These two summaries are a little more than a year apart, the first being from Nov 2017-Feb 2018, and the second being Jan 2019-April 2019. There is really so much I could say about then versus now and my whole outlook on my disease and my health… but I’m really just kind of taken aback by how my quality of life is so drastically different between these two times…
I was so frustrated with having diabetes and feeling alone with it and victimized by it due to a lack of knowledge and motivation to change how I managed it. At the earlier point in time, my moods would swing wildly day to day as my numbers did. I couldn’t put to words how gross I was feeling because I was so used to grogginess, nausea, shakiness, sleeplessness, moodiness (etc. etc.) that I didn’t know that life wasn’t meant to feel like that every day.
I just felt very stuck and helpless and defeated
I know this all may sound melodramatic, but I am so thankful to have had this year to learn how to take care of my disease and get up to date with all the amazing technology that is out now. I feel grateful that I’ve had the ability to use this forum and others to not only gain knowledge but also support and understanding from others.
I’m definitely not done learning how to tweak things and learning how to manage my condition rather than let it run my life. But I’m really happy with and proud of what I’ve been working on, and I just feel a lot better overall
That is a really staggering difference, congrats, you have really crushed it! I am really amazed at your ability to reduce the lows, while almost eliminating the highs. That should be shown to every endo, that thinks you need to be high to not go low.
Finally, would you take a moment and summarize what changed in your management between those two tracks. I think it would be really interesting for someone looking to make the changes you have gone through.
I think this is a very common story. At my last endo appointment, I asked to try Metformin because i was struggling with evening highs (due to insulin resistance) and thought it might help. I told my doctor that I didn’t want to wake up every night to correct a high, and he said, “Would it be so bad if you just ran high at nighttime?” It was so apparent that he didn’t understand how much something like that can affect everything else.
He probably thought that since my range was so much tighter than his other patients, running a little higher at night wouldn’t be so bad. I really think he didn’t understand how much staying in range improves our quality of life.
@LarissaW It’s obvious that you now have a handle on it. The next exciting part of it is when you get the same numbers with no extraordinary effort. You are on your way there!
Hmm it’s hard to boil it down to a summary since I really do think nearly every part of my management changed. However, I’ve been thinking about this, and I think the three big parts have been:
1. Learning the basics. BEFORE, my understanding of diabetes management was 15-years dated, surface level, and through a pediatric lens - I used to think my target BG should be 130. I would bolus 30 minutes after a meal if I remembered to bolus at all. I didn’t know how to carb count and I didn’t know that one should account for protein, fat, exercise, sleep, stress… NOW, I feel like I have a much better (though not perfect) understanding of these basics, thanks to a lot of reading of trustworthy forums, conducting tests on how different variables impacted my numbers, and more recently working with a CDE to help problem shoot
2. Getting the right supplies for me. BEFORE, some of my supplies did not work for me (plastic tubed sets giving me occlusions daily, dexcom g4 being off by more than 50 consistently) which lead to A LOT of frustration. However, I didn’t know that there were other options, and that it was/is my responsibility to be my own advocate for voicing what I want and need out of my supplies. NOW, I asked my endo for the supplies that I think will be best for me and my reasons for thinking so. I don’t feel bad for asking them to do their job with supporting me get to my diabetic goals via supplying prescriptions
3. Learning/accepting that diabetes management is something I would need to work on if I wanted to see better results. BEFORE, I was wallowing in mourning for having a disease that I felt unequipped and incapable of managing. I was wishing my numbers would just fix themselves because I didn’t know how to at the time… and then I got my diabetic a$$ kicked when I went onto the medtronic 670g with guardian sensors. I am so thankful to the system for making me work (referring to calibrating 3-4 times a day, dealing with failing sensors after a few days, but mainly the constant alarms telling me what to do). NOW, the medtronic 670g and guardian sensors did not give me the tighter track above, but they did kick me into gear. They gave me the thrust to start learning and working on my diabetes management. They certainly made me realize that diabetes management is not an easy thing when you’re starting out, but that if I wanted better results I would have to put some more effort in and take accountability for my condition (rather than blaming it all on outside forces that we can’t do one thing about)
I’m not sure if these three big points are applicable to others, but they’ve been paramount in my progress, and I’m happy to discuss with others who are hoping to make changes in their care for their diabetes
Ugh I’m sorry your endo came off like that! He’s the one who should be helping you get the control you want!
And it’s so crazy to me how a couple hours of being out of range can make me gross now, and I look back at my old numbers and think did I really feel like that all the time??
Thank you @LarissaW, that summarizes things very succinctly, and I guarantee that will help someone. You have gone from a diabetes controls me, to I control diabetes (for the most part) mindset. And it has clearly worked!
That’s excellent! I’m so glad you were able to take charge and make changes that improved your quality of life. Yay for you!!!
And thanks for your write up about what changed! I’d agree - right stuff for each individual is important! And doctors and nurses and CDE’s sure as heck don’t mention the range of options. Some do - but many don’t unfortunately.
This is an excellent side by side. Thanks for sharing it. And I’m glad it’s feeling less hopeless for sure! Go you!!!
