Ten Things I hate about Diabetes

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1

I am in one of those moods today…

  1. You have to be “on” all the time…there’s no down time. Every move, as well as its consequences, must be thought out, planned and calculated.

  2. Can’t go anywhere without my “stash”…a simple walk down the block requires meter, glucose tabs, ID and snacks. Longer treks require extra pump supplies and insulin.

  3. That same simple walk will cause your BG to plummet unless you remember to set a temp basal on your pump

  4. Taking a sick day to tame a high blood sugar day or battle a low involves looks and stares of “Yeah, right-you were probably at the mall…you don’t look like you were sick” Try as they may, non D friends and family just don’t get it.

  5. Pokes and prods of lancets, infusion sets and cgms sensors. An occasional syringe or two for those days when you are just not sure if pump is working properly. You are sure that if you drank a glass of water, you’d spring a leak.

  6. Highs

  7. Lows–especially the ones you feel when you are away from home

  8. The ridiculous cost of cgms sensors, and all diabetes supplies, for that matter!

  9. Going out to a restaurant becomes an Olympic event as you try to navigate through the menu and calculate carbs for a meal.

  10. Between pump, cgms, and meter, you have more bells and whistles than a new car

I could probably write 10 more, but I won’t.

Just tested and even though I feel like I’m dropping, I’m at 120. CGMS reads 68. Sigh…so much for technology!

Ever have one of those days when you’ve just had it? That’s where I am today. I’ve been high, low, and everywhere in between today, and I’m exhausted from thinking about it. Hoping tomorrow is a better day.

2

agreed! Nice top 10, read mine on my page

3

Good 10. If I were writing this list, I’d add “depression.” Personally, if I were to graph my mood and my BGL numbers, you’d see a direct correlation. Sux.

4

what a great channel for catharsis! :slight_smile:
What if we all write our top ten… hey it could be positive thing too…

5

Yeah that 10… but I’d add - 11. Hearing from a Family member thats a health nut how I don’t need take insulin. Have you looked into any diet changes, herbs, vitamins etc… that’s better for you. Insulin is bad for you. Grrrrrr!!!

6

Your number one is my number one. I literally screamed the other day as I was stuck in freeway traffic and my meter is buzzing on the left side of my belt telling me to check my BG and that my reservoir is low when my CGM starts screaming at me on the right side of my belt telling me I’m going low . . . or high. . . who the hell knows? I can’t look at it because traffic’s starting to move . . . AAAAAAAGHH!! Leave me the F* ALONE!!

7
  1. The
  2. people
  3. that
  4. must
  5. play
  6. victims
  7. Seriously. It sucks sometimes, or it’s just inconvenient, but really… Some people go on like its the end of the world. It’s really not.
  8. Small town doctors that just don’t know. Hi, I live with this day in and day out. When’s the last time you connected with a couple of thousand patients to check something out?
  9. Scar tissue. Could you really just stop doing what you do, please? I like shooting into my tummy, it hurts less and and I can do it much quicker at my desk instead of having to head off to the bathroom and shooting somewhere else.
  10. Pizza, brown rice and sweet potatoes and their lack of cooperation.
8
  1. People who keep trying to tell me I can’t have sugar or that eating a lot of sugar causes diabetes.
  2. “Jeez, you used 15 strips?!” Allow me to apologize for wanting good control.
  3. The fact that almost any fast food or eat-out restaurant almost always makes me go high and ruins otherwise good BG days.
  4. Supplies cost WAY too much for the unwealthy, especially STRIPS.
  5. Unpredictability. Why can’t everything just work the way it’s supposed to all the time?

That’s all I got, for now.

9

  1. when people tell me i cant have sugar cuz im diabetic. so annoying.

  2. when my pump tube gets caught on something and yanks out my site…it doesnt hurt but it is irritating.

  3. the people that are so stupidly grossed out by my pump site or me checking my blood sugar.

  4. the times those same people tell me i shouldnt check my blood sugar around them. i just tell them to get over it.

  5. the fact that my parents wont let me do half as much as my brother cuz im the diabetic one and he’s not.

  6. when ppl decide that theyre better than me cuz their pancreas actually works. as if i can do anything about it.

  7. when i run out of strips and the insurrance company refuses to give me more.

  8. never being able to go anywhere without all my supplies.

  9. that fact that i really dont feel my highs and lows anymore. ill pull a 300 and not feel it and still end up in trouble with whoever finds out.

  10. never being able to just be a kid.

ok thats my 10…

10

  1. Hitting a low when I’m in an important meeting and I start sweating like crazy and it is misinterpreted for being nervous.

