Feeling Comfortable with Diabetes

How long did it take you after you found out that you were diabetic to feel comforatble with it and getting into a normal habbit where you were not always worried about how high or low your sugar would be at any given time of the day?

I’m still not there and I was diagnosed almost 5 years ago. Of course there were times in there where I pretty much gave up and just didn’t do what I was supposed to. (Which is worse.) But it is getting better to some degree since I am networking and educating myself. But I still worry about my sugar, especially if I eat something that I am unsure about (like if I don’t know how it will affect my bgs) or if I am late eating (which sometimes happens in a busy law office). Probably not what you wanted to hear. I am sure there will be other responses that will be more positive than mine :slight_smile:

I was diagnosed young enough that I can’t remember NOT having diabetes. Worrying about my bloodsugars is normal. It does get so that things are second nature. Sometimes diabetes seems like a lot of work and sometimes it’s just background.

being recently diagnosed, i think the toughest period for me was the first few weeks when it was fully sinking in. i was warded in hospital and i remember crying non-stop everyday. i had trouble giving myself shots and pricking my fingers.

and i’m still not totally there yet. i don’t have a problem saying that i am diabetic, explaining stuff to people, and taking shots and pricking my fingers in public, i am OBSESSED with my blood sugars.

there have been episodes where i took my blood sugars twice within the span of half an hour. i think about it when i’m free and have nothing else to think about. like jolie, i freak out when i have to delay eating a meal or forget to snack or when i eat something i may be unsure of. but it usually works out fine.in the end and i tend to worry for no reason.

I have seldom worried about my blood sugar, I test twice a day. I am determined to keep my blood sugar within 80 to 120 mg. I try to keep snacks on hand in my van when I am working. I have had a few lows to occur during the late afternoons. When I was first diagnosed I had a hard time pricking my finger, getting it to bleed, and getting enough blood on the test strip. I kept getting errors on my test meter. It was frustrating for a while, but I finally got the hang of it. I still don’t like any one watching me test my blood sugar.

I was diagnosed 5 years ago, and it definitely took at least a year to really get into the swing of things. There are always easy periods and hard times, but I really did get comfortable with diabetes after a couple years.

That said, I am comfortable about diabetes, but thinking about blood sugar has become part of my normal habit. I test about 10 times a day, and that really helps.

As once told a friend, there is no moment of the day that goes by that isn’t somehow affected by diabetes. But, by trying to keep in control we can minimize that as much as possible.

I’ve been at it almost two years now, and though I’ve always been “concerned” I’ve never “obsessed” over it, except for one time, that was more panic/frustration. It was maybe a month or so after being dx’d and I woke up at nearly 300, and I stayed there for HOURS! Of course, I was new at it all, and I thought I couldn’t eat anything until it came down! And I was STARVING!! Finally about 2 in the afternoon, I’d had it with starving and decided to make myself some scrambled eggs. My BG finally started going down, but I don’t think it was until the next day that it was “acceptable” (I was always running higher in those days, trying to get my meds sorted). Then I learned that I SHOULD still eat, but only eat things VERY low, or NO carbs. Live n Learn! LOL

I’ve never had a problem with testing in front of others, or discussing my Diabetes. Giving myself injections, well, I’m not quite comfortable with doing that in front of many people just yet. My parents and sisters I have, but even my hubby hasn’t seen me inject, but he’s REAL needle squeemish! I don’t do it in public more so because I worry about someone who might be needle squeemish like hubby is, and fall out right there in a public place, yanno! I’d feel SO bad!! I use syringes. If I had an insulin pen, that might be a different story, that’s a little bit easier to hide, not having to draw up your insulin and all that! ;0)

But as to being comfy with my numbers, as I said, I’m always concerned, but I don’t panic or freak as long as it’s under 180. Tho, these days, anything over 150 is extremely rare for me, thankfully (I’m usually under 140)! I have had a few in the 200’s tho since taking insulin, and boy oh boy do I run to get the R when that happens, then I start calculating!! LOL

This happens? Not to me. It’s always in the back of my mind, and I don’t even get dangerous highs and lows.

Really, obsession is the word. I’d go on constant monitoring if it was affordable, because I’d really just like to know.

However, I’m not usually -anxious- about it, if you get the difference.

I feel like I’m well acclimated to it, and that treatment has become second nature, but that I’ll never get used to it. It’s awkward when it comes up socially, and the baseline “I have diabetes” thought never leaves my stream of consciousness.

I think it took me about 6months to not think of it constantly. After 16months, I still wont go to bed with a large active bolus. I am confident in catching lows before the 40’s and that has given me peace of mind. I have also gotten more comfortable since having alot of low lows that are easily corrected. I was always fearful of not being able to come up fast enough from a low, but experience has given me a better level of comfort.

