Disorganization and Type One Diabetes Burnout:  SMH (Shake My Head)

Being a teen isn’t easy and being a teen with type one diabetes is even harder.   Being a teen with juvenile diabetes and being disorganized makes it worse.

Are You Disorganized?

Are your diabetes supplies spread across three rooms?  When you open a cabinet with your supplies, do boxes of blood sugar test strips, lancets or broken glucose meters come pouring out? If this sounds like you, then read on!

Disorganization and Burnout

Disorganization can increase your likelihood of burnout.  Burnout is the feeling you get when you try your hardest, doing the same things over and over again to keep your type one diabetes in check and you feel as though you’re not getting anywhere.  You’re frustrated, annoyed and you stop taking care of yourself.   Lots of people with type one diabetes have gone through this.

Getting organized can help you feel as though you have more control over your life.

How do you beat back disorganization?

Beating back Type one Diabetes Disorganization:  Simplify

Simplify?

Easy to say, not so easy to do.  How do you simplify caring for your type one diabetes when there are so many steps and so much gear to deal with it?

Put tasks together

One way is to put tasks together.

For example:

·      Put your insulin, syringes and glucose meter together in the same place.

·      Take you blood sugar test every time you give yourself an injection.

·      Connect the time you inject your long acting insulin with a chore or task you already do every day

·      Before you leave the house, check that you have all your diabetes supplies with you

Set specific plans or goals

Another way is to have a specific plan or goal

For example, if you are having trouble remembering to take your blood sugar, instead of saying “I’ll be better about checking my blood sugar.”  Make a specific, easy to reach goal like:  “I’ll do a  blood sugar test before going out to the movies with friends and after I get home.”

Small, steps are much easier to take than giant steps.  Making small, achievable goals will really help to get you organized.

Ask for help

Again this is not an easy thing to do but it will take the pressure off you to get a little aid.  For example, maybe you could ask your parents to take your blood sugar reading in the morning when you wake up.

One item that can really help you out is an alarm.  This could be on your cell phone or your watch.  When you are busy with living, sometimes you can forget to take care of things like checking blood sugar levels.

Use your Dario Glucose Monitoring System

 

And don’t forget, the Dario glucose monitoring system for mobile phones can keep you on track:  reminding you to take your blood sugar readings, injections and alerting you if you are hypoglycemic.  It can help you figure out your carbs and the amount of insulin you need.  Since the meter and lancets and test strips are in one place, it can be so much easier to be organized.  Check your event chart for clues to help your blood sugar stay on track.

So don’t let yourself get burned out.  It’s tough being a pancreas but you are up to the challenge!