Anyone ever work as a stocker with type1?

[SteveM]

I thought I would kill two birds with one stone by getting a job that provides plenty of exercise. I have been a stocker at Publix since Oct '06. I don't know how I've hung in there this long. What kills me is the fact that I used to be able to do crazy physical labor. I've been on moving jobs, used to workout regularly, mowed lawns, plenty of physical jobs - and never had any issues like I do now. I have a great work ethic and don't mind sweating and working hard, but I just can't handle it; i want to do it, but can't. It's really old getting tired and low blood sugar after two or three hours, and heart palpitations, feeling weak, etc...

Has anyone else been through this?

[SueM]

I thought I would kill two birds with one stone by getting a job that provides plenty of exercise. I have been a stocker at Publix since Oct '06. I don't know how I've hung in there this long. What kills me is the fact that I used to be able to do crazy physical labor. I've been on moving jobs, used to workout regularly, mowed lawns, plenty of physical jobs - and never had any issues like I do now. I have a great work ethic and don't mind sweating and working hard, but I just can't handle it; i want to do it, but can't. It's really old getting tired and low blood sugar after two or three hours, and heart palpitations, feeling weak, etc...

Has anyone else been through this?

It sounds to me as if you need your insulin/food intake adjusted. I know many diabetics who have physical jobs with no problem. I live and work on a farm so adjust my insulin/food intake for what ever work is being done that day.

[DeusXM]

Reduce your intake. Prolonged exercise makes your body hyper-sensitive to insulin. Depending on whether you're eating enough calories in the day, you might want to increase your overall food intake (maybe bulk up a bit on the carbs) and you'll definitely need to reduce your insulin intake. Exercise will totally change your usual basal requirements dramatically.

[BlueSky]

That 27 units of Lantus you take at night would provide quite a lot of basal insulin action during the next day when you are working. Have you tried reducing it? A pump could also work well for you. It would mean that you could lower your basal rate during work and your blood sugar wouldn't drop as much.

[KickStart101]

Yes, I have in my younger years. I quit the desk
for one reason and got real phyical at the other
job which was a plus I didn't know I had needed.
Killed 2 birds with 1 stone for me alright.

It was a multi-job: stocking lower shelving and
climbing ladders for upper shelves, shipping and
receiving, answering the phone/the taking of
orders, making out invoices and postal forms,
showing retailers the new products, making
suggestions on which products would better suit
their clientelle, putting up with the flirtations,
unloaded the trucks twice a week, going with the
boss on local trips, doing inventory(had to hire
other workers to help with that), popping off to
the post Office with the Boss every evening to
get the boxes there before the pick-up, etc. Ya,
it was a work-out but God, I loved that job. Darn RA.

I was his only Employee but my Boss was Good to
me and I could rest, grab a juice or snack whenever
I needed one. For sure that type of job is harder if
you have Diabetes.

Sue, Deus and Mark gave Good advice. Does your Boss
know that you are a Diabetic? If so, does he not
give you a little leeway with breaks? Do you keep
sugar tabs/or other sweets in your pocket when
you feel low?

If you feel that job isn't for you then by all means
you should try for another one that would suit you
better. Good Luck! :)

[DanG]

putting up with the flirtations

Ahh... flirtations.
Ya gotta love it.

One other thing others have not mentioned - perhaps you know this all too well. Exercise and adrenaline will really do your insulin and eating requirements a test. As everyone else here says, cut back on the lantus and perhaps eat more - if you can. But that adrenaline will do wonders for any of us... I think. Perhaps I'm all wrong, I dunno.

[SteveM]

I've tried adjusting my insulin, if i take any less lantus my blood sugar goes out of control, and with more I crash with any extended activity. I leave the lantus alone. The novolog is some powerful stuff and I use that sparingly when I'm scheduled to go in because i can rely on my job to bring down my blood sugar. I'm doing something right because my a1c is down from 9 to 8.4 in a single three month period. Not an easy feat and I have to keep up the good progress there.

I can see where I may just need to eat more, but that would be a scary amount, I'm not a small person, and my metabolism is a monster. This would get expensive, and I'm no funding source for that.

I am sick of this condition because it runs me into the ground and keeps me from working like I wish I could, like I used to. I'm afraid that people will just think i'm complaining, which would 'pisss' me off. I guess I'm still adjusting, and having acceptance issues.

In addition to diabetes, I have bipolar disorder which is well controlled by depakote, but the blood sugar fluctuations really throw a wrench in the spokes for me. This adds another facet to the challenge.

[sbuff28@charter]

I used to work as a line cook for Olive garden resterants> It was constant work in a crammed 100 degree atmosphere. I once had a food/air/liquid thermometer reach 116 during the peak of dinner for almost 2 hours strait. And if anyone has worked as a cook...it is long hours with little or no breaks.

