[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

BlackEdelweiss

I am nearly 100% sure I had my flu jab this winter but I am now in the middle of my 2nd flu in 2 months. How can this be and is it really bad for me to have the flu? This is the worst one I have had in years and unfortunately I have the first of my final exams on Thursday morning and at this stage I can hardly stand up let alone read. I am typing this in a brief moment of clarity. My blood is also really high, 24.5, all I have eaten today is a bowl of special k and some chicken soup my wife made for dinner. I have been eating sugar free strepsils and the odd lemsip. My whole body is aching and injecting yourself into aching limbs is not plesant either. To make things even worse my wife has it aswell and 3 of the kids had it last week and they are still not all over it. "Week from hell" has taken on a whole new meaning.

sunbabe08

i got the flu jab last year in october, for one month afterwards i was sick with viral infection, got a cold and an ear infection and in january i was sick with flu like symptoms. never again am i getting the flu jab.


i'm currently weary of a former blister that burst at the start of the week, i went to the doctor with it, because it was poised. they gave me plenty of plasters to cover it up. and also medication. and i'm checking it every morning. at least the swelling and infection is coming down.

_AVALANCHE_

Flu Jab? That's what your immune system is for.

Also, what sort of preservative/extras is in them nowadays?

sunbabe08

i was told after i was diagnosed with diabetes it would be a great idea to get the flu jab. :rolleyes: i got it last year because i got bronchitis and pleurisy and collapsed lung, all from a allergic reaction to a new tablet for my blood pressure. so i thought it would be best to the flu job. bah

The_Conductor

sunbabe08 wrote: »

i was told after i was diagnosed with diabetes it would be a great idea to get the flu jab. :rolleyes: i got it last year because i got bronchitis and pleurisy and collapsed lung, all from a allergic reaction to a new tablet for my blood pressure.

The flu jab is an attenuated (non-live) version of a number of different flu virus that are out in the wild. If you've experienced bronchitis, pleurisy and collapsed lungs- imagine how you'd feel if you had the misfortune to get the real flu- as opposed to the flu jab. Its not unusual to get some side effects when you get the flu jab- but the side effects tend to be a whole lot less serious, particularly for immuno-compromised people, than would the effects of getting the live virus if encountered in the wild.

If you are experiencing issues such as pleurisy/collapsed lungs etc- perhaps you should sit down and have a discussion with your consultant on a different treatment regime?

Its dangerous to decide on the basis of one vaccination that you're not going to get it in future- and this is also something you need to discuss with your consultant. There are always going to be viruses out there in the wild- you are going to encounter them no-matter what so do- the implications of not having some residual protection or vaccination against them- particularly given your immuno-compromised state- could be very very serious. You *need* to discuss this with your consultant.

CathyMoran

I get the flu jab every year after getting a really bad flu the year before. Yes you can still get other flu as they do not protect you against all strains but at least you have a better chance. I have the flu at the moment by the way!

sunbabe08

smccarrick wrote: »

The flu jab is an attenuated (non-live) version of a number of different flu virus that are out in the wild. If you've experienced bronchitis, pleurisy and collapsed lungs- imagine how you'd feel if you had the misfortune to get the real flu- as opposed to the flu jab. Its not unusual to get some side effects when you get the flu jab- but the side effects tend to be a whole lot less serious, particularly for immuno-compromised people, than would the effects of getting the live virus if encountered in the wild.

If you are experiencing issues such as pleurisy/collapsed lungs etc- perhaps you should sit down and have a discussion with your consultant on a different treatment regime?

Its dangerous to decide on the basis of one vaccination that you're not going to get it in future- and this is also something you need to discuss with your consultant. There are always going to be viruses out there in the wild- you are going to encounter them no-matter what so do- the implications of not having some residual protection or vaccination against them- particularly given your immuno-compromised state- could be very very serious. You *need* to discuss this with your consultant.

experience issues of pleurisy/collapsed lung because i got a allergic reaction to a tablet. of course i'm gonna have to discuss it. i have no other choice but to discuss it with him.

Alanstrainor

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Should have my new pump in a 2 weeks or so. At long last!

Only got it by going directly to the HSE myself. After 8 months of nothing from Vincents private. I insisted they give me a number for someone in the HSE who deals with it. Got talking to the Appliance officer. Explained the situation, he said sorry and that i'd have a new pump in 2 weeks...no joke, no word of a lie. All it took was a 2 minute phone call to the right person.

