[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

calfmuscle

CathyMoran wrote: »

Also I had well meaning people saying that if I exercised enough I could get rid of it - I was 10 and my parents took me on 6 mile walks every day to "get rid of it" because of all of these well meaning people. I had the honeymoon period for a year which is not the same.

When I was diagnosed they used animal insulin which was allergic to and had to take large amounts of antihistamines. I also had to get insulin from a vial and use a syringe.

This was in the 80's!

Well meaning people have a lot to answer for and people should be educated that they are not the same.

I was lucky I missed the animal insulin, but I did have to use a syringe and vile for a while.
I remember having a hypo in school one day and having a bar of chocolate (I know its not the best thing but I love my chocolate!) pulled out of my hand and having a class mate ranting about how the sugar would kill me. I have never been so close to hurting someone!

CathyMoran

calfmuscle wrote: »

I was lucky I missed the animal insulin, but I did have to use a syringe and vile for a while.
I remember having a hypo in school one day and having a bar of chocolate (I know its not the best thing but I love my chocolate!) pulled out of my hand and having a class mate ranting about how the sugar would kill me. I have never been so close to hurting someone!

Children can be cruel but they are not helped by their parents not being educated either. That is one of the reasons why I feel that type 1 and 2 should be distinguished in the public's mind.

BlackEdelweiss

What exactly is the honeymoon period? I have heard it mentioned in passing before but never understood it in relation to my own condition.

Redmal

The honeymoon period is a period of time, usually after a fairly new diagnosis of diabetes, where the pancreas can start to produce insulin again for a while. It gets a bit of respite from the injection of insulin manually and this break can sometimes give it a mini kick start. It doesn't mean a cure though unfortunately. I never had one. I'm not sure about the type 2 honeymoon period, but with type ones I was wondering did you continue to take insulin even though you were going through this period? I thought that the honeymoon period would be a dream come true but it seems like harder work to avoid any hypos!!

CathyMoran

Redmal wrote: »

The honeymoon period is a period of time, usually after a fairly new diagnosis of diabetes, where the pancreas can start to produce insulin again for a while. It gets a bit of respite from the injection of insulin manually and this break can sometimes give it a mini kick start. It doesn't mean a cure though unfortunately. I never had one. I'm not sure about the type 2 honeymoon period, but with type ones I was wondering did you continue to take insulin even though you were going through this period? I thought that the honeymoon period would be a dream come true but it seems like harder work to avoid any hypos!!

I had it for about a year, I ended up being off insulin all of that time.

CathyMoran

Saw this on type 2 : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18367906

cynder

Yipéeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


My lady's hba1 c was 11 in January it was 10.4 in march and today in olch crumlin it's 8.6. Delighted.


Yipppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeéeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

CramCycle

calfmuscle wrote: »

I remember having a hypo in school one day and having a bar of chocolate (I know its not the best thing but I love my chocolate!) pulled out of my hand and having a class mate ranting about how the sugar would kill me. I have never been so close to hurting someone!

I vaguely remember having a hypo where the Chaplin in the school tried to help me into a room to sit down and get some food, I mistook this as him trying to get me to do a Junior Cert German exam and I swung for him, hilariously I missed and fell on a pillar in the corridor, which I then latched onto and refused to let go off, i was a big guy for my age and they were unable to remove me for quite some time. Minutes before this I had called him an idiot as he asked what I had eaten that morning and I informed "Breakfast, what else". When I had started to come round after the principal came down and I drank some Lucozade, I was driven into the local hospital to be on the safe side. On the way in I was asked was I any better, too which I (jokingly) replied that if I wasn't I would have pulled the handbrake and bolted by now, the cars spped dropped to sub 30km/hr for the rest of the trip oddly enough.

People tended not to argue with me when I ate food in the classroom after that.