I did it for the same reasons as you, lots of excersize and money. it wasnt bad. What i did was i ate 30g of carbs right before i left, lowered my basal by about 50% and i was on my way. I was able to work 6-8 hour shifts no problem but any more than that i needed to eat.

I suggest if you explain your condition to your boss he usually will be more than accomidating. Just try not and use it as an excuse to slack off. If your employer see you putting an effort in, especially in those types of jobs, he will be your best freind.

I was able to take quick BS test breaks and still keep my food going out the window on time. bathroom breaks work best. (they can't deprive you of that)

Just keep your health in mind and adjust accordingly. Pumps are also awesome for this type of work. just my 2 cents

Since you cant adjust ur basal, i suggest bringing snacks with you to work like sugar candy, just try a certain amount and adjust.

keep your head up. dont let this disease decide what you do.


Keep your head up.

[DeusXM]

I've tried adjusting my insulin, if i take any less lantus my blood sugar goes out of control, and with more I crash with any extended activity. I leave the lantus alone.

Have you tried adjusting it since you've started your new job?

I'm not being funny but if you're having hypos at work at times when your bolus insulin shouldn't be working, you absolutely have to start altering your Lantus dose. Your basal requirements will change dramatically with increased physical labour.

Trust me, I spent entire summers spending 12 hours a day packing yoghurts. I know exactly what I'm talking about. You're taking too much insulin full stop - if you weren't, you wouldn't be having hypos at work.

Without wanting to sound unsympathetic - stop making excuses. Your bipolar disorder won't have an effect on your BGs so stop blaming that for your hypos at work. The symptoms you've described as being caused by your job bear no relation whatsoever to mental health.

[cheryl]

OK here is what my old endo told me when I didn't like when i changed my lantus to a lower dose and my blood sugars went high, it takes three days for the new lantus dose to kick in, so the first day or so, your body is like ok less insulin and you go high by the third day you'll be fine.....I have been where you are at.....being stubborn about changing the dose, but right now you are physical your body is trying to loose weight and readjust, so in all in all drop the dose by 2 units give it two or three days, seriously.....I had too, and i was still leary of dropping my lantus down to 15 units when I was at the 17 unit mark before I got the pump......but everyone is right, we are all diabetic and know what the heck is going on....

But I understand you too, plus your on sliding scale that is not gonna work your a1c's will stay in the 8's like mine did on a sliding scale, when I actually started to count carbs and drop lantus my a1c went down in the 6's and I was a little wacky.....

Not trying to be mean cause I get where your coming from but I have totally been where you are at.......don't be as stubborn as I was LOL...;)

Cheryl

[marked]

My advice:You gotta test,test and test. You must catch your insulin before it brings you too low. You have to know how much insulin is left in you and act according to your readings at the time. Set your target blood sugar at higher level than when you are not working. If you are able have the meal 3 hours before you start the exertion. And eat afterwards. Plau with it see If you are able combine the workload as part of your insulin.The worst that could happen is you would be high one day. Check into symlin. Try a pump.
Whatever it takes. You gotta make it work. This is such a gut check disease, yeah? Ultimately the individual is always the responsible one.All advice is so cheap. May the disease take me kicking and screaming, I wiil fight it with every fiber of my being.
Mark

[SteveM]

...Your bipolar disorder won't have an effect on your BGs so stop blaming that for
your hypos at work. The symptoms you've described as being caused by your job bear no relation whatsoever
to mental health.
You have it backwards, the fluctuations in blood sugar make the bipolar disorder more difficult to
handle. My only point bringing that up is because it does make it harder. Too many people dis
bipolar and those who have it. I don't make excuses. A hypo alone can make a person moody. I'm already moody. The only reason I brought that up is because I thought there might be someone who deals with that too, i know bipolar doesn't cause hypoglycemia. I wasn't too clear on that, sorry. Anyway, where did you go to medical school?
-------------------------------
.....I have been where you are at.....being stubborn about changing the dose, but
right now you are physical your body is trying to loose weight and readjust, so in all in all drop the
dose by 2 units give it two or three days, seriously.....I had too, and i was still leary of dropping my
lantus down to 15 units when I was at the 17 unit mark before I got the pump......but everyone is right,
we are all diabetic and know what the heck is going on....
Each day is a different as far as how physical it's going to be. It's unpredictable, and that's why
finding a set regimen that works is so hard. I can't change it up on a day to day basis because it takes
a little time to set in. While we all do know what's going on, don't be so confident because for each
individual, homeostasis is a different story.
-------------------------------
I suggest if you explain your condition to your boss he usually will be
more than accomidating. Just try not and use it as an excuse to slack off. If your employer see you
putting an effort in, especially in those types of jobs, he will be your best freind.

