This week I’ll be participating in D Blog week.
Today’s topic:
What Brings Me Down: May is Mental Health Month so now seems like a great time to explore the emotional side of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes. What things can make dealing with diabetes an emotional issue for you and / or your loved one, and how do you cope?
Since we are only 3 weeks in, there isn’t a lot I can add to the mix except to say that I am just sad a lot of the time if i really stop and think about it. I am mostly a positive person and try to take things one day/step at a time. I try to rely on my faith in Jesus also to know he will be with us and bring us through. However, I can be an extreme worrier too. I can easily let my innermost thoughts go to the most extreme and worst possible scenario. I rarely share these thoughts with anyone so no one really associates that with me, so that’s good I guess.
One thing with this new diagnosis is that you have to think of the day-to-day stuff but we haven’t talked much about the long-term, potential issues. I have read a few things but it’s really hard to know how much we should worry about them right now since we are just starting to get the hang of things. My daughter has never been below 100, so we have no idea yet what the lows are like. That really scares me because right now I feel so scared of that unknown.
The other thing that gets to my daughter is that they are constantly changing her dosage to lower her levels a little at a time. Every time they increase her dosage she gets upset. I keep telling her it’s nothing she’s doing wrong. Yesterday was our first follow-up with the doctor and he told her the same thing and explained more why the changes are occurring. I think that helped her to hear it from him too.
I do think she is a strong, brave girl but I am worried that she will be prone to anxiety and depression. She was starting to be depressed before diagnosis. I think right now the knowing helps. However she likes to be in control and I don’t think that she will like the fluctuations that come with Type 1.
Right now, I am just telling her that I am in it with her and supporting her. We just have to keep doing the best we can and keep praying.
mygirlblogs 
Hang in there! Diabetes is a really hard disease for people who like to be in control but your daughter (and you) will learn to find a balance that works for you. It takes a long time to get any comfort level at all and there will always be unknowns but you can absolutely do this (and check out You Can Do This Project videos http://youcandothisproject.com/)
I know they probably gave you a clinical explanation of what a low feels like but…
I don’t know if you drink, but a low blood sugar feels a little like being drunk or tipsy. You think you are making sense when you are talking but sometimes you aren’t. You may think your reflexes are fine but you look like you are walking crooked or you are just really slow. Everything makes sense in your brain, but it is really hard to get it out. If your daughter gets super emotional or just acts out of sorts, I’d say the first thing I’d do now is check her sugar. She could be just “being a kid” but it could be a blood sugar issue.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, that helps. She actually had a couple lows after I posted that.