I have Type 1 Diabetes.
Many of you reading this know me personally and already know this about me, but I'd venture to say that if you keep reading this and subsequent posts, you'll learn something you didn't know.
This blog series is a project that I have been contemplating and praying about for a fairly significant amount of time, and I am writing it to lovingly promote education about Type 1 Diabetes and the struggles (both medically and socially) that I've faced in my time spent as a Type 1 Diabetic. One of my biggest roadblocks to starting this series was deciding what to write about: there are SO many topics and misconceptions I'd love to cover.
At first this started as an idea for one post, like "10 Misconceptions about Type 1 Diabetes," or something like that, but I realized that 1) that has been done to death, and 2) there is SO much more than one list of 10 things to talk about. So, I decided to create a blog series about my daily struggles and current journey with Type One Diabetes care.
Ok. I had a plan. Now, where to start? I could start with what the disease is and what causes it, or I could start by explaining the life-changing effects of insulin therapy (notice, I said life-changing not life-saving, but more on that later). Instead, let's start at the beginning...
I could die tonight.
This statement is at the back of every single Type One Diabetic's mind. Every. Single. Day. This is the first thing you need to know about me. This has been more prevalent lately as I have struggled with my doctors to develop an insulin therapy plan that works with my body and schedule. I am currently on the Flex Pens (more on that in another post), so I take a long-lasting insulin called Lantus every night. The problem is, too little Lantus will make my sugars high all day, but the high dosage of Lantus has been causing me to have low blood sugars in the middle of the night. This started shortly after Josh and I got back from our honeymoon last August.
At first, it was a slightly low sugar around 3-4 am twice a week or so. A few weeks later, I woke up at 4:30 am feeling numb and unable to speak. I was shaking and sweaty and exhausted. All I wanted was to go back to sleep and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't make my body sleep. It took several minutes for me to become alert enough to realize that my blood sugar was low. When I stepped out of bed to find my meter, I could feel my legs caving beneath me and I felt dizzy. By the time I was able to fumble my way through my kit and test my blood sugar, it was at 37. To put that in perspective for those of you who don't know, my blood sugar as an adult should ideally be somewhere between 80-120. Severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is 55 or below. At 37, most people lose consciousness or, at the very least, the ability to think their way through treating a low blood sugar. Ever since this incident, waking up with a blood sugar below 55 has been an almost nightly occurrence. I am fortunate enough that God has answered my prayers and allowed me to wake up with the ability to treat these sugars, but what I (and every Type One Diabetic) need you to understand is that this disease has the potential to kill me in my sleep.
The reason I started with this information is because of the many well-meaning but misguided comments I have received over the years, and even recently. Such comments are meant to comfort me I am sure, but in reality they diminish the pains (and victories!) I face daily and perpetuate a misunderstanding of life as a Type One Diabetic. These include:
Well, at least you don't have cancer!
You are so lucky! Diabetes is easy now with all the advancements in the medical field.
Oh, so all you have to do is stop eating sugar right?
Oh, so it's just testing your sugar and taking a few shots.
These comments are meant to make me feel better and usually come from a place of love, but here are some key things I'd like you to know as we proceed:
1) No, I do not have cancer and I do not wish that on anyone. I am NOT diminishing what it is to go through that. BUT, just because to most people my auto-immune disorder is invisible, it does NOT make it any less deadly, painful, and sometimes heartbreaking to deal with.
2) Yes, I am fortunate enough to be diabetic during a time in which we have Continuous Glucose Monitors, Insulin Pumps, and Electronic Glucometers. BUT, that does NOT make caring for this disorder EASY in ANY sense of the term.
3) Each type of diabetes is unique and Type ONE Diabetes does not have anything to do with eating less sugar (except from the standpoint of just having a healthy diet in general). Type ONE Diabetes is controlled by extensive monitoring and insulin therapy, NOT diet.
No insulin=death.
There are other misconceptions about Type One Diabetes that I would love to address in later posts, but I wanted to start here because this, I think, is the number one takeaway if you don't read ANY of the rest of the series: When you meet or know someone with Type One Diabetes, treat him/her with compassion and don't make assumptions. I LOVE when people ask me genuine questions, but it hurts when they make judgments or assumptions about my lifestyle, care, parents, or any number of other things. Type One Diabetes is treatable, but it isn't easy, painless, OR curable (YET!)
Please feel free to comment or email me questions or comments. If you have Type One Diabetes and want some support, DEFINITELY email me. I'm always looking for more people to talk and pray with about this daily struggle :)
