Topic: Diabetes and the Struggles...

[JadenMystic]

I am a type 1 insulin-dependant diabetic. I've been on insulin injections anywhere between 2-4 times a day. At first it bothered me having to give them to me. Now it's like second nature. Diabetes runs in my family. Everyone else is Type 2, and eventually went onto insulin injections tho. I'm the oddball. I'm stuck with them for the rest of my life. The rest of the family, if they ate better and exercised more could help themselves out so they may not need the shots, and just need the pills.

For those of you that don't know what Diabetes is, it is a disease in which your pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin to break down the sugars in your food, or in my case, where the body doesn't produce insulin at all to help break down the sugars in food.

Being pregnant with diabetes was interesting. It was the only time my bloodsugars were in perfect control. Usually it is the exact opposite. The female's bloodsugars are perfect before getting pregnant and after being pregnant, but the entire pregnancy the bloodsugars are all over the place.

I know diet is a key thing to helping control the diabetes. Being female and diabetic sucks. When it's that time of the month, the bloodsugars go really high and it's hard  to keep them in control. When you don't eat right tho, and eat a lot of food you aren't supposed to (which I have a tendency to do having kids at home and sweets in the house) it's harder to keep them in control. I know what I'm supposed to be doing...It's just getting myself motivated to stick with what I'm supposed to do. If I did, I'd do better at losing weight.

If I could get myself more motivated to eat the way I'm supposed to be, I know I'd be a lot healthier and wouldn't need as much insulin.

[MMConway]

I feel for u. I know a little something about what u r going through. My niece/goddaughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 5 n is now 14. We gave her all of her shots till she wanted to learn to do it herself. Now she has been on the pump for a few yrs and loves it compared to all of the shots. I pray they find a cure some day! Best of luck! 

[TheHangedMan]

I know how you feel, Jaden. I'm a type 1 diabetic myself....and I might be able to help you steer away from the sweets. I used to eat cookies and chips and other junk all the time, and never gave a damn about my blood sugars. But that attitude I had ended up earning me diabetic retinopathy. Now I have to get injections directly into my eyeball to avoid becoming permanently blind. 6-7 times a year, I have to get treated.

The needle used in the treatment is about twice the size of the lancets we use to poke our fingers for blood testing, and you don't really feel anything because they use numbing drops, but still...they have to clamp your eye open and you're still getting a needle jabbed into it. Try thinking about that the next time you're tempted to go for the sweets. I know it's helped me.

I hope you do well, Jaden. You might want to switch to the insulin pump if you/your insurance can get it. I use a MedTronic MiniMed and I've gone from having lots of highs and lows and the occasional good blood sugar, to having lots of good blood sugars and the occasional high or low.

And jumping back to the second paragraph...if you're not seeing one, I highly recommend you get an ophthalmologist and keep an eye on your eyes (No pun intended). Diabetic retinopathy can hit you without you even knowing it; you can literally wake up one day, blind.  It's sneaky.

[JadenMystic]

I feel for u. I know a little something about what u r going through. My niece/goddaughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 5 n is now 14. We gave her all of her shots till she wanted to learn to do it herself. Now she has been on the pump for a few yrs and loves it compared to all of the shots. I pray they find a cure some day! Best of luck!

I've tried to talk my doctor into letting me get on the insulin pump, but I don't think my insurance will cover it. I was diagnosed at the age of 13. I can just imagine how it was for her to find out at age 5...I've helped out at a diabetes camp and that's where I first met a lot of other type 1's like me. I still keep in contact with a few of them from when I was a camper there. I was also very impressed at how well the 8-10 year olds group I worked with did with their food choices at meal time and with snacks. It did me well working there again remembering what it was like sticking to the rules and all. The camp was for ages 8-17.

[JadenMystic]

I know how you feel, Jaden. I'm a type 1 diabetic myself....and I might be able to help you steer away from the sweets. I used to eat cookies and chips and other junk all the time, and never gave a damn about my blood sugars. But that attitude I had ended up earning me diabetic retinopathy. Now I have to get injections directly into my eyeball to avoid becoming permanently blind. 6-7 times a year, I have to get treated.

The needle used in the treatment is about twice the size of the lancets we use to poke our fingers for blood testing, and you don't really feel anything because they use numbing drops, but still...they have to clamp your eye open and you're still getting a needle jabbed into it. Try thinking about that the next time you're tempted to go for the sweets. I know it's helped me.

I hope you do well, Jaden. You might want to switch to the insulin pump if you/your insurance can get it. I use a MedTronic MiniMed and I've gone from having lots of highs and lows and the occasional good blood sugar, to having lots of good blood sugars and the occasional high or low.

And jumping back to the second paragraph...if you're not seeing one, I highly recommend you get an ophthalmologist and keep an eye on your eyes (No pun intended). Diabetic retinopathy can hit you without you even knowing it; you can literally wake up one day, blind.  It's sneaky.

I try not to eat the junk food all the time. It just depends on what's in the house and whether I'm at my parents (which is my home of record) or the boyfriend's place (which is where I've been the past 2 months). He's not one that's much for sweets, and he cooks a lot, but not everything he cooks is that healthy for you...

I've been wearing glasses since I was in the middle of 2nd grade. Both parents wear glasses. The eye doctor I see also does my Diabetic Retinopathy. He also asks how my bloodsugars have been running before he'll even do my eye exam. If they've been really high then have dropped low, he won't do the exam until they've been in better control. Because of the change in the bloodsugars, it effects the change in the eyes and your eyesight.

For a while, the eye doctor had be being seen every 6 months because of a change in my eye sight. They were worried I may be having issues with Glaucoma. My last eye exam I was told that everything was staying the same and we'd go back to the annual checkups again.

Honestly, if it were me in your shoes having to give myself sots in my eyes too so I wouldn't go blind, I don't know if I could do it. I have enough issues when they put all the drops and stuff in my eyes. It's definitely something or me to be careful of and watchout for. Thanks for sharing your story with me.