Is There Ever A Time?
Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 9:51AM It’s been almost 2 weeks and I already have another appointment with my Endo. This time is a quick follow up and then a refresher carb counting class.
As much as I think it might be a lot of review I am still looking forward to it. The way I see it is this, the only carb counting class I have ever had was with Medtronic which was in a hotel room one day before the pump introduction class. It was good but I remember being more excited by learning about the pump than I was to learn about carbs.
So now I see this new endo and he wants me back every two weeks until my numbers start to look a little more dialed in and he wants me to take this class. Already he is doing much more than any other endo I have ever seen has done so I figure I will just do it.
In a lot of ways I still feel like I have so much to learn. Here I am coming up on 20 years of a having this and I feel like such an infant. I know it is because of the many years of neglect and denial but you would think I would feel like I have some control. Some upper hand, but I don’t.
Maybe you can tell me. After years of paying attention and trying to get it right, do you feel more in control or like you know it all? There are some areas that I feel confident but most I am insecure. Maybe that is just the way it is with diabetes.
Maybe no one gets to feel completely done learning about it.
Reader Comments (14)
No way, G - I think the longer you have it, the more complacent you get! I'm on year 16 and I'm going in for an advanced carb counting class next week. I think it's good to brush up on these skills because it's so easy to go from carb counting to SWAGing. "Oh, this is what I usually do for pizza or a sandwich or whatever" - that's not carb counting, and it's important to remember there is actually a process!
I agree with you on the learning, though - we're never completely done learning about it. (Which reminds me that I really should finish reading Pumping Insulin. Sigh.)
Ok... coming out of lurkdom to comment......
I never feel like I know it all. I'm constantly searching for that one thing (or things) that will help just put it all in place. I realize that will never happen, as it's not as exact of a science as we'd like to believe it is (especially when stress gets involved, etc), but I like to fool myself into thinking it. :)
Refresher courses are always a good idea every so often. No one ever retains everything from a course. Things do change. There may be new tools, new ways of doing things, easier ways of doing things, etc. But more importantly, if you're in a group setting, you have others to share your experiences with... or to share ideas with. Maybe they have suggestions on certain things, or a certain take on how to do something that might help, or vice versa.
I don't think anyone can ever learn everything when it comes to this disease, as in some ways it's a personal one. It reacts differently to you, than to me, than to someone else (in some degree). To add to that, all the technology and so forth that has advanced in just the 30+ years I've been alive - I think it would be hard to stay on top of it all.
Hope that helps some and just doesn't add to the confusion!
Honestly, I don't think there is a time
I never feel like I know it all when it comes to my D-Management, and only rarely do I feel in "control" - think you're right that it's likely one of the ways diabetes works. We all need reviews and brush-ups on even the most simple of items. But sometimes, I do feel more informed and on top of things when put in rooms with others such as Type 2s or CDEs who seem to push the textbook answers and sterilized D-Life onto me. Went through a carb counting course refresher about five years ago (this was after 20 years of being Type 1) and my wife (actually, right before we got married but five years into our relationship) and we were the most knowledgeable in the room of aobut 15. Mostly, how to read a food label and why insulin or meds interact the way they do with food. Was a good refresher personally on some aspects, but much it wasn't. I tried to share some practicalities and experience, but most didn't believe it because it wasn't what the ADA book from the 1970s said. I'd like to go through a Type 1-focused refresher in a group setting. Good luck on your end, George!
I've had this for 4 years, and only paid attention to it one year after dx and then started again a few months ago. :( I feel the same way as you! I hope someday I'll get a handle on it. I always feel like I'm learning something new and there is a ton of stuff I don't even know about!
You know what they say? The more you know you don't know the more you know, or something like that? It's all about the known unknowns and bluetooth headsets...
Seriously, every day I learn something new I think. I'm so happy for you finding this new endo - it's going to be so helpful for you over the long haul.
I remember having such tight control when I was first diagnosed. For three or four years I was awesome. I was on top, but now i'm like going backwards into the slacker arena. I thinkt hat with time you just get tired, a little more sloppy. I think refresher courses would be helpful to get you back in that...this IS serious mode. I NEED to start taking this seriously again.
I feel like I am confident but I know it can all change in a heart beat. And I definitely know I don't know it all. The DOC has been awesome for me in this respect and for my kids. I get to share wtih them what I learn so they learn too.
Too bad there wasn't a DOC around when you were younger.
congrats on the new endo.
i have to say i dont know any more than i did 38 yrs ago!!lol
because once something is dropped it is replaced with something else!its all good though. if it was just a 16 page book with everything there is know i would know it by now.
Yes, the longer I go the better I get. Almost 40 years. But you are right that if you have had T1 for any amount of time the Endo will assume what you know or don't and not ask. I had an Endo who assumed I knew more than I did and thus assumed the reason I did not do things was out of choice and not because I did not have the knowledge. Of course I did not know what I did not know till I started research. Burn out is easy but I feel so much better with tight control that I just do not dwell on that part of the disease. The tightest of control take less time and less away from your day to day life than lack of control so the trade off is worth it. Good luck and try and just focus on one change at a time for a few months, then another and so on. Carb counting is easy. Get a scale, they are cheap and fancy and read packages. I also do refresher courses, most is repeat but sometimes I learn something new. Good luck.
In the words of Biggie:
Mo knowledge...... Mo Problems
OK I know it's mo Money, but I'm guessing it works the same way!
My 7-year-old daughter was dx almost two years ago. For carb counting, it may sound nerdy, but the Salter scale made carb counting unbelievably easy and accurate. It sits on our kitchen counter, we throw a bowl on the scale, fill it with anything, it gives the exact carb count. I even carry it in a backpack for eating out. Over time, using it has trained me for carbs when I have to guess. Just a suggestion. Thanks for your awesome blog and presence in this community. I hand it to you. You inspire so many people and give parents like me good perspective on the long road.
I've volunteeered to do some studies at the International Diabetes Center and have found them to be a valuable resource for learning new things. I've also been reminded of plenty of things that I'd long forgotten. I subscribe to a magazine or two just to stay sharp on what's happening in the D-world. I guess I'm a pretty visual person and need to see things in black and white (okay, color, too) to really retain things. Must be why I love to read the blogs.
All this to say: since doing the study, my A1C is 6.9 and it's NEVER been below 7 before. I'm so pleased about that!!
It's good to keep learning news things and a review of the old things isn't a bad idea either,
I was diagnosed in 1945, when I was 6. I do not remember what my life was like before diagnosis, so it all seems like a very normal existence to me. I cannot comare with how it was before being a diabetic. In my opinion, it is good that I was diagnised when I was so young. Tight control and a sense of humor about it all have helped me to have no complications after 64 years of type 1. I have joined 12 online diabetes support groups and I spend several hours each day giving support and advice. That is my present day calling, during my retirement. My success has inspired many people and some have asked me to publish my story. My book was published in March, this year. If you are interested, go to amazon.com and type "Beating The Odds 64" in the box at the top of the page. The complete subtitle is "64 Years Of Diabetes Health".