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Two weeks ago, I tore the meniscus of my right inner knee as I got off my stationary exercise bike. The pain of the injury didnt show up until a few mornings later -- getting out of bed, I set my foot onto the floor and immediately raised a yelp of misery.

At the orthopedist office, the doctor drained fluid from the knee and injected cortisone with the largest needle I had ever seen. Thankfully, the injection worked, and after a few days of ice and rest, I was cleared to return to my regular activities.

But I didnt. Instead of returning to my daily exercise routine, I stayed put as my bike and weights gathered dust. I didnt take walks outside; I didnt hit my yoga mat.

It wasnt only exercise I abandoned: I didnt take my blood sugars. I stood in the kitchen and -- ignoring years of "clean eating" -- downed six homemade chocolate chip cookie bars. I pushed the scale into the closet and avoided mirrors.

I had hit the wall when it came to my diabetes care. I was officially burned out.

What is diabetes burnout? Its when the emotional toll of taking care of your disease becomes overwhelming and, for whatever reason, you give up. In my case, my knee injury was the final straw that sent me over the edge; but the truth is, but there had been so much else leading up to it. The long pandemic months that kept us mostly inside, unable to visit family or friends. The death of my sisters mother-in-law earlier that week (a lovely, warm woman who dealt with her own late-in-life diabetes by permitting herself two -- exactly two -- Raisinets a night). The frustrating inability of my husband or myself to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine in our state despite our eligibility. The 21-degree weather with more snow and ice headed our way; the very notion that my beloved Bruce Springsteen had sold out and narrated an ad for the Super Bowl. The masks. The handwashing.

Everything.

There are many, many reasons for diabetes burnout. For some, it arrives when you get a complication even though youve done your best to take care of your disease. Or when despite every effort, the scale refuses to budge. Or high-sugar readings never drop. And it can take many forms: You might refuse to go to your doctor. Or stop monitoring your food. Or "forget" to renew your medications.

Most of us experience diabetes burnout at some point. No matter the cause, the signs and symptoms are the same: Youre sick of being sick, and you cant take it anymore.

For a week, that was me. So how did I deal? I made myself some rules:

1. No beating myself up. I gave myself the right to be sick of my disease.

2. I acknowledged that it couldnt last forever. As delicious as it was to pretend that I didnt have to care for my diabetes, I knew it couldnt last. I decided to call my time away from diabetes a vacation. Since I couldnt take a vacation during the pandemic, I reasoned, a short escape from diabetes might be the best Id get.

3. There were limits. I didnt down sleeves of Oreos or gallons of ice cream, but I did let loose: making spaghetti for dinner one night (white pasta!) and adding a glass of wine or two (or three). I exercised if I felt like it, but I didnt push myself to get a certain number of cardio minutes. If I felt like stopping, I did.

4. Medications were non-negotiable. I continued to take my medications (some habits survive burnout), but I ignored my sugar readings. (I really didnt want to know.)

5. I reached out for support. I talked to a friend about what I was going through and let her remind me of how careful I normally was, and how, maybe, I had needed to take a break to power through.

At the weeks end, I had put on a few pounds. When I got back to testing my sugars, my first reading wasnt great -- but it wasnt horrific either. I dumped the cookie bars and went food shopping for new items that were healthy, low carb, and a little off the beaten track: Japanese eggplant, portobello sliders, low-carb tortillas, a bottle of oyster sauce -- to regain my interest in healthy food.

Lets be clear: Burnout sucks, and it can hurt your health. Diabetes care is best when it's consistent and ongoing. If you find yourself experiencing diabetes burnout, contact your doctor or diabetes educator. They can help you get back on track by reminding you of your earlier progress or setting you up with a regular support group. In these difficult days, we need all the help we can get.

WebMD Blog

Ilene Raymond Rush is an award winning health and science freelance writer. Based on her own experiences with type 2 diabetes, she brings a personal take and a reporters eye to examine the best and newest methods of treating and controlling the disease.

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Diabetes Burnout: What It Is and How to Handle It - WebMD

This entry was posted on February 19, 2021 at 6:49 am and is filed under Diabetes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |