I'm at my 26 Yr. Hba1c 11.4 and I'm depressed. Can't take it. Please help me to overcome. Suggest a health plan.

[Manasa123]

Please suggest a health plan.

[MEJones]

Hi Manasa123

Sorry to hear you’re struggling. I’m in my 22nd year of type 1 diabetes and it doesn’t get any easier, no matter how much time elapses. Please know that whilst your HBA1c might not be what the Dr’s want to see, it’s ok to have a blip sometimes. Well done for wanting to change and try to turn things around.

Do you have type 1 or type 2? As making changes will differ depending on the type you are suffering from.

Firstly if it’s avaiable in your area, I would really suggest talking to your consultant/Diabetes team about having access to Diabetes counselling. You’re suffering from something called “Diabetes Burnout” you’re not alone so don’t feel like you are abnormal or shouldn’t be feeling the way you do, living for such a long time with a serious condition is HARD WORK! I may be biased but anyone who deals with Diabetes on a daily basis is a champion.

With an 11% HBA1c it roughly means you’re running in the high teens most of the time which is probably also adding to making you feel worse. Don’t worry as it is possible to reduce this, I went from 9.5% to 6.0% in about a year.

Do you already count your carbohydrate intake? If you don’t then this is the simplest and quickest way to try and get your bloods under control. It takes a little bit of trial and error to work out your carb to insulin ratio but it works out much better than just blindly guessing how much insulin to inject. You could try doing the low carb, high fat diet, just until your HBA1c comes down but I wouldn’t suggest this long term if you’re a type1 diabetic. The theory behind this diet is the idea that, the less carbs you eat the less insulin you need, therefore leading your blood glucose to remain steadier and not spike after eating carbs/sugars. If you’re type 2 this can be a way of life that people stay on forever.

The next thing you can do, if you don’t do it already is to write down your blood glucose levels after you test. This means you can go back and look to see where you were having highs & if there is a pattern emerging (e.g always over 12 when you wake up) if you can see a pattern you can try and adjust your insulin to try to combat this.

It’s laborious and boring + time consuming but the more you track, watch and follow your blood glucose readings the more control you will have as you will start to understand your body a little better, however we all know how stupidly unpredictable Diabetes can be so it will definitely throw you some curve balls.

More than the practical changes, please try to seek some help for the negative affect it’s having on your mental health, you will find getting back on track much less difficult if you aren’t being weighed down by the negative thoughts and diabetes depression.

Good luck x

[HOBIEONE]

Keep at it ! I am in my 52nd year of T1. I was talking to a bloke from near where I live in his 60thyr. All the best from me & a lot of others on the site.