Got Diabetes cheer me up…..

I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetese just over a year ago. To be honest I'm quite impressed with the amount of attention my local health authority has spent on me so far. The worst part has been hanging around the health centre for two hours during a Glucose Tolerence Test..the second of which is due soon. My diet is ok…quite a lot of fresh stuff as opposed to ready meals with too much salt. Still got a sweet-tooth. I ration myself but fully expect this to have to change. The chance of having foot problems was a worry for me coz my work entails occasional cold wet feet. I now invest in Gore-Tex lined comfy footwear for just about everything.

Whilst it is something I know I'm going to have to live with, I feel confident I can easily adapt and work around it in the future.

I meant to post up on this last night but got waylaid.

I was diagnosed 17yrs ago (I was 23), with Type 1, and took up mountain biking as a consequence to try and get fitter / healthier. I haven't looked back since. As has been mentioned countless times above, everyone is metabolically different, so it'd be difficult for anyone but yourself to estimate how long it'll be before you're back on an even keel. For me it was about 3-4 months, but I initially started on a very inflexible insulin regime of one injection per day which was quickly ditched for the more flexible 4-a-day that I've been on ever since. I do seem to recall that the blurred vision cleared up very quickly though.
As Dick Barton mentioned earlier, the best thing to do is keep a positive mental attitude. You're the boss, not your diabetes. The next best thing I can think to say is let your colleagues and mates know that you're ill, how to recognise the symptoms of a hypo and how to treat it. I don't get very good warning signs as my sugar levels drop and I've lost count of the times I've gotten into trouble because of that. From my first ride with Stirling Bike club when Mr Barton spotted what was happening and shoved a Mars bar in my hands, to just a couple of weeks ago on a snowboarding trip when funnily enough, Mrs Barton clocked that I was hypo and needed to get myself sorted.

Those were rare occassions though, both brought on by underestimating the amount of effort I'd be expending and thus overestimating the amount of insulin to take.

When I think about my diabetes, (which honestly isn't that often, it's just there in the background), I'm always remined of the first time I picked up an issue of Diabetes UK's newsletter. It's called 'Balance', and just realising that it's what diabetes control is all about was like a little epiphany. Once you've got your lifestyle and diabetes control in balance it ceases to be such an issue.

I'm fitter and healthier now, than I would ever had been if I hadn't had my diabetes 'wakeup call'. I'm not saying I'm glad I was diagnosed, but I am glad I was diagnosed with something that is perfectly controllable and allows me to lead a normal and happy life.

Sorry for rambling on a bit, but I do wish you all the best.

Beagy xx

Be thankful that you don't have hemochromatosis.

Wow…blown away by the responses above…really appreciate you all taking the time to chip in….just got back from hosp, saw a nurse, doc and dietitian…got a bag of stuff to play with and 2 lots of insulin…needle doesn't hurt at all :lol:…dietitian blew me away with complexities of glugacon and exercise..gonna be a steep learning curve but looking forwards to getting levels right.

Thanks again…gonna print this lot off for inspiration!

Could be worse – at least you don't have the bad AIDS. 🙂

It is a pain, but at least it is something that can be relatively well controlled if you look after yourself. There are definitely far worse things you could have developed.

(I write the firmware for a popular brand of blood sugar monitors. MrsGrahamS is MODY diabetic and also works as a Registrar specialising in Diabetes)

GrahamS – is it OneTouch? If so, can you let me know who I should speak to about getting their PC software that hooks up and logs blood results updated? the interface is seriously poor – it all works, but my god, it's like using a computerised version of a shape sorted that my 18-month old daughter plays with…

Saying that, it works a treat and does a great job, but it does need a serious rewrite to improve look and feel.

I couldn't possibly say.

(But we didn't write the PC software 😀 )

You can get the latest version of the OneTouch DMS software from here:
https://secure.lifescan.com/LifeScan/Corporate/GB/en/YourMeter/OTDMS/default.aspx

just because you've got it, doesn't mean you can't cope with it

Wow I knew there were a few Insulin takers on here but there are so many now. I was diagnosed Feb 1970 (born 1960), I have never let my "ailment" get in the way of me doing anything. Have done a whole load of sports,ran cross country for County also. I will be 50 this year don't need the viagra yet and do have the odd hiccup.
If you need any help with your treatment during sport or adjusting diabetes into your life you can mail me anytime and I'll do my best to help you. Good luck ! 😕

Travis & Gravy thanks for the link and offer of advice….got loads to read through ..only trouble so far is being a wimp on the lancet front…its like waiting for an electric shock!..defo need to MTFU!

TBH. I find the lancets the worst bit. Sometimes fine, sometimes 'kin hurts! Every once in a while, you prick your finger, give it a squeeze and get a spurter 👿

I hate that! Worst I think is when it's cold, and even on the deepest setting I can't find any blood… "I might be hypo… I might just be too cold… Haven't a clue, medical science has failed me. I'll have some haribos on general principles"

Agree on cold mornings. Sometimes I think my blood must have drained away during the night!

Don't know what pumps are in use – but in case you haven't heard – http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News_Landing_Page/Medical-device-alert—Medtronic-Minimed-Paradigm-Veo-insulin-pumps/

Bloody hell hello all you fellow diabetic bikers-type 2 for 5 years and alot of others have said now fitter than I have been for many many years.
My advice from experience is beware of the heat and the cold as both will affect your blood sugar levels and wear an ID bracelet
http://www.medical-bracelets.co.uk/?gclid=CKWXwpy2p58CFQdl4wodfjeu1Q
that means if anyone else finds you if you have been dropped by a group or you are out riding by yourself and something happens to you and a glycogel ot two in your backpack.
You will find your own suited riding fuel (I prefer High5 4+1 and Torq Bars).
As for the cloudy eyes when your blood sugar levels are under control the clouding will go its just a sign that it was very high for a long period and I had the same when I was diagnosed (17.6).
Hope you adapt well and use it as a positive way of becoming fitter (I certainly felt better quite rapidly and have caught less coughs and colds that the rest of the household get despite the immune system problems).

FFS hasnt he cheered up yet! 🙄

*waves*

I'm Type 1 (insulin dependant) for some fifteen years now; can't recall what it's like not to be diabetic. In comparison to many other medical conditions, diabetes is manageable – but then it's not as if you get a choice in the matter!

We're told it's on the increase nationally across the UK.
Any idea what brought it on Whyte?
I'm the same height and weight as you, albeit 6yrs older & since giving up alcohol in 2009, I seem to have developed something of a sweet tooth – maybe I should be taking heed of all this!

Ask about DAFNE course/info asap it is definitely the best education on how to manage 'balance' and eat normally within reason. It is hard work, but you will be ok with epics etc if you test regularly and ALWAYS carry the right fast acting carb snacks. Fat/normal coke [those small cans] are great. If you watch TDF at all you will see the best reach for a fat coke to avoid the 'bonk'.