i feel like crap when my sugars are off, I do..and yes, it effects what I do, how - when I drive, everything right now. On MDI's, because I'm still kinda new to this too, I schedule my meals around when I have to drive someplace, don't want to bolus and then get in a car if I don't know how it's going to effect me. Schedule a lot around my AM basal dose because I have to do injections with syringe 1/2 units..where will I be when I have to take my AM Levemir dose. Exercising or simply walking next door to Starbucks can and has caused me to go low. When I'm high, I feel horrible, just concentrate on getting my numbers down and want to sleep.
Sorry, but how can you possibly complain about feeling crappy at 300 and then go on to say you don't test and don't use modern insulin and don't count every crumb because it's "not close to a normal existence"? By the sounds of it you don't really have a normal existence as is, anyway. If you don't put the effort into control then you don't really have a right to complain about lack of control, in my opinion.
I test ten times a day, I bolus many times a day, I count everything I eat, and sure it doesn't prevent ALL the 300s but I would have much worse control if I didn't put in that effort. I feel a million times better than I did on NPH because my blood sugar is, in general, more stable. I really don't understand why you won't give MDI a try. If you are hitting an A1c of 6% with NPH then maybe you could get to the level some people on this site achieve where they rarely go high.
I generally don't let diabetes stop me from doing things. There have been a handful of times I have been extremely high (like in the 500s) with ketones and felt awful and went home or declined things with friends. I don't feel very good at 300 but if I have something pre-planned I don't cancel it because I'm high. If I did that I would never go out. Lots of people feel crappy (physically or emotionally) for various reasons and if everyone let it stop them from enjoying life there would be no happy people in this world.
I normally have pretty tight control, that being said--I am hypo unaware (thank you dexter my bud), if I am under 70..not really going top do anything til its stable at 100 or so--@$*^&^(&$ 20% variance in meter readings suck rocks. I am really tired and cranky if I end up >250; (a bad site or I have eating something with undisclosed soy in it pretty much guarnatees a rollercoaster ride)--so most likely depend upon the activity..like others I try very hard not to let the D get in the way of life. I'd say I am successful mkore often than not..but those nots are rotten...
So Kafka had your job,Acid. HAHAHA you are a "trip" Acid: ROFL!!!
Gary, diabetes isnt your problem
Gary,
Is this a poll to see if you're ahead of others for a transplant because no one else feels as awful as you do? You want proof that no one suffers like you? My nephew with cystic fibrosis is on the lung transplant list because he will die soon without one, not because he's more miserable than others with CF. One of the many things he was assessed for was his mental health to handle the rigors of a transplant. The committee seeks candidates with positive outlooks. They also look for people who are willing to follow strict regiments.
Imagine life fighting for 28 years for every breath since a baby & being hospitalized for months 2-3 times a year since childhood (at least 56 hospitalizations). Around 90% of CF lung transplant recipients become T1. A risk he's embracing to be able to breath & not being chained to an O2 tank & a feeding tube.
Yes, we know your frustration. We all share that diabetes is a burden that exacts a terrible toll physically & emotionally.
So, don't test, eat whatever & come here to vent.
Jen,
Apparently you haven't paid close attention to my posts. I've noted many times I take MDI sometimes 6 to 8 shots depending how they are running if I either test or feel it. I only use NPH through the night to cover the stupid liver spike. Through the day I use Humalog or R depending on what the situation is. I deal with more lows then highs overall. Gerri no but the way I see it is it seems most people wouldn't opt for a transplant today if it were available because they feel the tools they have and that diabetes isn't that bad. I on the other hand dream everyday of not dealing with any of this anymore. It's a good 80% of why I am miserable. So I can't blame diabetes a 100% because I do have other issues that are far from the way I would like them to be. I am also aware that there are situations of illness that are worse then diabetes but as long I can't cope very well with what I have it doesn't really matter that "it could be worse". I am also extremely infuriated in the consensus that diabetes won't be cured because "they make too much profit off of us". WTF is that??? If that be truth which no one can prove what kind of society do we live in? Let's leave people to suffer because we can keep the money pouring in. It's no different or even worse then throwing someone in jail for life knowing they were not guilty. The whole thing makes me beyond angry. Its funny how all my posts seem to get off topic but whatever. I was just curious to see how the sugar levels effected the way you go about your day.
