How do you deal with Diabetes on a daily basis? is there a routine wihich you have to follow?

Question

I am a high school student doing a project on Diabetes. Part of the project consists of asking a few questions to people with Diabetes.

Answer 1

My eleven year old daughter has type 1 diabetes. She was diagnosed at the age of 8. She has been on the insulin pump for 2 1/2 years. Her daily routine starts with testing when she first awakens (about 6:30), followed by breakfast. She enters her blood glucose (BG) and the number of carbs she will eat into the pump and it calculates how much insulin she needs to cover these. At 10:00am she tests again to see if her number is good and either corrects (through the pump) or has a snack to elevate her BG if she is a little low.
She tests again at lunchtime (about 11:45) and repeats the process from breakfast. She tests a 4th time after school, (3:00ish) to see where her BG is. If she is participating in an after school sport she will need a snack to keep her BG up with the extra activity. At dinner time (roughly 6:00) she will repeat the testing and enter into the pump her BG and carbs. She tests for the 6th and last time (usually) at bedtime.
The pump holds insulin in a tube called a resevoir and delivers the insulin through a tube to a canula called an infusion set that is inserted under the skin of her abdomen area. The infusion set and resevoir need to be changed every 2-3 days and is done at home by me.
She sees her pediatric endocronoligist every 3 months for an HbA1c test, height/weight etc and to monitor how well she is managing her BG.
This is our typical daily routine. Which is subject to change at any time as her BG is affected by: an increase in physical activity, illness, stress, problem with the pump or set, etc etc

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I am a recently diagnosed diabetic and I have a friend that is an insulin dependent diabetic. In a sense, yes, there is a routine I follow and definately one he follows. My doctor put me on an 1800 cal diet, now fat, low carbs, low sugar. The diet says I need to eat breakfast, am snack, lunch, pm snack, dinner and night time snack. All of this in an attempt to regulate the bloodsugar level. I count calories, watch sugar and carb intake and so far have kept my A1C number down to way below where it needs to be. I can eat what I want, I just have to count it and be reasonable with portions and nutrition. Changed from white to wheat bread, things like that. You would be surprised sometimes at what a portion size is and if it fills you up. My body is getting used to eating like this. Secondly, my friend has to eat at certain times, where I am more flexible. He has to take shots before he eats and needs the food in his system to process the insulin. He is much more routine based than I am. I am a Type 2 diabetic and he is a Type 1. Therein lies the difference, with shots you have to follow a much stricter routine and often times one must eat the at more exact/same times of each day. This also helps to regulate the "overnight" blood sugar so when he and I get up in the morning we're ok as well.

Answer 4

Diabetes is stressful. As a diabetic patient, you have to think about what you eat, how much of a certain food you eat, and you are always worried about how the things that you eat will affect your blood sugar.

I have Type 2 Diabetes and this is where our bodies produce some insulin, but it is not enough to do the work that insulin is supposed to do, so therefore, we have to take oral medications or some diabetics with Type 2 have to take insulin injections.

Daily routine: Most Daibetics have a routine that they do follow. My routine is as follows:
7:00am fasting check
9:00am medication and breakfast
1:00pm check glucose level and if low enough eat lunch
2:00pm Picking children up from school
5:00pm check glucose and if low enough eat, take the pill
6:00-8:00pm watching tv, playing with the children, etc.
8:00---Bedtime
9:00---check glucose and if under 160 eat a snack.

So yes, we have a routine to follow.

Diabetics have to make sure that if they are on medication that they do not go longer than 5 hours without giving the body some type of food.
They say to snack, but in my case, if my sugar levels are low enough I will, but if they are too high, I will skip the snacks.

Answer 5

My boyfriend has type 2 diabetes.
He had to cut out sweets and junk food - he eats them every once in awhile and only a small serving. Of course eating healthy all around is going to help. He now also drinks 8-10 glasses of water a day.
He tests his blood sugar a few times a day.
He exercises daily also, even if its just walking for a half hour.
And also is on some diabetic medication that he may be on for the rest of his life - although i have heard of some people that eat really good and exercise every day who don't need the medication anymore.
He also takes really good care of his feet now since even the smallest cut on his foot can cause major infections - (which is easier for diabetics to get and it's harder for them to get rid off.) Making sure he gets the dead skin off of his feet and lotions them everyday. And he wears house shoes around since you never know what you're going to step on - like a tac or something.

Answer 6

I've had Type 1 for 8 years. I got a pump a year and a half after I was diagnosed and it made a world of difference for me. I check my blood sugar before and after every meal and anytime that I feel strangely. The pump allows me to have a much more flexible lifestyle than injections. I'm allowed to eat what I want, anytime I want. I can do whatever exercise I wish without worrying that my sugar will crash because of the temporary basal rate function. My blood sugar meter lets me chart my numbers on the computer which makes it easier to spot problem patterns.

Answer 7

I have type 2 diabetes and basically all I have to do is make sure I eat things that are low in sugar and low in fat, I have to take a tablet with each meal, and then I have to test my blood sugar level about 2 hours after each meal.

Answer 8

I find it's very easy to love God and His Son Jesus with all my heart. Sometimes it's hard to love myself and humanity. The difficult part to me envolves my sister. She has always been so sweet and loves God and Jesus and studying His word. She needs God more than ever now, but he is not responding. Or he might be and we don't know it. My sister has a problem, she falls and hurts herself, her muscles are week and she has fluid on her brain. She is only 64 but the doctor said she was 84 because her brain is shrinking. The doctors said she cannot live by herself and she has no one that can live with her. They put her in a nursing home and she is misurable. I feel guilty that I don't take her in but my daughter has 5 children 2 are twins that are 3 weeks old and she needs my help. Since my sister cannot be left alone, I could not leave her to help my daughter. I feel so sorry for my sister that I don't know what to do. She lives far away from me in another state. I have prayed and prayed that someone would come up with a solution so that she might live the few years she has left with dignity and happiness. The doctor told her she had at the most 5 years to live and probably not that long. I wish he had not have told her this. She loves God and studies her Bible daily. She said she didn't care what the doctor said, she will not die until God is ready for her. She has a good attitude except she hate the nursing home. I find it easy to love God under any circumstance. sometimes I get impatiant with Him because I want an answer right now., and yet he is telling me to wait. Probably because I'm not ready to receive his answer or his blessings. My happest times I have found is when I am doing for others. I don't need much to make me happy, but I enjoy giving to others and to God. I know God will make a way for my sister. God said "anything you ask in my name, will be given unto you." He also said "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossisble for you." Matthew 17:20 God just does not ask much out of us. All he wants us to do is love Him and if we love Him, we will obey Him. And yet we ask so much of Him and we want it right now. Something is missing here. It should be the other way around. God should expect more from us than we do of him. He has already given us food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, our bodies that are so wonderfully made by him, he gives us light, darkness, the different seasons, he put different kinds of love in our heart and I could go on and on about all he has given to us, BUT WE STILL WANT MORE!! What kind of people does that make us? Selfish, greedy, unappreciative, demandng and many other adjectives could be used to describ us. I am just thankful out God is good, kind, patient and loves us. Blessings

Answer 9

go to the American diabetes association website.