Burnout...

[etm1109]

Has anyone here gone through burnout. FYI, Type 2 ( early 40s)

My burnout started after I lost my job in November.
For me it literally became pay for my medication or pay for my light bill.

So the last few months, I tried to maintain my diabetes with diet best as possible whlie I found a new job. But even I find that difficult to maintain my blood sugar. And, I got tired of eating like a rabbit. I got tested today and I'm at 7.4.

Diet is something I still am trying to adjust too. As well as smaller portions.

I'm starting a new job tomorrow and I filled up on my medications and re-started taking them last week. I had to change over to my wifes insurance and my doctor is not in-network. So I'm looking for a new doctor this week.

I realized that over the past 3 months, I felt better most of the time then the past year when I was on my medication. In fact, I had so many problems with my medication I got burned out on that too. I tried to talk to this with my doctor and he just ignored me. Metformin, I never got over the pain of like someone hit me with a bat in my liver. I'm on Byetta and it does not work for me like others report outside of the nausea. I was on Starlikz before and I learned to cut it in half to prevent going down to 50/60 after a meal.

I find when I'm between 130-150 I feel great. I hit 125 I start getting nauscious and 100 start shaking. The doctors tell me I'm too used to being juiced; however, I spent a year getting my bsg down and I never ever hit a zone where 100-125 felt good.

Anyways, just rambling and ranting about my disease.

[rzrbks]

I understand how you feel. It was hard getting down under 120/6.6 and I felt bad all the time.

BUt, after Iwas under 120/6.6 for a while, I noticed that I was beginnning to feel what I thought of as "My Old Self," more energy, more awareness, just felt better over-all.

Hang in there, it'll come---it just takes time and patience.

[Penny]

Hi ETM. I think most of us type two's, got worse before we took our diabetes serious. I know I did, for years knew I was diabetic and just tried to ignore it until I had serious problems. I start feeling like you do when I am under 100, but there was a point when I felt low at 120. It just takes awhile for our bodies to adjust to new lows, but most of us do. Sometimes seeing a new doctor spurs you to try harder, so this could be a good thing. If I didn't welcome you, I am now.:wavey:

[liz32]

Hi ETM, when you do find a new doctor maybe you should ask him about taking lantus..it's insuin that for most lasts for 24 hours. I take it and it helped get my sugars down relatively fast and allowed my to start felling better quickly. After a while I realized that I hadn't had this much energy in at least a year...anyways, come around regularly and we'll all be here to encourage you. I hope this little bit helps. take care
Liz

[am1977]

I think it's completely normal for diabetics to go through "burnout" at certain periods of life. Our lives aren't just about having Diabetes and sometimes when things get tough, regarding other life issues, we loosen our grip on controlling this disease. I think it's great that you realize that things could use improvement- that's what matters. Do all you can to get back on track, but take small steps :creep:. You'll get there!

Hang in there! (btw, welcome :) )

[ffynnon]

just wanted to say good luck with your new job

Annie

[kgm0612]

I've felt burnt-out many, many times since being dx'd 3 years ago. Some days are better than other days. You just pick yourself up and start all over again.

Good luck with your new job!

Karen

[jenet]

I think it' a normal and real part of dealing with diabetes. I have had points where I just felt like nothing was working. I was tired of chasing numbers, tired of testing, tired of feeding the insulin, tired of feeling tired, tired of the whole darn thing. Then a new insulin would come along, and I would have some hope that this might be the thing that worked. This last December, I completely bottomed out, because I was so tired of the rollercoaster. Now, I'm hopeful that the flexibility of a pump will finally allow me to feel good again.

Here's wishing that you find something to inspire you and give you some hope,
cheers,
j

[Georgia]

Hey I understand where you're coming from. When I was working to regulate my bs I felt like **** whilst my body adjusted to the better numbers. Now I feel good most of the time but really **** when my bs is running high - headaches & bad temperdness.

Congratulations on the new job, I hope it works out for you :top:

[labob]

Congrats on the new job! That's really good news.

I'm newly diagnosed (12/05), so I haven't gone through burn out yet, but I have changed my diet pretty much (I try to stick to the "one deck of cards" recommendation for the size of meat, go very light on the carbs/starches, and eat an awful lot of vegetables, at least compared to how I ate before). I've discovered (rediscovered?) that there's a whole bunch of different kinds of veggies out there, which keeps your diet from getting boring. I'm not much into lettuce, but a big heap of chopped raw veggies is both filling and good for my glucose levels. To keep the diet varied, I not only switch the veggies I eat, but also how they're prepared. You can have them raw, grilled, steamed, baked, boiled, or in stews (which are very good for spreading out a meat taste without using that much meat) or soups. Different spices help, too. It really doesn't have to get boring. I find that if I savor small portions of the stuff that makes my bg rise, while filling up on veggies, I don't feel deprived.

