…of being diabetic.
I’ve never posted here before, but I’ve just had the week from hell and needed to share with someone who might actually understand…
I started at a new crossfit gym this week and on my 2nd day I told the trainer that my BS was lower than I would prefer and that I still had some active insulin in my system that I needed to be careful of and he said “Oh. Do you need to take some more insulin then?”
Two days later I went to another class with a different trainer. The temp was 91, I had an 80g carb burrito for lunch two hours earlier that I took half the bolus for, I disconnected my pump an hour before the class, yet when I got to the gym my BS was 77. I ate a banana and drank half a bottle of o.j. (approx 56g of carb) and my BS rose to 100. I told the trainer I couldn’t do the class and she said “Don’t worry. Just take it one day at a time.” I realized she thought I was saying I couldn’t do the workout (which was a 400m run, deadlifts, and 20 min of rowing, KB swings and burpees–which I freaking LOVE!!!) and I told her I was diabetic and it was too hot for me to do the workout. She replied, “take care of yourself.” I didn’t have the energy to explain that was EXACTLY what I was doing and that I wasn’t in the mood to have the paramedics called for me.
On Wednesday I had lunch with a bunch of seniors from my work and I had left my meter at work so I had to run back to get it, at which point they all learned I was diabetic with the “bad” kind (has anyone figured out yet what the “good” kind is!!!) I had one woman tell me about her husband who had the doctor tell him for years he was prediabetic, but he didn’t do anything about it cause “he didn’t have diabetes.” Then, when the doctor told him he was DIABETIC, his response was to say “why didn’t anyone tell me?!” I can’t even begin to express how I feel when a T2 complains about having to take insulin…if I had had a CHOICE…
Finally, one of the ladies at the lunch told me she had just learned she was diabetic and I told her to ask me any questions that she had at anytime. So the next day that she saw me, she took my hand and asked “How are you today? Are you doing ok?” in that super-sickening sweet voice that is meant to portray just how much she cares and is concerned about my health. What frustrates me is that now I am labeled as the “bad kind of diabetic” in her mind, the fact that I play soccer every week, commute by bicycle (a fixed gear no less!), try to do crossfit 4-5x/week, and climb indoors 4-5x/week doesn’t mean I’m healthy anymore. Now I’m obviously too diabetic to be healthy!
Ugh. Like I said earlier…I’m tired…
P.S. I just started using a sensor a month ago and can barely keep it on for more than three days cause of sweating through all my activities. Does anyone have any suggestions for making the adhesive actually stick? I’ve even broken down and have bought alcohol wipes for the first time to try and help and usually use sport tape until it peels off also.
Oy. That does sound like a REALLY frustrating week. I’m so sorry!
I keep mine on through 3x a week of water aerobics, using a hot tub, and daily showering/hot baths with a combination of things:
I exfoliate my skin before a sensor application.
Prep with alcohol wipes
Apply a product called Skin-Tac to the edges of the sensor adhesive, careful not to get too close to the sensor wire.
When the adhesive starts to lift, I apply a bit more Skin-Tac to smooth it down, and then slap a GrifGrip (10% first order off link) over it.
Doing this, I can usually get 2 weeks or more out of a sensor, despite being in water for at least 3 hours per week for water aerobics and living in a state where the temp is 90+ F by 10am, so I sweat just going out to my car.
Thanks! But how do you get to use the sensor for two weeks? On the 7th day mine starts yelling at me to switch and that the session will end…I haven’t tried keeping it on longer, but then I’ve actually only made it to the honest end of the sensor twice.
Thanks! I appreciate the info. I’ve tried a couple of adhesive patches that the doctor gave me, but they have pulled the sensor out each time I tried them.
Sway, that’s the beauty of this community! My 2 year old is T1 (“the bad kind”), and I JUST FOUND OUT yesterday how to make it work for 2 weeks (or longer). My 2 year old doesn’t sweat like you do with your workout regiment, but we 1) clean site with alcohol, 2) apply I.V Prep to that same area where you need thing to stick and c) after the transmitter is inserted, we put Tegaderm over it…(I cut out a hole big enough to fit the transmitter through so that it’s centered around it.)
Sorry for the troubles you’re going through. Here’s pretty much my best help I can give: :: hugs ::
And how you get the extra week is…when the transmitter says Sensor stopped…you just click “start sensor” again…let it do it’s 2 hour thing, then 2 blood draws and vwhala…you have another week. From what I hear, the hardest part of getting longer life is the “sticky” film coming loose. As long as your transmitter and blood draws are close to each other, use it until you need to change it out. A lot of people change theirs out every TWO weeks…some keep it longer.
Thank you, thank you!! That’s amazing! I would have never thought I could just leave it in. Awesome!!! And thanks for telling me about cutting the hole! I’ve tried a couple of the adhesive patches from the doctor, but they always stuck better to the sensor than my skin and would pull the whole thing out. Yay!!! Now I feel like I can actually keep track of my numbers without fighting the stupid “health” insurance for strips and sensors! Hallelujah!!!
