testing, falling off wagon

"ken grace" <[email hidden]> wrote in
misc.health.diabetes:

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first diagnosed T2 four years ago, I tested
regularly (3x daily) for a year or so, exercised lots, watched what I ate. Lost lots of weight.
Still exercising, weight's still down, but much looser about what I eat. I know my BG control
isn't what it should be - HbA1c tracking in the 7s after initially making 5% club. The thing is,
I'm hardly testing at all these days. I know it's stupid, and I'm going to get things back on
track. Has anyone else been through this? I'm not looking for advice, particularly, but more
interested in shared experiences. 'Fessin up on this newsgroup is probably also part of getting on
track again. Ken Grace

Isn't it a reality? Being occupied with diabetes 24/7? Doesn't it somehow make you feel
there's nothing else that food, food, food, check, check, check, meds, meds, meds, syringes,
syringes, syringes?

When you start out as a newly diagnosed diabetic, you're totally focused. In way, the newly acquired
control over your body and over yourself can be quite rewarding from time to time. But after a time
it wears out. You get familiar with the procedure, you have minimal gains left, and become irritated
that you're nothing but occupied with the stupid disease.

Why give you advice if you know the answers? It's obvious we have to incorporate our disease in
our daily lives in a much more inconspicuous way. Maybe trying to make diabetic controls one of
those thing without making a fuss about it, boring, standard, like showering and going to bed,
driving to your work, or picking up the phone when it rings. A standard regime you follow without
thinking about.

Some people with diabetes will make a movie out of their lives; they're not so much _having_
diabetes, they're also _acting_ it. It sure is interesting for friends and families, to show their
aptitude in handling the disease. Mind you, I don't want to belittle them, it's just an observation.

Well, as the Beatles song goes, if they want to "put you in the movies", "all you got to do is act
naturally".

Good luck!

--
CeeBee

_Got no wockin' furries_

ken grace said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first

diagnosed T2

Quoted message said:

four years ago, I tested regularly (3x daily) for a year

or so,

Quoted message said:

exercised lots, watched what I ate. Lost lots of weight. Still exercising, weight's still down,
but much looser

about what I

Quoted message said:

eat. I know my BG control isn't what it should be - HbA1c

tracking in

Quoted message said:

the 7s after initially making 5% club. The thing is, I'm hardly testing at all these days. I know

it's

Quoted message said:

stupid, and I'm going to get things back on track. Has anyone else been through this? I'm not
looking for

advice,

Quoted message said:

particularly, but more interested in shared experiences.

'Fessin up

Quoted message said:

on this newsgroup is probably also part of getting on

track again.

Sorry to hear this Ken. I think most people with diabetes have fallen off the wagon at some stage.
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back into it. I find group therapy helps me a lot so how
about starting to read and post in here regularly again. Set yourself some mini goals, go out and
buy some low carb foods suitable for snacks and back to testing. Good luck.

Ken, Don't be embarrassed. It happens to the best of us. I've been T1 for 21 years, and have gone
through spells of not testing. I've also gone through loooong spells of testing, but not recording
my sugars. (For some reason, I really hate keeping a record.) The kicker for me is that I've always
had to adjust my insulin dosages to my sugars. So, I would just guess at what my sugars were.

As CeeBee mentioned, when you are first diagnosed, you are completely focused on your diabetes. Then
you get some control, learn how to eat and exercise, etc. To me this is when things can get rather
dangerous. It is easy to get lazy and apathetic. You figure out that falling off the wagon (not
testing, not eating as well as you should) will not immediately kill you. It is extremely difficult
to stay focused on this year in and year out. I know that I go through periods of being the
superdiabetic to periods of not wanting to mess with it.

Good luck climbing back on the wagon. It's tough. Steph

"ken grace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first diagnosed T2 four

years

Quoted message said:

ago, I tested regularly (3x daily) for a year or so, exercised lots,

watched

Quoted message said:

what I ate. Lost lots of weight. Still exercising, weight's still down, but much looser about what
I eat. I know my BG control isn't what it should be - HbA1c tracking in the 7s

after

Quoted message said:

initially making 5% club. The thing is, I'm hardly testing at all these days. I know it's stupid,

and

Quoted message said:

I'm going to get things back on track. Has anyone else been through this? I'm not looking
for advice,

particularly,

Quoted message said:

but more interested in shared experiences. 'Fessin up on this newsgroup is probably also part of
getting on track again. Ken Grace

I thought CeeBees reply was totally on the ball on this!