Cost is another issue. Where I live, small ethnic markets tend to offer a wide range of veggies at a much lower cost than the big chains (something I did not know before being diagnosed). I have to go shopping a little more often than I did before, which is a pain, but I've gotten used to it -- at least so far.

[sydneya]

No question about it, I've gone into burnout a few different times. It just makes me feel sorry for myself though. Right now, I guess you can say I'm in it. I missed a doctors appointment a month ago and haven't rescheduled. I don't really feel that he is the best for me. I will check out an endo in Yakima today (have you heard me say this before) and try to go to him. My husband has some health problems now. I just don't want to deal with mine. In the long run it's going to get me in real trouble so......... :eviltongu I WILL GET MY ATTITUDE IN CHECK!!

[Ritehsedad]

WHEN YOU FEEL BURNT OUT LET US KNOW!!!

Perhaps we can help.

[Penny]

No question about it, I've gone into burnout a few different times. It just makes me feel sorry for myself though. Right now, I guess you can say I'm in it. I missed a doctors appointment a month ago and haven't rescheduled. I don't really feel that he is the best for me. I will check out an endo in Yakima today (have you heard me say this before) and try to go to him. My husband has some health problems now. I just don't want to deal with mine. In the long run it's going to get me in real trouble so......... :eviltongu I WILL GET MY ATTITUDE IN CHECK!!

Hey Syd, I know how you are feeling! My Husband is so good about taking care of me, I feel guilty because he is not well right now. I keep thinking if I just had better control, that I would be able to deal with his problems better. I get so tired of dealing with this all the time, I was always the caregiver in this family, I don't like needing help. Sometimes I think if I just ignored it, it would all go away! I know, it won't, as I am sure you know yours won't. Get to that new Endo, it will be a lot easier to deal with your husband's issues, if you feel good! :D

[sydneya]

:ciao: Agreed, Penny!! I used to think it was just women that had to deal with the burn out and guilts because they can't handle everything. I've read lots of posts where it isn't just women. Why is it so hard to take care of ourselves when we know that other loved ones need help. Guilt is so stupid. It almost makes me feel guilty, feeling guilty!! :albertein Life is suppose to make better sense when you get older. Instead, we just add more on ourselves. When Ray gets his tumor removed and biopsied, life will make better sense. Then something can be done whether deal with it or able to forget it.

[etm1109]

Part of my issues with this disease is how I came to be diagnosed was related to an event that caused me to lose work. I had to have surgery and I was diagnosed with diabetes prior to surgery. As a result, I missed almost 2 months of work getting my diabetes under control and recovering from surgery.

When I returned to work, my boss was a completely new person. He essentially badgered me and stepped up my performance parameters of my job to the point I was unable to perform without excessive amounts of overtime and stress/pressure. He also began to 'talk me down' in staff meetings, etc. I was even blamed for business decisions he had earlier made and conscended to. I even pointed these issues out to him.

I'm trying to be 'nice' about what happened with my job and my boss. I knew if I went to HR and complained I would be heading out the door. That's been my general experience working for 'Korporate Amerika' In fact, in one meeting, my boss told me he could put my job in Pakistan for $5 an hour.

I reached a point late last year, that I could not longer tolerate working there for this person. After applying for several internal jobs and getting no results, I felt it was better to leave a company rather than be fired for performance issues.

Can I say it's related to my diabetes. I don't know. I do know that others on the team were given 4-6 weeks to complete similiar assignments that I was being told had to be done in 2 days. I do know that working until 8-9 at night after coming in at 7 in the morning and including a 2 hour daily commute, my blood sugar and feeling tired was going up anyways.

Part of my burnout is dealing with lack of income and managing my diabetes.
And part of the problem, at least here in the United States, is dealing with the doctors and hospitals that demand payment. If you don't have insurance, you don't often get to play. Which means your back to your pre-diabetic self trying to fix the problem from a diet only perspective or 1/2 the drugs you take to make them last longer.

Sorry to rant, but this is what happened to me. I suspect this has happened to others as well.

[labob]

That is a tough story, emt. No wonder you feel burned out. I honestly do not understand why we in the US sometimes act as though universal health care coverage is the fifth column of communism instead of a basic right. But since you're covered now, at least the immediate issue is being addressed. I hope you feel better as you settle into your new job.

I'm curious, though, about how folks have dealt with disclosing their diagnosis in the workplace. I ended up telling pretty much everyone, and while sometimes my bosses don't seem to fully appreciate that I can no longer work 12-14 hours a day (only a slight exaggeration), I've got to say that for the most part people have cut me a lot of slack and everyone has at least pretended that my health was more important than meeting yet another artificial deadline. What that translates to down the line is anyone's guess, but I've also reached the stage where I really do believe that my health is more important than meeting the next artificial deadline. If I have to be downwardly mobile because of that, well, so be it. But that's easy for me to say right now.

Anyway, good luck in the new job and I hope you can separate managing diabetes from the very justified anger that you have for the way you were treated just after you were diagnosed. Protect your health and screw the (old) job.