# Hi :)



## antonia93 (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi, my names Antonia. I'm 17 years old and have had type 1 since April 2008. Came across your support group through the diabetes careline website. I can't help but notice how caring and supportive everybody on here seems to be  and i think that's exactly what i need!

To say i haven't come to terms with my diabetes doesn't even cover it. I try to push any thought of the diabetes completely away recently as it seems to have made me emotional, constantly. My control and testing hasn't been too good over the past 2 months and i'm dreading my check up with the consultant tomorrow as i know she won't be too happy with the results. 

I have an extremely supporting family and boyfriend, but as much as they care and sympathise, its not the same as they won't ever feel the same way i do about the diabetes. 

Just wondered if anybody had any tips on not feeling as down or emotional about the diabetes as i feel my control would get so much better if i could get myself motivated.


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## Northerner (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi Antonia, welcome to the forum  I was diagnosed a month after you! Part of the problem with diabetes is that if your control isn't great, then that will have an effect or your moods, so it's a bit of a vicious circle. Try to stick to your testing and hopefully you will be able to spot the patterns of when your levels go too high. It's a bit too late now, if your meeting is tomorrow, but in future this will be very helpful when you have your check up.

Try not to worry about tomorrow - you've already made a start on trying to improve things by coming here, and it can be a real help to just be able to chat with others people with diabetes. Don't be afraid to tell the consultant how you have been feeling - many people go through this from time to time and she should be supportive rather than telling you off!


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## antonia93 (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, I agree with the vicious circle. I kind of guessed that when my control wasn't good i wasn't feeling great, as when my control is good, everything else is better. I'm going to chat with my consultant and explain that yes my control hasn't been good but i am constantly trying to improve it. 

Thanks again for the advice!


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## Northerner (Jan 25, 2011)

You're welcome  Good luck for tomorrow - let us know how it goes! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, nothing is considered 'silly' here


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## Andy HB (Jan 25, 2011)

Welcome to the forum antonia. 

I hope it goes well for you tomorrow.

Andy


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## Freddie99 (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi Antonia,

Welcome to bedlam. As Northerner has already said you can't ask anything silly as there is nothing silly to ask. 
I've been type one for... Too long! No, fourteen years now and I'm twenty. If you want I could give you my MSN/Facebook details if you wanted to moan to someone (and I hate this phrase) of a similar age to yourself. 
I hope the consultant goes well,

All the best,

Tom


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## chrismbee (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi Antonia and big welcome to the forum - it's nice to see some young blood around here

I was diagnosed at the age of 18 (I'll let you do the maths!) and enjoyed very good control for the first 10 years, before it all started to slide.  Marriage, kids, houses, jobs etc. etc. meant that my diabetes took second (3rd, 4th, 5th?) place and I let it run on auto-pilot with the inevitable result that I started to develop some (thankfully) minor complications by the time I reached 40.  During that time, I used to blag my way through check ups, aided by the lack of any decent input or interest from the variety of doctors/consultants I saw.

I now wish that I'd taken more care in those intervening years, for my own sake.  So, please please don't make the same mistakes I made and try your best to keep on top of it - I promise you'll be grateful later on.  Despite what you may think now, 40 ain't old and you've still got a long time left, if you stay healthy.  Thing is, it's only the body that gets older; inside I'm still a teenager myself with as much zest for life as I ever had.

If I can offer any advice, it would be to never hide from the truth; if you're control is poor, don't ignore it - keep testing and do something about it.  Face up to the music, during your appt tomorrow.  You never know, it might not be half as bad as you were expecting.

Take care and let us all know how you get on.

Cheers,
Chris.


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## macast (Jan 25, 2011)

hi Antonia.... welcome to the forum.  I'm sure you will get a great deal of support here.... just as I have.  hope you enjoy the forum


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## Persil (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi Antonia! Welcome to the forum. This place has been a god-send for me. The people here are so supportive, so I hope you get all the help and advice you need. If you ever need a moan about anything, diabetes related or not, I'm more than happy to give you my email/facebook details. I was diagnosed when I was 17 (last march actually), so I kind of know how you're feeling 

Take care,

Vicki 
xxx


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## teapot8910 (Jan 25, 2011)

Welcome to the forum antonia!  x


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## Sheilagh1958 (Jan 25, 2011)

Welcome to the forum antonia


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## alisonz (Jan 25, 2011)

Welcome to the forum Antonia, you've already seen how friendly and supportive everyone is here, hope all goes well for you tomorrow hunny xx


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## shiv (Jan 26, 2011)

Hey Antonia, welcome to the forum. I'm Shiv, I've had type 1 for 20 years this year, I'm 22!