CathyMoran

CramCycle wrote: »

I vaguely remember having a hypo where the Chaplin in the school tried to help me into a room to sit down and get some food, I mistook this as him trying to get me to do a Junior Cert German exam and I swung for him, hilariously I missed and fell on a pillar in the corridor, which I then latched onto and refused to let go off, i was a big guy for my age and they were unable to remove me for quite some time. Minutes before this I had called him an idiot as he asked what I had eaten that morning and I informed "Breakfast, what else". When I had started to come round after the principal came down and I drank some Lucozade, I was driven into the local hospital to be on the safe side. On the way in I was asked was I any better, too which I (jokingly) replied that if I wasn't I would have pulled the handbrake and bolted by now, the cars spped dropped to sub 30km/hr for the rest of the trip oddly enough.

People tended not to argue with me when I ate food in the classroom after that.

I love this description of a hypo.

BlackEdelweiss

Today I start to become a good diabetic. I have already been for a 45 minute walk/run, had a healthy lunch and recorded my blood in my book, all things I have not done for months. No more excuses about work pressures, exams or family gatherings, I have left work, exams are over and all family meetings are over for another year. Time to cut back on the wine and the large bags of crisps that usually accompany the wine and especially the fags that were creeping back into my life.
I hope now to get back into exercising regularly and cutting back on my portion sizes, my diet was never terrible but lately it has not been great due to some of the points mentioned above. My blood has been erratic to say the least over the past few months, ranging anywhere from 2 to 25 in a single day. Such erratic blood has had me feeling heavy and tired and has started to get me down, there are only so many 18's and 19's you can wake up to in the morning before it starts to get to you.
Anyway, it is time for a bit more positive thinking backed up by a few positive actions.

Meauldsegosha

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

Today I start to become a good diabetic. I have already been for a 45 minute walk/run, had a healthy lunch and recorded my blood in my book, all things I have not done for months. No more excuses about work pressures, exams or family gatherings, I have left work, exams are over and all family meetings are over for another year. Time to cut back on the wine and the large bags of crisps that usually accompany the wine and especially the fags that were creeping back into my life.
I hope now to get back into exercising regularly and cutting back on my portion sizes, my diet was never terrible but lately it has not been great due to some of the points mentioned above. My blood has been erratic to say the least over the past few months, ranging anywhere from 2 to 25 in a single day. Such erratic blood has had me feeling heavy and tired and has started to get me down, there are only so many 18's and 19's you can wake up to in the morning before it starts to get to you.
Anyway, it is time for a bit more positive thinking backed up by a few positive actions.

Good luck with it. It's all about getting into the habit it then becomes part of your life. Have a treat now and again makes it easier.

certifiedcrepe

A home-ec teacher in my school mentioned how people "reverse" their diabetes, yet failed to mention that Type 1 is obviously permanent for lack of a better word. This led to many pupils interrogating me as to why I'm so stupid that I'd rather suffer with my diabetes than "cure it". I have a constant hba1c of 7%, I am clearly not suffering. My life is just as fulfilling as theirs, if not maybe even more enjoyable as I have a greater knowledge of how my body works and how to take care of my diabetes so I don't ever get sugar slumps. This honestly made me so mad. If I had to go on about all the people who felt a need to comment on my diabetes and other things I would turn this into a book. At least I have a great support team behind me. Severely dislike how people can be so ignorant!!

PickledLime

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

Today I start to become a good diabetic. I have already been for a 45 minute walk/run, had a healthy lunch and recorded my blood in my book, all things I have not done for months. No more excuses about work pressures, exams or family gatherings, I have left work, exams are over and all family meetings are over for another year. Time to cut back on the wine and the large bags of crisps that usually accompany the wine and especially the fags that were creeping back into my life.
I hope now to get back into exercising regularly and cutting back on my portion sizes, my diet was never terrible but lately it has not been great due to some of the points mentioned above. My blood has been erratic to say the least over the past few months, ranging anywhere from 2 to 25 in a single day. Such erratic blood has had me feeling heavy and tired and has started to get me down, there are only so many 18's and 19's you can wake up to in the morning before it starts to get to you.
Anyway, it is time for a bit more positive thinking backed up by a few positive actions.

Good on ya and cheers for reminding me that people can fall off the diabetic wagon.

