Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes. Stay away from the negative people. Live, laugh and love. Listen to your body and trust that inner voice. Do the best you can in educating yourself and do what works for YOU. Be kind to yourself, and make your diabetes needs top priority. Talk with other diabetics on TuD, and listen and learn, and have hope that someday diabetes will be a distant memory for all.
The best unsolicited advice I EVER received was from my brother…“Don’t let your disease control you, control your disease”. I still think about that every day.
Advice I stumble upon was from one of the members of TeamType 1, “Ride or be ridden”. Since my D-Day in 2005 I’ve begun cycling and that has become my personal mantra!
It’s your body, learn everything you can about it and diabetes.
Read “Think Like a Pancreas” and be proud of every accomplishment. There are going to be enough setback and people with advice.
Educate everyone who has advice and support to give, without prejudice, whether they be your friend, you boss, your MD or you spouse.
Corny I know but true - my endo teaches ABC 123
A = A1C keep it below 7
B = blood pressure know it and control it
C = cholesterol - especially LDL, you need your heart
1 = quit smoking
2 = get moving
3 = weight management (keep it up, keep it down)
This just gave me the advice that there is ALOT involved, not just your BS. Try to make it all as simple as you can. All of these things are connected and effect each other.
No two Diabetics are the same. Find what works for you. Don’t be scared to experiment, vary a unit of insulin, the time you take your insulin etc and monitor your numbers.
If you are new to taking insulin, carry your tester and some glucose pills with you at all times
Everything in moderation… i have people jump at me every time i even try to nibble on some sweets or a piece of cake. I know that i will never be able to totally cut off sugar but know that it has to be consumed in small controlled quantities.
This is not a direct advice per se but I have a best friend and one of the main reasons we are is because I soon as I told her about my diabetes, she wanted to know everything went out and did her own research and she is actually as much familiar with the disease as I am even more (maybe). Every time I say something she knows exactly what I am talking about.
So I guess my best advice for diabetes is having a strong support structure in your diabetes management will go a long way in making living with it, that much easier.
I am a T2 on MDI and the best advice I can offer is that:
Insulin is not a failure, it is a treatment option. Being on insulin doesn’t mean you failed your diabetic plan.
Know that no one is perfect…and do not be intimitaded by anyone. That you are NOT sick. That you should never have to hide your diabetes. That you should never have to test in a washroom. Know that you have rights!
Above all…DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF…IT ISN’T YOUR FAULT…and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Best bit of advice I ever heard was somebody say: “Control your diabetes” in the first 10 years!
Think about it. What does it achieve:
- you avoid irreversible long term complications
- you develop some ‘responsibilty’ yourself
- you make life easier for doctors : as they don’t need to address your ‘challenging’ health problems after 10 years of neglect
- you can live a near normal life (although you might need meds). all your life
I wouldn’t call this advice, but I have alot of ‘tid bit’ information on my website
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar-USA.com
I am a Type 3 diabetic (I have family and friends with Type I and Type II diabetes which I have helped for over 20 years).
I studied for a PhD in Medicine from an Australian University in the 1980s and have also taught medical students about medicines and drugs.
I have been involved in medical research for a number of years at Universities.
I have also worked in the Pharmaceutical drug industry for over a decade as well as for several years in the Government’s Drug safety programmes.
My Diabetes-YourBloodSugar websites made their debut on the web in early December 2009 ! The Diabetes: YourBloodSugar sites are about Type 2 diabetes and provide useful information about Diet, Lifestyle, Exercise, Diabetes Education, Health Checkups and Monitoring Blood Sugars!
I wanted to put up a site on the web with the ‘min and max’ amount of information required for truly understanding Type 2 Diabetes (but short of going into medications, which is usually overseen by your Healthcare Team and/or an Endocrinologist). I felt a comprehensive ‘all-inclusive’ site was lacking, which both ‘asked and answered’ ALLLL… the pertitent questions about Type 2 diabetes management.
Please, there are some brilliant sites out there…www.mendosa.com; Blood Sugar 101 site (www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/); American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/). My attempt was just to satisfy some voracious readers who want to take it all in from one site. Sometimes one needs to really search far and wide for some simple answers to some basic issues. Hope to see all around on the Web 2.0 in the future!
Michael
best advice is to workout either join a gym or start running or jogging, and watch what you eat, stay away from the greasy stuff. I’m been diabetic for 15+ yrs, so I’ve know a good amount or suggestions. tell me what you think.
be motivated all the time, check ur bs, adjust ur insulin, eat and like others concentrate on your work rather than diabetes,think of living healthy , believe on urself and medicines you have to fight with diabetes …enjoy every moment of life…it is hard but not impossible to follow and many of us follow it,…am i right?
It’s the advice I also get from my endo…
She is aware of this…
i’ve never gotten unsolicited advice because i’ve never disclosed in 50 years that i’m diabetic. only my wife, kids and doc know. makes life much easier.
but … i do have several iron-clad practices that i’ve followed and which i’m convinced are the reason i’m complication-free and ridiculous healthy after 50 years.