I have been exactly the same, or in fact far worse. When I intially started on insulin the idea of
it was a little repulsive but also quite new and exciting. I was very keen to adhere exactly to the
instruction given me and I did start to enjoy some of the benefits of insulin use over diet,
exercise with Glucobay! However as time has gone on I've missed injections and my body started
getting used to bgs of 15 to 18 mmols/l on a regular basis. I didn't test at all for a while because
I already knew that the reading would be very high! Even now I hate my Lantus injection at night and
often give it a miss!!

A lifestyle change (i.e. new job) has pushed me back into action. I have terrible pain in my hands
that I suspect is a result of neurophathy caused by my negligence in keeping my blood sugar within
the proper range. Hopefully now that I am back in control the pain will eventually subside and my
general health will improve. Do you feel you are not testing because you have regular habits and
genuinely feel you just don't need to? Or are youi just fighting back against a problem you are fed
up with being in control of....

I am sure you are not the only one

Martin.

--
Martin Boulger (T2 Since 1998).
****************************
Metformin x 2000mg Atorvastatin x 20mg Losartan Potassium x 10mg NovoRapid x3 / Lantus x1
****************************

"ken grace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first diagnosed T2 four

years

Quoted message said:

ago, I tested regularly (3x daily) for a year or so, exercised lots,

watched

Quoted message said:

what I ate. Lost lots of weight. Still exercising, weight's still down, but much looser about what
I eat. I know my BG control isn't what it should be - HbA1c tracking in the 7s

after

Quoted message said:

initially making 5% club. The thing is, I'm hardly testing at all these days. I know it's stupid,

and

Quoted message said:

I'm going to get things back on track. Has anyone else been through this? I'm not looking
for advice,

particularly,

Quoted message said:

but more interested in shared experiences. 'Fessin up on this newsgroup is probably also part of
getting on track again. Ken Grace

ken grace said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first diagnosed T2 four years ago, I tested
regularly (3x daily) for a year or so, exercised lots, watched what I ate. Lost lots of weight.
Still exercising, weight's still down, but much looser about what I eat. I know my BG control isn't
what it should be - HbA1c tracking in the 7s after initially making 5% club. The thing is, I'm
hardly testing at all these days. I know it's stupid, and I'm going to get things back on track.
Has anyone else been through this? I'm not looking for advice, particularly, but more interested in
shared experiences. 'Fessin up on this newsgroup is probably also part of getting on track again.
Ken Grace

Oh yes i know how you feel. It's very hard for me sometimes to test on a regular basis because i
just get so bored with the diabetes. I've had it for so long (nearly 30 years Type I), that i got
burnt out on it about five years ago. It feels as if i have some small child that requires constant
attention and which never grows up.

It's very frustrating because no matter how tight of control you have, no matter how much you test
yourself and watch what you eat and exercise, you will not be cured.

SweetVenom Bob

Writing to me is as easy as deleting OneTwoThree

ken grace <[email hidden]> wrote on Wed,
3 Mar 2004
23:12:39 +1300:

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes.

Embarrasing? Whence comes the embarrasment?

Quoted message said:

When first diagnosed T2 four years ago, I tested regularly
(3x daily) for a year or so, exercised lots, watched what
I ate. Lost lots of weight.

Quoted message said:

Still exercising, weight's still down, but much looser
about what I eat. I know my BG control isn't what it
should be - HbA1c tracking in the 7s after initially
making 5% club.

Tell me, why are you so concerned about what your HbA1c
level is? This isn't a trick question. Think it through very
thoroughly, before reading the rest of my post.

Quoted message said:

The thing is, I'm hardly testing at all these days. I know
it's stupid, and I'm going to get things back on track.

Why is it stupid? Has it occurred to you that maybe three
times a day was excessive? Whose track is it you're going to
be getting back onto? (By the way, I've been a T1 for nearly
40 years.)