I've been a type 2 for a year and a half (was 28 when i woke up in A&E not sure what the hell just happened). A large contributing factor was my weight of course - my father died from cancer a year before that, and rather than turn to drink or drugs, i turned to eye watering amounts of junk food. I started 2011 as the best diabetic i could; decent, regular exercise, strict diet (that i made enjoyable) and a tightly controlled medication and testing regime. A few months later, the result of all that was a pretty drastic but healthy weight loss, stable and desirable sugar levels, not to mention looking and feeling the best i had in years.

Then my mother died suddenly last summer. It didn't hit me for a few months, but when it did, i fell into a depression and everything went out the window. I'm at the point where i haven't seen my glucose meter for about 5 months, haven't taken a tablet in the same amount of time, i'm living on junk food again, and my most regular exercise is walking to the chip shop. The only good habit i've retained is i don't eat sugary food. In the short term i'm absolutely sick of feeling like **** every single day, i'm sick of having no energy and i'm really, really tired of waking up on the couch or floor after a hypo (i live by myself). In regards to long term woes, i've spent the last week reading about and reminding myself of the potential problems (which is an understatement really!) from poorly managed diabetes.

The grieving for both my parents is at the point where it's no longer all consuming, so i think it's high time i got back into the swing of things before i do (any more) permanent damage.

kowloon

So I'll be starting a this DAFNE course soon, can anyone here enlighten me as to what I should expect? Anything I should be doing?

CathyMoran

certifiedcrepe wrote: »

A home-ec teacher in my school mentioned how people "reverse" their diabetes, yet failed to mention that Type 1 is obviously permanent for lack of a better word. This led to many pupils interrogating me as to why I'm so stupid that I'd rather suffer with my diabetes than "cure it". I have a constant hba1c of 7%, I am clearly not suffering. My life is just as fulfilling as theirs, if not maybe even more enjoyable as I have a greater knowledge of how my body works and how to take care of my diabetes so I don't ever get sugar slumps. This honestly made me so mad. If I had to go on about all the people who felt a need to comment on my diabetes and other things I would turn this into a book. At least I have a great support team behind me. Severely dislike how people can be so ignorant!!

The teacher should be made read up on the two separate conditions. It should be said that not all type 2's can "reverse" their condition so the teacher was totally in the wrong.

In terms of type 1 it is not always straight forward - my last HBA1c was 5.4 but I have constant hypos - it is not helped by my time of the month but also I have dumping syndrome due to surgery for another condition.

CramCycle

PickledLime wrote: »

so i think it's high time i got back into the swing of things before i do (any more) permanent damage.

Glad to hear you've got the want to get back on track, alot of people forget that as Diabetics once control goes (regardless of type), it can be quite a slippy slope and it is not an easy place to get back too.

I can't imagine what you went through thankfully but getting back on track is the best way forward for you. Obviously it won't be easy (and anyone who says it will obviously is talking out there ass) but it is doable. At least you have alot of people here who have possibly/probably been in similar circumstances medical wise at one time or another.

BlackEdelweiss

PickledLime wrote: »

Good on ya and cheers for reminding me that people can fall off the diabetic wagon.


so i think it's high time i got back into the swing of things before i do (any more) permanent damage.

I am no expert but at least you have had the realisation that things have to change. Start small like checking your blood and recording it in your book for the 1st week. Things might get better from there.
I get up in the morning now and put on my tracksuit so it is easier for me just to go out for a walk, no excuses or lazyness. It is a hard habit to break but from what I remember once you get into it it is not that hard to keep.

Good luck with it.

PickledLime

Cheers for the replies, much appreciated. That's the thing about getting back on track - i've done it before (and only a short time ago too), so i know it's within my grasp. Gonna make an appointment with my doctor for next week sometime, will 'fess up to what i have (and haven't) been doing. Thankfully he'll have some kind of perspective on things as i initially approached him about my grief, and he's got a good idea of what kind of emotional state i've been in.

Time to fix a decent lunch and start repairing the bicycle

Eurovisionmad

What blood glucose does everyone use? What do they think of them.

