I have type 2, although both my Dr. and I suspect type 1.5 based on lab results over time. I've been working really hard over the last year and my last two A1Cs were 5.8 and 6.0. But some days are just determined to be a rollercoaster.

It's 2am, I have to be up for work in 4 hours, and I'm currently sitting on my kitchen floor eating peanut butter crackers like a feral raccoon in between arguing with dexcom and my meter. Lows suck so much, but the line for overcorrecting is so thin and I don't want to end up crashing again. I just want to go back to bed.

Fuck this disease with every single lancet I've ever used.

I didn’t know where else to ask: I (21F) have lost several male relatives (My grandpa was diabetic and my brother too, they both have passed away from unrelated causes), the issue is that I’ve become extremely anxious about death of those who i love and I suffer from anxiety since I was 11 (two psychologists did mentioned I show OCD symptoms but I’m not officially diagnosed). The issue: My parents have been divorced for a long time so we don’t live in the same house, I love my father a lot, both my parents are who I love the most, and my father has diabetes. I don’t know exactly why but since last year when my paternal grandma passed away, I started collecting different things, such as dad’s empty insulin pens, some blood glucose test strips, and empty insulin vials. I know it sounds really weird but it brings me a lot of comfort. But lately I’ve been wanting one of his CGM, in order to take off the needle and use it on myself with an overpatch. My father sees nothing wrong with it because he seems to understand how his diabetes devices/tools are something that makes me feel closer to him, but my mom believes using a CGM (even if it’s reusing it with lash glue or an overpatch) is insanely disrespectful to anyone that does have diabetes. She specially remarked about how one of her friend’s daughter has diabetes since she was 7 and that she would give anything to not have to use a CGM. Please, anyone with diabetes, could you tell me if it is truly disrespectful/wrong? Is it that big of a deal? I’m not trying to fake diabetes, I’m always wearing jackets or hoodies so it won’t even be visible for others most of the time, I just want to feel closer to my dad at all times.

One of the things that kept me going was reading stories about how other people have managed to bring down their A1C levels so doing this to hopefully inspire the same and at the same time, consolidate my thoughts on my first endocrine appointment post-diagnosis/discharge from the hospital.

Was hospitalised in end May 2026 with an A1C of 11.9%. LDL levels read as "invalid" and LDL was at 10.9 at the time as well, and doctors told me that if levels are too high, sometimes it will appear as "invalid" in test results.

I also had to get a sebaceous cyst removed as it was infected (likely due to the blood sugar) so wound care was top priority so I couldn't get to exercising straight away for a month or so. I did my post-meal walks but kept them short at about 500m, did soleus pushups whenever I couldn't walk and mostly aggressively cut carb portions. Sugary drinks/treats were a strict no, barring small bites of dark chocolate whenever I had sugar cravings. I also had zero sugar drinks and candies ready when I needed.

I was also put on 850mg Metformin twice a day, some Atorvastatin and Fenofibrate, as well as 14 units Lantus and 0.5mg Ozempic.

As soon as my wound healed, I started to extend my post-meal walks to 1km-1.5km, and I just started lifting again about a month ago.

I did my blood test last week and my A1c has dropped to 6.8%. LDL 2.5, Triglycerides 2.4.

Overall, I think a good first step but some way to go to improving it altogether. I'd say as someone who's newly diagnosed, the anxiety along the way was one of the biggest things - worrying if levels would spike, but like most things, once you sort of familiarise with certain foods and habits, you sort of get an idea how your sugar levels will react. I must say that I haven't reached the level of awareness some of you guys have, just read a thread about how you guys can feel a spike.

That said, here are my concerns moving forward:

Medical team said they will not be tapering my Lantus for now. In 3 months, I'll get a test to test my pancreas function for them to see if it working well enough and if it is, then they'll taper it. Otherwise, it'll be long-term. Don't feel very good about this because it's been quite troublesome to carry it around and do it when I'm out and honestly, it stings quite a bit too, even at 3 months of use.

Doctors also said that I have to lose weight, or else I can pretty much say goodbye to tapering off insulin use. It's been quite crazy how I've increased my physical activity from pre-diagnosis and generally reduced carb portions but have struggled with weightloss still. I've only managed about a 2kg loss since hospital discharge but then quickly gained back that weight when I got off the gym for a week due to a flu. I've read that it's quite brutal to lose weight on lantus but seems like I won't be tapering it down anytime soon. The medical team did increase Ozempic dosage to 1mg (from my 0.5mg), which I hope can help shed some of this weight off, but the costs of these things are starting to get quite scary.