I don't understand why people on here are comparing one disease to another...any life threatening disease is horrible, one is not better or worse then another, some people just deal with them differently. who are we to judge. the fact is diabetes is killing us every day and the management of this disease is above and beyond any other, if we didn't have insulin we all be dead. what's more serious then that.
I don't understand why people are being condescending and patronizing to this poster?
I have been having similar conversations with Gary since 2009 when I joined the site. He has explained his regimen in detail in various threads and I'm not sure I'd agree w/ timmy that diabetes is not his problem entirely but he seems to enjoy asking ontologically oriented questions oriented towards "being miserable because of diabetes" that I don't agree with his answers. I would try to say the same thing to anyone who suggested that you couldn't do something because of diabetes but have this history w/ Gary. I should try to be nicer and we have talked about guitars some too, so we aren't "enemies" but I don't agree that diabetes is the problem.
I did the same NPH program he did until 2008 and got a pump and, after I got a pump, I realized that I was, in fact, zonked out of my gourd a lot more than I liked to admit? I've never had Lantus so I can't really speak to that but I suspect that it works pretty well?? I think a positive attitude will help. Even if the results aren't where you want them to be, you should feel good about trying. There's not a lot of reward in giving up.
In the bigger scheme of things, I also have noted Gary seems to advocate what I would perhaps again condescendingly refer to as "curism" and the sense that the cure should receive all of our support. I believe that our current tools are underutilized and that we should also advocate for important issues like enough test strips and tactical approaches to find success with the tools we have now.
@Denise. Funny you should mention soy problem; I am now on my third day of hives and belly ache because of the word soy having been written microscopically on a label.
@Gary. I am literally non-functional at 300 BG. I avoid that happening very often by taking Levemir. You and I have had this conversation before: you said Levemir (or Lantus) is expensive, I repeat that it's worth it. I suggested getting a sample of one or the other from your doctor to see if in fact it makes a difference for you. Really, a modern basal insulin might make a big difference for you, and at least then you'll know.
well, IDK...i was able to try a Dexcom last week, 7 day trial. found it was rarely close to my meter, kept saying, "LOW, trending low, 70, 60, 50, a few in the 40's...freaked me out...checked my meter - not low, but I treated anyway and ended up high...found it not very reliable. I tried the Pump this week and had two days of complete hell (highs, ketones, near DKA) because I wasn't getting enough insulin and that too felt horrible and very scary. I took the pump off thursday night and felt a sense of relief, then I loaded up my syringe for another manual injection, then again for my basal - levemir inject and I cried..and thought, "I am so sick of this already..I don't want to do this anymore," But, I (we) have no choice. So, coming here on this site should be, IMO, a place where we CAN vent. No one knows what this is like but us, us, we have to deal with this crap. Some days are good, some do better then others, some have had it longer and have adjusted, ya know. I'm burned out and tired of this. Just had a low of 53, spent the last half hour shaking, sweating, feeling dizzy..yeah, this effects me.
I'll move forward and again try the pump with better guidance, etc..and I try to stay optimistic and hopeful. At some point, it becomes overwhelming, IMO.