Quoted message said:

Has anyone else been through this? I'm not looking for
advice, particularly, but more interested in shared
experiences. 'Fessin up on this newsgroup is probably also
part of getting on track again.

I'll give some advice all the same, and it'll probably vary
a bit from others' advice.

That is, that maintaining the sort of control your doctors
advocate costs, and it costs a lot. It costs your freedom to
enjoy life, it costs your autonomy as an adult. The
"embarrasment" you've admitted to is a sign of this. It's a
sign that you've allowed others to determine for you the
proper course your life should take. Examine the motives of
these others: is a doctor who tells you to do blood tests 8
times a day and tells you (however subtly and indirectly)
that a BS over 120 is a sign of slackness or badness on your
part really acting in your interests? Or is it that he gets
a kick out of telling his colleagues how "compliant" all his
patients are?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating an "anything
goes" position. Of course you've got to look after your DM.
But it appears, from your opening paragraph, you are already
doing this: your weight is still down, you're still
exercising, and presumably you're still eating sensibly.

Ah yes, that HbA1c thing. It's a useful measurement for
doctors but it's of limited use. It doesn't (as far as I
know) influence diabetic complications (or lack thereof) in
any way at all - it's merely correlated with those
complications. If you're telling yourself "I've got to get
my HbA1c down", you're putting the cart before the horse. In
my opinion, the thing is grossly abused and it's far too
easy for sensible diabetic control to be subverted into a
quest for lower HbA1c. And it's horribly easy for a doctor
to use as a put-down.

You don't have a DM control problem. I think your problem is
in essence psychological. Part of you is behaving like a
naughty schoolboy, a sort of underdog - that's the part
which is "much looser about what it eats". Another part of
you is behaving "sensibly" like a topdog, determined to
squash and destroy its underdog counterpart - that's the
part which posted to this newsgroup and is determined to
"get back on track". Those two are in a continual dogfight,
and that doesn't make for a healthy life.

Try do examine these dogs from the position of an impartial
observer. Topdog is probably bullying with catastrophic
expectations: "Unless your Hb stays below 6, you WILL go
blind and get kidney failure within 10 years" much like some
mothers tell their kids "Tidy that toy away right now! Or do
you really want the house like a pigsty?", as though there
was no intermediate grey area between the two. Think about
your expression "back on track" - a track, say a railway
track, allows no variation of movement, insists that you
travel in an exactly predetermined direction (that
determined by the track builder), there being no possibility
for negotiation. Is that really the way you want to control
your diabetes?

Underdog, much more in touch with the real needs of your
soul, makes sure those needs get satisfied - looser eating,
fewer BS tests, and so on. Trouble is, underdog does so in
an underhand sneaky way - "This is a bit embarrasing,
but...", "I know it's stupid, but I'm going to get things
back on track ....". Who's kidding whom?

You need to get your topdog to ease up a bit, to realise
that there's more to life than HbA1c's, a lot more. You need
to get your underdog to stand up openly and honestly for its
needs, not sneakily. I'm thinking here of a friend, a
smoker, who once told me in a mature adult fashion "I know
full well cigarettes are dangerous, but I enjoy them and I'm
not going to be giving them up."

Once you get those two parts of you talking to eachother
amicably, then you'll be able to work out a sensible middle
way between the two extremes of (i) totally ignoring the
disease; and (ii) spending all your energy controlling the
disease. Then you'll have energy left over to enjoy life.

Quoted message said:

Ken Grace

--
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany) Email: [email hidden]; to
decode, wherever there is a repeated letter (like "aa"😉,
remove half of them (leaving, say, "a"😉.

Appreciate the comments from everyone. It's helpful to get
some different perspectives on the whole control thing. Ken

"Alan Mackenzie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

ken grace <[email hidden]> wrote on
Wed, 3 Mar 2004
23:12:39 +1300:

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes.

Embarrasing? Whence comes the embarrasment?

Quoted message said:

When first diagnosed T2 four years ago, I tested
regularly (3x daily) for a year or so, exercised lots,
watched what I ate. Lost lots of weight.

