Hospital Trip

Hello there every one this week I am going to be talking about a trip to the hospital I had on Wednasday, and how I realised that if i didn't change I was putting my life in danger and they would take my pump away.

I know that I write on here that it is important to take control of your diabetes but I haven't been honest with you all, I haven't been looking after myself. I went three months without doing a single blood check, I relied on my pump to give me my insulin and i was overloading on sugar. I knew what it was doing to me and I knew that I was dangering myself but at the time I didn't care what was happening to me. It was only after my family rang the hospital that I realised what was happening.

I had slipped back into depression and nothing could get me out of it, I tried talking to a good friend of mine who was going through his own problems but still found time to talk to me and although that felt better it didn't change me or the way I was feeling, I constantly felt guilt because I couldn't tell the one person I care about the most how I was feeling because I didn't want to hurt him.

I had been telling myself that I had been doing my BM (blood sugars) but it got to the stage where I was fed up of seeing the high numbers and the only way to make them stop was stop doing them but I noticed that the reason why I was feeling this way was because I didn't know that my BMs were always high. It was my mum who first rang the hospital and they told her to tell me to text them when I was free to go see them.

I again left it for two weeks before I spoke to them but I finally decided to do it and I decided to go they made an appointment for me the day after and in honesty I was going to make an excuse not to go see them but I did. I sat in that room like a 6 year old girl about to get told off for the first time. I was scared. They looked at the results of my Blood monitor and all they said to me was "tell us whats been happening", I did and it was like a huge weight had been lifted and we sat and spoke about my options. they wanted to take my pump but it was too risky.

We decided that we were going to wait one month to see if I can get my self under control, the way they have helped me to do this is:

• They sent me to the dietitian who told me how the carbs in my food works and how to count them properly, I agreed with the dietitian to keep a food diary to see what foods I am eating and what we might be able to take out.
• They also told me that I had to forget what people may think about me doing my sugars in front of them, I need to do it, it's who I am and if they want to know what I am doing they can ask.#

The good news is that since I have seen them my sugars have come down which makes me feel really good, my moods have settled down and I feel better in myself. I feel like a new person with a second chance. More good news is that I have my videos sorted out so feel free to take a look, it is on the sugar content of certain drinks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DU0uDq4nz0 feel free to leave a comment for me.

If anyone is going through what I have been then feel free to email me at diabeticnichole@gmail.com I am all ears. Even if you don't have diabetes but is going through depression I am still all ears.

Periods

Hello everyone I know that this blog has been long time waiting, it is just that I have had a lot of technical difficulties but hopefully everything is up and running smoothly now and at the bottom of this post will be my facebook name so that you can talk to me that way and I can give you more updates that way and you can share some ideas that you want to know about if you wish to.

Now to get to business. Periods are most common to women but I would like the lads to read this as it would be good to hear what is going on with your partner. This is only something that comes along once a month but for some diabetics like me it can come around more frequently and can not be very pleasant.

These monthly events will affect your life as a diabetic as it will affect your sugars and will affect how you feel in yourself. From the diabetic side you sugar levels can either go one of two ways that need to be treated differently and they are as follows:

• If your sugars increase then you should increase your insulin by 20% after you meals, this will mean that you will be able to still eat normally and you will be able to reduce the sickness feeling significantly which might make it more bearable to have.
• If your sugars drop regularly then I would switch to a low sugar drink instead of your usual this means that your sugars may level out and you can carry on as normal.

If this fails to work after three days for either suggestions then I would consult your doctor as there might be something else going on. Also never keep what you are feeling inside you must talk to someone about what you are feeling as if you keep it bottled in then you are going to feel a lot worse even if you keep a period journal, anything is better then nothing.

In terms of the bleed its self, if you are unsure about what is normal and what it not but you must remember that the blood will always look like more when on a pad because of the gravitational pull but if you are really concerned then I would get in contact with someone as soon as possible because if you are bleeding a lot and that is what is causing your sugars to go out of control then it might be at your best health interest to go see someone about a contraceptive to use to slow the bleeding of to regulate it.

Please remember if you are thinking this is not right, then go see someone do not hesitate. Go see someone!

Next week I should have my videos connected so that you can see what happens when my blood sugars rise and what happens when my sugars are low. REMEMBER I AM DOING THIS IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT DO NOT DO IT FOR FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!

My facebook name in Nick Taylor it is a picture of me in a red t-shirt. I hope to hear from you soon.

Being Ill

There are different types of being ill, for example you could have a cold and feel really run down or you could have accidentally forgotten to take your long lasting insulin and your blood sugars have gone through the roof. In any case there are steps that you should not just panic and think "oh my god nothing is working"

The first step is knowing what is wrong with you, because sometimes they can be mistaken for something else. This has happened to me before when I was been violently sick and my sugars were very high. My mum took me to the hospital to get a. second opinion, they said that my insulin was not working properly so I needed to go on a "sliding scale" to bring me back down. About a week later the same thing happened, turns out it was an allergic reaction to something I was eating whilst at school.

That may have seemed like rambling but it wasn't I have a point and that is not to jump to conclusions about what is happening the best thing to do is keep a check on your blood sugars and keeping a note of them at all times, also it is best if you make a note of what your eating in case it is something you have eaten that does not agree with you. Then that. Way you are able to stay out of the hospital and keep a space open for someone who needs it. Please don't think that this is me telling you not to go to the hospital at all because it isn't, not at all, all I'm saying is think before you leap.

