- Messages
- 35
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
In a lot of ways I feel fortunate to have been diagnosed aged three. Diabetes is a part of my life, and I can't imagine life without it. This is how I deal with mine:
As a teenager my control was not good. My DSN knew I was not trying, and said to me 'this is not a game.' In recent years, I have come to disagree with that statement. I feel like I am playing a game, with diabetes as my opponent. I get my score when I test my blood sugars. Obviously the aim is to avoid a high score (or too low a score). To win the game, I inject and eat as healthily as I can.
Type 1 Diabetes is a game that has a lot of parallels with other games we play in life. For instance the game of finances. You try to keep your bank balance at a healthy level. Bills are like insulin: they lower your levels. Work is like food: they push your levels up. Most of us manage to maintain some modicum of balance here, not overworking to the point of heart attacks, and not having too many bills to be riddled with debt. If you can win with finances, you are already achieving a task similar to winning with diabetes.
The main thing to do is to take pride in your diabetes results. If your HBA1C is higher than you would like, see this as a goal to work on. Be thrilled every time you see an improvement. Every time your blood sugars are within healthy levels, you have just won the game. Keep a record of your results, so you can spot trends. Your diabetes doesn't want you to know this, but you are in control. The more you read up and learn about it, the better you can keep it tamed. I would suggest getting a copy of the book carbs and cals, which is a very useful tool for measuring the carbohydrate and protein content of meals. Dr Bernstein's complete diabetes solution has also been of huge use to me.
If you can achieve a balance with diabetes, you may well end up healthier than a non diabetic. We have more medical tests done than the general population, so we can more easily see what we need to work on to stay healthy. You can do this. It's not always easy, but if we put in the effort, we can win the game that is diabetes, and winning this particular game is a feeling that's hard to beat.
Thankyou so much for this beautiful response. It's overwhelming that you replied at all to me, but to have such a beautifuly written piece of writing which you've obviously put a lot of effort into is very special to me. So, thankyou very much! Please message me if I can offer you any support in any way at all. All the best x