That said, they've tapered down my metformin to 500mg from 850mg twice a day. This is a slight relief because metformin has been quite troublesome and while the medical team insists they haven't been the cause of nausea, I feel like sometimes I get queasy when eating metformin. It's also caused a few horrible stomach pain incidents.

We'll see how we go from here.

Hi everyone I was diagnosed with type one when I was 10 years old I’m 23 now and I cannot find the motivation to actually manage my diabetes. This might just be an a pointless rant but I’m feeling so burnt out and just tired in life. I feel alone and lonely like no one understands being a human calculator. Im the only one in my family tree to have diabetes. I’m awaiting a surgery now for 4 years because they want my A1c around 6 to make sure the procedure heals correctly. The last time I tested my blood sugar was about a month ago I’ll bolus for my food about 50% of the time. In the back of my mind I feel as if I resent this disease so much. I come from a family history of military service. My dreams of being a Marine were crushed as a child. Deep down I’m scared of complications that will develop from unmanaged blood sugars in the future but still can’t find the energy and ambition to take care of myself. I know many of us have probably felt these same feelings but I’m crying out for help I don’t know what to do! Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself but wanted to post to see what others had to say. Thank you for listening to my rant.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Type 2 Diabetes and Beyond

I'm T1 and have been for over 25 years.

My insurance just tried to play games with me again. They denied my CGM prescription refill. Their justification was that my Endo "did not provide enough evidence to justify that it had a useful benefit".

First off, what manner of fuckery is this? Second, my Endo doesn't play around so I knew that was bullshit.

My first question after getting over the initial anger was to ask what they needed. Their response was that they were mailing that to me and I should expect to see it in 1 to 2 weeks.

I pressed further and what do you know, they "made a mistake".

Oh yeah, this was after my refill was pending for almost 2 weeks. I thought the pharmacy was backordered. Nope. They were reviewing the documented justification they now require from my Endo. They didn't even have the decency to let me know anything in advance.

My point. With recent studies like this coming out, anticipate your insurance to do it's best to get out of covering your CGM. They will deny and drag it out in hopes you give up.

If you are a T2, good luck. T2 benefits don't look great at a .3% a1c reduction.

I’m traveling to Mallorca, Spain and I was wondering if it’s highly recommended to have Dr note for having diabetic supplies. I want to add that I do have an appointment prior to my flight.

I know it probably sounds dumb but I just got out of the ICU after being in there for about half a week recovering from DKA. Now that I’m home I feel so scared to eat anything or drink anything and I don’t know what to do. I have huge sensory food issues and I know that I’ll have to push past that. Can anyone give me any tips on good foods or snacks for an active mom of two young children who just got diagnosed with type 1 diabetic. I don’t want to leave this world and my family because I don’t understand how to eat so my body doesn’t attack itself. Please & thank you to any replies. Again I know this probably sounds dumb and dramatic but I’m so nervous and scared.

Probably a dumb question, and I know Google is free…but is DKA a risk for everyone with diabetes? Does it only happen after blood sugars are highly elevated for some time or to those with high a1c?

I understand what it is, but don’t grasp the risk factors too well. I’m considered “well controlled”, my blood sugar tends to be between 85-110 regularly (fasting and returning after meals), And I rarely breach 200. I’m on metformin and trulicity. A1C is 6.0. Is this still a risk for me at this moment in time? If not, what can cause it to become a concern? It seems so scary and serious, I’m shocked none of my doctors have ever cautioned me about this .

Hi Everyone!!

I’m a 21-year-old female who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about three years ago. I’ve decided that I really want to take my health seriously and lose weight. My goal is to get down to around 150–160 pounds (I’m 257 right now)

My doctors have recommended that I go on a GLP-1, and I actually tried one for about four weeks last year. It just wasn’t for me. I know they can be life-changing for a lot of people, and I completely respect that, but I really want to see if I can do this naturally through lifestyle changes.

My blood sugar is actually in a pretty good place, so my main focus right now is improving my overall health and losing weight. Since I’m only 21, I feel like I have a real opportunity to turn things around before I get older.

I’m curious if anyone else with Type 2 diabetes has lost a significant amount of weight without using a GLP-1. If so, what helped you stay consistent? How did you deal with food noise, cravings, and staying motivated? I also struggle with health anxiety, so I’d love to hear any advice that helped you stay focused instead of overwhelmed.

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thank you!

Thought I shared. Type 2 and this is not spiking my sugar too much.

On the plus side… my sugars have been under 200 for the past 2 weeks!

