Sunday, March 11, 2007

In thinking about this I originally wanted to know if any parents or caregivers of Type 1 Diabetics felt burnout, but I'm going to open it to anyone with Type 1 Diabetes also. How did you pull yourself out of that feeling of I am so tired of the day in day out, testing blood sugar, either giving injections, or changing inserts for insulin pumps? I'm wondering if I am the only one who feels like this. As good as things are with the pump, Diabetes is still frustrating, and still emotionally draining me. Josh is so strong, and he doesn't give me too hard of a time,but he's starting to show signs of burnout.
He has a Dr.s Appt. on Weds, we'll see how that goes. I can see by his numbers that the Dr. is more than likely going to raise his basal rate of .02. On no carbs from 12pm-8pm, around 6pm he jumped from 135 to 265 and by 8pm he was 277. Just now after 22carbs and 3units later, at 11pm he was 182. I'll start the second part of his no carb test to see if his basal rate needs to be changed from 12am-8am, and then the final test on Tues. from 8am-12pm and then 8pm-12am. Instead of carbs, Josh eats hardboiled eggs, bacon, hamburger patties, and he loves tuna.If his basal rate is set right, with no carbs his numbers would be consistent through the 24hr test, which the Dr. told me it was OK to break it up. I find it interesting to see how with no carbs the numbers don't change.
I'll post more results from his basal test tomorrow.

6 comments:

George said...

I go through patterns where I get burned out and then I get motivated. I think it is a natural process so don't beat yourself up too much. We all want a break. We all deserve one! Unfortunatly we don't get one. :(

It helps me to read blogs and read about people who struggle with the "D". Not being alone makes it easier to deal with IMO.

Penny Ratzlaff said...

I think I'm going through a bit of burn out right now. I had a crying spell two time last week. And, it's been a long time since I cried about this disease.

It just the never-ending 24/7 part that gets to me. That, and the fact that no matter how hard you try or what you do, you don't always get the numbers you want.

How do I handle it? Mainly, prayer and blogging. Prayer gives me peace to get through the day. And, blogging helps me get the emotions out so that I can move on.

Charla said...

I am a type-1 diabetic and I struggle with burnout. I think it's natural to do so - we're only human and living with diabetes is a GRIND. It really is. I try to remember that while I'd love perfect control, what I really need is good enough control.

But there are days when I look at my husband and envy his pancreas. ;-)

Jim F said...

Although I can not speak for type 1’s because I am a type 2, I think that anyone who has this disease, be it type 1 or type 2, or anyone that cares for someone with this disease at some point gets tired of it. It is a disease that requires constant vigilance. One must always be on his or her game. Constantly monitoring, constantly adjusting. It is a way of life that was not requested. A way of life that is not wanted and a way of life that at times can really suck.

Kris said...

I definitely go through periods of burnout. It gets tiring doing the midnight and 3 a.m. checks and the numerous checks during the day. Your child not having good numbers even though you know you counted every carb they ate is frustrating. This is something that requires so much of our attention, it's hard not to get tired of it. Just know that your feelings are normal and you aren't alone. This is hard, but somehow we get through it. :o)

Shannon said...

Hi,

I saw your comment on George's site and decided to stop by :)

I've felt burnout and knowing that I couldn't take a break was disconcerting. So, I basically decided to stop thinking about it and just do it. I broke it all down and looked at the fact that testing doesn't take much time out of the day (each time it's done), dosing doesn't take much time, etc.. I realized that it wasn't the action of managing diabetes, it was the all consuming thinking I was doing about it all that was draining me.

So now I try to live in the moment and just think about what I'm doing at the time rather than thinking of the enormity of it all.

I don't know if what I'm writing makes sense.....lol.