[KritterMom]

Well, PMS is a powerful force, lol.
I used to do what you're doing all the time Injecto, but I've had Diabetes for 20 years, and I have other health issues also, and somewhere along the way, it just all started to blend together, and now it's hard to tell what does what. I think about being diabetic constantly, probably obsessively, and yes, I still worry about 5 years from now. It's hard not to think about it.

[Gary_W]

Originally Posted by Injecto

Perhaps this should be in another thread but I'm going to ask here anyways, for now. How can you, and others, say that you don't think about your diabetes that much? I think that's great that you can be like that and I really want to be like that myself. Unfortunately for me it consumes my thoughts almost every minute of my waking day. I constantly think about where I am, too high, too low, what if I sit all day at work will I go high, but I don't want to bolus too much to go low, is my basal right, what will happen to my BGs whem I get active. I worry about complications by the time I'm 50 when I still have at least another 20 years to live. Will I retire? Will I have enough $$$ to help my condition if I live to retirement? Am I already hypoglycemic unaware? etc.....

Don't get me wrong, I would love to just not think about it too much, but in order to not think about it too much I fear I won't be able to control it. I'm at a loss here.

If I am running really high then yes, I worry about the future. High BG makes me really blue and certainly makes me focus on the negative 'what if' questions. If I'm doing OK day to day then it really doesn't cross my mind.

Now let me ask you a question. Before you had diabetes, did you constantly worry about the fact that one day you will certainly die? Almost certainly not. Very few people on this earth constantly worry about this event as we know that constantly focusing on it will really spoil your day.

If the answer is 'no, you didn't used to do that', why are you spending your life now worrying about the 'mights' when the one absolute certainty in your life never used to worry you?

As long as you can look yourself in the eye and say that you are doing your absolute best to look after yourself on a daily basis then the future will just have to bring what it will; giving it any further thought will not change the outcome. Unless you get sick due to the stress you are putting yourself under by the constant worry.

If you worry about it when you are feeling good in the here and now, the condition has won and I just will not allow that. It is a part of me that sometimes affects me physically for the worse and allowing it to rule my thoughts as well is just giving it too much importance as opposed to enjoying life.

Gary

[hannahanne]

Injecto, Diabetes affects so many aspects of our health that I don't think that it's unusal at all especially when your first diagnosed to wonder how various symptoms might be connected to diabetes. I've been diagnosed for about 3 1/2 years, and I'm still learning that diabetes can affect me in unexpected ways. For example, last year I had my first serious stomach flu with diabetes, and my blood sugar stayed low for almost a week. Before diabetes, I would have just thought that okay I'm sick and I'll recover. Now, I have to consider how everything from illness, to stress, to certain foods affects my blood sugar.

Diabetes defintely is not the cause of most things. But having diabetes can have unexpected secondary-side effects. Sometimes it not always easy to decide what is important and not important, but with time you'll get a better idea. I'm still learning and know that I have a lot to learn. We're very lucky because we live in a time when diabetes can be managed, and I firmly believe that if you take it seriously and manage it well that you will die from something else.

[xMenace]

It's just another part of me There's not a decision I make or an event that happens where I don't consider the impacts. I just don't worry about it though. We're gonna all die anyway and many, if not most of us, will die from other causes. I can't say I've come to terms with my D and all this immortality ****, but I choose to live life while I can.

[am1977]

Ok, yes, I do blame a lot on my Diabetes~ from just feeling "off" to being in a bad mood... it's easy to say it's b/c of my Diabetes. However, I do feel that Diabetes does really impact so many different things, that whatever I am experiencing may actually be due to it. Who knows

[ant hill]

Originally Posted by princesslinda

I think whenever we're handed a "chronic condition" such as diabetes, the control necessary for good health makes us so hyper-aware of everything going on in our bodies, especially at first. I know at one point, everytime ANYTHING happened, I would check my blood sugar. Have a headache? stick finger. Sore throat? stick finger, Anxiety? Stick finger. It does lesson somewhat, but even now, I wonder what my diabetes is doing at different times.

Good post Linda
I have had the desease now for 33 Years and to me the control of 6 mmoL/L or 100 mg/dl is everything!!
So for the stroke and their lazy eye that i had is due to the desease that we have so the idea is to be fit and active

[mg_2204]

I couldn't think about anything else at the beginning. Anxiety levels went through the roof. I remember telling myself that STRESS would finally kill me off, not diabetes. And very soon too!

In French we say 'vitesse de croisière' which, unfortunately I can't really translate. (Anyone that can help here please do!) ... But it means I've lived for a certain time with the disease and I am now sailing at a speed which feels comfortable to me.