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Well my insulin pump broke yesterday morning! And to make matters worse its out of warranty. Minimed are sending me a temporary pump to do me over for 3 months, bit after that I don't know what's going to happen. I've been on to my diabetic consultant so I'll just have to see what happens really.
This is my second pump that went belly up. I'm actually using my old one that's a bit dodgey at the minute. Here's hoping it holds up!

So guys, finally got my new pump on Friday, only took ten months...

Glad I have it all the same, slightly disappointed that it's an old model minimed pump and not the latest and greatest. But hey, what can I expect, they went for the cheapest option.

purplestar1986

Hi. Just wondering if anyone is on Metformin, having pains in their muscles, tingling and numbness in their hands and feet and been told they're lacking in vitamin b12? My partner was diagnosed with diabetes at the beginning of last July (they still don't know what type) and has been on Metformin since the beginning, aswell as Novorapid and Levemir and a triail of Vicotza that didn't go too well but has been in an awful amount of pain since the end of July and only recently we figured out it's because she's lacking in b12 - she's getting injections every 3 days to boost it back up.

Just wondering if anyone else has these pains aswell as lacking B12 while taking Metformin?

RobbingBandit

I have been going through some issues for the last year now and some time ago made the stupid decision to stop taking my meds. I am on diamicron, victoza, januvia and Coversyl Arginine 5mg.

I was with my GP on Tuesday who convinced me to start taking all again as when she tested my bloods it was 22.8 mmol/L and rose to 28.2 mmol/L. I have it back down to 12.5 today but am now concerned what type of damage I have done to myself.

Redmal

RobbingBandit wrote: »

I have been going through some issues for the last year now and some time ago made the stupid decision to stop taking my meds. I am on diamicron, victoza, januvia and Coversyl Arginine 5mg.

I was with my GP on Tuesday who convinced me to start taking all again as when she tested my bloods it was 22.8 mmol/L and rose to 28.2 mmol/L. I have it back down to 12.5 today but am now concerned what type of damage I have done to myself.

I go in and out of issues regarding my diabetes as well sometimes and find that I can feel really low when my blood sugar is high long term. This in turn can make me feel like hating the diabetic world and this whole cycle starts where I find it hard to get back into control again.

I'm sure you don't want or need a lecture about the long term implications of not taking your medication, you're probably all too aware of them. Just that you will genuinely feel better about yourself when things get back under control and any damage you may or may not have done to yourself can easily be checked out via your GP and diabetic clinic. Hopefully you have caught yourself in time and you will be ok. Congrats on making the decision to go back on your meds. Some people live for a very long time without realising they are diabetic so there may be hope for you!

Take the bull by the horns and get checked. No other way about it really!:)

CramCycle

RobbingBandit wrote: »

I have been going through some issues for the last year now and some time ago made the stupid decision to stop taking my meds. I am on diamicron, victoza, januvia and Coversyl Arginine 5mg.

Dropped the ball myself over the last 3 months due to other medical issues. Went in for a Gp check up due to loss of blood supply in two fingers randomly while out for a walk on a few occasions.

Huge diabetes issue, losing proper autonomic response to temperature changes, potential vascular damage. Got pushed off the list for the pump as I clearly was not committed

So long as I get myself back in order soon I should be fine but its amazing the damage done over a short period (although it was probably longer if I am honest). One week into my new kick start and its all going so well but I am so tired all the time, with the sudden amount of effort to keep myself in line.

For all my preaching on here, its amazing what a sh1t diabetic I am in real life. I am going to start posting up my sugars in my training logs so people can abuse me as an incentive.

tbh

CramCycle wrote: »

For all my preaching on here, its amazing what a sh1t diabetic I am in real life. I am going to start posting up my sugars in my training logs so people can abuse me as an incentive.

I think it's a good idea to have a sub-forum on boards for this. leave it with me. Dude - you're only human. If you're still alive, you're not a sh1t diabetic. We all go through it - don't be too hard on yourself.

CramCycle

tbh wrote: »

I think it's a good idea to have a sub-forum on boards for this. leave it with me.

I was going to put it in with my training log on the cycling forum (which I haven't filled in in about 2 or 3 months at this point).

cynder

My self and my daughter did the flora mini marathon, we raised 311 for the diabetic federation of ireland and completed the course in under 90 mins. We jogged the last 1k, it was great fun. She had no hypos but did take a couple of gulps of lucozade. Next year we plan on wearing a blue number rather than a yellow one .

robinph

grindelwald wrote: »

My self and my daughter did the flora mini marathon, we raised 311 for the diabetic federation of ireland and completed the course in under 90 mins. We jogged the last 1k, it was great fun. She had no hypos but did take a couple of gulps of lucozade. Next year we plan on wearing a blue number rather than a yellow one .