It's 100% normal to feel down and unmotivated sometimes. My best advice would be to get in touch with as many people with type 1 as possible - this forum is a great start  it really helps knowing there are other people out there going through the exact same thing as you.

Drop me a line if you'd like facebook etc details - I'm always happy to chat! Let us know how the appointment goes. There are loads of little tips we can all pass on to help you gain your motivation, so use us!


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi Antonia

Welcome from me too!

Yes finding a place like this, full of people who just instantly 'get it' is a great source of support.

Sounds like you've got a bit of a case of 'diabetes burnout' to me. Many of us have been there before you.

It might help folks around here give you some pointers about your diabetes, how you cope, any problems you have etc.

Are you on injections or do you pump?
Which insulin(s) do you use?
Have you been taught about carb counting (matching your insulin doses to different amounts of carbohydrate in meals)?
Any idea what your HbA1c is, or has been in the past?
Do you test your BGs much? Every day? Every few days? Before every meal?
Any particular times of the day/week/month when it all goes all over the place?
What's your favourite colour? (it's not ALL about diabetes ya know )

Good luck with your appointment
M


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## antonia93 (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi all, had my meeting with the consultant today ...
i had nothing to worry about all along.

As i'm on a pump they blue-toothed the readings onto the computer and it showed a graph saying my bloods were between 4 and 10 70% of the time which im pretty proud of 

Had my hba1c done today .. took her three attempts to get blood out as i have "deep veins", we got there in the end though. Shall post the results once i receive them.

Feeling a lot better emotionally, spoke to my consultant about this website saying how it had already helped just in one day but she was un aware there was such a website  

Anyways thanks for all the help and supportive comments everybody, its muchly appreciated! 

Antonia x


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 26, 2011)

Brilliant! Great news. Keep us posted on the A1c result


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## Steff (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi Antonia warm welcome to the forum form me...good that today went ok good luck with those hbA results.x


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## Northerner (Jan 26, 2011)

Great to hear that it all went well Antonia!


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## alisonz (Jan 26, 2011)

Glad it all turned out well for you Antonia, like you I too have deep veins my nurse uses a butterfly needle on me its so much better.


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## hectorzaza (Jan 26, 2011)

*friendly support*



antonia93 said:


> Hi, my names Antonia. I'm 17 years old and have had type 1 since April 2008. Came across your support group through the diabetes careline website. I can't help but notice how caring and supportive everybody on here seems to be  and i think that's exactly what i need!
> 
> To say i haven't come to terms with my diabetes doesn't even cover it. I try to push any thought of the diabetes completely away recently as it seems to have made me emotional, constantly. My control and testing hasn't been too good over the past 2 months and i'm dreading my check up with the consultant tomorrow as i know she won't be too happy with the results.
> 
> ...



Hi Antonia,as a total newbie i prob can't give you any actual advice but would like you to know you can always drop me a message and I'll always reply,i think it's great to pull 2gether and be friends xx


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## lizabetic (Jan 28, 2011)

Hey there! I was diagnosed around the same time as you ! I'm 19 now so I was just a year older than you! Guessing you was in the first year of GCSE's when diagnosed? Must of been difficult, mine was during exams but at least I didn't have to put up with being in school with it too often  I'm greatful I didn't have to ever put up with it whilst being in school. 

As for the emotional thing, i'm totally the same, most of the time I just get on with it. I certainly did in the first place! Then I had absolutely no choice. Now its more complicated since i'm not your ordinary diabetic ppft, and thats what gets me down much more now. I don't know if you've heard of tumblr? Its a blogging website, but recently i've found a lot of diabetics and its really supportive community and also even just to spill your thoughts, like writing a diary but more public. 

I'd be happy to help you out if you want to messsage me


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## donnarob (Jan 31, 2011)

Welcome Antonia, you will get bags of support here.  You've come to the right place. 

Try not to worry (easier said than done), hope your visit to the consultant was too bad? 

Donna


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