs have been overwhelming. For two days now, I have not had a blood sugar over 140. Fastings are much lower (85-94) and after lunch has been 120-140. I've also increased my exercise. I'm doing cardio with weight sculpting.I actually do feel better already. LOL. One thing I notice is that with my bs in the normal range, I feel a little weird. Sometimes I think I'm having a low, but in actuality I'm in the normal range. I'm so encouraged. I'm looking at this like a new beginning. I'm determined and trying to get a lower H1AC. I realize this is not a "miracle therapy" and I will have those days, but all and all I'm not feeling so overwhelmed. MUCHISIMO GRACIAS GENTE (LOTS OF THANKS PEOPLE)
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Permalink Reply by Baby Tee on -
I concur. "Think Like a Pancreas" changed my life. I realized that my problem was that I wasn't properly educated. It describes things really well and it uses some humor. It reminds us to not be too hard on ourselves. My A1c dropped from the high 8's to 6.8 in 3 months. My doctor smiled, probably for the first time, when he saw those results.
Warning, though, I needed glucagon when I was tightening control. I had a seizure and then called the doctor for a prescription. Better to have it in case you have a seizure, assuming you have someone beside you at night to administer it.
Also, make sure you have as many strips as you can so you can test more often. Typically my insurance company pays for 100/month max. My doctor called and got an exemption for 200/month. That way I can test almost 7 times per day. I probably check 6 to 10 times per day. Find out how many you can get, and test as often as you can. I have hated testing for over 25 years, but I would rather check to often than have to go through dialysis. You have to be prepared to test a lot. I know you can do it. You have us at your fingertips. = )
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Permalink Reply by Joe on -
Mimi - the responses everyone provided are spot on. I'd like to add just one additional thing. My BG levels fluctuate a lot, and very very quickly too - but it's kinda' intentionally self-induced. And it's not the end of the world. I ride bicycles a lot, and I need to eat lots of carbs to do so. When my carb/insulin plan get's out of whack, I see big highs or big lows. The lows are pretty infrequent, but I'll see a nasty high fairly often.
I deal with all this with careful planning, thorough record keeping, and a pump. And the knowledge that a high or low can be overcome. When they hit me, I figure out what the probable cause was, make note, and try something different next time.
BTW - I'm planning on making my 50's a great decade. Year 1 has been awesome. Hope yours can be too!
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Permalink Reply by Lissaynch on -
Hi Mimi --
I'm also here hoping for motivation and support to get better control! My last A1c was also in the 9s. I use an insulin pump, which means that my control should be so much better. I don't have any sort of good routine with my diabetes, but that's my big resolution fo 2010 -- to get my health in control.
I was diagnosed in 1996. My mother was also Type 1 and she had been testing me and found my blood sugar readings to be in the 400s. So we went to her doctor and boom, I was put on insulin. I have since had two very healthy children (my son was also 9 lbs 13 oz!) - my diabetes was never in better control than it was when I was pregnant.
Since then, though, I've seen my control fizzle out. I am going through a divorce (have been for 4 years -- it's not bitter or anything, we're just slow), lost my job, and have been fighting depression, so my motivation to take care of my own health isn't really strong. I know that can't go on, though -- I saw all the complications with my mom. My mother was a brittle diabetic too. She was a double amputee, had two heart attacks and a quadruple bypass, had retinopathy and ended up on dialysis (I've missed some complications that she faught). Unfortunately, she died in 1999. But her story started differently -- she was diagnosed in 1957, at age 12. The only glucose testing was urine testing, so it wasn't very precise. Her parents also didn't learn how to help her. I think a lot of the damage was done early. So it was an extreme case -- you would think I would be scared into strict control but NO, I'm not. (I hope I haven't scared you with her complications. Because her case is really different!!)
Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and ended up writing you a book! I hope you're well today. If you'd like to write back, feel free!
Melissa
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Permalink Reply by daniel jay goichman on -
i would take blood glucose readings at breakfast,lunch,dinner, late night snack (9 or 10pm)
based on those readings you might have to adjust your humulog dosages (maybe 6,8,10) or maybe (8,10,12)
talk to your doctor. maybe your sliding scale starts too low. might need a higher sliding scale.
dan
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Permalink Reply by Betty J on
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Welcome Mimi!! You have come to one of the biggest support websites re: Diabetes. Here you will find support and resources you need to get control of your Diabetes. I'll share this with you for many years I didn't have the foggiest how to manage my Diabetes. But once my Endo referred me to a CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) I was finally able to manage this beast.
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