Monday, December 3, 2012

How does it feel to have diabetes type 1?

Q. My boyfriend has diabetes type 1 and I don't really get how he feels nor what's going through� Can someone please tell me? Also should I ask him about diabetes because I don't really feel comfortable about talking about it�
Oh by the way he does have an Insulin Pump just wondering where does it connect to (in/on the body) and how does it work?
Also is there any specific question I should ask him to know more about diabetes?
Just wondering what are the chances of the child having diabetes if the farther has diabetes type 1?

A. How he feels... depends on him. But type 1 diabetes can be quite hard at times. You'd think the injections were the hard part. Actually, they're the easy part. Actually counting your food intake all the time, trying to predict the highs and lows they cause, managing treatment, having your mood affected by the ups and downs (feeling tired/depressed/defeated occasionally, just when you thought you were doing well)... getting silly things like colds more often and having them last longer, not being able to just enjoy a meal with friends, not being able to go camping or up a mountain or anywhere really without planning it all, and having to worry about whether you'll be a burden on others or something; finding it a lot tougher to do healthy things like regular exercise because that can be dangerous...

All of these are relatively small things on their own, but overall, can have a big impact. Generally, people can handle it all, but it takes a lot of what they have. If you get other life problems on top, like problems at home or at work, it can be overwhelming. Then you get MORE complex problems, like potential blindness if you've had the condition a long time.

Insulin pumps... there's a needle set into the stomach, and the pump connects to it with a tube. It's a bit like the needles they put into your hand/arm, so they can attach tubes from a drip when you're in hospital. How it works? It pumps insulin into you, a little at a time, a bit like how a non-diabetic's pancreas would create insulin. However, it's manually controlled by buttons. Figuring out what buttons to press is the tough (and dangerous) part.


What to do to with itchy skin for diabetes type 1?
Q. My father has diabetes type 1, he feels very itchy on his legs during midnights. It's getting more severe during the winter time.

Can he use some body lotion to keep the skin moist?

What is the best external ointment for this problem? Please advise, I appreciate your time!

A. Any lotion for really dry skin should help. He should put it on every time he thinks of it not just when he starts to itch. There are lotions speicfically designed for diabetic skin, too. I had one by Borage and it worked really well.


Is it impossible to lose weight with diabetes type 1?
Q. I'm so disappointed in myself. I haven't been in total control of my diabetes and have been eating pretty crappy lately. Well, I just weighed myself and haven't in about a little over a month and just found out a gained close to 10 pounds, when I already had 25 to lose!!! I'm almost in tears at the thought of weighing what I do right now forever. Is it possible to just eat healthy and excersize and lose weight like a normal person even though I have diabetes type 1?

A. I'll be honest with you. I've been type 1 since I was 1 year old. All of my life my motto has been 'it's the quality of life not quantity'. I'm 38, have had very mild complications, a rough pregnancy and have never been a model diabetic. I enjoy food, especially carbs, and a beer. My a1c is typically a 7. It took me a very long time, 10+years, to loose the pregnancy weight but I'm now 114lbs. I do take lots of vitamins and try to work out at least 3 times a week. I'm a true believer in small portions of any crappy foods. It satisfies my craving and makes me happy too. Six small meals a day helped with the weight too.
You may also want to get your thyroid checked. It is common for type 1 diabetics to develop an under active thyroid. The blood test is called a THS.
Good luck in your search for answers.


How does it feel to have diabetes type 1? please diabetics type 1 only if possible?
Q. What is an Insulin Pump for and what does it do?
What is the insulin in the insulin pump made of?
Also how does it feel to have diabetes type 1?

A. I have type 1 diabetes and use an insulin pump.

I dunno what it's made of lol - the same kinda stuff as any kind of computer or electrical device - I guess a bit like a phone it's got a tough plastic case, but obviously it also has insulin in it!

It's connected to me all the time although I can disconnect to take a shower or go swimming etc. for a short time. It goes into my skin using a cannula - a bit like when you have a drip they put a needle in and then take it out and a little plastic tube is left under your skin. I change this myself every few days. The insulin works like a really high tech syringe - it pushes a little bit forwards every few minutes (I set the rate). So it drip feeds me insulin 24 hours a day but I can also tell my pump if I eat or if my blood sugar's high and how much and it can calculate how much insulin I need, or I can just tell it how much I want to take.

The advantages of having a pump are that I don't need to inject and I can adjust my insulin much more closely according to what I need throughout the day. It also means it's a lot more easy to exercise which is great :) But it's a lot of work and the big needle every couple of days is worse than 4 or 5 small injections / day! Also because I have nhs funding (uk) there is a lot of pressure on me to do well on the pump or they'll cut my funding and I don't have as much choice of consultants. Also having a pump attached to you all the time isn't for everyone - I've had mine for 4 years so it's kinda just a part of me now but sometimes you wish you could forget it for a little while - esp if you're gonna wear a dress or something!

I'm not exactly sure what you mean about how it feels to have type 1? I've had it for 14 years so don't really know any different. A lot of the time it sucks - esp when it stops you from doing something. I wanted to join a new gym at the weekend and they said I have to get a letter from my dr first - it's more anoying than anything else. Then there's when people think they know more about your diabetes than you do so they say things like 'you shouldn't be eating that' when you're eating glucose tablets because you're hypo! Or when you have to stop what you're doing for diabetes - at the gym I sometimes have to leave classes or stop and test my blood during a class and that's embarrassing, although most people at my gym know I have diabetes and that makes me feel a lot safer, so it has it's good and bad points. Most people with type 1 diabetes grow up to be more organised than other people and it teaches us that there's more to life than always meets the eye - it has it's good points as well as bad.

Hope that helps xx





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