I was watching soon of Mike Lawson’s videos and YouTube this morning and came across his video on this topic. And than looked up the same topic here and it’s been a long time since this was discussed.
Maybe because we don’t hate it as much but I am going to open this back up again, because as much as I try, I still hate this disease!
There is NEVER any time off, EVER! It’s 24/7/365 days. Forever!!!
There is no spontaneity! I can’t just pick up and go. There is always some kind of planning. Sure I have it wired now, but I still have to think before I go anywhere.
I always have a bag, purse, backpack, emergency bag etc. No such thing as a cute little clutch. There is always a bag, always.
The fear and concern of complications. While I have gotten through 48 years with no problems, I can’t say it doesn’t worry me all the time. Just waiting for the first one to drop.
Always wondering if the pain, sensation, problem is diabetes related or is it just a “normal” person problem. And the frustration when you go to your PCP with a regular kinda problem and it is immediately thrown into the diabetes pool. We do get sick or hurt and it is not always diabetes at the root of the problem.
Each and every meal out is an exercise in mathematical gymnastics. I can’t just got out to eat with family or friends. My son tells me it sometimes takes me 15 minutes to try and find the info I need before I can do all the math before ordering.
Always having to explain diabetes to everyone. Whether it is someone asking about my CGM or pump ( that I wear proudly) or so unfortunate many medical professionals. I always feel obligated to try and explain but it can get very tiring, especially with medical professionals.
No one except those of us who live it everyday truly understand what it is like day in and day out and the burden it can be. No one understands that everything happening may play a factor in how my blood sugars reacts.
Trash. Holy cow, there is a lot of trash with this disease. And while I try to recycle when I can, it is an amazing amount of trash. And like my diabetes, it will never go away.
?
Surprisingly I couldn’t think of one!
Now, you all know, I try very hard to stay upbeat and positive but I have struggled for most of my long 48 years to get to this point. But sometimes just putting it in writing makes me feel a little better. Just getting it off my chest. I would like to hear if you guys have things you hate and have they changed or moved on the list. My fear of complications has dropped way down verses where it was maybe 30 years ago.
And yes, I think a 10 (maybe just 5) things I like about diabetes should be next.
And a trip down Mike Lawson’s My Life As A Pin Cushion, was a lot of fun. Laughter is the best medicine!
I need to eat out quite often and also got tired of all the time delay due to mental mathematical calculations. My solution is to look for a base low carb item on the menu such as Chicken, Steak, etc and then for the sides ask to replace any sides with high carbs such as potato, rice etc. with mushrooms or other low to no carb vegetable. Restaurants never balk at reasonable substitutions and it is faster and a lot less hassle to substitute then to endlessly go through the menu and estimate carbs
Well, I don’t remember life before diabetes, so a lot of the stuff we have to do just seems like part of my life. If I hate the things too much then I kind of hate my life. I am having a tough couple of days, since I accidentally rode 15 miles on my exercise bike yesterday while I was reading instead of 10 and then gave myself too much insulin before lunch. A rather dumb mistake but it set me on a rollercoaster ride and then because of outside stress, I made the same mistake later. A very bad day.
But I can’t hate it, because it is my life. I could have some other worse disease, but I don’t. I could be dead from cancer, but I am in quite good health at 68. I am just very thankful. Sure I get irritated at times, but it is what it is and I just try to enjoy my life Diabetes and all. My son has had far worse illnesses which have made my illness, seem fairly minor in comparison.
I am sorry, those were my first thoughts. Venting is good!! I took this too seriously. Believe it or not my glucose level was falling when I wrote that.
One thing I hate is when my endo issues her standard hypoglycemia warning in response to my normal A1c reading. Even though I’ve supplied a boatload of data and it’s clearly visible that my risk of a severe hypo is quite low. When she raises the hypo risk every appointment, it’s as if she’s saying, “You think you got this, but you don’t.” As an insulin-dosing pro, I don’t value cautionary advice from amateurs!
@Terry4, this made me laugh, thank you! I hate forever being locked out of eating home made gnocchi with wild mushroom sauce when we go out. It looks so good and although I could have the sauce, it just would not taste the same on riced cauliflower!
I’ve gotten used to #1 through 9 so my weariness with them doesn’t usually rise to the level of hate. However I hate the insurance hoops and poor communication from pharmacies and DME suppliers that always happens with refills for CGM supplies. And the insane markups that cause my 20% DME co-pay to be more like 60% plus of retail price. I’m constantly tempted to spend the extra and self-fund in order to avoid the hassles of re-ordering through my insurance.
Yes, yes, yes, I can vent all day long about doctors being upset about my low A1c’s. Man, when the faulty Accord study came out I had doctors who didn’t want to treat me unless I brought it all the way up to 6.5.
I think my very number 1 would have to be, that because of my diabetes I now have celiacs disease. Makes life that much more challenging! And I’d have to personally say, that instead of the needing to explain diabetes to people, I’d put in the stress and like guilt I feel when, my family, friends, significant other, and loved ones, have to deal with stress, worry, or whatnot because of me and my diabetes. Sometimes my boyfriend gets almost overwhelmed with worry if my blood sugar doesn’t come back up quickly enough. Or the stress he feels because I’ve got to bring an extra bag or two on a trip, just to hold my diabetic needs. And the obsessing over do we have every thing I might need. I guess I’ve asked myself before if my diabetes is baggage or too much baggage…
This was alluded to in #1, but additionally in order to stay in tight control our disease is is also our obsession and nobody wants to be obsessive over anything in life. We don’t like to spill our obsession into other people’s lives and other people oftentimes have a very hard time understanding, appreciating, or interest in our obsession. It is a lose-lose proposition for everyone.
Tending to your diabetes needs is about as obsessive as breathing!
Merriam Webster defines obsession as a “persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea.” Looking after your diabetes needs is a completely rational and logical preoccupation, nothing unreasonable about it. Ignore diabetes and you’re likely to die an early and painful death.
The use of the term “obsessive” is often applied by people who have no appreciation for how much time and attention that good diabetes care takes.
I’ve listened to medical people judge my frequent fingerstick habits, especially before I adopted a CGM, as obsessive. It irritates me but since they have not lived with diabetes, a relentless and demanding condition with many debilitating and corrosive secondary complications, they just don’t get it!
I don’t see taking care of basic diabetes needs as obsessive.
Does an obsessive person ever think he/she is obsessive? Right or wrong we are are constantly being judged by others that have their own interpretation of what consists of obsessive behavior.
While I accept the truth in that sentiment, I don’t think it’s relevant here. Can dealing rationally with a real health threat ever be considered obsessive?
