psycological aspects of diabeties

[anni]

hi. my name is anni and, i am 19 years old. i have been diabetic for 16 years. i dont rember not being diabetic. and it dosent seem to affect my life too much.

 

what is it like to become diabetic after many years of, not being a diabetic. i see people who get it and then just die, because they lose the will to live, and dont take care of them selves. why is it so hard for some "normal" people to cope with his disease?

[Tony T]

YOU ASK: "why is it so hard for some "normal" people to cope with his disease?"

 

While there is a definitive test to determine if a person has diabetes, there is none at all to ascertain if a person is "normal."

 

I don't have diabetes but in my studies I have found that most people cope with the disease very nicely, particularly in the face of many modern treatment regimens that make doing so easier.

 

Because of the obesity epidemic which the USA has faced in the last ten years, adolescent and adult onset diabetes has greatly increased. Many of the cases are controlled well with medication, which can often be eliminated after weight loss.

 

I would say it would be far more difficult for me to cope with having to go to kidney dialysis three times a week for a few hours than making certain dietary adjustments and taking meds everyday for diabetes. But, then again, few people have ever considered me normal.

[quankanne]

it all just depends what you've been exposed to. Both my parents are diabetics, and I grew up knowing that there was a good chance that I'd be diagnosed diabetic as well (heredity, being Hispanic), so when I finally found out that I was, it was more of a sense of "it's taken you guys THIS long to figure it out?!!" Didn't lose my will to live, just trying to figure out how to go about this properly, because I've got living proof right before my eyes of what'll happen if I don't.

 

I think a lot of times, the length of the denial phase plays a big part in how you respond to a chronic illness like diabetes. It's one thing to get on the ball and start eating right, exercising and faithfully taking your medication, because you've decided that YOU are in charge of the disease, not it being in charge of your life. And it's another to just ignore the fact that you've got this disease and choose to go on living like you have because what does it matter in the end? Most of us fall somewhere in between, concerned about what's going on, but really hating to give up certain things, like a love for sweets, or kicking back when we should be taking up some form of exercise.

 

tony's got a good point about the being so sick that you need dialysis: that would be a very difficult thing to cope with, but many people don't connect the fact that a lifestyle change can help you prevent such a drastic treatment -- or at least put it off a good while. Usually by the time you're at that point, you realize that you could have avoided this if you just had --------- (fill in the blank).

 

again, I think it all comes down to denial, and the quicker you work through that stage, the easier it is to come to grips with the fact that you can be proactive about your diabetes.

[HokeyReligions]

My husband was diagnosed with diabetes just about a year ago. At first we both did quite well - we changed our diet and exercise, he had the first of several surgeries that will help regain some mobility and ability to exercise. His glucose dropped from 240 to 120.

 

Then the holidays hit. I baked and baked like everyone expects me too. People look forward to my cookies and fudge, mincemeat bars, etc. We said we wouldn't eat any of it, but I came home one day and found that my husband was pigging out on cookies. We both gained some weight, his sugar went back up to 180. We've been struggling ever since. We just can't seem to get back into the swing of eating better and exercising. He is very limited on what he can do, but in the summer we swim every single day for exercise.

 

It's not a matter of giving up, but of habit and of not wanting to change. Lack of disciplin. We know what will happen and it scares me, but we can't seem to get back into the routine. He has other health problem too, but I can understand that one of the phases people go through is to focus on what they are giving up, before they can get to focusing on what they are gaining.

[anni]

thank you. it never occured to me that eating or behavior may have been any different. or that the ajustment was any harder. i guess habits and lifestyles would all be factors as well. its like a light bulb.

[Kidd Seuss]

[color=darkred]Though I'm not a diabetic (yet) nor do I know any closely, this is my opinion. Caffeine and sugar are addictive. So when someone says you cant have any more, it goes into a withdrawal type state. Similar to detox for alcoholics. But its just like asking someone why they can't quit smoking or quit drinking, etc. Most of the time, I'm sure its probably the habit and the chemical/mental addiction.

 

Drew [/color]