I have the Accu Chek Aviva Nano, I like it but the battery goes a bit too fast for my liking, and CR302 batteries aren't exactly common. My only other complaint is that the whole idea of having a small meter is sort of negated in this case by having a container to hold the strips which adds considerably to the bulk.

The_Conductor

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

What blood glucose does everyone use? What do they think of them.

I have the Accu Chek Aviva Nano, I like it but the battery goes a bit too fast for my liking, and CR302 batteries aren't exactly common. My only other complaint is that the whole idea of having a small meter is sort of negated in this case by having a container to hold the strips which adds considerably to the bulk.

I don't know how big it is- but the one touch ultra is reasonably compact and takes 2 * AAA batteries- and they last for about 2 months, even with heavy usage......

ElBarco

I'm using the Bayer Contour USB. I find it nice and compact. It has a colour screen and plugs directly into your pc/mac to generate reports.

Just finished putting together my reports before I venture off to the clinic tomorrow and it only took a couple of minutes.

robinph

I'm mostly using the One Touch Ultra Easy at the moment but have the Optium xceed as well. Stopped using the Optium one for a bit mostly because the finger pricker thing that I had in it's pouch got a bit broken and I was too lazy to swap them round.

Don't think I've ever had to change a battery on a meter, I'd always end up getting given a new one long before they run out. I've found the battery life to be measured in years not weeks or months.

Eurovisionmad

I forgot to mention that I also have the Freestyle Optium but only have it incase I need to test for ketones, while obviously it can test for blood sugar I don't like it because the finger pricker is next to useless and I don't have a prescription for those lancets or glucose test strips.

BlackEdelweiss

I was just about to start a thread about this, I got bored of my meter recently and tried a few different ones.

I was using the Optimum Exceed since my diagnoses and dident know there was much difference in the choices available. I dident even know there was a choice until a few months ago.
It is a good small meter with a quick reading time. It also does keytones which I think is the only meter that does this. It uses the strips that come in the foil so it is bulky if carrying around a full pack but not too bad. The memory on it sometimes let me down when I would try to fill in a month or two's readings into my book while sitting in the diabetic clinic waiting room.
What I dident like about it was the finger pricker, it could be very sore, especially if you dont change the lancet each time.
Overall I liked it apart from the finger pricker.

I got a Accu Check Compact Plus from my friend in the chemist. It is anything but compact, not sure why they called it that. It is the meter that has the test strips in a drum contained within the machine which is very handy. It was all a bit mechanical for me though, loads of whirring and clicking. The finger pricker is attached to the side of the machine which is also handy, it has a very fine needle and was not as sore as the Exceed meter.
Overall I dident mind it but it was a bit too mechanical.

I then got a One Touch Verio Pro from the diabetic nurse. I really like this meter, it is small, a bit bigger than the Exceed but smaller than the compact. It has a quick test time, changeable skin for the face which the kids like, I got one with cows and ducks on it. Most of all I like the finger pricker (is there another name for this?). It delivers a kind of blunt thud to the finger with very little discomfort. It produces a good drop of blood easily which I am sure would be good for those who have been doing it longer than me and have thicker skin on their fingertips. I still only have it on 1. The strips come in a little barrel which does add bulk as mentioned previously and I find it hard to take a strip out of the barrel without touching the actual testing part with my finger tip which was not a problem with any of the other strips.

None of the meters take keytone readings except the Optimum Exceed which is a bit of a pain if you are having a lot of high readings as I have been recently.

The best package if you like to keep it small in my opinion is the Optimum Exceed meter with the finger pricker from the One Touch Verio Pro as you are covered for keytones and blood glucose plus the meter is small.

I personally like the One Touch Verio Pro, maybe it is just because I am bored with the Exceed but my current set up is the One Touch Verio Pro with the Exceed kept in a pocket in the case. This does not bulk it up much more than the strips barrel does so it is not a problem for me. I dont really bring it out with me anywhere anyway.

That is my knowledge and opinion about blood glucose meters.

Eurovisionmad

BlackEdelweiss wrote: »

I was just about to start a thread about this, I got bored of my meter recently and tried a few different ones.

