[Labeled]

Hello I am new to the forum. I am a type 1 for 35 years. I do not have any diabetic complications. I have been on the minimed pump for about 13 years and recently started using the cgm. I presently am using the paradigm 522. I am 48 years old and a very busy mother of three teenagers and work fulltime as a second grade teacher. Life is stressful!

My Ha1c is usually around 6.9 (I have been working with my doctor to lower it without much luck, but this last time I was at 7.1. I am really not happy at all with the results. It needs to be lower.

Unfortunately I tend to put my diabetes on the back burner and don't think of it as often as I should because of life being so busy. I am afraid that as I get older I am going to develop complications and this scares me.

So....any suggestions for lowering the Ha1c would greatly help me! I have a wonderful doctor who is great at reading numbers. He has made many changes over the past year, but nothing seems to "fix" it. I know my diet is not the best and that would help if I could improve it.

I also feel that lately I am drinking too much diet coke and the caffene is raising the blood sugar and making me resistant to the insulin. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks for you input!

 

[thcri]

Hard thing to do but you have to learn to make time for you. And I don't have any suggestions for that especially knowing you having 3 kids. Some how you have to find a balance.

As for Diet Coke and Caffeine. Try the Caffeine free. I did an did not like it but with time I got used to it.

Maybe a little bit of food control watching the carbs. I know men are NOT suppose to ask a women about her weight so I won't but you can answer that yourself. Exercise?? With what you have on your plate I see no time for exercise.

What has worked for me and for some time was a snow ball effect but not necessarily dieting but just eating right and exercise has done wonders for me.

Tell the kids your concerns and how your diabetes is not doing well and you need to have them help out by giving you some free time. They will understand.

 

[Shanny]

Hello and welcome to DF! I think your fears are well-grounded, and I also believe you can pull it together before the complications catch up with you. It does take commitment and that prob'ly implies some family commitment too, as Murph says. Each of us obviously has to take responsibility for our own, but when family members are knowledgeable about it and realize the importance of good control, it can be a psychological boost at least. When the consequences are as dire as ours are, we need all the support we can find!

If all we can do to help is be here to listen when/if you need to let off steam, we're available 24/7. If reading our experiences and coping mechanisms helps you too - we're here. I think our mod Richard might be of special interest for you to meet, because he went through many years of less-than-stellar management before gaining the knowledge & tools to tighten his control, and he has not only thrived - he has written a book about it!

Do take care and visit us as often as your schedule allows.

:ranger:

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[breezeonby]

Hello I am new to the forum. I am a type 1 for 35 years. I do not have any diabetic complications. I have been on the minimed pump for about 13 years and recently started using the cgm. I presently am using the paradigm 522. I am 48 years old and a very busy mother of three teenagers and work fulltime as a second grade teacher. Life is stressful!

My Ha1c is usually around 6.9 (I have been working with my doctor to lower it without much luck, but this last time I was at 7.1. I am really not happy at all with the results. It needs to be lower.

Unfortunately I tend to put my diabetes on the back burner and don't think of it as often as I should because of life being so busy. I am afraid that as I get older I am going to develop complications and this scares me.

So....any suggestions for lowering the Ha1c would greatly help me! I have a wonderful doctor who is great at reading numbers. He has made many changes over the past year, but nothing seems to "fix" it. I know my diet is not the best and that would help if I could improve it.

I also feel that lately I am drinking too much diet coke and the caffene is raising the blood sugar and making me resistant to the insulin. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks for you input!

Hello and welcome to the forum! Come on in and get comfortable. Your A1C is a little high, but you can lower that. You might want to think about any changes that you can make to your diet. I don't drink caffeine. I just drink water, kool-aid and caffeine free diet soda. Stopped drinking caffeine when I was in my early 20's, I didn't like the feeling of being wired up all of the time. I hope that you have a little bit of time to visit the forum, there is a wealth of information here. Take care!

 

[Labeled]

Thank you

Thanks for all of the welcoming comments. I appreciate all of your feedback. I just got back from taking the dog on a walk! A step in the right direction. I do get my exercise in as I go to the gym for zumba class 2-3 nights per week and I am on my feet all day long. I only weigh about 115lbs, so weight isn't really my problem. I don't eat a lot - but what I do eat isn't always the best choices, so I am working on that now. I really like the ideas of Eat to Live, don't Live to Eat! and keeping my family informed on the same page as me. Thanks for your help.

 

[Richard157]

Hello

Hello, and welcome! If you have no complications after 35 years then you must be taking pretty good care of yourself. Being very active is good for you.

I have been type 1 for 65 years and am doing very well too. If you can get your A1c below 6.5 that will help a lot to prevent long term complication in the future. Is there any chance you can get a pump? Pumping has given me great control.

I drink only one diet soda per day. You can find diet sodas without caffeine. I also drink Crystal Lite at home.

Ask all the questions you want. We are here to help!

Richard

 

[onlymep]

welcome Labeled.. I'm not a mum but I can get very busy so can relate to what you're saying. In reference to diet soda.... not sure what sweetner is used in the diet coke? Anything ending in 'OL' is actually a type of fructose which is a carb/sugar. I only know this as I just did the low FODMAP diet recently... and I had to avoid the following: excess fructose, fructans and/or galactans, lactose, polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, isomalt). So perhaps this may affect your BGLs if you are drinking diet coke in excess? I did post a link about latest research to diet soda somewhere (sorry can't remember which heading now). I'm sure you will find this forum a great support. Look forward to hearing your experiences.