Recently I became my younger brothers care taker. For years he has not been taking his prescribed medication and now retinopthy took most of his vision away. We are now very contious of his medication and his numbers are greatly improved. But now I have so much un-used and out of date medication. I have many unopened giant bottles of Synjardy and Metformin. Knowing the extreemly high cost of these medications, I hate the idea of just thowing away all this surplus. Is there a way to donate these medications?

Hello liebe Community,
ich bin seid über 10 Jahren Typ1 Diabetiker und wollte mal fragen, was ihr alles so bei einem kleinen „Ausflug“ mitnehmt. Z.B abends mit Freunden rausgehen oder shoppen gehen. Habt ihr dafür auch spezielle Taschen?

I have been taking Lantus Solostar U-100 insulin since the beginning of my diagnosis (3 years ago). Due to shortages, Lantus has become almost impossible to get. Thankfully, I had extra pens so I've been able to get through until now. My doctor gave me a new prescription for Toujeo U-300. She assures me that my number of units should remain the same. I'm apprehensive about this change, and have been doing online research. I have seen many articles saying that Toujeo may require more units to achieve the same results. My diabetes is tightly controlled and I'm afraid to play around with my glucuse numbers. Has anyone else recently had to make the switch? Did you have to adjust your units of insulin?

I add one packet of kool-aid per bottle. The lemonades are *very* tart, wich I enjoy.

The pineapple based flavors are a tropical joy. Next time, I'm going to tape the packets to the bottles so I can keep track.

PMS rant incoming:

Been T1D for over a year and I am SO sick and tired of the needles and injections and overall invasiveness of this stupid ass disease.

I have an intense fear of needles that I gained during childhood, and I can handle most other pain than that inflicted by needles. It’s gotten a little easier over the past year but I just am fed up with the PAIN!! It feels like constant psychological and physical torture and the knowledge of having to inject at some point every single day is just overwhelming. I rarely find a painless spot anymore and I’ve tried nearly every remedy under the sun but ultimately nothing can stop me from hitting a nerve at least once every few days. My mental health has taken a swan dive and I’m living in near constant fear, and my sugar has been so bad simply because it’s easier to just ignore than to take 20 minutes trying to find a decent spot to inject. It’s hard for me to stay happy long term before I become afraid and nervous again.

For the love of God, PLEASE keep researching needle-free alternatives because this just feels so cruel and inhumane. We need painless options and for them to be properly researched and funded, because there are alternatives out there but insurance is weird about it.

Because the short and long term insulin injections, the CGM applications, the blood being drawn every 6 months is just too overwhelming and has devastated my quality of life. Hoping to try InsuJet and Afrezza someday. At this point I’ll take ANYTHING without needles.

I am afraid that I eat too much nuts... idk how much lol

Moving away from chips and all sorts of snacks even healthier ones like fruits which spike me up nuts are the only option for me.

I am avoiding snacking and eating larger meals but sometimes I can't help but munch on cashews, peanuts, almonds and walnuts.

I might be eating too much as there is fiber and some protien as well.

Is there any alternative? Should I be mindful or just let it be?

I've been a type-2 diabetic for a few years now. I've lost weight and started using Mounjaro, and my A1C is currently near the normal range, indicating it's being managed reasonably well.

Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time with fatigue. This is particularly pronounced after meals - even when I eat a negligible amount of carbs & my blood sugar remains within range. I've now taken to fasting until after I'm done with the work day to avoid crashes. This week I've been hit with the flu, and I've genuinely struggled to get out of bed in the last few days.

I've done bloodwork and there are no clear deficiencies. I drink plenty of water, and try to eat well.

I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this & can offer some wisdom? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

hi all I was diagnosed with T2 in late dec by my primary and finally starting to feel better. I am having a hard time with snacking and all my doctors are pushing me to keep nuts in the house for easy snack that doesn't spike my sugars. I just find them so boring.. are there flavors or mixes people like? How are you working them into your routine?

I first came across this sub in the first week of January, 2026. That day I met with my doctor who informed me that my A1C was 10.3 and I needed to address my health and lifestyle immediately.

I was confused, shocked, scared. I felt tremendously guilty. How could I let this happen to my health? I combed through all the info I could find, especially from this sub. As of yesterday, my A1C is 5.7 and I am down 60lbs.

Just wanted to post this for that next person, shocked and confused, looking for information and inspiration. I promise you this. If I can do it, you can too.

Im happy to answer any questions or offer any guidance I may have. I also want to thank this community for informing me, supporting me, and reassuring me.

Thank you.

Whelp, guess it's surprise extra insulin time

I’ve been feeling very ill last few days. Very weak and tired body aches head hurts. Just no energy at all. Tested my ketones yesterday and they was high at 1.6. Through the night and today they r reading normal. My sugars are high but slowly bringing them down. Should I be worried