Maintaining Continuous BS Control...is it an elusive goal ?

[sleeping beauty]

Hello everyone...I'm new here. I like to read this forum, its very inspiring to know there are others, my age..who face smiliar issues with diabetes as I do.



Every year..I've realised I go through a depressed/angry period with myself..because sometimes its very hard to control my blood sugar. I am a type 2, been diagnosed at 16, and I just turned 20.

My family members cannot understand me...I dont expect them to. Sometimes I just eat like a normal person..I take tablets..Starlix and metformin. Usually I can control the bs for some days...then a few days later...Im in the 200 zone.



How can I really become a serious diabetic?

I smoke marijuana, because for me, it combines with my meditation and yoga..on a very spiritual level. I do not abuse it. Right now, I'm trying to avoid the urge of eating a lot after I take my smoke. I dont smoke cigarettes, and my alcohol intake is only Merlot(red wine).



I am a runner 4 times for the week..and Im at my ideal body weight....130lbs for 173cm tall. My problem is control of the blood sugar, in an environment that is not very condusive for a diabetic. (having 5 other family members who eat everything).



I would like to know...if there is a way to control urges. With yoga I've learnt clarity...but I cant seem to achieve control of urges. I can't EVER resist chocolates...ever.



It scares me to know that in a few years...I will want children, and I know FULLY well if I dont maintain control continuously now...I will pay for it.



So...I'm ready to heed to whatever advice I can be offered.

Thanking you all in advance !

[JDRF-Team-BL]

Dear Sleeping Beauty,

     i understand very well how you feel. i'm a type 1 diabetic for 31 years now and i still go through similar things that you mentioned. i'll go through periods where my blood sugars are near perfect and then out of whack.

     i'm also a special case in that i don't always feel lows and was in a car accident a few years back and now don't drive being afraid that that may happen again behind the wheel.

     All i can say is keep on trying and look at it that a diabetic diet is really just a healthy diet and will help you stay in good health.

     i know it is hard but when your family and friends eat things you shouldn't try to stay on course and think how much better you are living over them.

god bless, bret

[sleeping beauty]

Thanks Bret, 31 years is amazing...I am diabetic 4 years now and it feels like forever. A couple days ago I decided to change my outlook towards it...and try my best.



When I got my driver's licence in the summer the first thing I thought about was road accidents...and the possiblilty of them. But I guess you can't worry about the future..only take care to prevent accidents. When Im on the road I try not to think of it.



This week Im going to have my HbA1c checked, and hopefully have other tests done too.



What is it like having Type 1 ? Were you ever a Type 2?

My Doctor used to tell me that sooner or later I would become a Type 1..later in life. I understand when I come pregnant I will have to use insulin.



Well hope to hear from you:)

Thanks for replying.



Take care.

[Imediject]

I think one of the tricks to living with a "Diabetic Diet" is drop the "diabetic" part, and don't think of the way that you eat as being on a "diet".  I've had Type I for 41 years, and I eat a healthy. I don't eat much Fast Food, and I keep sweet to an occasional treat - just the way anyone that wants to be healthy and happy should eat. :-)  You might want to check out the "Diabetes Food Pyramid". It's in the American Diabetes Association web site, and it's an excellent example of how to start personalizing a good, healthy diet that will work for you.  



http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-and recipes/nutrition/foodpyramid.jsp



As far as Type I and Type II diabetes is concerned.  They're really two different problems that seem to fall under the same heading.  Type I is an autoimmune disease where the body sees healthy tissue as a threat and goes about damaging/destroying it.  In this case, the pancreas is the target and eventually Type I's are no longer able to produce insulin.  Type II is usually a metabolic disease.  The body continues to produce some insulin, but the body seems to forget how to use it properly. All Type I's end up taking insulin to replace what their body can no longer manufacture.  Type II's can be controlled by diet and/or exercise, oral medications, insulin - in any and all kinds of combinations. Your doctor might be able to help you understand what he means by Type II becoming Type I.  He may mean that like some Type II diabetics you may eventually need to take insulin to help your body control your blood sugars.



Hang in there!  If I can be happy and reasonably healthy after 41 years, you're going to do just fine as well. :-)  Since we're all quite human, just remember - there is no such thing as 'Perfect'in anything, and that includes living with diabetes - all anyone can do is the best they can.  



Bonnie

[sleeping beauty]

Couldn't be put better....Thank you :)

[fullmergavin]

Hey beauty. I'm in my late 20's, was diagnosed when I was a year old. No complications to speak of, thankfully, and I spent several years during childhood with AIC's that were well into the 8's, even a few 9's. My AIC are in  the upper 5's/lower 6's currently after I started pump therapy a few years back, but the most important thing I can tell you is exactly what the others have told you-keep your mind off of it and just eat right and exercise, and you'll be just fine.