- even with a pump, you can’t eat anything you want. your body is broken and can’t process sugars. so … avoid them when possible. it’s not that hard and your life won’t be any less complete if you never eat a an elephant ear.
- eat to the number. if it’s noon and i’m 200, i don’t eat lunch. if it’s 10:30 and i’m 75, lunch is served.
- test, test, test.
- a pump is only a glorified syringe, not a pancreas. don’t expect miracles if everything else is amiss.
- the lower my TDD the better my control.
- exercise … i’m a jock and i referee college soccer for fun. i’ve never weighed more than 175 pounds and i’m convinced it makes a huge difference.
Allie:
After reading all this “advice” (which, by the way, wasn’t UNsolicited!), I am sure your head is swimming! The only other thing I can add is to visit other sites (especially on TUD) and see how others are faring. You will find uplifting messages, good suggestions, bad suggestions (like making UNsupervised changes in meds) and stories of people that didn’t have good control and now are living nightmares (like mine!). Yes, stay bathed in UP people and shy away from continued exposure to the negative people. But, do try to learn not only what TO do but what NOT to do for your own body.
The people on this site have been an immense support for me for the last … well, for as long as they’ve known me (about 13 months). I’ve made friends and very, very few negative experiences. Surround yourself with those you love and they will tell you both sides of the truth!!
Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI
How does one find this blog? I’m up for some recommended advice!
Listen to this
http://diabetespowershow.com/DiabetesPowerShow___42.html.
by Dr Seale (US lifestyle, Chronic Diseases expert)
I’ve made a summary from the talk:
if 2 hr after a meal is above 144 (8 mmol/l), go for a BRISK 10 min walk (medicine exercise)
plant based please - less animal derived food
beans every day please for fibre etc helps keeps you full about half a cup
3 meals a day : breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper
Walk SLOWLY for 10 min after a meal (helps start the insulin ‘ball’ rolling)
if sugars high in between meals above 144 (8 mmol/l) - take a brisk walk 10 min - use exercise for medicine
Do intermittent training - 45-60 min a day - basically fast/slow bursts as best you can
ask why you want a ‘good quality life’ - kids, trip around the world…
i.e. answer to this question helps you be .active/inactive, helps with choices, doughnut or not, sometimes you will fail, but please get back on your horse
Another thing - A Reply From Above is CRITICAL : Reply by Marcia Skidmore on January 1, 2010 at 9:57pm
see Above
Marcia: “Corny I know but true - my endo teaches ABC 123”
A = A1C keep it below 7
B = blood pressure know it and control it
C = cholesterol - especially LDL, you need your heart
Also I think (me, Michael) you should get your eyes feet and have your bloods checked regularly (3-6 months)
PS So very much ‘NOT’ corny Marcia
Michael @
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar.com
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar-USA.com
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar-Canada.com
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar-UK.com
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar-Australia.com
www.Diabetes-Your-Blood-Sugar-India.com
OOps!
Hi Micahel here,
I nearly FORGOT to add the most important thing:
Never let anyone take away your hope (I’m talking about the medical system).
That’s what they mean by “you’ve got to take charge” (and you are 'your own best ‘doctor’).
What I mean is that they will often tell you how bad things ‘may’ get.
The facts are now that this thing is 'beatable!"
Never let anyone take away your hope
Michael
Hi Judith,
Yes I’m a medical scientist by training, and you can see that comes out in my regimented answers.
I read your profile and see you are a true artist.
And your reply that ‘self-knowledge’ (or enlightenment) is the key, is truly the bottom line and goes to the heart of it.
The analogy is that "if you bring your car to a mechanic, the more knowledge you have about a car, the less chance that you will be ripped off by a dodgy mechanic."
With that analogy, I truly believe Self-knowlege is the Holy Grail.
- Be your own advocate - at home, at work, with doctors, with insurers, etc.
- Don’t let it stop you from being who you want to be.
- You don’t know everything you think you know - continual re-education is the key to making your life with diabetes work better for you.
I have thought about this question for a few days…I think the best advice I ever got for my diabetes was from my diagnosing physician. He was a very kind person…probably the best doctor I have ever had. He came to my bedside at the hospital and told me that I had to learn as much as I could about diabetes and “become my (your) own doctor”. He was my endo for the first 10 years of my diabetes…taught me MDI when no one else was prescribing it, started me on 6x/d testing w/ a glucometer as soon as it became available and even started ACE when I was only in my early 20’s because he thought it had the promise of preserving kidney function. He was the one who encouraged me to study biology and was always there for me when I came home to visit my parents. It was great to have my first doctor be so proactive and empowered me to be my best advocate…all has served me very well:) He really was, one in a million and has made it very hard to find someone like him again:) He went on to work at the NIH, so I suspect I was very lucky to have him as my physician for all those years.