I just wanted to say thanks to this community for helping turn my diabetes life around.
Almost a year ago, I was way out of control, a1c >11, popping metformin but otherwise ignoring my diabetes. I was depressed, and in addition to other issues, had the "why me?" syndrome going on.
Almost a year later, I'm @6% a1c. While I had decided to take the bull by the horns, do a 180, and get this thing under control, it was TuD that educated me about pumps and CGMs, and so many other things.
Now on the omnipod and G4, I'm very happy, energetic, feel great, and most of all, am actually enjoying managing this condition to a degree. It's the geek in me -- having gadgets to play with is appealing. It's a nice side-effect that playing with them controls my diabetes :-)
So, a BIG THANKS to you all! I just hope I can play some part in helping another lost diabetic find religion, get their diabetes under control, and transform "why me?" into "I feel great!" for someone else.
Bravo to you Dave! Congratulations on such great progress, what an inspiring story. I share your sentiments for the many here who have helped me so much also over the last couple of years.
Congratulations, Dave! We might have helped by YOU did it! Way to go!
I can join the crowd on how much TuD has helped me. When I joined TuD I was living in Guatemala and struggling to figure out why my "I've got Type 2 diabetes, I take these four pills and test a couple times a day and it's all good" approach that worked for a year was slowly going to hell with numbers that were rising into the 200s, 300s and beyond! I had joined another website where everyone jumped on me for eating too many carbs and told me that was my only problem. (I was eating the same pasta, rice, cereal and bread I ate as a vegetarian for the previous year and did just fine!).I had asked my doctor to put me on insulin as I knew I needed it I just didn't know why since I'd read Type 2's could go for decades before they needed insulin. My doctor put me on a starting dose of 25 units of Lantus, conservative for a Type 2, but it sent me crashing. I had begun suspecting I was actually Type 1 and had read a bit about LADA online. Everyone here helped me confirm my suspicions and figure out what to do about it.
The thing I appreciate the most about TuD is how this community really helped me turn the "why me?" "it's an unbearable burden" situation to "this is a pain, but I'm in control, and well, I'm actually a bit jazzed!"
I especially like where you talk about feeling "jazzed" and enjoying your management, Dave! I feel the same way. I was at a wedding awhile back and had chatted with a woman before the reception and found out she was a type 2. For me that gave us a connection. Before the food was brought out she said she felt a little funny and wondered if it was her blood sugar. I then realized I had forgotten to put my meter in the little cocktail purse I had and wouldn't be able to bolus, but I was staying at the hotel where the reception was so I just quickly went back to my room and got it. Since the woman had been worrying about her blood sugar, I changed the lancet and handed it to her so she could test. To my surprise, she looked at me, horrified and and declined my offer. I realized she A. Didn't want to know her blood sugar or B. embarrassed to be talking about this in public or both.
I don't see this difference as a Type 1/ Type 2 thing, but something I gained partly due to my personality, but partly due to the "culture" of TuD which is one that encourages knowledge, self-management and even "D pride".
I realized she A. Didn't want to know her blood sugar or B. embarrassed to be talking about this in public or both.
I don't see this difference as a Type 1/ Type 2 thing, but something I gained partly due to my personality, but partly due to the "culture" of TuD which is one that encourages knowledge, self-management and even "D pride".
I can relate to her. I spent far too long doing much the same thing -- not checking for months and months, knowing the numbers were bad because of the way I felt, driving the denial and avoidance in a vicious circle.
Perhaps where this does differ for a T2 is that we have the added option to pop a pill, tell ourselves we're treating our condition, then carry on feeling like bat guano. All the time a devil on one shoulder telling you "it's not getting worse, you're taking medication!", and the angel on the other jabbing you with St. Michael's sword, harder and harder, yelling, "make a doctor appointment!".
Of course, there's a psychological way to avoid that one too while faking that your addressing it: "Yes," I say to myself, "I'll make that appointment in two months, after I get my a1c down!"
Anyway, I've run the gamut of ways to pretend I don't have diabetes. Thankfully, that was only during a very bad 2 year period in my life where too many other big issues were dominating.
