This topic contains 5 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by 
Helen-Edwards 1 month ago.
-
Posts
-
Hello everyone I am new here.. I am type 1 insulin dependant. 20 years this year. I am happily married (4 years) and have two boys one in grade 6 one in grade 7…. I am on an insulin pump and have been for around 4 years…. I did DAFNE before I went on the pump….I also have bipolar disorder… Hoping by joining here I can get a bit more support by peoplewho understand what I live with everyday…..
Hi Meg! Welcome
So nice to hear your story. I have had type 1 for 34 years and have 3 boys aged 19, 14 and 4 years old! I am also a pumper. And I have lived with depression and anxiety, although not bipolar. What is that like for you in terms of the phases of the bipolar? can I ask if it impacts on your diabetes? Or do the medications impact on it? How do you find the pump vs DAFNE?
bye for now
Helen
Hi Meg! Welcome
So nice to hear your story. I have had type 1 for 34 years and have 3 boys aged 19, 14 and 4 years old! I am also a pumper. And I have lived with depression and anxiety, although not bipolar. What is that like for you in terms of the phases of the bipolar? can I ask if it impacts on your diabetes? Or do the medications impact on it? How do you find the pump vs DAFNE?
bye for now
Helen
Ok… With bipolar it does very much impact on my diabetes… But i have a great mental and medical support team now..Psychiatrist, psychologist,and all the diabetes team…My medications which we are still playing with… Have had to change as my kidneys were being affected… Some medications I simply can’t have because of the diabetes… I had a course of ECT 2 years ago during a real bad low and found it hard during this time to manage the diabetes as theatre staff are not educated in how to use an insulin pump… So 3 days a week for 4 weeks bg’s were wild and crazy… Which as we all know bg levels do affect your moods….When I am on a high I find my diabetes doesn’t stress me and I manage really well… Except with my boundless energy i have to be careful as the bg can drop out rather quickly…and most of the time i am hypo unaware…But when I am low I get into a bit of a downward spiral…. Not testing and then stressing about not doing the right thing to take care of myself but I think personally we all go through similar experiences…DAFNE was the best thing I could have done for myself… And my family. it gave me the control I so desperately needed I would recommend that all diabetics that inject insulin do DAFNE for me it was life changing… It helped me lose extra weight as i didnt need all the insulin i was having prior to dafne….It is amazing the advances in the past 20 years.. The different insulins now available the ease of bg testing now… DAFNE and insulin pumps all great advances for us diabetics but the biggest thing that has changed is the support that is now available….there was nothing when I was diagnosed at the age of 13…
DAFNE … Dosing adjustment for normal eating… Is very much like being on the pump… A long acting insulin as a background / basal…. And fast acting for meals/ bolus …calculations based on insulin sensitivity… You learn how to carb count and adjust insulin accordingly using 10g carb exchange ( which is easier when calculations are in your head.)A problem I found is every time you eat you have to have another needle… And for me that was hard as I graze on food all day also I needed 0.7units per carb exchange so using insulin pens was out of the question as the increments weren’t small enough…and sometimes I wished I carried a calculator as mistakes in counting caused me a few problems… Too high or too low… You also have to make sure you keep track of how many insulin needles you’ve had so you don’t cause stacking of insulin remembering insulin lasts 3 tof 4 hours… So if bg is out of target range during this time a corrective may not be needed as there is still active insulin… I got told once thet DAFNE is a poor mans pump and to a point this is true… For some people being connected to a pump just doesn’t suit them and this is a great alternative…
Hi Meg
thanks for sharing! It is wonderful you have a good support team. So important when there are complex conditions to manage. Sorry to hear about the impact on your kidneys. I hear you about the pump in hospital. I have had some terrible experiences and mis-management. And yes definite connections between BGL and moods.
It is very interesting that the high’s don’t cause a problem with the diabetes but the lows do. Makes sense in terms of what we know about people shutting down when they are low and not being able to get the energy or desire to care for their diabetes, I guess the hypos would be a risk when you are speedy!
Pleased to hear about DAFNE – some people find the principles of this, in terms of learning about carb counting and insulin ratios, is enough for them as well as it helps stay in control rather than diabetes running your life. When I got type 1 in 1979 it was all about set doses of insulin and then “feeding” the insulin with huge amounts of carbs…
I agree about watching and experiencing the changes for the better – I certainly grew up feeling alone with diabetes and that is what inevitably sent me on a journey to find a way to offer this to others
thanks again for sharing
Helen
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.