The management team and most of the employees throughout the store are aware of my condition, there has
never been a problem making accomodations. I just don't accept the fact that I can't push myself
anymore like I could not long ago, and especially when I was in my early twenties. I'm harder on myself than any manager would ever be. They've seen me bust my arse and get the job done. I just can't run myself into the ground anymore with my own unrealistic goals, which is what I've been doing. We came up with a schedule adjustment. I think that's a great start.

[SteveM]

I should have been more general. The job doesn't have to be a stocker, it can be anything that uses a lot of energy. Even a diabetic bodybuilder would be great.

I don't crash everyday. It's unpredictable. I know what I'm doing.

[DeusXM]

You have it backwards, the fluctuations in blood sugar make the bipolar disorder more difficult to
handle. My only point bringing that up is because it does make it harder. Too many people dis
bipolar and those who have it. I don't make excuses. A hypo alone can make a person moody. I'm already moody. The only reason I brought that up is because I thought there might be someone who deals with that too, i know bipolar doesn't cause hypoglycemia. I wasn't too clear on that, sorry. Anyway, where did you go to medical school?

I'm not 'dissing' bipolar. Having had experience with mental health issues I'm under no illusions as to the difficulty it can cause. However, the way you were phrasing things was it sounded like you were suggesting bipolar disorder was playing a role in causing the hypos you're having at work. I apologise for misinterpreting that.

The point I made originally still stands though. Your hypos and the affect they have on your mental state are symptoms of not having control quite sorted out at work yet. You've already said you've adjusted your Novolog and you're still having problems, so the next obvious step is to adjust your Lantus. Once you adjust your Lantus AND your Novolog (you will have to adjust both) and get control to a good level, you should stop having hypos at work and the aggrevative affect that fluctuating blood sugar has on your bipolar disoder should also reduce.

[cheryl]

I was a house wife, a mother to four kids, and sometimes my seven kids were here, everyday was different, whether a peaceful just me and a couple of kids, or me, running outside playing football with the boys, or taking them to the lake the park, or me having woman issue's(which your lucky in that department)......housecleaning, laundry for nine people, rearranging the house I have steps running up and down the steps. bathrooms get dirty cause boys don't aim right, baby taking off his diaper to smear poop all over yea, my activity varied a lot all the time too......

I was in your state of mind, trust me.....I finally got over it...Ok, let me tell you I was on 22 units of lantus, way too much I would have days on that amount, where I was low all day long and could drink regular soda and eat three or four slices of pizza and not go over 120....then I would have days where I could barely touch food and be over 200 all day long
Does this sound familar to you? I bet it does....

Well brave soul I finally became when I was going thru the low bouts I lowered the lantus, to 20 units then 19 units then down to 17 units, before I started to pump, and started to count my carbs with my fast acting insulin.....personally it was bumpy for a few days lowering it.....and activity was never the same but it eventually it started to pan and even out, and to tell you honestly I was still getting lows like crazy even with dropping it down to 17 units....after I kept it up, my a1c's when I started to care were in the 8's, when I dropped the lantus and started to carb count I got them in the 6's....

Your story and concern sounds like what I went thru and your not getting it sounds HOW LIKE I FELT.....why am i so wacky why I ain't it working for me......

So I know what I know from personal experience and being in your situation......physically cause a stocker is in no way as physical as taking care of a house and seven kids try it LOL;)

Cheryl

[SteveM]

no more replies, I've heard what I need to hear.

DeusXM was right, I need to eat more. I could probably use more sleep too.

and cheryl said a grocery store stocking job is no way more physical than keeping a house of seven...don't be so sure, this is no rinky-dink store. The only store bigger is walmart and that stocking job is insane.

I need to not be so hard on myself too, I see everything that needs to be done and want to do it ALL without any help. No wonder I was so exhausted.

[Alice]

I used to have problems getting Lantus/bolus at correct level until I began splitting the Lantus into a morning and evening dose. I really felt the 4 hour kick (when it reaches it's optimum and levels out for the long-run). Now, I get more even coverage without severe lows. It's much easier to eat smaller meals and correctly gauge need for bolus.

Many non-diabetics don't realize how much steady, moderate exercise can lower blood sugar when on insulin. I used to always need to correct lows just walking around a mall for a couple of hours or running errands.

I love it when people say..."but you just ate!"... or "but we're going to eat in an hour"...my husband still needs a reminder every now and then that diabetics don't eat for hunger...they eat for blood sugar!

Try talking to your employer and explain that you "love your job"...and want to take a couple of quick breaks to check your glucose level...it won't interfere with your job and it will prevent problems...this they will appreciate! Keep glucose tabs with you for quick boosts...they are good for small, preventive boosts also.

I used to stress over emergency snacks at work...now that I'm older and wiser...I just use glucose tabs. They still make my mouth pucker in sour disgust...but work fast! Emergency tabs are not the same as "planned" snacks, so pack those as well!

(P.S. ) I love Publix...can't wait to move back to FL! Breakfast Bread, here I come!