Asking for help

It's not always easy to admit you need help. People who ask for help have in the past been seen as weak, or giving up. This really isn't the case. Despite the numerous campaigns to encourage people to open up, many people simply can not.

For me personally, realising I needed to ask for help came about 3 months ago. It can take time, but I truly believe that with the right support, you can feel better.

But of course, people can't know how to help, if they don't know that you need that help, in the first place.

People are very different in how they handle things that are thrown at them. Some people are quite comfortable in asking for help. They know who to turn to, they know how they're going to get that help, and they have a rigid plan of what they will do to overcome whatever it is they are facing.

Some people are very different. For example, some people decide that turning a blind eye is the best course of action. Sleeping for longer, avoiding social situations, heck even taking up extreme sports, so they don't have to think about their troubles!

Regardless of how easy it is to ask for help, the important thing is that the help is there when it is eventually needed. So from a diabetes point of view, giving access to local diabetes nurses, consultants and care teams, is a big 'must'. There are other sources of help too - websites, local groups, blogs and the diabetes online community (Twitter and Facebook especially).

To those who say asking for help is a sign of weakness, when was the last time you asked for help? Asking for help is showing strength. Asking for help is acknowledging there are issues that need to be addressed - be it physical, emotional or psychological. Those who ask for help should be given credit for doing so. Rather than shying away and allowing the problem to get worse.

People who have had diabetes for months or years may feel like they shouldn't have to ask for help. This isn't true. Diabetes isn't an easy condition to live with and sugar levels can change at whatever time in your life, for whatever reason. There is never a time that people can't ask for help with their diabetes, or anything, even.

When it comes to your health, there are two options - turn a blind eye and see what happens. Or ask for help from your local diabetes team, other people with diabetes, etc, and see how you can overcome this, together.

If you do want to talk to someone about your diabetes, feel free to drop a line to louisepeersupport@live.com .

The Diabetes Rollercoaster

I've probably heard the words 'diabetes' and 'rollercoaster' being used in the same sentence a hundred times, possibly more.Thinking about my own personal experience since I was diagnosed with diabetes, I'd probably agree with anyone who claimed diabetes was a rollercoaster. 

From the moment of diagnosis, adjusting to the body's requirements, right through to learning to live a 'normal' life, there is constantly a battle to beat the lows, and keep the high's going. Anyone who lives with diabetes deserves a medal, from this perspective. But why does diabetes come with the rollercoaster of feelings, as well?

Some days will be good days. Waking up with a decent blood sugar reading, being able to calculate the right medication. No high readings and no horrible hypos. What a great day these are.

But then some days will be bad days. For some reason or other, you might wake up with a high reading, or you might catch a mid-morning hypo. How inconvenient, I always think. Especially if you're stuck in a meeting and no end is in sight! Halfway through a meeting the other day, I was convinced I must have had a reading in the mid-teens - I was falling asleep, I felt grumpy and I couldn't concentrate. After the meeting finished, I checked my sugar levels and I was a perfect 7. Perhaps what I had felt were just the symptoms of an incredibly boring meeting, in that case!

There might be times when you can pinpoint why your meter tells you you're a certain level. You might have forgotten about that small glass of fruit juice at breakfast, or you may have not had the time to have a mid-morning snack. Remembering though, can bring you a solution.

However, what about the times that you can't work out why your sugar levels are particularly high or low? The lack of control may well leave you wanting to bang your head against the wall in frustration. It might make you want to rebel against your diabetes. 

Whatever it makes you feel, diabetes shouldn't make you feel like it is controlling you and your life. Sometimes, we could perhaps take our sugar level readings with a pinch of salt (not sugar), accept the reading and look at how to fix it. Of course, this is easier said than done.

Diabetes has no right to make you feel the way it sometimes makes us feel. So, once you've taken a correction dose, or had a hypo treatment, remind yourself how incredible you are for living with diabetes, and say hi to everyone else who is probably feeling the same way as you. You're not alone.

Feel free to drop a line if diabetes is getting you down. Bottling up how we feel can do more harm than good. 

Signing out, Louise

louisepeersupport@live.com 

The hassle of eating out

If you're anything like me, the suggestion that my friends and I go to a restaurant, to catch up, is often an event that I dread. I have two groups of friends; in one group there are fellow people with diabetes. In the other group, I am the only one with diabetes and no one else in the group has any experience of the condition. 