Well done. Great that she enjoyed it and wants to do more.



I was running the last two legs of the Cork Marathon relay yesterday and we finished in 8th place team. Couple of shots of me taken by another boardsie at the finish line here.

cynder

robinph wrote: »

Well done. Great that she enjoyed it and wants to do more.



I was running the last two legs of the Cork Marathon relay yesterday and we finished in 8th place team. Couple of shots of me taken by another boardsie at the finish line here.

Looks like the sun came out for the cork marathon too...

Great photos !

cynder

grindelwald wrote: »

My self and my daughter did the flora mini marathon, we raised 311 for the diabetic federation of ireland and completed the course in under 90 mins. We jogged the last 1k, it was great fun. She had no hypos but did take a couple of gulps of lucozade. Next year we plan on wearing a blue number rather than a yellow one .

Here is our photo before the mini marathon,

resident1

I'm seriously concerned about the lack of correct information and bad views some fellow diabetics have on this thread. Is there really a debate about who has it worse, T1 or T2?! Diabetes is bad full stop. It may be harder for many T2's as they have spent a lifetime eating the wrong stuff, becoming over weight and suddenly being told they have to completely change their diet. (to save their lives by the way) T1 are mostly but not all, diagnosed from a very early age and have had to live with the low sugars/high sugars,hospital visits and watching their diet for a lot longer that most T2's. Not to mention the constant checking of blood sugars and injections. However, we should be supporting each other as we all deal with this health issue in different ways, and a thread like this should be a way to see if anyone else is feeling the same way. I would suggest that people LISTEN and TAKE notes from their doctors/nurses and inform them selves with correct info first. Diabetes is our bodies enemy, find out how your enemy ticks!

CramCycle

resident1 wrote: »

I'm seriously concerned about the lack of correct information and bad views some fellow diabetics have on this thread.

Don't take this the wrong way but I think you should re read the thread.

Is there really a debate about who has it worse, T1 or T2?!

Nope

resident1

If you look back on past pages of this thread there is negative views. I'll go back myself and quote them. But you have to agree that there is a serious lack of understanding about the condition.

BlackEdelweiss

resident1 wrote: »

If you look back on past pages of this thread there is negative views. I'll go back myself and quote them. But you have to agree that there is a serious lack of understanding about the condition.

I think what you are reading as negative views was the conversation recently about whether to split the thread into type 1 and type 2 threads. People expressed their views which may have differed from those of other members but there was very little negative feeling. If you go back past that discussion on this thread you will be hard pushed to find a single negative word said on this thread.

resident1

It was still negative to write on the forum of spliting the two types.I have both types in my family and I want to see how people cope with both. You have to agree that there is huge ignorance out there from people with and without diabetes. ...

LegacyUser

I feel that type 1 and 2 have the same presentation but are different illnesses. What is right for me s type 1 is not right for a type 2. I would like to know someone's type as treatment etc is different.

BlackEdelweiss

Dont judge the whole thread based on one conversation. If you come on here often enough and ask a few questions regarding your or your families diabetes I guarantee you will find nothing but positive contributions from the members who post here regularly.
Anyway who cares about ignorance from people without diabetes, it has never bothered me what anybody knows about it. Why should they know anything about it, they dont have it. If they or any of their friends or family ever do get it they can come on here and find out all the facts about day to day living with this condition. There may be no ground breaking scientific discussions on here but the people who do post know all too well what it is like to live with diabetes every day of their life, and they are usually all too happy to share their experiences with anyone who wants to read about it.
I think you should go back 50 pages and start reading from there, you will get to know who the regular posters are, the occasional posters, the really helpful posters, the posters who show the humorous side of living with a disease and the parents and family members of diabetics.
More than anything I think this thread is a place for diabetics to vent their frustrations when their bloods are going haywire no matter what they do or do not do or for them to spread a bit of positivity when things are going well or they have achieved some goal or other.

The_Conductor

resident1 wrote: »

It was still negative to write on the forum of spliting the two types.I have both types in my family and I want to see how people cope with both. You have to agree that there is huge ignorance out there from people with and without diabetes. ...

Why is it negative for people to look at diabetes T1 and T2 as being different diseases? The symptoms may be similar in a lot of cases, but the manner in which they are dealt with the medical community- and indeed viewed by many sufferers couldn't be more different.

I'm not going to rehash old arguments here- sufficient to say there are discrete problems associated uniquely with T1s not experienced by T2s and vice versa.

