[JayGordon]

I got diagnosed with T1 in Feb 2010 and I must admit I have been rather useless at managing it. I am a 33 year old male living in the UK.

Because I don't feel any I'll effects in my body when my blood sugar is high I seem to always have a very high reading. Added to that my diet, being bought up a vegetarian is very carb heavy and I find it impossible not to eat what is bad for me. Finally I'm a smoker and am not sure what, beyond the obvious, this is doing to me as a diabetic...

All in all a but useless really but because no friends or family have it I haven't really spoken to anyone other than doctors and they can be a little pious at times!

Has anyone else had real issues coming to terms with Diabetes and then managing it on-going? Sorry to throw this out there but just wanted to talk to others who may have had issues!
Jay

 

[Patdart]

Hi, Jay! I can't identify with your issues, except to ask you what do you want to be your future? I'm 71 and have only known about it for a year, but gee, I wish I had known earlier before my feet got somewhat numb and such. You are lucky to know now so you can affect what your future holds for you as you age.

I'm an ex-smoker and can also know what it's like to quit. It was not an easy step for me, and I'm still addicted to the gum.

Just wanted to say 'hi' and let you know you are very welcome,

 

[Shanny]

Hello Jay. We have many type 1s here—some have been managing it for many years, others fairly recently diagnosed. We also have insulin-dependent members who are vegetarians, and where there's a will, there's a way to avoid high carb loads even as vegetarians. I don't think there's a one of us who doesn't get fed up & want to throw in the towel, but our very life is at stake & we'd like to enjoy it with all our feet, legs, kidneys & vision intact.

"You have a dangerous disease. The complications can be very devastating. Simply taking your meds or your insulin to keep your sugars down is not good enough. A healthy diet and regular exercise are vital. Aim for a healthy body and mind; don't simply rely on pills and needles." ~ J. Hanson
​

Make yourself at home here & others will be coming along.

 

[Gizmo]

Hi, Jay. Any time your bg hits 140 or above, damage is being done to your body. It sometimes takes a while for it to manifest itself in the forum of symptoms, but if you don't get control of your bg, I can assure you that before long you will have symptoms. I encourage you to take control before you find yourself in a position where the damage cannot be reversed.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Richard157]

Hello Jay, welcome aboard! How are your eyes and kidneys? I hope you do not have any damage at this early stage. With good control you can have a long, healthy life. I do hope you can quit smoking. Smoking can really mess up a diabetic's control.

I have been type 1 for 65 years, and am doing very well. Ask all the questions you want, we are here to help.

Richard

 

[Adjitater]

First let me say that you are your own worst critict. There is no such thing such thing as the perfect diabetic. There are times in all of our lives that we were not doing the right things whether it be from lack of knowledge, or just say oh to heck with it and slipping for a while. So with that said don't judge yourself and dont beat your self up so much. We are, after all, just simple humans. There is no real way for us to duplicate what the human body does so well on its own but thats what we are supposed to do. As far as diet advice I will not offer any as I eat whatever I feel like eating including potatoes, pasta, and breads. All I will say is that it is not always about waht you eat but how much you eat.

 

[canadiandude]

Welcome Jay! I believe I probably never would have gone on a strict low carb diet, quit smoking or started exercising if my situation was only due to being diabetic. It's a sad thing to admit but I truly believe that I would have let my extremely low will power dictate what is best for me and that would have meant continuing to smoke a pack a day, eating junk food every day and sitting on my butt at university without moving around at all. I would have denied to every God that there was anything wrong with me!

Having said (and admitted that), I can tell you that I would also be dead! By following that lifestyle as long as I did, I was rushed to hospital on March 23rd of this year following a large heart attack. I was operated on right away and had two stents put into my heart. I then spent 4 days in the hospital recovery room and during the standard bloodwork for my MI, they also found that I had Pre-diabetes (I call myself a Type 2 though). That whole episode woke me up like you could never believe and I made the decision while having my heart attack that, if I survived it, I would put every ounce of my soul into changing my ways. I did just that. I quit smoking cold turkey that day. I began eating low carb as soon as I left the hospital. I began walking each and every day (you can see my progress in the exercise thread).

Only you can make that life-changing decision. Good luck!

 

[JayGordon]

Thank you guys! It's nice to chat with people who've been there! It's never going to be an overnight fix but I guess this is the start of admission of a problem.

Thanks again for the messages and look forward to bring a part of the forum.

 

[Jim102938]

Jay,
you say you have been useless at managing your diabetes, I have had a lot of experience with failing at achieving my goals in other areas of my life and have adopted a little different attitude about failure. I feel the only way you can fail is if you quit trying. Until that point you are still trying to "win" but being unsuccessful. So in order to fail, you have to quit trying. You can apply the same logic to quitting smoking, you may still smoke but each cigarette you do not smoke is an improvement over smoking it. Compare it to a soccer match, up until the game is over and the players quit trying to win, neither team has lost.

I do not know about UK doctors since I live in the land of the spree and home of the knave, mine is very good but the nutritionists I have had dealings with are a waste of valuable oxygen; I have learned more by reading than they put out in their consultations.


Again, I assert that you have not lost until you quit trying and I urge you to continue your struggle, this forum seems to be a step in the right direction.

 

[Patdart]

You know, I figure 'losing' is another word for learning...I frequently feel it's not what it could be, but I've learned another way to not try again. My first Mac taught me that!

 

[Jim102938]

Good point and a sound way of thinking, I tell my students that, in order for anyone to learn anything, they either have to be ignorant or wrong. If they are neither, they already know it. I also tell them to get over fear of being "wrong" and get on with "learning".

 

[Adjitater]

There is certainly nothing wrong with conviction in what you already know though. You see people fail to realise that carbs are not the enemy for type 1 diabetics but rather a very difficult allie.