I was using the Optimum Exceed since my diagnoses and dident know there was much difference in the choices available. I dident even know there was a choice until a few months ago.
It is a good small meter with a quick reading time. It also does keytones which I think is the only meter that does this. It uses the strips that come in the foil so it is bulky if carrying around a full pack but not too bad. The memory on it sometimes let me down when I would try to fill in a month or two's readings into my book while sitting in the diabetic clinic waiting room.
What I dident like about it was the finger pricker, it could be very sore, especially if you dont change the lancet each time.
Overall I liked it apart from the finger pricker.

I got a Accu Check Compact Plus from my friend in the chemist. It is anything but compact, not sure why they called it that. It is the meter that has the test strips in a drum contained within the machine which is very handy. It was all a bit mechanical for me though, loads of whirring and clicking. The finger pricker is attached to the side of the machine which is also handy, it has a very fine needle and was not as sore as the Exceed meter.
Overall I dident mind it but it was a bit too mechanical.

I then got a One Touch Verio Pro from the diabetic nurse. I really like this meter, it is small, a bit bigger than the Exceed but smaller than the compact. It has a quick test time, changeable skin for the face which the kids like, I got one with cows and ducks on it. Most of all I like the finger pricker (is there another name for this?). It delivers a kind of blunt thud to the finger with very little discomfort. It produces a good drop of blood easily which I am sure would be good for those who have been doing it longer than me and have thicker skin on their fingertips. I still only have it on 1. The strips come in a little barrel which does add bulk as mentioned previously and I find it hard to take a strip out of the barrel without touching the actual testing part with my finger tip which was not a problem with any of the other strips.

None of the meters take keytone readings except the Optimum Exceed which is a bit of a pain if you are having a lot of high readings as I have been recently.

The best package if you like to keep it small in my opinion is the Optimum Exceed meter with the finger pricker from the One Touch Verio Pro as you are covered for keytones and blood glucose plus the meter is small.

I personally like the One Touch Verio Pro, maybe it is just because I am bored with the Exceed but my current set up is the One Touch Verio Pro with the Exceed kept in a pocket in the case. This does not bulk it up much more than the strips barrel does so it is not a problem for me. I dont really bring it out with me anywhere anyway.

That is my knowledge and opinion about blood glucose meters.

Did you get the meter free from the chemist or do you pay for the original price of the meter?

BlackEdelweiss

I got them all free, the girl in boots gave me the number of the Roche customer line and told me to ring and they would send me out a free meter but I got one in another chemist from my friend.

Mincork

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

What blood glucose does everyone use? What do they think of them.

I have the Accu Chek Aviva Nano, I like it but the battery goes a bit too fast for my liking, and CR302 batteries aren't exactly common. My only other complaint is that the whole idea of having a small meter is sort of negated in this case by having a container to hold the strips which adds considerably to the bulk.

Hi there

If you go to the Accu chek uk website and register your meter , you can request a free battery , cleaning liquid and log book ( big and small ) . They will post it free and you can request every 3 months. This works fr all Accu Chek meters ( I think )

Cheers

Eurovisionmad

Mincork wrote: »

Hi there

If you go to the Accu chek uk website and register your meter , you can request a free battery , cleaning liquid and log book ( big and small ) . They will post it free and you can request every 3 months. This works fr all Accu Chek meters ( I think )

Cheers

Yeah I got batteries there just a day or two ago, my batteries seem to only last about 3 weeks!

Mincork

I got the Accu Chek Aviva in Jan 2012 , testing about 3 or 4 times per day , and I have not changed my battery as yet. I also have the USB reader from Accu Chek and use the infra red function every two weeks. There might be an issue with your device.....

Cheers

PickledLime

CramCycle wrote: »

LOL, if I knew this is what I was doing wrong all these years I would have been cured by now:

http://www.watercure2.org/diabetes_a_simple_fix.htm

:pac::pac::pac:

I'm having a read through the thread so i can become familiar with what's already been posted and everyone's diabetic backgrounds and came up to this gem of a post.

Holy moly! :eek: