Spinning!

Community Share Your Stories
1

There is so much great information on this site… but I feel like the more I read… the more my head spins and the less I feel I have a control on this disease!

I was diagnosed more than four years ago… ironically by one of the best Endo’s in Cleveland (he was my third opinion!) However, my training was horrible… wrong place… wrong time… huge lack of support and education!

After an awful, initial experience, I came to trust my former Internist at the expense of deeper diabetes understanding.

I came to (wrongfully) understand that as a T1, my insulin injection was the replacement for my pancreas. (And might I say, not any different from my college friend’s attitude who had T1 since he was a kid… His injections “replaced” his pancreas function.)

After spending time on this site… I find the above view is so far from the truth… and if i want to life a long and healthy-as-I-can-live life… I need to start all over again!

Any good suggestions for a late in life diagnosed, T1?

I mean, the whole Glucose, Fructose, Dextrose, Sucralose discussion tossed me into a that high school/college nightmare where you didn’t study a whole quarter for your biggest final! Full on sweat, confusion, stress, and run out of the classroom type nightmare!!

But one raises your Triglicerides? OMG!! I’m failing not just the whole semester… this nightmare is failing my life!!

And I just had a huge meltdown with NutraSweet/Aspartame thinking it was the wonder-answer to “I can’t have sugar anymore” problem. Enter my recent month’s worth of Diet Dr. Pepper (my ultimate favorite Pre-Diabetes was Dr. Pepper/Mr. Pibb) and my blood sugar hit the worst roller coast/tail spin I’ve experienced since day one.

So is the “T1 Diabetes 101: Just how this all works” course? I need to start from the beginning…

2

Guess what? When you were diagnosed, that was day one of T1 Diabetes 101. And you’re still in class. Just like me, I’ve been in class for almost 18 years now, and sometimes I still feel like a freshman.

May I suggest reading Dr. Bernstein’s “The Diabetes Solution” as a new perspective on this old disease. You might find some simple ways to stop your head from spinning and start gaining control again.

3

Thanks for your feedback. I just asked my favorite bookstore to order the Dr. Bernstein’s book.

And one thing at a time is definately a great idea!

4

How about a follow up get to gether with your health team : CDE’s ( certified diabetes educators ) : Nurse, Dietitian , Pharmacist etc. ??..I have been learning for 26 plus years . I neglected to view your profile …would you consider pumping ?? if yes …more to learn .

5

I’d love to see my health team, but I lost my health care, so unless I pay in full, upfront… I basically have no health team. I’m one of those people who falls through the cracks, so no matter where I turn, I can’t get free coverage… not for a while at least.

Tu Diabetes has become my “healthcare coverage.” Not sure that is the role the site set out to play, but I bet I’m not the only one who turns to this site to find the right guidance outside of a medical practitioner.

Pumping? I’d love to, I think. I’m open to the idea. But again, adjusting to no healthcare, I think I need to take the previous advice and take one step at a time…

6

And let me add… I’m not requiring or demanding “free” coverage. I’ve just not had healthcare for six years and haven’t had any income for four years. The recent economic downturn is not helping. I want to work. I want to pay my fair share…

But life, I’ve found, doesn’t always work that way. So side jobs under the table fund my insulin and test strips. Even if I had a job these days, I couldn’t afford the $1500 insurance premium to get no coverage for a year and then only get 20%. You might call that coverage availability… I call that unattainable…