For example-

Current study ongoing for T2 males in UCD on the sensitive topic of erectile dysfunction.
Current study ongoing for T1 females (jointly between UCD and a German university) on the topic of anorexia in T1 females.
Reorganisation of diabetic clinics in Irish maternity hospitals to cater for T1s separately from T2 and gestational diabetes.

etc. etc. etc.

The physical manifestation of diabetes as a disease- may be similar in nature- however the manner in which it affects different subsets of patients, is distinct in nature, and from a medical perspective is considered to be statistically significant, and is increasingly treated as such.

Its not negative to look at the different types of diabetes separately, while remaining under the diabetes umbrella- however you have to accept that they do affect people differently and are increasingly looked at separately.

From a public perspective- T2 diabetes is constantly in the media- a simple search in Google and you'll even find Dail debates and Oireachtas subcommittee minutes dedicated to T2 diabetes and its increasingly affect on Irish society (and projected future affects on the delivery of related services in the Irish Healthcare system). The media- and the public in general, have become very familiar with T2 diabetes- however the distinction is never made- and to most people they don't even realise that there is a type of diabetes other than T2 diabetes. T1 and some hybrid T1.5s etc simply don't feature. Its the same way the media have sold breast cancer to women as the largest cancer killer of women- and something that should get increased resources (statistically- lung cancer afflicts and kills far larger numbers of women- but its not reported as such and gets lost in the static).

Its all smoke and mirrors. I don't understand why its considered negative to look at T1 and T2 diabetes separately- or for T1s or T2s to discuss their experiences with one another- when its now acknowledged that there are both physical elements, along with emotional elements, broadly associated with T1s and not T2s and vice versa........??

calfmuscle

resident1 wrote: »

It was still negative to write on the forum of spliting the two types.I have both types in my family and I want to see how people cope with both. You have to agree that there is huge ignorance out there from people with and without diabetes. ...

Type one and type 2 are two separate conditions with two different etiology's, risk factors, prognosis and treatments regimes. There are some over laps in symptoms and complications. Suggesting the thread be separated to aid people s understanding of these differences is not negative. It stems from mass media misinformation and lack of representation within society. Every type one here will have stories of how people (hopefully with good intentions) have made comments about diabetes that confused with type two diabetes.
From my own experience - "your too skinny to have diabetes", "you cant eat that, my mum has diabetes so I know".

To disregard the opinions and feelings of people who actually live (and work) with these conditions as "negative" really is ignorant. A discussion was had and the group decided to leave the thread as it is. Perhaps you should do the same.

Out of curiosity do you have diabetes?

CathyMoran

calfmuscle wrote: »

Type one and type 2 are two separate conditions with two different etiology's, risk factors, prognosis and treatments regimes. There are some over laps in symptoms and complications. Suggesting the thread be separated to aid people s understanding of these differences is not negative. It stems from mass media misinformation and lack of representation within society. Every type one here will have stories of how people (hopefully with good intentions) have made comments about diabetes that confused with type two diabetes.
From my own experience - "your too skinny to have diabetes", "you cant eat that, my mum has diabetes so I know".

To disregard the opinions and feelings of people who actually live (and work) with these conditions as "negative" really is ignorant. A discussion was had and the group decided to leave the thread as it is. Perhaps you should do the same.

Out of curiosity do you have diabetes?

I have had people saying that I was too skinny to have it and that my weight could baloon by 14 lb so they were reluctant to do my wedding dress. I was diagnosed with type 1 when I was 10 and getting it as a child also had additional preasures. I did have issues with being underweight.

People have also said to me that I could not eat something - the ignorance of the differences in diet among the public are scary!

calfmuscle

CathyMoran wrote: »

I have had people saying that I was too skinny to have it and that my weight could baloon by 14 lb so they were reluctant to do my wedding dress. I was diagnosed with type 1 when I was 10 and getting it as a child also had additional preasures. I did have issues with being underweight.

People have also said to me that I could not eat something - the ignorance of the differences in diet among the public are scary!

Oh I heard that one before! It was in relation to my type 1 friend though. She was being fitted for a bridesmaid dress and the girls where worried that her weight could change "over night"!:pac:

CathyMoran

Also I had well meaning people saying that if I exercised enough I could get rid of it - I was 10 and my parents took me on 6 mile walks every day to "get rid of it" because of all of these well meaning people. I had the honeymoon period for a year which is not the same.

When I was diagnosed they used animal insulin which was allergic to and had to take large amounts of antihistamines. I also had to get insulin from a vial and use a syringe.

This was in the 80's!

Well meaning people have a lot to answer for and people should be educated that they are not the same.