I am never blissful or joyous about diabetes. Are you?
Like my heart, or my lungs my diabetes dragon is always doing something in the background. Is exhaustion, or diabetes "burnout" certain at some point you think... or is "bliss" around the corner, and I have not found it yet (Silly me).
So I ask, are you blissful about your diabetes??? Have you ever been?
Stuart
Happy New year, Stu.. Am blissful about diabetes? No. Am I at peace with it? Most of the time, YES,I am. Do I get burned out and tired of the almost OCD component of diabetes management? Sure : Sometimes I ignore the test t est test and just bolus for a meal/.snack or correct a hypo without one finger prick or use of the CGMS.. Of course I do that from time to time, but not regularly
Sometimes I need a break from the tedium and almost OCD' ness that diabetes management requires.I do return to the management routitnes, it because I HAVE to., When I wan to have energy, and a clear mind , and a happy spiriti I need to manage my diabets as best as I can so I can do all the wonderful things that my life has to offer,and spend qulaity time with my loved ones. Am I blissful,, No Stuart , Honey, NOT Blissful about diabetes.
I am content and at peace with my life?. MOST DEFINITELY, or as my younger cousins and comrades would say, " MOS DEF"!!!
God Bless,
Brunetta
No, how could anyone be blissful about a chronic health condition? Certainly not I. Mostly, I treat it and then keep living my life. I.e. if itās in control, I donāt think about it. When itās annoying me, I suffer. But thatās my lot, so I carry on. Ugh.
No, bliss is not around the corner, but there will be hllls and valleys of frustration, burnout, acceptance, dis-acceptance, etc.
Mentally/psychologically I've been at far far worse points than I am now. At its worst I managed to take care of my diabetes but had little time or effort for anything else in the world. I'm not claiming that everything is perfectly balanced at the moment... but it's not as bad as it has been a couple times in my life.
So while I'm sure that bliss isn't around the corner, that doesn't mean that psychologically things won't improve. Overall I think they do improve. And most often they improve not by worrying about diabetes more, but by finding other things to displace the diabetes from the forefront of the cares and worries.
I'm with Brunetta on this (as I am on many things, Happy New Year to you, Brunetta!) Mostly at peace. "Almost OCD? I think it's pretty much there, lol, but fortunately so is my personality so we work well together! I haven't experienced burnout yet (3 1/2 years total, almost 2 with my correct diagnosis and on insulin), but every once in awhile I think/feel "that was interesting, but I'm over it". Yeah, right. Not an option.
Bliss? Not a word I'd use. I do experience feelings of satisfaction when the numbers fall in place. Closest I'd say I've come to real joy is my feeling of connection with my new Type 1 Women's Group and my current excitement about my brand new Ping I am going to start next week.
I kinda feels like you are dragging a 200 lb cross not fun and not fun even under the best circumstances.
I wonder if the Buddha could have turned it around to bliss?
Bliss??? Not a word I would use to describe my feelings in 36 years. However as mentioned above, Iām mostly at peace with it, frustrated with at times and yes there are times I just wing it. Try not let that get out of hand for more than one day as that is a slippery slope. Did that back in '09 and ended up in the hospital.
Blissful about diabetes? No, but I will tell you what I am blissful about ā coping with this condition and realizing that it didnāt turn out so bad after all! I was diagnosed in the late seventies, a teenager who recognized what my symptoms were (had a cousin with it) and I tried to keep it a secret from my parents and actually hoped it would kill me before they realized I had diabetes, whew! I was horribly terrified but I got over that fear and found out how strong I am ā how strong we all are. Yep, there are some really dark days still, I guess thatās something we deserve to do every once in a while, but I am proud of myself that I conquered my greatest fear. That might be blissful!
I wish you bliss (if not from diabetes ā understandable-- then from something)!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We ARE on the same page a lot, ms. Zoe. Hope you are having a wonderful beginning of the year!!!
God bless,
Brunetta
I think "blissful diabetes" is an oxymoron. I was blissful when I gave birth to my son, and I was blissful when I was able to buy a house, but there is absolutely no way diabetes ever was or ever will be blissful. I'm not even at peace with it -- I have had times of not only anger, but outright rebellion against it. I still do not want to accept it, and the only thing that motivates me to take care of it is how horrible I feel when I'm out of control. I get a certain amount of comfort by reading the research, but most of it is so pie-in-the-sky that I know it will never help ME.
I do think some people do well with acceptance, and maybe that's what you are really asking about. Acceptance is something to work toward, and maybe it will come to me, too, but for the moment, it's a hard struggle that I contend with every day.
Blissfull diabates...I wish I knew what it was...I have only been diabetic for close to 3 years, and it is no fun. Last year I even got hospitalized for it...the moment I want to take a break (literally that only means not thinking about it to much, or making it the centre of my life) it catches me on the backfoot and things start going wrong.
If I am well controlled, in general yes, excl the episode that happened last year. Can I keep up with the non diabetics as I would like to in life....unfortunately the answer to that remains NO. Hence diabetes type 1 is not blissfull...ok it does not kill me (yet!) though I would give so much to have my old life back with the promise that I would take care of my body much much better...if that is a possibility...than BLISS would be back in my life!
I have times of bliss (meaning euphoria)- especially during some of my hypos, but also getting excited about numbers, products, or just science and being alive- but I also have times of exhaustion. I don't think they are contradictory, and I think neither one is inevitable. I also don't think bliss is likely to come right after burn out.
But maybe you actually mean being at peace or being able to put it in the background and being able to be blissful about other things? In that case, yes, most of my time with diabetes that has been the case, but sometimes things get intense with diabetes and it is too much front and center. That was particularly the case right after I had a microalbuminuria reading and was just really intensely depressed and overwhelmed and wanted to give up, and to a lesser extent soon after diagnosis.
Blissful? No, not by a long shot. Joyous? The diabetes itself has not been joyful, but I have met some terrific people as a result of this condition and I do find I have a certain amount of joy in that. Iāve made my peace with the diabetes and Iāve reached a better level of acceptance. It has been so long I donāt really remember what itās like to eat anything without a test and a shot first.
You are never going to be blissed out over the diabetes. There are times when it is going to be truly annoying. But the longer you are at this, the less disruptive it becomes. We all face burnout. It doesnāt have to be a permanent condition. But I find that with keeping my knowledge current, keeping an eye on the latest technological developments, and improved therapies I manage to stay engaged and somewhat disciplined. I find that good test results help to keep me motivated.
Acceptance helps, bliss itās not.
For me that is akin to asking if I am āblissfulā about remembering to floss. Diabetes isnāt a life killer, it isnāt something that should necessarily be at the forefront of every waking moment. For me learning to cycle diabetes responsibilities in the background has helped beat any kind of burn out. I went through one a few years back while I was still in college, but I realized that my best chance at survival was to learn to keep all of the mess in the background. So I do.
Testing my blood sugar, changing out infusion sets, going to doctors appointments, etc is just another part of my life. These are Lauren-maintance requirements much like brushing my teeth, getting my hair cut, clipping my nails and so on and so forth. I keep in mind that I am a person with many interests and hobbies first and a diabetic second.
That was my saving grace. Not everyone can transition into that nor does that line of thought help everyone. There are lots of ways to cope with diabetes and with burn out. Therapy, art, more control over treatment (the pump and before that MDI helped me with that in spades), classes, etc could help. You just have to figure out what you need to be happy. Make a list! 
Ever heard of the joyful diabetic?
Basically a 75 year old who wants to make the most of his life
(says he would have been dead long ago, if he hadnāt monitored his health so carefully)
listen to his talk
http://www.diabetespowershow.com/DiabetesPowerShow_79.html
his website
http://www.joyfuldiabetic.com/
ā¦I am committed to making and sustaining life-style changes that Iāve determined are important to my success with self-care mastery. My plan for 2011 is to re-dedicate myself to the changes Iāve previously committed to following:
Testing rather than guessing about my BG prior to either eating or exercising.
Maintaining diligence in carb counting and eating foods that work for me.
Walking at least 10 miles per week.
Accepting my emotions and quickly working through the upsets.
Regularly analyzing my BG and insulin record as stored on the Medtronic site and placed there using Carelink.
Being the Joyful Diabetic and sharing joy with others.
Hello Brunetta:
Very happy new year to you dear ladyā¦ always!
Is blissful POSSIBLE (re: this beast we share) ? Pondering many things for the new year and been trying to remember a time when āblissā or even simple contentment existed specific to this cranky dragon. Tried and tried, could not remember any time.
Was our childhood better than now you think?
Stuart
A cure is coming says Dr Levetan of CureDM! Have Faith! There is no other answer. Diabetes should not be accepted as its a horrible existence. Hate to say it but āDā IMO is worse then āCā
Not blissful to have it, but I am thankful I was Dxed. I lost 60-70lbs, was drinking four gallons a day, sleeping 12-16 hours a day and constantly getting up to go to the bathroom (and sometimes not waking up to go which, needless to say for a 27 year old is very embarrassing). I couldnāt remember anything I learned in class, had to withdraw from courses and nearly failed the rest. My social life was shot, muscles constantly cramping, and overall I truly believed I was going to die. Then came Insulin. And everything became normal again. Except for taking 4-7 shots a day. But having been as bad as I was I can live every day doing that. Some of my friends barely recognize me now that I have a normal build. So blissful, no. Iād much rather be D-free. Thankful Iām not wetting the bed and dying anymore? Very much so thank you.
Couldnāt agree more. I could throw myself a 20-year pity party, or I could just decide to discipline myself into doing what I need to, NO MATTER how much I donāt want to.
For me, the pump and the CGM have helped more than I could have imagined ā when I was on shots, and in a restaurant, I just didnāt inject out of embarrassment, and none of my friends knew what was going on. Needless to say, I was way high later, and had to deal with the highs, which are harder to deal with than just bolusing to begin with. Now, I just pull out the pump ā no math, and a pretty good estimate of what Iām going to eat, and the pump does the rest. Plus Iām working on getting over the habit of just not wanting to bolus, even when I know Iām high.
The CGM helps too ā it runs lower than realtime when Iām tending low, and higher than real-time when Iām high, so I know when to pay attention to it and when not to.
What Iām saying is that we all find ways to deal with it, and it seems to me that MOST are successful ā hope Samantha is successful too ā just give her time.
Donāt compare because you have exactly no clue what the other guy is going though. There is a whole long list of diseases which are heartbreaking horrible and disabling and painfully fatal ā donāt wish them on anyone, least of all yourself!