please help!!

Hi there, my name is Toni and i have had type 1 since i was 13 months old!! I very rarely get bm's below 15 and am quite often running above 25. I struggle coping with my diabetes and often cannot be bothered with it as i have got myself into a routine of thinking well whats the point as i still cant get control even when i do try. When my diabetes team ask how my bm's are i tell them the are fine, i always 'forget' my record book at appointments and wont tell them anything even though they are there to help me. The only way that i can think of describing this is like being addicted to drink or drugs as i know that it is harming my health but i cant seem to stick at doing things properly. i dont talk to anybody about this as i think they will blame me which i know sounds silly as i am writing this now!! my last hba1c was 12.8. i am in desperate need of help and advice, or just someone to talk to that mite know what im on about as i cant go on like this for much longer!!

Hi Toni
Welcome to the board... I am glad you have asked for help... I hope I can offer some, although I would also direct you to this board :

DIABETES UK FORUM

They are really helpful there and know an awful lot more than I do!

What are you eating on a day to day basis?

i eat fairly healthy although i do like my food. i have a main evening meal and most of the rest of the time i just snack on anything from crisps to chips and chicken nuggets. i find it hard to sit down and eat proper meals due to my job and dont always do my injections to avoid going hypo at work. i dont eat breakfast an tend to eat more in the late afternoon / evening when i am starting to relax.

Well there's your problem then! You need to reduce your carbs to about 100g - 200g per day and eat regularly. What is your job? How can you manage your diabetes better so you live longer? You need to take responsibility for this - and it may sound like something you want to rebel against - at least it did for me but I have been in hospital and seen patients with legs removed and blind because of diabetes and it scared me.

So... does it sound like something you want to do? Get most of your carbs from vegetables and salad? Do you want to give it a go so that perhaps your results are better? I have been low-carbing for a couple of weeks and getting results of between 6 and 8 mmol/l after meals (2hrs) and last night ate "normally" with pasta as well and got 11.9mmol/l after my meal. There is no choice, is there? Visit the link I put on and just see how everyone there is doing. Yes, I am bossy, but diabetes can be controlled just by what we eat. You can still have chips but only once a month! You can eat delicious foods - hollondaise sauce on steak but not pasta and sauce!

Hi Toni,
You've done the hardest bit already.......You've asked for help.
I admit that I know very little about the disease, but I've got big ears and HUGE shoulders and am here, on and off, every day if you just need to rant - I know how frustrating it can be when you can't control your bloods (Hubby's T2).

If you stick around, and I really hope you do, we'll all do our best to help you sort your diet out so that it's fun and safe for you

i am assistant manager of a busy workingmens club so my hours can often be long and iregular which makes it awkward to set meal times. i looked at my carb intake today and i had 98g of carbs in my dinner alone so i think i would find it difficult, also wholemeal things are suposed to e more healty but contain more carbs which i find confusing it does scare me to think that i mite be in a wheelchair, blind or worse within 10 years if i dont get this sorted but i find it awkward as i am so stuck in my ways. i was admitted last weekend for 4 hours with high bm's and ketones, i asked the doctor looking after me to contact the dsn for her to come and see me for 20 min for some advise but was told that her reply was she was to busy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if they cant help me when i do ask for it then whats the point? im often admitted with dka but apart from the blip last weekend i havent been in for around 12 months!! im off to india at the end of the year so hope to be getting somewhere by then!

Hi Tony
Sorry I meant to reply to your thread but instead started a new one so look at the new thread by me in introductions.

hi jenrose
i had a look at that link you put on, there was some interesting things on the site which have made me feel a little bit more positive about a few things, thanks.

I am glad you are feeling a little more positive, Toni - if you just make a few steps in the right direction it can affect your whole mood... just remember to start each new day fresh - like a new exercise book at school... Forget yesterday (if you weren't on form) and start again...

hi all, i have had a fairly good day bs wise although i have had ketones most of the day!! i had +4 when i got up and it is now down to trace but will probably be back up again in am. also i have my flu jab today at 10:42 im thinking this may affect my bs for a couple of days??!!

Hi Toni

I am glad you are starting to get to grips with your bg levels now. I didn't know that flu jabs could raise your bg levels for a couple of days so you have prepared me for this now. I have my flu jab on the 15 Oct. I had the Hong Kong flu when I was a teenager and the after effects badly affected me with pleurisy, bronchitis and asthma ( I hadn't suffered from any of these things before) so I find the thought of flu a bit scary especially now they say flu is not good to get if you are diabetic.

Hi Toni, after reading your first post I know a bit about what your going through. My blood sugars were rarley below 15 I always had ketones and my Hb1ac was running at 16 (because of not taking my insulin properly or eating the right things). I felt ill all the time and even lost my job and my husbands through it. I used to tell the nurses and doctors at the hospital things were fine and "accidently" forget my diary. I did finally tell them and they were so unhelpful I moved house last year and registered at a new hospital where they are fantastic they have put me on DAFNE and my last Hb1ac was 10.3 which isn't perfect but its a start . I still hate having diabetes but after speaking to some what listerned it seems easier. I am now trying harder and sometimes I still do have my off days but at least its not as oftern as before, I feel better in myself (not as thirsty lol!) and I am looking forward to going back to work! I hope everything goes well with you! x

I've got my flu jab next Saturday I hate it, I always feel rough for a couple of days afterwards - I've got Type 1 Brittle Asthma.

only 81 days till crimbo!!
ive noticed a lot of people on about DAFNE what is it thanks claire once again its good knowing that im not the only one who struggles with diabetes. i work in a workingmens club and have recently found out a few of the members are also diabetic i have statred to open up a bit to one of them (when i have had a few drinks of course) and it is helpful to have someone to talk to who doesnt critisise!!
i will be on messenger after work tommorrow(sunday) (around 4pm) so will try and make contact!!

Hiya sorry I missed you but will hopefully chat soon. DAFNE is great I take two back round insulins (one at 10am and the other 10pm) and then everytime I eat I take some fast acting. You have to count the carb portions in evrything you eat to know how much fast acting you need. I find it brilliant because I am not a big eater and struggled like mad having all the snacks and meals. So they have told me its ok if I dont eat i just don't take any fast acting and its fine to eat any thing I want as long as I cover it with the fast acting (which now I don't feel guilty about eating chocolate etc! ). The only downside is a few more injections! Being on this within 4 weeks my Hba1c was down by 2.3%!! So hopefully when I next go it should be down more! I still struggle with the blood tests but my nurse says as long as I am taking a few its better than taking none and after about 5 years of not taking any its a start! .
Thats great that you have found some people at work with diabetes when I was diagnosed (11yrs old) I was the first diabetic to go to my school with it and it was horrible no one knew anything about it. I got bullied alot about it but moved schools and everything was fine after that. I am now not ashamed about my diabetes I enjoy people staring when I take injections in public its funny cause you know what there thinking! lol.
Hope to chat soon, if you think DAFNE might be any good for you ask your nurse about it
claire x

Hi Toni I've just been reading your thread, I too wondered what DAFNE was so I googled it and its 'Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating' and the website link is http://www.dafne.uk.com/ I'm just going to have a little wander to have a look at the site; it looks quite good
Cheers,
John