This month (November) is National Diabetes Month.
There are over 1.25 million people in the United States who have Type 1 Diabetes, and yet it is still common for people to have to ask questions that have been answered countless times before. In honor of this month, I am here to help people understand what living with Type 1 Diabetes is really like.
1. We CAN eat sugar.
Our bodies may not be able to take care of sugar like normal bodies can, but we are allowed to eat the same things everyone else does. The only difference is we have to portion and take the right dosage of medicine to keep ourselves healthy. Also, everything you eat is sugar. Remember simple and complex carbohydrates from science class? Yeah, it's sugar.
2. Yes, we use needles.
Thank you to everyone around me that has made an awesome joke about me "shooting up" whenever I take my insulin. Yes, I do think the joke was funny...the first couple times I heard it. I understand in modern day society taking medication in that form has gone on the back burner to drugs, but honestly, most diabetics are over it now.
3. Please don't make a fuss about our medication.
Also, I understand you may not like needles, but your head can turn 180 degrees, unlike mine that has to make sure all the insulin goes in correctly. If you don't like it, don't look. Please don't make a snide comment about how I should have to go somewhere else to do something that is an everyday occurrence in my life. If I know the room is full of people who don't do needles, I do leave, but I shouldn't have to for the one person who may not be able to handle it.
4. Diabetes is a 24/7 lifestyle.
We cannot take a day off from our routine. If we miss one blood sugar check, it can throw off our whole day, maybe even a couple depending on what's happening in our lives. Sometimes we have to wake up early to make sure our blood levels are coming down from being hyperglycemic (high). Other times we wake up shaking in the middle of the night because we became hypoglycemic (low). We take what we have been given and roll with the punches. I have even heard it said that diabetes controls your life in ways that most don't see.
5. We need help sometimes.
When I was first diagnosed, someone told my mom I was old enough to handle my diabetes by myself. This was in seventh grade when most kids my age were still almost being treated like children, yet I was expected to be an adult. Diabetes isn't always a one person disease, sometimes we need a little help along the way. Asking us is the best way to make sure we're getting the care we need and are doing everything to stay healthy.
6. We live the same life everyone else doe...well mostly.
While we do have to do 5-8 finger pricks a day and take a shot every time we eat, diabetes is not what makes us whole. We are the same as everyone else. We do the same activities, play the same games, and do other stuff like "normal people". Please don't treat us like aliens from outer space. We don't mind answering questions as long as you're actually trying to learn and not just being funny. Please treat us the same as you, we like being normal.
Living with diabetes should not control me, but it does. Having to make sure I take great care of myself is tough sometimes. Other times, I feel like it's nothing. While I will have this disease forever, I will make sure it won't stop me in the pursuit for the future... and maybe an insulin pump.