Quoted message said:

Still exercising, weight's still down, but much looser
about what I eat. I know my BG control isn't what it
should be - HbA1c tracking in the 7s after initially
making 5% club.

Tell me, why are you so concerned about what your HbA1c
level is? This isn't a trick question. Think it through
very thoroughly, before reading the rest of my post.

Quoted message said:

The thing is, I'm hardly testing at all these days. I
know it's stupid, and I'm going to get things back on
track.

Why is it stupid? Has it occurred to you that maybe three
times a day was excessive? Whose track is it you're going
to be getting back onto? (By the way, I've been a T1 for
nearly 40 years.)

Quoted message said:

Has anyone else been through this? I'm not looking for
advice, particularly, but more interested in shared
experiences. 'Fessin up on this newsgroup is probably
also part of getting on track again.

I'll give some advice all the same, and it'll probably
vary a bit from others' advice.

That is, that maintaining the sort of control your doctors
advocate costs, and it costs a lot. It costs your freedom
to enjoy life, it costs your autonomy as an adult. The
"embarrasment" you've admitted to is a sign of this. It's
a sign that you've allowed others to determine for you the
proper course your life should take. Examine the motives
of these others: is a doctor who tells you to do blood
tests 8 times a day and tells you (however subtly and
indirectly) that a BS over 120 is a sign of slackness or
badness on your part really acting in your interests? Or
is it that he gets a kick out of telling his colleagues
how "compliant" all his patients are?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating an "anything
goes" position. Of course you've got to look after your
DM. But it appears, from your opening paragraph, you are
already doing this: your weight is still down, you're
still exercising, and presumably you're still eating
sensibly.

Ah yes, that HbA1c thing. It's a useful measurement for
doctors but it's of limited use. It doesn't (as far as I
know) influence diabetic complications (or lack thereof)
in any way at all - it's merely correlated with those
complications. If you're telling yourself "I've got to get
my HbA1c down", you're putting the cart before the horse.
In my opinion, the thing is grossly abused and it's far
too easy for sensible diabetic control to be subverted
into a quest for lower HbA1c. And it's horribly easy for a
doctor to use as a put-down.

You don't have a DM control problem. I think your problem
is in essence psychological. Part of you is behaving like
a naughty schoolboy, a sort of underdog - that's the part
which is "much looser about what it eats". Another part of
you is behaving "sensibly" like a topdog, determined to
squash and destroy its underdog counterpart - that's the
part which posted to this newsgroup and is determined to
"get back on track". Those two are in a continual
dogfight, and that doesn't make for a healthy life.

Try do examine these dogs from the position of an
impartial observer. Topdog is probably bullying with
catastrophic expectations: "Unless your Hb stays below 6,
you WILL go blind and get kidney failure within 10 years"
much like some mothers tell their kids "Tidy that toy away
right now! Or do you really want the house like a
pigsty?", as though there was no intermediate grey area
between the two. Think about your expression "back on
track" - a track, say a railway track, allows no variation
of movement, insists that you travel in an exactly
predetermined direction (that determined by the track
builder), there being no possibility for negotiation. Is
that really the way you want to control your diabetes?

Underdog, much more in touch with the real needs of your
soul, makes sure those needs get satisfied - looser
eating, fewer BS tests, and so on. Trouble is, underdog
does so in an underhand sneaky way - "This is a bit
embarrasing, but...", "I know it's stupid, but I'm going
to get things back on track ....". Who's kidding whom?

You need to get your topdog to ease up a bit, to realise
that there's more to life than HbA1c's, a lot more. You
need to get your underdog to stand up openly and honestly
for its needs, not sneakily. I'm thinking here of a
friend, a smoker, who once told me in a mature adult
fashion "I know full well cigarettes are dangerous, but I
enjoy them and I'm not going to be giving them up."

Once you get those two parts of you talking to eachother
amicably, then you'll be able to work out a sensible
middle way between the two extremes of (i) totally
ignoring the disease; and (ii) spending all your energy
controlling the disease. Then you'll have energy left over
to enjoy life.

Quoted message said:

Ken Grace

--
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany) Email: [email hidden]; to
decode, wherever there is a repeated letter (like "aa"😉,
remove half of them (leaving, say, "a"😉.