  2. Trying to test when my BG is low and I’m shaking so much I miss judge how much blood is on my finger and I get an error.

  3. Being told I caught D for my old eating habits.

  4. People who don’t take the illness as serious as they should. If a diabetic has insulin then good for them, but the millions of people out there who cannot afford the supplies, the diabetics who know how sick you get when your BG is between 600 - 1200 with an A1C of 11 - 13 should do more to raise funds.

  5. Not being able to drink like I used to. My favorite past time.

  6. Lows

  7. Poking my fingers

  8. Insurance

  9. Going out to eat became a huge pain.

  10. The U.S. Government paying off the doctors and not allowing the FDA to approve certain medicines because the money is in the treatment and not the cure!!!

11
  1. blurry vision when you go to low
  2. waking up out of an otherwise perfectly good sleep to treat a low
  3. not having an explanation why your sugar is so high
  4. sticking my finger 7 times before i get enough blood
  5. not being able to eat pizza whenever i want cuz my sugar goes crazy
  6. just finding out that french fries do the same thing to me
  7. sitting on the couch watching my pig of a roommate eat an entire 1/2 gallon of ice cream while my mouth waters just wanting to do the same
  8. being stressed out that my sugar is high only for it to go higher b/c i’m stressed out
  9. not understanding why stress makes my sugar go up
  10. having to pee every 15 mintues when i’m high
12

Greats Lists and I’ll with all of them — including some of my personal favorites:

  1. Others thinking they have to plan their lives around my diabetes
  2. A dh who can’t get it through his head that pie, esclairs, giant muffins, and carmel rolls are on my plan
  3. Others asking at a restaurant if there is something good for diabetics, because (pointing at me) she’s diabetic
  4. A doc that doesn’t listen to me, and goes by the book instead of what I tell him
  5. Having an arm that looks like a main line junky from too much testing
  6. Gaining weight even though I am following a very strict diet for weight loss
  7. Drug companies, that can’t seem to come up with a diabetic med that “doesn’t cause weight gain”
  8. Meters that can’t be erased in 90 days to start over
  9. Making sure that all the food for the trip is edible by everyone
  10. Days I can’t exercise because the other maladies in my life make the pain worse.
13

there is only 2 things I hate about diabetes is

  1. diabetes and
  2. being told I don’t have diabetes because I don’t take any meds at all.
    Those people need to walk in our shoes for a week just to realise what we go through
14

James

I can relate to your number 10. That is one of the things I hate also. I am in a meeting and I get the shakes, sweating, confusion. Sometimes I just walk out the meetings to put myself back together. I call it “normalization”, the period of time between eating something and when it kicks in.

Here are my 10

  1. When your daily routine is broken. I try to live by routines so I know the outcome. I like predictability.
  2. Bad carb day.
  3. The yo-yo effect. I eat then sugar goes high. I exercise right after the high then sugar goes low.
  4. Endo visit. Seems like they just don’t listen to anything you say.
  5. The “are you listening” question from people while I am on a low.
  6. Explaining to people why I don’t want to pull all nighters at work.
  7. Not being able to push my self like I used to when I would do 20 mile bike rides. I am wondering if I’ll hit a low somewhere along the way.
  8. Insurance keeps getting worse and the cost keeps going up
  9. Worrying about diabetes
  10. The worried look I get from my kid when something is just not right.
15

The post says what do you hate OR like about diabetes. Let’s go with the positive. I learn more everyday via my glucometer about myself and others. I have met the most wonderful people in the world who give me free sugar at Tim Hortons when I am in need. I am in control of a monster who hates me because I win (my condolences to Mr Hate!)

I am in charge and fully aware of the fact that the enzymes in my salaiva break down a carbohydrate in my mouth almost immediately. I know the fastest way to drop my sugars is intravenously OR intramuscular OR subcutaneously!!! (in that order).

I am not perfect, and I embrace that in myself and others. I have tolerance for those who do not, and can never understand. Life has clearly demonstrated that to know is only to be aware, and to experience is to truly understand. DIABETES PICKED THE WRONG GUY!!!

I wish EVERYONE luck and compassion, and if you wish to know more about me then check out Oprah’s Diabetes Support Board at Oprah.com and read Diabetes The Real Cost by the anonymous diabetic.

Love Always
The Anonymous Diabetic.

16

I totally agree. Diabetes can be a very unforgiving disease. I had a low in public because it appeared the insuling from my pump was not absorbing so I injected. Sometimes you try to do everything right and it is still wrong. I think this is why depression is so high in the diabetic population. The frustration can really get to us.