I feel like i am all alone
I just started takeing Humlin70/30 as of today and i feel like i am
the only person who is going through this. My husband says dont
worry it will be all right but he doesnt have to be the one twice a
day giving themselves a shot. Am I supposed to feel like this or
will it ever get better???? I feel so lost. All of my family who
has type 1 diabetes is living in Cal. and I am here in OK. I hope
in time I will feel better but I guess only time will tell. If
anyone knows what I am going through pleasr feel free to email me or
something I sure could use someone who knows what I am going throuhg
right now. Thanks for listing to me I feel a little better after
telling my story. Bridget
July 4th, 2003 at 6:57 pm
Hi, Bridget,
First, you’re not alone. I’m a type 1 diabetic, too. There are
millions more of us around. There are several of us on this list.
We’re all glad to help.
If things are still overwhelming you, you might want to contact the
ADA and see if they can help you find a support group in your area.
I’m sure your husband is a good guy, but you’re right. There is no
way he can completely understand what it’s like to be you. That
doesn’t mean you can’t let him help you emotionally. I’m sure he is
sympathetic.
It’s not surprising that this is upsetting and depressing. It will
get better as you get used to it, but there will probably be times
when it gets worse. After you’ve been dealing with it for years, it
will still be a pain, just different.
So it won’t be totally “all right,” you won’t suddenly be cured, but
you can learn to deal with it.
Your two injections a day can’t possibly adequately treat type 1
diabetes, though. For some reason your doctor is giving you an easier
treatment plan, rather than a healthier one.
But I’m not a doctor.
Jerry
July 5th, 2003 at 4:24 am
Jerry,
Sounds like she may be a Type II that just recently has had to start doing injections, perhaps. If that is so, then two injections per day sounds reasonable.
All the best,
Kelly
Kelly’s Homepage
” Tomorrow is a mystery. Yesterday is history. Today is a gift — that’s why it’s called ‘the present’ “
July 6th, 2003 at 5:42 am
Hi Bridget,
You are not alone. I’m currently on an insulin pump, but when I went to intensive therapy before the pump I was taking about 10 shots a day. I’d very difficult for people to understand what we go through if they don’t have diabetes. Keep up the good work and take care of yourself it will be worth it in the long run. Just like everything else in life new things that we are not familiar with are always difficult. Hopefully things will get better soon and you’ll get use to this new regimen. Whenever I start to feel like you I just remember what it feels like to have high blood sugars and not any insulin like when I first got diabetes. Then I gladly take the insulin.
Rene
July 8th, 2003 at 1:45 pm
Disease? It seems that’s my newest thing…
No, I haven’t heard of it before. What is it? Is it diabetes related?
on to ease into it…
It’s similar to how I started, but that was back in 1974, and that’s
just what they were doing then.
I’m doing well with my pump. I could do better, but I’ve gotten lazy.
I need to buckle down and go back to keeping better track of what I’m
doing. I stopped keeping a log and got somewhat careless with
counting carbs.
However, I got my latest A1C result yesterday, and it was 6.7. I’m
sure that doesn’t impress some of you, but it’s the best I’ve ever
done. The last test before pumping was 7.3.
thanks for asking.
Jerry
July 12th, 2003 at 11:30 am
My daugher takes ONLY two injections a day and she is type 1…. she does fine on it.
July 13th, 2003 at 8:52 pm
Not that I doubt that she does fine, but I’m curious what your
standard for “fine” is. What have her A1c tests been running? How
many times a day do you check her blood sugar? (Or does she check it
herself? How old is she?) How do her tests look, consistently in a
reasonable range from say 80 to 150, or bouncing up and down? If
bouncing, how low and how high? How often does she have low blood
sugars?
As I said in another mail, I was put on two shots a day back in ‘74,
when I was first diagnosed. If you asked anyone, they would have said
I was doing fine in those days. My standard of “fine” has changed
since then, though. We have the tools to do better. Some doctors are
satisfied with treating their patients with the protocol of the ’70s.
As a diabetic, I want better.
Jerry
July 14th, 2003 at 5:59 pm
Jerry,
She is 6 years old, she was diagnosed at age 4 with blood sugar greater then 1500. Her hbA1c lowest was 7.6, and highest was 9. Her blood sugars are pretty consistent now because I am on top of everything she eats, and does. Her 30 day avg, is around 170. She doesn’t have a whole lot of lows or highs, but maybe 2-3 days a month she will be off. I test her 5-6 times a day (when she wakes up, at noon, at 3 pm, at 6pm, at bedtime, and sometimes in the middle of the night). The highest I have seen lately is like 300, and the lowest around 40, although this is not something that is common for her anymore. A few months ago she did bounce up and down but she was on a regimen of NPH, R, and Humalog. Now I have her on a straight regimen of NPH, and Humalog. 8NPH, and 3 Hum in the morning, and 7NPH, and 3Hum at bedtime. If she is over 200 when tested she is to get 1 unit for every 100 over 200. I have not had to give that to her often since her last dr appt on 9/4/02. I
scheduled her to go back the end of october (7wks) so I can more carefully monitor her. I wouldn’t mind giving her more insulin, although with her in school from 8:30-2:50 it would really drag her down. The few lows she has had were all AFTER SCHOOL. I make sure to be at the school EVERYDAY at noon which is her lunch time. I test her and watch what she eats (mainly things I packed for her)… some days are a battle, but she is taking responsibilty for the most part. I think she is realizing that for the diabetes to not take her over she has to be in control of it, and for the most part she can if she takes care of herself. I feel bad that I dont have the answers for her as to why this happened to her… she gets so angry… all I have known to say is that… god made you special, and strong, you can get through this, and hopefully by surviving this battle you can help others with it be strong and fight it too, then I just give her a big long hug, sometimes I even start
crying right along with her. I know just how lucky I am for my daughter to be with me today, as she had BS #’s most dont live to talk about. The one thing she says that kills me … is if she gets angry enough she says, “I dont want to be diabetic anymore, I just want to die”…. It tears me up inside so BAD…. as im sure you can imagine. Thanks for sharing and I hope this gives you some more insight on us.
Take care,
Angela (mom of Theresa)
July 15th, 2003 at 9:11 am
Thank you, Angela. That was more information than I expected. And i
appreciate it.
I think what I said before was that two shots a day wasn’t adequate.
Well, obviously it has been adequate for lots of people, including me
for a while.
I still think Bridget’s doctor is giving her an easier, rather than
healthier regimen to follow. Your situation with a six year old is
very different from an adult with this disease. If you can get by
with fewer injections for now, that’s fine. Bridget can and should
take tighter control of her blood sugar, once she starts to adjust to
the change.
It is heart-wrenching to hear about and see children suffering with
diabetes. I just heard someone talk about a little boy who asked if
there was diabetes in heaven. When his babysitter said no, he said
then that’s where he wants to go.
It’s easy to give advice, but you’re dealing with something I never
had to. The nearest thing was a week as a camp counselor for diabetic
kids.
You can tell your daughter from me, I’ve been living with diabetes
for a long time, and I’m glad I’m still alive. Life can still be
wonderful with diabetes.
Good luck,
Jerry