I'm Sonja, the founder of Zuckerschmuck, and based on my 37 years with type 1 diabetes, I've been thinking about mental health and motivation in diabetes. True to my motto, "If someone gives you a lemon, ask for salt and tequila." Alternatively, you can, of course, make lemonade with the lemon:
- The most important point is that diabetes is just a part of you. Yes, it requires attention, but don't let it completely control your life. My tip: take care of it, do what needs to be done, calculate your food intake and administer insulin, but then let it go for a while and don't focus on your appendage 24 hours a day. Of course, there are always moments when attention MUST be paid, for example, during hypos, but after that, let your life go on and focus your attention on the things you would most enjoy doing even without diabetes.
- Technology such as sensors and pumps can make your life much easier. At first it is often difficult to get used to all the technical devices. Who wants to have plastic parts permanently stuck to their body or needles sticking into their body? I personally resisted an insulin pump for a long time and simply didn't want the thing. Now I can say: it makes everyday life so much easier, especially since the hybrid closed loop systems such as Mylife CamAPS FX with Ypsopump and Dexcom. So my tip: even if you are not keen on this technology at first, find out what it can do and maybe give it a try. CGM sensors such as Freestyle Libre, Dexcom or Medtronic Enlite Guardian can make everyday life SO much easier. You don't have to constantly think about your blood sugar level, but are automatically warned when something is wrong. It's also a blessing for restful nights.
- Establish routines , experiment with what works best in a particular situation (e.g., sports, a party), and then repeat these patterns. It sounds boring, but it gives you a lot of freedom and makes your life easier when you're not interrupted by annoying hypos. For example: if I know I want to exercise, I either eat an hour beforehand and then give half the bolus so that I can get through the exercise as uninterrupted as possible, or I try not to give a bolus for 2-3 hours so that I start with a low basal rate. Then I only need a few additional carbohydrates for exercise and don't get hypos as quickly.
- Make your diabetes beautiful It sounds superficial, but experience shows that our human psyche can be tricked by some superficialities. It's not just children who find changing the sensor suddenly a bit "fun" (okay, or at least not as annoying) when they can choose a new sticker at the same time. It works surprisingly similarly for adults: if I'm wearing a certain outfit and the sensor is visible, I like to match the tape and sticker to the outfit. And suddenly I can proudly show off my sensor, which I previously preferred to keep hidden. It was with this idea in mind that I founded the first diabetes sticker shop in Germany to help myself and others. At zuckerschmuck.com you can find everything that I personally would have liked to have had as a child to help me cope better with my diabetes ?
- Make your diabetes delicious By that I mean: have tasty and quick hypo-helpers with you that you like. As a child I only had glucose tablets, the same one over and over again with no taste. I hated it! That's why you can find all sorts of delicious variations at Zuckerschmuck: liquid glucose tablets , ideal for on the go and when you're exercising. The advantage is that you can easily dose them so you don't get too little or too much (dangerous with gummy bears because of hypo cravings...). Brand new and my personal favorite: Dextro Energy Gums . You can order them as sample sachets here ; each sample sachet has exactly 10g of carbohydrates, again a perfect single dose with no risk of you not being able to stop snacking because of the delicious taste. As well as hypos I can also recommend low-carb sweets . These allow you to snack a little more without having to take a second bolus. The low-carb gummy bears, chocolates, and cookies have so few carbs that they barely make a difference in terms of blood sugar. For low-carb chocolate fans, we'll give you a free bar of milk chocolate with your order for orders over €35. If you're not a fan of sweets, you can indulge in our low-carb spaghetti without requiring much insulin. Ideal for type 2 diabetics, but also for type 1 diabetics who find a low-carb diet easier in everyday life. Click here for the review of Shileo Lower Carb Spaghetti.
- Find like-minded people and motivation. In recent years, the diabetes community has grown enormously and is so easily accessible through social media that you can become a part of it more easily than ever before, even far away from big cities where there are no support groups. Look for #diabetes on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and you'll find great people and motivation. The realization: I'm not alone and there are so many fantastic people with diabetes who have even found something positive in diabetes. Yes, it's hard to believe, but many are starting to blog "thanks" to diabetes, going public, becoming brave, exercising more, and living a healthier life. What does your diabetes inspire you to do, what do you perhaps even have to thank it for? I admit, this step took me almost 20 years personally, but there was no social media diabetes community in the 80s and 90s either, so I'm passing on this tip to you: don't miss out on the motivation offered by the diabetes community!
- Avoid people and medical staff who bring you down with inappropriate advice and comments (!) I recently came into contact with this topic on Instagram and I was pleased that there were so many comments that shared my opinion: there are so many people, preferably from the medical sector, who think they can interfere in your diabetes treatment, give good advice even though they are not experts and become so unpleasantly intrusive that you end up in a bad mood. Example: I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 7, and in the years that followed, my dentist asked me about my HbA1c at EVERY check-up, and during puberty, if I didn't meet the target range, he reprimanded me with the "well-intentioned" comment that good diabetes control is so important for your teeth and that you could get periodontal disease and who knows what else. I got annoyed every time, but as a teenager I didn't say anything. By the way, after 37 years with type 1 diabetes, my teeth are still perfect, and I have NO periodontitis. Maybe I was just lucky, but in any case, the comments were VERY bothersome to me, and I've come to the conclusion that if I see a doctor about something completely unrelated to diabetes, and they attribute every physical symptom to diabetes or repeatedly refer to the topic of diabetes , I'll immediately change doctors, or if that's not possible, just ignore them. There are actually sometimes aches and pains that have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with diabetes.
- Be proud of yourself. Diabetes is a permanent condition; vacations and time off aren't possible. So just be proud of yourself for managing to tackle this challenge. Even if there are phases that aren't easy, where the target ranges are far from reality and your HbA1c isn't what you'd like it to be.
- Make life with diabetes as comfortable as possible Do you find it annoying to lug your CGM reader and insulin pump around with you? Find the most comfortable way for you. At Zuckerschmuck we have developed a variety of options based on our life experience: comfortable, elastic belly band with 3 integrated pockets - this fits everything you need on the go, from pump to reader to glucose tablets. Don't like the belly band? Perhaps you find it more comfortable to put the pump in your trouser pocket or in one of our small, very discreet pump bags with a clip or band . And you can put the reader or blood glucose meters in a pretty belly bag , accessory or shoulder bag or, if you need to take more with you when traveling with diabetes, a travel bag specially designed for diabetics . We have specially great bags in our range for children with diabetes, so that it is fun to always have diabetes accessories with you: bags for diabetes kids .
I would be delighted if one or two of these tips could help you develop a more relaxed approach to diabetes. Yours, Sonja from Zuckerschmuck