With the two groups, eating out is a very different experience. When I'm with my friends who have diabetes, we spend much of the evening discussing what we're going to eat, how many carbs are in our meals, what it'll do to our sugar levels, and how much insulin we're going to inject. A recent experience makes me laugh when I think back to it. The 3 of us always go to Nando's when we're together and we all generally order the same thing.

The last time we met, was no different. Having ordered our food, grabbed our drinks and picked up our cutlery, we all checked our blood sugar levels, so we could decide how much insulin we were each going to inject. My meter told me I was 6.8. Not bad, considering we were having a late lunch. My two friends simultaneously checked their levels. We must have looked a little odd, staring at our three meters. However, my two friends were also 6.8. What were the chances?! 

Even though our levels were the same, and we were eating very similar meals, we all injected different does of insulin. I need very little insulin, whereas one of my friends is particularly resistant to insulin, and so has to inject higher doses.

In comparison, eating out with my other friends, who don't have diabetes, is very different, and sometimes relatively more stressful. When I'm with my diabetes-friends, we tend to go to the same restaurant. If we do go to a new restaurant, we all have mobile apps, and are able to discuss the possible carb content of the meals. This way, we can all try to work out how much insulin we need to inject.

With my other friends, it is stressful and difficult for me, at times. No one likes to go to the same place every time, it's fun to discover new places. Before I was diagnosed with diabetes, and before I had IBS, I loved trying new foods. Unlike my sister who would probably stick to chicken nuggets and chips, if she could...

I have to admit, I do get anxious if I know I'm going out to eat with my friends, especially if I've never been there before. What am I going to eat that won't upset my stomach? What food can I eat that won't have masses of hidden sugars? Should I inject before my meal or after? What if we don't eat until late? So many things that my friends don't have to think about. It is sometimes frustrating that I'm the only one in my group who has to worry about these things.

To try to give myself a break, and try to enjoy my meal at a restaurant, I like to know where I'm going, beforehand. That way, I can look online at the restaurant's menu and try to weight out my options. I've also given the restaurant a call on occasion to see if they cater for gluten free. Luckily, most places do put their menus online, and this saves me a lot of time and worrying. Other things that I can do, include using my phone. Some restaurants have their own mobile apps, which contains their menu, and even some nutritional information. 

My favourite apps are for the Harvester, Nando's and Giraffe. I've even heard a rumour that Pizza Express and Dominoes also have useful apps. I'll certainly have to look into that...Another option is 'MyFitnessPal'. Although it is generally for tracking fitness and diet, it has a very comprehensive database of foods, both home made and restaurant brands. For each listing, full nutritional information is available. This has helped me out particularly when I've been to Indian restaurants. 

I'm not trying to make you all hungry from boasting about all these restaurants. Eating out when you have diabetes is always a challenge. It makes me nervous, it makes many other people nervous, too. However, that doesn't mean that we have to miss out. If you are worried about what you're going to be eat, you could look at the healthy options. These will generally be lower in fat, sugar and salt. You could also ask the restaurant staff for more information about specific meals. 

The greatest tip we can offer to people with diabetes, is to be prepared. Knowing what you're going to eat, takes away a major worry that many people have when eating out. Also making sure you know what your sugar levels are, will help you. If you are eating late, or the restaurant is busy, you may find your sugar levels drop. Having some quick-acting carbs (dextrose tablets, orange juice for example) will save you from a hypo in the restaurant.

If you do need any tips on the best foods to eat, what to avoid, or want to know if you're on the right line, when it comes to restaurant foods, please do feel free to comment, or drop a line at louisepeersupport@live.com. 

Where's your support network?

There are few things in this world that we can do entirely alone. As children, we needed help to learn to ride a bike, we needed someone to teach us learn to swim. Growing up, we needed the help of teachers and professors, to pass academic exams. We no doubt needed help in our first jobs, someone to guide us in the right direction. Someone to show us the ropes, and to point out where we went wrong.

Living with diabetes is no exception, yet many people often feel like they have to go through it alone. Maybe because they don't know anyone else who has the condition. Maybe because they feel like a 'burden' on their loved ones. Maybe they even feel guilty for having diabetes, and don't feel anyone else should have to put up with it, too.