I am trying to recall when this happened exactly but I can't. There were ups and downs along the way too. I certainly think about diabetes a lot when sick or having probs like at the moment with those stupid ACE inhibitors. Don't know if I ever blamed diabetes but I sure hate the disease. With a passion! At times I sure am frustrated let me tell you....!!!! I don't always think consciously about diabetes now but it's there, at the back of my mind. Pops up, once in a while, depending on circumstances. Now I even do stuff for my diabetes without really thinking about it. Weird, isn't it? But I know what the complications are, and I am not being careless whatsoever. I know that along the way my 'vitesse de croisière' will have to change and adapt to new circumstances too. That's what this stupid big D is all about : it changes. All the time.

I do hope you find your 'vitesse de croisière' soon Injecto.

[blue_eyed_devil]

nope, i don't... infact i hate it when i have a headache/pain/problem and someone says 'how are you bgs?' drives me nuts.

i can have a headache and it not be diabetes related!!!

on the other hand i understand what you're saying... when my feet go cold i wonder what's the circulations haps down there!!!

[June91]

We're members of DF, and therefore obviously a tiny bit more concerned about our condition than a lot of other diabetics are. I would think that our particular group of people would have a higher overall degree of anxiety as we seem to have a greater need for control in our lives, including but not limited to diabetes

[2high]

Injecto, my theory is that a smart woman will always blame her issue on the nearest man...

So, no, I dont blame everything on my D!!

Just mood swings, headaches, shakes, dizziness, dry skin...lol

[cheryl]

I blame diabetes, for a few things myself, the more I started to care about it the more I thought, oh man is this cause I didn't take care of myself and all these crazy thoughts came into my head. But, I am trying not it let it get the best of me. I probably have so much fear now cause I have four kids too. The fear technically started around the third child. I also was a little older by this point. When you start thinking omg, am i not going to be around for these kids, every little tingle and pain your mind starts wandering. I am trying to get better cause anxiety will obviously kill me too. So I am dealing with it the best I can. But I too blame my moodiness of either D or pms.......so if it is those two, my hubby doesn't fight back lol

Cheryl

[Gangrel]

It all goes back to personality, I think. I'm the type of person who can have the world falling aroujnd them, and can (mostly) remain calm. Whether at work, at home, etc.

Therefore, I don't think about D all the time, because I have the feeling that "I can control what I control and *that's* it."

I do my best to keep my readings in line, but if I get one 20, or 18.3, I don't freak out. I simply take some Humalog, drink lots of water, try to figure out what may have caused it, and that's it.

I don't think "****, I had a 20, that's going to cause me to cut a toe off in 10 years."

I see life as a river. We're floating along, and some of us may make it to the open body of water at the end, some may get caught up the shore, and stuck, and others won't make it to the end.

I have no idea which one I am, and I don't put any thought into wondering. If I die at 60 because of diabetic complications, I'm ok with that, knowing I've kept myself in reasonable control while still having fun and drinking beers!

If I survive until 90, then even better.

If I get hit by a bus tomorrow and I die at 31, well, that's when my ticket gets punched.

This has strayed a bit from diabetes, but i apply this way of thinking to it too.

So, just keep yourself in reasonable control, check yourself a few times a day, and that's that. If you sit around at work a bit and go higher then usual, deal with it. If you are playing with your kids outside, and feel yourself going low, eat some tablets.

Make it a reflex, not an action you must focus on.

[June91]

When I grow up I would like to be at peace with myself like Gangrel

[Gangrel]

lol. Thanks. It's easy for me to do, again, because of my personality. I understand not everyone is like that. Trust me, i've had ex-bosses wound up tighter then a drum!

I just think the next time we all are thinking about diabetic problems, we should go outside (if it's warm) take a nice walk, and look at the pretty flowers.......

A little meditation and self-reflection does wonders.

[Neiler]

Hey there Injecto - You've sparked a wide array of opinions on this one - good question.

I can completely relate to your position. I've been officially with the Big D for a month and a half (Jan 5, 2007). For me, it's getting to understand what has happened, what is happening and what can happen. I wouldn't classify my thoughts as "worries" per sae - but in my attempts to understand - I find I do quite often think about what I'm doing and feeling and whether or not it has anything to do with Diabetes.

I'm still trying to find my niche. I don't want to worry about every little thing - but I don't want to ignore it all either. Both are probably not too good in the long run...

As a wise man once said, "Why go through life worrying about everything and always being extra careful - just to grow old and die safely?"

Ironic timing on this. Last night I was putting my 7 year old to bed and she gave me a big hug and said, "You're the best Dad. If you ever die and leave me - you'll still be the best Dad." I guess the point there is that some day the inevitable will happen - but I'm gonna do what I can today to make sure she continues to think I'm the best Dad. To me - that'll mean less "worry" and more "fun".

It is going to be a challenge for all of us here on some days, but I'm learning that with Diabetes a lot of it is in our hands to control.