I think after initially being good, we all experence
periods of slacking .. I do remember the day I was at the
gy, prior to work out I used to to test, and I was 175,
instead of my much lower #'s ... afterward I was much
lower. I was pretty tight then. Some might call me
obsessed. I backed off, and have a looser idea about it
all, now. I don't test unless I have a cold or a sinus
infection or feel otherwise unwell. Rainbow

I think after initially being good, we all experence
periods of slacking .. I do remember the day I was at the
gy, prior to work out I used to to test, and I was 175,
instead of my much lower #'s ... afterward I was much
lower. I was pretty tight then. Some might call me
obsessed. I backed off, and have a looser idea about it
all, now. I don't test unless I have a cold or a sinus
infection or feel otherwise unwell. Rainbow

Ken,

What you are going through is common. We're only human.

I did great for three years, blew everything off for a whole
year after that, ended up with a huge blood pressure crisis
caused by ignoring my blood sugars and went back to what I
knew worked for me and got things under control again.

Now after a year and a half of very good control, I'm
feeling the same pressure to slough off, but am trying to
deal with them in a better way. It doesn't help that my once
excellent exercise program which I stuck to for a year has
been torpedoed by a foot injury that refuses to heal.

But I think that the solution, for me at least, is to give
myself times when I can relax a bit rather than being
extremely stringent and then giving in utterly for weeks
of months.

To be able to relax I've had to find drugs my body can
tolerate that allow me to boost my carbs a bit now and then.
Precose worked great for a while and then started not being
as helpful. Right now cinnamon is helping me a low.

But the key is that my sloughing off can only be "now and
then" not all the time. The main thing is to avoid
feeling that my whole life sucks because I can't eat
anything I like. I wrote this concept up on a web page at
geocities.comdiab diet.htmOpen ↗

--Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight.
Type 2 diabetes, hba1c 5.4. Cut the carbs to respond to my
email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips,
recipes, strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at
geocities.comjenny the beanOpen ↗

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar? Visit alt-support-alt-support-Open ↗
diabetes.org/Newly%20Diagnosed.htm

"ken grace" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first
diagnosed T2 four

years

Quoted message said:

ago, I tested regularly (3x daily) for a year or so,
exercised lots,

watched

Quoted message said:

what I ate. Lost lots of weight. Still exercising,
weight's still down, but much looser about what I eat. I
know my BG control isn't what it should be - HbA1c
tracking in the 7s

after

Quoted message said:

initially making 5% club. The thing is, I'm hardly testing
at all these days. I know it's stupid,

and

Quoted message said:

I'm going to get things back on track. Has anyone else
been through this? I'm not looking for advice,

particularly,

Quoted message said:

but more interested in shared experiences. 'Fessin up on
this newsgroup is probably also part of getting on track
again. Ken Grace

My problem is that I can't take the side effects anymore
from the diabetes drugs. My doctor had me on Glucophage,
then Actos which put on more weight. Then Glucophage XR and
now I'm taking Avandament. On all of these medications, the
diarrhea is horrible. Any suggestions on how to ease up on
this? I am to the point I have to take an Imodium AD every
other day in order not to have it.

My whole point in all of this is that I quit taking the
drugs. Of all of them, with Actos I had no side effects
but it made me gain weight. Now with or without the drugs,
I have to take insulin injections. I am ready to give up
all together. I don't have any other places on my body
that don't have needle marks or that I have used to give
myself a shot.

Any suggestions? It sounds like you have some answers.
--
"Jenny" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ken,

What you are going through is common. We're only human.

I did great for three years, blew everything off for a
whole year after that, ended up with a huge blood pressure
crisis caused by ignoring my

blood

Quoted message said:

sugars and went back to what I knew worked for me and got
things under control again.

Now after a year and a half of very good control, I'm
feeling the same pressure to slough off, but am trying to
deal with them in a better way.

It

Quoted message said:

doesn't help that my once excellent exercise program which
I stuck to for

a

Quoted message said:

year has been torpedoed by a foot injury that refuses
to heal.

But I think that the solution, for me at least, is to give
myself times

when

Quoted message said:

I can relax a bit rather than being extremely stringent
and then giving in utterly for weeks of months.

