#2
My grandmother had two siblings who were diagnosed with T1 before the discovery of insulin. They died at the ages of 5 and 7 and their deaths were, from what I've heard, horrible. They basically starved to death and died as skeletons. My father, also a T1, grew up during a time when insulin availability was not consistent. He had no way to check his BG on a regular basis and survived off one shot of NPH each day. He lived in a rural area and he and his sister (who also had T1) had to ration out their insulin sometimes to ensure that they would have enough to last until their next shipment arrived in town. And the purity/consistency of insulin was always questionable.
So, yeah, D sucks sometimes, but I am so glad I have it today!
Very well said FHS. That's exactly how I feel too. The day to day inconveniences I'm long over. But I could never say that diabetes has given me anything positive. The thing I regret the most is the worry that it causes my family and those who care about me. I try not to think about it too much.
yeah, if there's something to be 'glad' about having this, i too am grateful i got it later in life..i'm grateful too that burden wasn't put on my parents, probably more my mother, who's life would have changed completely (I would imagine) if i was diagnosed as a child. still, the tools we do have aren't accurate, there's variabilities with our meters, our A1C's, CGMS, pumps fail, on MDI's we can inject and some cells don't get insulin, it's all variable..this whole stupid disease is trial and error and guessing half the time, it does suck. again, maybe when I get a bit more stable, I'll feel differently. Right now, this sucks!
Vast majority of time I'm a #2 . . . . . doesn't mean once in a while I hate it.
Well, I disagree in that I think we are closer to a cure/better treatment just as every day that goes by we are a day closer to death. We have to be. Everyday that goes by is another day in the past. I never really expected diabetes to be so difficult to manage. When I was diagnosed back in 75 it was basically stay away from sugar. Back then they didn't tell me any form of carbs raises your glucose and if you don't have the right amount of insulin/glucose circulating in your body all the time the sugars will never be normal. For most of my diabetes life I was on two shots of NPH. Things improved quite a bit back in 99 when I went on MDI and started carb counting but in the end its a lot more demanding, costly and I still feel horrible often. I dream of being free of this and refuse to accept their won't be some kind of breakthrough down the road. If I die before that happens I believe I will be in a better place.
Well I would have to say #2..
Although I have been fortunate to avoid complications so far, I imagine I would change my tune if I was dealing with neuropathy and renal problems daily.
Yes it's a pain and yes this sounds like somewhat of a platitude, but I l take the "get busy living or get busy dying" approach to life. I have a limited amount of time on this earth, I can make the most of it or I can wallow...
#2
A solid deuce here. I have it, it isn’t going away, so deal with it! It could be sooooo much worse.
Answer: Option 2. Sometimes it is good to be a diabetic.
#1; but any kind of illness sucks.
#2. I have experience with "worse" things.
I sooo agree with busted pances. My family lost many to Type 1 b/f insulin. I saw some pics of earlier family members with Type 1. Horrid to me and any one else who saw the bones through the skin and later (not much later) they were lost. My cousin who took Type 1 10 years b/f me helped me understand that she had had some very rough times in the 50's with her diagnoses and when I was diagnosed atleast the insulin was there in the 70's. She also told me many stories about having to boil her needles and use them again atleast in 73 the syringes were disposable. Now I pump and am VERY grateful for all the diabetics that were b/f me making things somewhat easier for me.
Amen!! It would be nice to have a cure but the progress in treatment especially since the DCCT gives me hope for a reasonable life every day.
Maurie
I agree. No real up side to this. But just like any other curve ball life throws at me, my motto is "You can laugh or you can cry." I choose laugh because crying just does not make things any better.
As said by Type1Gal - I totally share the fact that I hate diabeties - however some people outside of our normal lives do help. The ones that dont are the people who seem to refuse the fact that every now and again you want to have a vent. It is important that people understand that being told "there there" doesnt work. So I would ask that rather than a pat someone on the head, sometimes it is ok to say - for x million "have my diabeties for a day!" we all know it wont happen but it breaks the issues that build up.
Gos
#2
#2 gave me the opportunity to find Tudiabetes and my wonderful friends here. I am 84 love every day of my life. It is tough when I have a high like now due to cortisone shots but,all in all, I am a Happy Camper. Why ■■■■■ not much you can do about it.
^ I know this seems hard to believe but I'm only good to go when between 80-90. Anything higher or lower then that range it starts getting real nasty. For some reason my body just can't adapt what so ever to numbers out of the normal range. In general with my job being very physically demanding I sink low often. In fact the last dozen blood sugars I've taken accept one has been between 39 and 68. Every once in a while I get a few crazy highs but much more low sugars then anything else.
#2