I recall your other thread too and, given what you'd reported about the doc cutting your TDD to 50% of what it had been, I'd look at that as the doctor's screwup, certainly not yours but maybe not the pumps either? I had the same boat this AM, woke up to CGM of 75, seemed to be mild "downy" but not crazy but, after wandering around the house for a while, getting dog out, coffee going, BG metered at 53. I have been utterly plagued by DP lately so I only had 6 jelly beans, 5-6G of carb but it spiked right up to 105 45 minutes later. I don't get the sweats too much in the 50s these days, perhaps I've burnt something out, but I am still sort of out of it but am listening to Van Halen (an interest I share w/ Gary, BTW!) to get pumped up (ha ha) to go lift weights in the basement
In short, yes, I generally do whatever I would normally do at 300. Do I feel good at that number? No, I don't, but if I give in, diabetes wins. And I hate letting it win. Sometimes I do cave and maybe lay down for a bit until my numbers come down. But that's the good thing about T1D - there is something (insulin) that I have readily available to me that 99.99% of the time makes me feel better within an hour or so. If I'm low, I treat until I'm no longer a danger to myself or others and then proceed with my life.
As someone pointed out, there are so many other conditions that are far more horrible. We have tools that, when used properly, can significantly extend our life-expectancy and quality of life. But you also have to change your mindset. You have to see this not as some horrible thing that is sucking away your life, but rather as something that is a challenge, albeit not insurmountable. It's all in your frame of mind.
And, yeah, when I see someone with cancer or cystic fibrosis or some condition that leaves them completely physically disabled, I silently give a little "thank you" that T1D is the ONLY thing I have to deal with.
My bloodsugars can so effect my plans for a day. It is worse now that I am older and have had this disease longer.
I am at a point in my journey where things have gotten a bit rough. Due to diabetes and other factors my kidneys have left the building. I start dialysis this coming Thursday (that is still hard for me to say).
One other option is always a kidney transplant. In looking at things I am not sure I would want to go that route.
If a person gets a transplant that does not mean that life returns to normal. It may return to a more normal than things are now but the life of a transplant recipient is not all its cracked up to be. I have fiends who have had organ transplants and there are diets and othe regimes that they must follow which make what I do for diabetes seem like a walk in the park.
In the case of a kidney transplant the requirements for diet do not just go away. There are still restrictions. There is also the matter of all the drugs you have to take to surpress the immune system. Most of these drugs have some terrible side effects of their own. Would life be "better" if I get a kidney transplant? Who knows. But that is an individual decision. But you can bet the transplant comes with a cost.
Another thing to remember is whatever disease that organ donor has, you will now have. I hae a friend whose brother had a liver transplant and has to take extra medications because of that very fact.
Finally, let's not forget that diabetes is an autoimmune/genetic problem. That does not change simply because you get a new pancreas. That under lying problem is still there.
Do I think that at some point they will stop diabetes? Yes I do. I have no crystal ball to even think about when that will happen. I hope it is soon. Not for me though. Just for the ones that are coming behind me. THe babies that are diagnosed at birth and have a life to live with this crap. I want the cure for them. I will gladly sit here for whatever time I have left and take my shots and prick my fingers.
But I refuse to let diabetes or end stage renal disease kick my fat ■■■. I for one intend to get fighting, keep laughing and keep loving. I am going to keep living for every day the God Lord lets me. Am I gonna have some bad days. Oh you bet. From what I read about dialysis I am gonna have a bunch of them. But as one of my favorite Christian singers, Steven Curtis Chapman, says in one of his songs...I will be here.
I don't actually think they will "stop" diabetes as it's a genetic issue, coded into the cells, both those of us who have it now and people in the future who haven't even born yet? Even if they "fix" us somehow so we don't have to deal with the challenging pathology, there will still be a steady stream of new people going "why am I so tired and peeing all the time?" keeping demand for the cure up.
I agree. However, I've seen many diabetics who too are completely disabled, no legs, no feet, can't see - blind, on kidney dialysis, waiting for kidney transplant, strokes, neuropathies to no end. So, I just try not to compare.
If Gary’s diabetes was gone, he’d miss it.
For the first time in my life I am going to just say +1 and leave it at that.
Diabetes will never slow me down, a hypo maybe a little but I don't let certain glucose levels stop me from doing anything.