I have had Type 1 diabetes for 43 years and I am 51 years old soon to be 52.
I cannot stop thinking about complications and other diseases I might obtain.
I am thinking more and more about it.
Am I thinking more about this because of the length of time I have been diabetic or because I am getting older?
Do non-diabetic 53 year olds, think about disease constantly?
Karen- You have had T-1 D for a very long time. I am sure you know the correct things to do ( test , take your insulin, see your doctor, eat a healthy diabetic diet, keep your A1c as low as you can, etc) and you are doing them. It is normal for any person who has had a condition like D to be concerned about the complications that could occur. I don’t think that other people your age think about disease often unless they have a chronic disease themselves. Don’t spend your time worrying about the complications, just continue to do the things that will prevent them. I always say- Worrying is a non-productive activity.
Oh damn, Karen. People are always talking about how expensive db is, money-wise. Well, I tell you, the emotional cost in fear and dread exceed anything I’ve ever spent…
It seems like the one thing that tempered my fear was my big retiopathy episode, 6 years ago. Now I sort of figure that I can get through anything. What happens, happens.
I’m 56, and I think the aging process really does a number on you too. To get “normal people” stuff like arthritis and osteoporosis makes mw wanna scream “it’s not fair”. Also, I’m reaching the age where my friends are starting to get stuff like cancer, etc
And, my mother died in Feb, which really makes me feel like I’m stepping up to the plate.
Bottom line is, yes, I definitely think the older you get, the more preoccupied you are with health issues. And I can’t think of any solutions to ease this other than working closely with a doc so that things can be caught early.
BTW, how is your depression? When my depression was untreated, I freally obsessed on symptoms a lot more than I do now.
Sister, I wish you better days ahead. Take care.
Yes! I am definitely thinking about it more now than ever. Along with all the other problems mid life is bringing! It’s really getting depressing. I’ve also noticed friends my age talking more about their and their friends ilnesses which I try really hard not to do. I think it’s the age thing in combination with a chronic disease. I actually thought I was having a stroke the other day and I don’t think I would have seriously thought that if I wasn’t Diabetic. Ohhhh the stress!
Karen, I will give you a male response: I will dedicate my life to worry if there is some clinical proof that worry improves overall health or at least diabetes. Until then I will not worry. This does not mean that I happily invite complications into my life. I am prone to keeping my mind busy even if it does not serve any purpose. I once read the following in a book: “If you are convinced that thought and insight are so important and powerful then try to turn to the next page by willpower alone.” Needless to say that my mind could not turn the page. From that moment on I considered my thoughts useful only if they resulted in action. About a year ago I acknowledged that I was sitting on a diabetes complications time bomb. I was done with pushing my luck. After some agonizing I got a DexCom and then an OmniPod. During my last doctor’s visit my good doctor remarked: “You are not a diabetic anymore.”. This is not only how if feel. This is what it is. My BG levels are better than ‘normal’. Not better than that of a healthy 25 year old, of course. Just damn good for someone in his 50s. I always expected to pass on way ahead of my wife. No longer. My wife is healthy but her weight has always bounced around. Health assessments seem to consider fluctuating weight as a bigger risk than well-controlled diabetes. The race is on. I am not looking forward to winning it. But I might.
Helmut,
I so love your comments.
Karen,
I just turned 55. I haven’t been T1 long. When my friends wigged at turning 30, 40 & 50, I never get it another thought. This year being a 55 year old diabetic gave me pause to think & to worry. So either it’s OMG, I’m a 55 T1, or my age has finally made an impression on me.
Karen -
Beats me!!! But I think about it constantly. I am almost 36 years with the disease and I was worried about it almost from the day I got it. As i age it gets no easier. When I get upset, I think of what my mom used to say. Her sister died 3 years after getitng the disease. Mom passed 21 years after getting the disease. I have lasted 35 so far. When thinking about it, mom used to say i should figure out how the number of times mom lasted beyond her sister. That is 7. Mom used to say my goal should try to last 7 times the number of years she lasted. That would be 140. So set your sights on 140 plus the age you got the disease and lets you and I get on with making it to say 170 or there about. LOL
rick
Gerri,
I think of you very often. We both achieve the same results with very different approaches. I use high-tech, you use low carb. It does not make sense to me that my insurance pays $10,000/year so that I can eat a bagel for breakfast instead of an omelette. If it was only $10,000/year that I don’t have to pay for I might care less. What bothers me more is that I have things attached to my body 24/7 that make it very hard to deny that something is up. I am not ready to make the transition to low carb yet. However, I follow your journey with great interest.
Helmut,
I’m a low tech type. Simplify, simplify. One day, I suppose, I’m going to have to make the leap & join you. I don’t even have a cell phone & drive a 17 year old car because it still goes:)
Too bad we can’t trade places for a couple of weeks to see what the other side is like.
Turn up the bolus & have a bagel for me.
I’m not a type I, but a type II; I am 57; I think we tend to understand mortality better as we get older. But to obsess on it, which is thinking about it constantly is a little over the wall, in my opinion. Do you have any complications or other medical problems that would spark your mind on this? If you are doing what you are supposed to do, taking care of you, and if you are relatively healthy except for the “D”…think about what it is that you are worried about. I believe in writing things down, write till you can’t write anymore, all the thoughts, fears and frustrations you are having…Put them away for 24 hours, and do your best not to think about it…after 24 hours go back and read what you’ve written, or share it with a trusted, valued friend or your doc…and see if it sounds realistic after stepping back from it…then you’ll know what you have to do.
Danny,
Even for Mazdas? Her nickname is Cher because of all the plastic surgery she’s had. We had a horrific ice storm. Huge limb crashed through the windshield, sheared off the steering column & made a hole in the floorboard. Two-three weeks after repairs, a truck side-swiped Cher. Back for more surgery. Several months after the truck, a friend backed into her with his SUV. A couple of years ago, someone hit my car in a parking lot. She keeps on ticking!