25yr.old Type 1- New to forum

[courtyunker]

Just wanted to introduce myself. I am a 25 year old female diagnosed with type1 when I was 8 years old. I was under great control until I was 19. These past years I have lost all my good habits of blood sugar control and have neglected my diabetes. My HgA1c has been between a 10-12 for the past 3 years. I was recently in the hospital for Ketoacidosis. My blood sugar was 540 and I was in real bad shape. It has only been 3 days since I was discharged and I feel like I have no idea how to control my blood sugars. I take lantus in the morning and supplement with novolog throughout the day. I now realize that I HAVE to take control. But how? I don't know where to start and my doctor justs blows me off. I have a very supportive boyfriend who is learning about the disease and willing to help me. But I don't know what to tell him since I have been so upset lately about not being able to control it. Any suggestions of where I should begin....I would appreciate it! Thanks for listening. Court*

[Cinnabon]

Hey there Country.. WELCOME:itsme:

Glad you found us and also glad your BF is so supportive. He can ask all the ? he wants as well. I encourage you to take the best control you can. Feel free to ask your heart away. We are all here to help as much as you want.

[koblenz]

Hi Court and welcome. I think it is great you are wanting to get things in order.

First thing I would do is find a new doctor. Hopefully an Endocrinologist. Having a proactive and supportive medical team at your disposal is very important. If my doctor ever "blew me off", I would blow him off and find another.

Next thing I would suggest is to see if you can find any education classes in your area, maybe sponsored by a local hospital. They are a great way to learn all the latest info and strategies for managing your day to day life. Helped me TREMENDOUSLY.

Next, see if there is a dietitian at your doctors office you can talk to about making sure your diet is what it should be. Again, this helped me a lot.

Finally, hang around here and ask all the questions you want! That is what we are here for. One person or another here has been through just about every conceivable situation.

Hope to see you around.

[Mick]

Welcome Court! You have already made the most important step toward regaining control of both your diabetes and therefore of your life--you have admitted that you need to, and have begun looking for help. Congratulations. We all fall off the wagon from time to time. Don't beat yourself up for that. Start from where you are NOW. Then take yourself to where you need to be. You DO have a long history, from age 8 to 19, of knowing how to do this. Yes, that was a while back, and you have fallen out of your good habits from back when you were still at home and your parents were there to keep on you. Now it's YOUR problem, not theirs, and it is up to you to do it all. That is a big transformation, and that is probably where you lost control. Now that you are an adult, you can get back your mojo. I promise you this. Many of us went thru that--growing up diabetic, under decent control, left home and everything went all to ****. Me too! You got a slap in the face and a wake-up call with your recent hospitalization. Don''t ignore the summons! Do not waste this opportunity to turn this "bad" thing into your own salvation.

And if you need motivation, think of this--you are young, and you have a life to live. It can be full and joyous, or it can be tragic and short. That is the decision you make by gaining and keeping control of your diabetes. I see in your profile that you are a teacher. So am I. I have been diabetic for 40 years, and have been a teacher for 30. I have been married for 32 years and have raised 2 wonderful children. Life offers us these possibilities. We as diabetics just have to be a bit more disciplined, smart and organized than our non-diabetic peers in order to fulfill this potential. I feel, however, that overcoming our challanges and triumphing over it makes us better, stronger, more compassionate and perhaps, ironically, healthier in the long run. And THAT is where you need to turn on something your peers may not have discovered at your age as of yet--MATURITY, for it takes a great deal of maturity at age 25 to think in terms of "the long run". Had I failed to do so, I would not have lived long enough to put my children through college. Had I failed to do so, I would not be closing in on my well-deserved retirement, and many more happy HEALTHY years enjoying the fruits of good health that I can harvest now from the seeds of good control I planted in my youth.

Court, my dear one--it is not too late to plant those seeds right now. They certainly require great care and hard work. Nobody ever said this was going to be easy. I'm sure you have heard the expression, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Be strong, not dead! By your decision to do so, you have shown the will to do so. Now follow that up with the day-to-day hard work required to make it so. Take each step at a time. Each test, each injection, and build your foundation slowly. Soon enough you will have good habits supporting common sense and enjoyment of the benefits of good control. You'll see you a1c come down to 9.. 8... 7... 6.5!!!!! Success!!! Smiles! Joyous life is yours! Be there for your future.

As my guru told me,
"Well begun is half done."
Baby steps, my dear one, just start with baby steps.
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Michael
T1 since 1965

[valc3]

Hey court, welcome to the forum. You have made the first and most important step in regaining control. You're looking for help. You will find alot of info and support here. There's usually laughs here too, sometimes tears. but it is a great family.

You have the tools to control your diabetes. You just need to remember how to use them. I would start with a new Dr. A CDE or nutrionist will also be of great help. Glad your bf is supportive and trying to understand.

I hope you visit us often.

[am1977]

Hey Court...

I first want to welcome you to these forums... hope you feel at home here and will get to know and become part of our little family :smile:

I'm sorry to hear that you have been struggling with control...this disease can be extremely frustrating as we all know. However, I think it's great that you recognize taht you need to make some changes...that's really the first step in reaching your goal :creep:.

After reading what you said about your doctor, I would highly suggest finding another one. Your doctor and diabetes team should be there to help you...if that's not what is happening, something needs to change. It's worth the effort of searching for another one...a good doctor can make controlling this disease a lot easier.

As for support, it's great that you have your b/f backing you up...it is so important to have that. This forum is also wonderful for that. Most of us have "been there, done that"...we can relate, so keep that in mind.

Good luck and please visit us again ;)