I hope that this post has been helpful, and I do apologise for it been a little short its just that at the moment I am currently completing my first terms of college and I have a lot of work to do, this will carry on for the next two or three weeks as this is when it will stop.

Next time I will be talking about something that will effect women most then men and that is when you are on your period. I would suggest that lads do read it as it will probably explain a lot about your diabetic girlfriend.

Happy New Year

This is just a quick post to remind you that I'm back next week to my usual dates of posting hopefully with the video blog underway as well.

so every one who reads my blog have a very Happy New Year and have fun tonight just be careful of your levels.

Merry Christmas

Seasons greeting to all of my viewers, its that time again when I produce a special for my Blog that anyone can read to have a better understanding of what to do. This time it's the holiday that everyone looks forward to and even though the grown ups say they don't you know they do. Yes it's christmas day!

Christmas has always been a fun time for me and my family, but the first thing we always had to think of growing up was my diabetes, for as far back as I can remember my mum has always tried to make a game of christmas morning even when I was very little. For example as diabetics have to eat frequently we all always had our breakfast before touching the presents under the tree, mum would always let us have something light though like weatabix which are full of the carbohydrates that you need to start the day but are also very quick to eat so the more time you can have opening your gifts.

When it comes to lunch time and you see that beautiful spread of food on the table or the mountain on your plate, you will probably be thinking “What do I give for that?” And the answer is simple, in this situation what I do is calculate enough for 6 units and give it in stages that way you are not committed to eating the whole thing and you will not end up making yourself sick and you will not end up ruining the rest of your day.

Now, when it comes to the night time (this is more for the adults) when you are having a drink be it wine or beer make sure you have some thing with carbohydrates in so that everything will balance out to give a less likely chance of your blood sugars going out of control and you can enjoy yourself more.

Lastly from me have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, my next post will be in 2 weeks as it is the holidays and my next post will be on something no one looks forward to and that is being ill and how to handel your blood sugar levels and how to have fun when you are really ill.

Hypo's

This post is about when you have a Hypo and the best way to cope with it in different situations.

For example, if you are out with you friends and you feel low and you have done your BM and you are low, even if you have told them about your self but you still feel uncomfortable with sorting your self out in front of them in case of what they might think,then the best way to deal with this scenario is to carry a sugared drink around with you that looks like something your friends might have. This way you would look just like them and hopefully no questions should arise but if they do then you should explain what is happening.

Another situation is when you are at school and if you are in year 11 then it is vital you stay in your class but the problem is that you are not allowed anything but water in lesson so what I would suggest is that in the morning or the night before depending on when you have more time is to mix some hot water with sugar in, with this though I would not put just a little bit in but about the same as what there is in a bottle of you normal sugared drink has in it that way you will not have the worry about over/under doing it and making things worse for your self.

I have noticed that in my Blog I only seem to address those of you who are in school of college, so this is a paragraph for my grown up viewers out there. If you are at work and you go Hypo and you do not have time for you to have a drink and let it take effect then I would suggest that you carry some Hypo stop with you it is a gel like substance that you can get from you local pharmacy or your local doctor, it works a lot quicker on adults. The reason why I have not suggested it for younger people is because as I was growing up it worked too much and would send me back up high again.

Although I have said these things to you I would just go for the first drink you find or the first dose of sugar you think of. It takes time for your body to get used to something new but I would defiantly do little tests to see which one works better for you because that is something I can not tell you.

You could even do the tests when you are not Hypo and see how long it takes, BUT please do it whilst someone is there with you who can also keep a check on you.

going out with friends

This post is about when you are out and about with friends and how it would be easier to handle and how to help you friends to understand a little better.

I have had two different experiences with going out with my own friends, one was a very bad because of the way I was treat and the other was ok but I just wish I explained it before it happened.

The first experience was when I was in a shopping centre with friends from my high school, we were looking around the shops and I did the wrong thing of not having anything to eat or drink, which was a bad idea as during walking around I went Hypo and they decided that because I was acting “stupid“ they left me and told me to handle it myself, I did tell them about myself and about what happens to me and that I will be fine after I have had the things I need.

The second experience was with my boyfriend it was ok but it took me to go Hypo and go my normal silly self for me to then explain what happens and tat I will be ok once I had some sugar of any kind and that it takes ten minutes to get into my system and bring me back up I will be ok. I decided that I would not tell him about what happens to me in case it put him off me and he got scared for me. After the event had happened he said that he was ok with it but he was thankful that I told him what happens.

As a result of both of these experiences I am now more aware of what I do and who I go out with shopping with and I am now very open with them about my Diabetes and told them that if they ever wanted to know anything they could just ask me and I would be happy to answer and I think that is the way it should be and if there is anything that you can not explain to them try to get your hands on some information about your Diabetes that you can give to them.

Finally I would like to apologise for my recent weeks of not writing on my blog, but I have been setting up a video blog, which will have videos of me doing thing to do with my diabetes this will start next Monday and will be a weekly event that will have the links on here to get to it or you can find it on Youtube.