To be able to relax I've had to find drugs my body can
tolerate that allow me to boost my carbs a bit now and
then. Precose worked great for a while and then
started not being as helpful. Right now cinnamon is
helping me a low.

But the key is that my sloughing off can only be "now and
then" not all

the

Quoted message said:

time. The main thing is to avoid feeling that my whole
life sucks because

I

Quoted message said:

can't eat anything I like. I wrote this concept up on a
web page at geocities.comdiabOpen ↗
diet.htm

--Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight.
Type 2 diabetes, hba1c 5.4. Cut the carbs to respond to my
email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips,
recipes, strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at
geocities.comjenny the beanOpen ↗

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar? Visit alt-support-alt-support-Open ↗
diabetes.org/Newly%20Diagnosed.htm

"ken grace" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a bit embarrassing but here goes. When first
diagnosed T2 four

years

Quoted message said:

ago, I tested regularly (3x daily) for a year or so,
exercised lots,

watched

Quoted message said:

what I ate. Lost lots of weight. Still exercising,
weight's still down, but much looser about what I eat.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

know my BG control isn't what it should be - HbA1c
tracking in the 7s

after

Quoted message said:

initially making 5% club. The thing is, I'm hardly
testing at all these days. I know it's stupid,

and

Quoted message said:

I'm going to get things back on track. Has anyone else
been through this? I'm not looking for advice,

particularly,

Quoted message said:

but more interested in shared experiences. 'Fessin up on
this newsgroup

is

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

probably also part of getting on track again. Ken Grace

Quoted message said:

My problem is that I can't take the side effects anymore
from the diabetes drugs. My doctor had me on Glucophage,
then Actos which put on more weight. Then Glucophage XR
and now I'm taking Avandament. On all of these
medications, the diarrhea is horrible. Any suggestions on
how to ease up on this? I am to the point I have to take
an Imodium AD every other day in order not to have it.

Well, I take metaformin as indicated in the sig. I beleive
that this is the generic name for glucophage. i wasn't put
on it until I had been on amaryl for a couple of months. I
noticed that it would cause gas if I had any "starch".
This very same starch also made my numbers jump
everywhere. So as an experiment, I made the decision to
cut out starches. (all wheat rice and potato products).
Metaformin now causes no trouble at all, and my numbers
are more controllable as well.

Nowadays, the place in my diet that was occupied by starches
is now taken by cauliflower/tomato.

Funnily enough, red lentils or any of the legume family,
like dried peas, which traditionally cause gas, no longer do
(nowere near to the extent that they did)

--
John38 : t2 since 11/03 : 6mg amaryl 1.5g metaformin :
aspirin Hb1Ac@dx=11.9% now=7.4% : FBG@dx=14mmol/l now
4mmol/l : no wheat for me!

come on! MANY of us here take insulin, a modern thin short
needle is no problem. What are you usinfg, and where are
you sticking.

Quoted message said:

My problem is that I can't take the side effects anymore
from the diabetes drugs. My doctor had me on Glucophage,
then Actos which put on more weight. Then Glucophage XR
and now I'm taking Avandament. On all of these
medications, the diarrhea is horrible. Any suggestions on
how to ease up on this? I am to the point I have to take
an Imodium AD every other day in order not to have it.

My whole point in all of this is that I quit taking the
drugs. Of all of them, with Actos I had no side effects
but it made me gain weight. Now with or without the drugs,
I have to take insulin injections. I am ready to give up
all together. I don't have any other places on my body
that don't have needle marks or that I have used to give
myself a shot.

Any suggestions? It sounds like you have some answers.

Ted Rosenberg said:

come on! MANY of us here take insulin, a modern thin short
needle is no problem. What are you usinfg, and where are
you sticking.

I get tmarks from the cheap needles and also used to from my
infusion sets.

I would switch to the long needle BD syringes. I use the
longer needle, and they don't leave marks. I can put them in
at an angle if my thyroid kicks in and I lose too much
weight, or else if I am very sensistive to pain. Putting it
in slowly sometims avoids that.

As to lifestyle, try weightlifting and exercising more. It
seems to help me quite abit.