You're at a tough age, unfortunately. The weekends back in college were always difficult (Had to hold off on the beer at parties~). But I got through it just fine, beauty, and I'm sure you will, too.



I would, however, probably think twice about the marijuana use, beauty. The addictive mechanism that goes hand in hand with this disease has always amazed me.



Back when I was in college, I had the biggest crush in the world on Gwen Stefani of No Doubt~. They were knew back than. Than one night I literally found her twin and we started to date. A couple of months into the relationship, I told her that I was a diabetic. I believe she responded by saying, "Cool, I am too." It turns out that she was a type 1, also.



Within a couple of weeks after that, however, I had to end the relationship. One day when I was in class my roomate called up and said something to the affect like, "Ah Kev, Liz stopped by and she's back in your bedroom, and I'm not certain about this, but I think that she might have been doing cocaine." I grew up in a smaller community, pretty innocent upbringing, if you know what I mean, and he did, too, so that was clearly a big no no. By the time I got back, sure enough, that's what she had been doing, and so things had to end at that point, unfortunately.



A year later, I got teamed up with a great guy in an Econ class for a project. Again, after time it came out that he was a type 1. Eventually we went out one night, and that was the first time in my life that I ever witnessed an individual literally consume a 24 pack of beer over the course of a few hours and behave like he hadn't had a single drink all along.



My brother's friend is also a Type 1-he's a full fledged alcoholic, and we believe he could be a marijuana user, too.



At a personal level, I've only been drunk a few times in my life, and that was back in college. Personally, however, I am certain that there's an addictive mechanism involved w/ diabetes. Whether or not it's the insulin level's effect on Serotonin (Insulin is thought to increase Serotonin), I just don't what it is, but I can admit that even after those few times I was drinking, I felt WAY TOO GOOD during that time, if you know what I mean. So I put an end to it right away, and I just don't drink at all now. As for the pot and those types of things, I've never tried any of that, but I would imagine that the same phenomenon would probably be at work in that type of scenario. I think the issue with most addictions is not the substance itself, but rather the personality. The "Free spirit" mode, etc. And that's why I stay away from all of that stuff, at a personal level. Deep down, I probably know that there's an addictive mechanism lying behind some areas of my personality.



So while it may be true that a joint or two isn't going to hurt you in the way other illegal drugs may, I would probably try to to do everything that I could to stay away from that stuff, kiddo. If you do what you need to here on out, you're going to live a very long, normal life. And it sounds like you're doing everything you need to in most areas. As for the pot, though, I may only have a few years on ya, but I'm older now, you know, so I'm entitled to discipline ya here, right~?



Bottomline for everyone living with this disease is that it could be a lot worse when you look around at the world, and 99% of the time our fate is in our own hands. Given the lifestyle choices of today's society, too, we might just come out ahead on a lot of this when all is said and done. I've watched many of those old college friends get lost into a world of addiction and/or poor health that's already starting for them in their late 20's/early 30's. So if we do things right, and just focus on what we have to do, rather than worry about this or that complication, etc, the odds are probably pretty good that we won't have to worry about those complications in the first place.

[sleeping beauty]

I am so thankful that I can hear these things...especially as you experienced what I am now going through....the challenges Ive to face at this age.



Weekends for me are my only relaxation period...during the week I have endless law reports to do for uni..and it becomes stressful, and so I always look forward to my smoke. My running really helps with my outlook on diabetes.

Recently, in the past 2weeks, I made a strong decision to ignore the temptation to eat after I smoke..(munchies), and thus far....I've realised it is truly mind-over-matter. It IS possible to ignore it !



Being around people our age...friends and cousins..at parties, I think I have to learn to say NO to things that they eat. I'm very thankful that I dont like beer or any other alcohol except Merlot, (red wine)...and when I feel the pressure of school life...I like to indulge in a glass or two. I've tested myself many times after drinking red wine, and my BS was always lower than expected.



Thank you for telling me about your ex gf. Believe me, I've done hefty research on marijuana use...its medical and physiological properties....and it all comes down to the person who uses it. For me, I hold firm to the belief that with herb, there is no such thing as Addiction....there is ABUSE. Too many young people Abuse this wonderful herb.....then they move to the angel dust..the crack cocaine. It won't happen to me. If I want to stop weed, I can stop tomrorow...sure I will miss it, but I wont CRAVE it like how people crave other drugs.



Everyday I think I learn something new about diabetes...in terms of how I handle it with myself. There are days when I have it under such control....and other days when I'm in 200zone. I actually want to see a dietician and let him give me a strict diet to comform to. I want discipline..I want to handle it now, as I am young.



Anyway, I want to thank you again for your words to me.

I wish I had a diabetic