This is very far from the truth, and very far from the expectations. Diabetes is a condition that doesn't yet have a cure. Until the day that we have a cure, we have to live with the condition. There are no 'holidays' from it, we cannot postpone the condition from ourselves. There is no escape.

There are no doubt times when we wish we could run from diabetes. Lock it in Room 101 and carry on as normal. Diabetes is the cause of so many cases of depression and anxiety, and of course, that could then have a knock-on effect with diabetes, itself.

When we feel like this, it is easy to want to lock away not just the diabetes, but lock ourselves away, from the rest of the world. To some people, this is a coping mechanism. They may need time to think. However, what about those who do this because they feel they have no one to help them get through this?

Diabetes UK has a number of branches when it comes to support networks. This is something they pride themselves on. and rightly so:

Careline: Dedicated helpline for people with diabetes, their parents, partners, friends, colleagues. The helpline is staffed by trained counsellors, who are there to answer ANY questions you have relating to diabetes. Very useful if you have a quick question, or if you need someone to just listen to you.

Local support groups: These have been running for many years, and give support to those with diabetes, on a much more local and personal level. Some groups focus on providing support, some look at ways to raise money for Diabetes UK. Many groups have guest speakers, covering a range of topics. Find your local group.

Diabetes Peer Support Volunteers: This is all about talking to someone who knows first hand what it's like to live with diabetes. They might not be healthcare professionals, but they CAN share their experiences, and help you to work out your issues.

There is a wealth of information out there, in the local community, and within the diabetes online community. As peer support volunteers, we really want to find a way to support YOU. Who do you talk to about your diabetes? Do you have someone you can talk to? Let us know, and let us listen to YOU. Because no matter what anyone thinks, it's all about YOU.

Food, Glorious Food

Chances are if you’re diabetic that at some stage someone has said to you “Should you be eating that?!” as you reach for a biscuit or some chocolate.  Food and diet in general is obviously one of the most important things to consider when you have diabetes and can cause difficulties for some people who are unsure about what to do for the best.

I remember the first few supermarket trips after I was diagnosed 12 years ago.  As a university student I was faced with the timeless battle of buying the “right” food on a budget.  I think that first trip took me an hour and a half as I poured over food labels, laboriously trying to find the “healthiest” food on each aisle.

In truth that was partly due to still being in a state of shock at being diagnosed, and partly due to not being fully informed about what choices I had regarding food, and how I could use my insulin to manage what I wanted to eat (to a certain extent anyway).

Whilst the picture above is a little tongue in cheek (what about cake with poison for example?), it’s not really far from the truth.  That said, it’s probably wise to make a little distinction between what you can eat and what you should eat.  Perhaps surprisingly the answers to these questions are not really much different whether you’re diabetic or not.

What you “should” eat which is basically a healthy balanced diet which is low in saturated fat and salt and high in fibre and contains lots of fruit and vegetables.  That’s basically what anyone should be eating, regardless of diabetes.  That’s not to say that a sweet or sugary treat is off limits of course, but they should be eaten in moderation rather than making up a part of your daily diet.

So what steps can do to make some improvements to your diet?

Eating a lot of foods that are high in saturated fat can increase your cholesterol which in turn increases your risk of heart disease which is something you obviously want to avoid.  Limiting your saturated fat intake and switching to lower fat spreads or using skimmed milk can help.  The NHS Live Well site has some good information on reducing your fat intake.

It’s also worth taking a look at the Eatwell Plate which gives a good guide on what proportion of your daily food intake should come from which food groups.  You might find that making a few small changes will give you some big benefits.

There are also other resources you can use when reviewing your diet.  Diabetes UK have a guideto healthy eating with diabetes which includes over 250 online recipes.  You can also make an appointment to talk to a dietician via your GP or Diabetes Centre at your local hospital.  They can offer a number of options for you depending on your circumstances.

Finally, you can always talk to other people with diabetes about their experiences, either via this blog, Twitter/Facebook or using one of your local groups.  It’s always good to be able to speak to other people in a similar situation to yourself as sharing tips and frustrations can often be a good way of finding out something new.

You can find us on Twitter at @AndyPeerSupport or @LouPeerSupport or search Facebook for “Diabetes Peer Support Sheffield” or “Essex Diabetes Peer Support”