My son has t1, just yesterday I took him to one of those indoor jumping playgrounds to celebrate two months of living with D. I for the first time could watch him go nuts without worrying about what it will do. I tested him there and gave him some milk when he was done, went home and all was fine! My husband still isn’t in the swing of it, he’s always worrying “should we take him outside, he might catch a cold” or 10 minutes into him playing at the park “we should test him”.

It is good to see that with your son who has only had T1 for just two months you are feeling more at ease with things. Soon your husband should be abel to get a bit more at ease as well. You are more and likely as most mothers the one who is always around your son and as you have shown in the posting that you have been a bit more at ease. Good luck with all that is going on and your son looks adorable. Thank you for replying to the post.

I still am not sure what to watch out for with the low bs just yet that has been scaring me for sometime due to the fact I feel my bs was low one day when my partner and I went to go eat lunch and it was late and I knew something was up but I just couldnt pin point it. Then after we ordered our lunch I ended up having a seizure and this is the first time I had one in front of her ever and luckly no one around us really knew until she started to bring attention to us but she didn’t know what was going on. See when I was younger I use to have seizures and I was diagnosed with Epilepsy and I have not had a seizure since I was between 17 and 19 so when i was 21 the doctor said that I out grew it but to watch becasue it could always come back. I had this seizure shortly after being diagnosed and the medication the doctor put me on was really brining my sugars down low pluse i think i changed my eatting habits way to much and that may of not helped the situation either. I just do not want to go to low and be scared that I will have a seizure becasue I hated having them when I was younger.

Thanks for replying and for your info

I really like your advice that if you lose the sense of urgency and worry that it is showing that you have stoped caring about yourself. I have had friends telling me for a few years off and on that we must care for ourselves before we really truley care for others becasue if we dont then when our friends do need us we may not be able to help if we havent kept up on our own self be it health, emotions, or anything else in our lives.

I can understand where you are coming from with people who are needle squeemish becasue I know people who are also. If I had or ever will have to take injuctions I would be worried to give myself the shot in public for the same reason as well as what someone may think if they do not know someone who has diabetes.

now taking my testings i really have not taken it to much in public normally when i am out i will take it in my car before going around a lot of people.

I know how you feel because I have been there and sometimes I still feel that way. It did not help me when my doctor first diagnoised me and did not feel he needed to educate me on diabetes becasue he thought it was on both sides of my family I would already know what I had to do. Then when I went in for my next appointment I had some of the books I got to educate myself on the mater he got mad at me and said not to read so much about it becasue i would not understand it and i would get myself screwed up more. He did not even want to send me to a diabetic education class or dietition to get any help until I kept pushing on the matter and he finally let me go to the dietition. My insurance is good by having a diabetic line i can call and talk to a nurse as well as get my diabetic supplies free. I now have a new doctor because I felt if this guy was not going to care about his patients health truly then it was time to find another doctor.

I agree with that - the thought that “I have diabetes” just always seems to be there. It’s hard to explain to people without diabetes just how much it is always around…

I am still trying to get into a normal habbit with just being diagnoised last october with T2. It did not help me out that my doctor told me when he diagnoised me that not to worry about it and he did not give me a script for a sugar meter or even wanted me to get one. He also got upset with me when I went back to see him on the next visit and had a couple of books on diabetes to try and educate myself. He told me do not read any more books becasuse you will just confuse yourself on the subject. Aftet he said this I was not going to tell him I just got a sugar meter to test my sugars. Well I have finally been able to get into see a new family doctor and I am seeing a specialist for my sugar.

Now I have always felt comfortable for people knowing that I have diabetes and I think this comes from when I was younger and was diagnoised with Epilepsy but I have been lucky and I have out grew the Epilepsy but the docotrs told me to watch out becasue it could pop up again when I get older so always keep on eye for any signs of it. Due to the epilepsy I have always had to make sure that someone knew around me to keep and eye out incase anything ever happened so in the same matter with the diabetes I feel that I can tell others I have it incase I might need help.

Wow, that doctor sounds horrible (the first one, that is)! The most important thing in diabetes care, as I’m sure you know, is education education education. Is he telling other patients to “not worry about it?!?!” Because, if so, that is completely counter-productive, and should not be happening.

I am not sure if he was telling others not to worry about it but I would have to say yes. I also think it had a lot to do with he lost a lot of his staff and after he came back to work after being off for so long due to an injury he had that kept him from working his personality seemed to change and his new staff was not always that polite either. I got out of there when I was abel to find a new doctor and thankfully I was also able to get into and endro. so I would get the proper care for my diabetes also.