One additional trick is that instead of putting the Tegaderm (or Opsite or whatever) on when you initiate a new sensor, you wait until the original patch starts to peel up and then do it. Your skin will naturally exfoliate over 7-10 days, so anything you put on there is going to start coming off eventually–it’s like the paint is peeling off under the layer you’ve just painted over it. But if you wait, the Tegaderm can adhere to the current layer and keep the sensor in place much longer before it starts to go.
We are outdoors all the time. Hiking fishing camping in the summers…hunting snowmobiling and hiking in the winters. I haven’t told anyone about diabetes at work. I don’t plan to for the same reason. I’ll have an X on me. I want to get into crossfit and wondering how I would do that. I think it’s amazing how active you are and you give me some hope about a rigorous workout. I was scared I wasn’t able to be active. Yesterday was my “tired” day. We went on an 8 hour fishing trip and I kept bouncing high and low (even had to steal a sandwich from my husband…haha). Shoot some days I think I don’t even have D with how good everything is going. Right when I feel good…bang!!! I get the middle finger. Hang in there and keep got. I’m still doing the MDI route.
I’ve made a template from a piece of cardboard that I use every time. I just place the tegaderm film on top of the template and cut the hole out where the template hole is. I can’t take credit for this - a wonderful woman on Youtube did it and I stole it from her! It’s working for us for the moment.
The only issue is that, the reason I bought the Tegaderm for my son in the first place is that the white sticker itself isn’t enough to keep stuck to my son’s abdomen. We had to find something to make it stick better, and longer. I’ll still give this another try, though, and see how it goes.
Never stop being active!! It’s the only reason worth living. I think having diabetes is a blessing sometimes because it allows us to appreciate being alive and being able to do things with a level of awareness and enjoyment that others with a functioning pancreas will NEVER be able to experience. It sucks! But it makes us stronger than we would have been otherwise. Don’t ever let the fear stop you…allow it to motivate you! To start crossfit the ONLY thing you have to do is walk into the box and start! The highs and lows never go away…I simply focus on being responsible enough to make sure others don’t have to call 911 for me. But I tell everyone around me that I am diabetic because if they are in my life, then I make it their responsibility to recognize when I need help and to help me when I can’t do it myself. There have been more times at work then I can remember that I would have been in deep sh*t if my coworkers had not been around to help. It is a relief to know I can rely on those around me when I need to…and I believe it is irresponsible to think I will never need help…I take insulin…it’s only a matter of time until I have another moment that I am incapable of staying alive without help. I would suggest picking one person that you enjoy and are comfortable with at work and share with them over a long lunch. Teach them how to recognize your symptoms of a low and show them how they can help. It’s not difficult to keep a bad low under the radar with others at work if that one person knows how to nonchalantly hand you a juice box and encourages you to drink it all. I believe part of the courage inherent in being diabetic is learning how to be vulnerable and comfortable at the same time. Being labeled isn’t a bad thing…it just puts a very pretty white picket fence around other people’s conception and understanding of who you are…and it is a damn lot of fun to let them build that fence around you and smash it down with every amazing adventure that you tell them about!!! I know I get pleasure from doing all the things I’m too diabetic to do!!
I saw a comment from J. Palaima at Amazon which talked about shifting the tape slightly and punching twice to make it fit.
“Added Tip: If your making a punch for a Dexcom sensor, try punching the film once, then shift it over perhaps 2mm or so, repunch it… It will make it easier to clear the sensor base.”
Because I use my sensors for about 10 days before applying the tape, I haven’t even used the punch yet because I already had several pre-cut by hand.
Sorry for the delay, I was off the grid for 2 days.
Just for the record, not all of us are that dense. I figured out, on my own, that insulin was what I needed to achieve decent control; no doctor ever even suggested it. Ultimately I had to go in and demand it.
And I sure do get it about the clueless people out there. 100%. That was a lousy week, all right.
Tired, it’s what I feel often. Just tired of it all! But I do keep plugging along and do what I need to do to stay healthier than most people around me. I watch what I eat, I exercise most every day, I see my doctors regularly, take my medinces as needed. Probably healthier than most.
And as to the “bad kind”. I hate that phrase! While I have had diabetes for almost 46 years now and have done a pretty good job with it or at least the best I can each day. But as to the “bad” kind? Over the years I have come to believe that type 2 might be the bad one. My thinking here is most people do not take it seriously. Many think you just have to take a pill and lose some weight. Wow, if it was only that easy. I believe that because people are told they have pre-diabetes, they don’t think it’s a big deal. And they don’t do anything. And then all those complications that many think only happen to type 1’s start happening. At least with type 1 you know up front what needs to happen. There is no wishy washy back and forth. It’s pretty cut and dry. Type 2, it’s all a crap shoot. Never know what will work or if it will work. So many possiblilties on treatment. What a minefield. Type 1 take insulin. We don’t have any options.
So which is the “bad kind”? I have not enjoyed any part of my diabetes but I really do believe I am healthier with it than I might have been without it. What do you think is diabetes good or bad? Is one worse than he other?
