I’m sorry you feel that way Appie Mol, but personally, I have been healthier after I was diagnosed with diabetes, than before my diagnosis. I know that there is no cure for diabetes, but that has motivated me to be healthier and live a better lifestyle than 2 or 3 years ago. It’s been a year exactly since my diagnosis, and I feel better now than I have felt since I was a kid. At 37 I feel like I am in my 20’s with the extra energy and doing things that I was always to lazy to do or even consider doing. I’m getting back in shape and I’m actually thinking about trying new things such as skydiving and bungy jumping now. So I don’t look at this as never being healthy anymore, but as a second chance at trully having a great life. I don’t eat all the junk food that I used to, I enjoy eating vegetables and salads. I for one, feel great.
Truly happy for you Jesus Ingles. But the point I was trying to make (and it works) is that people with diabetes im my opinion are not healthy in the first place. (I still have a broken pancreas…)
For me it is a fact that i considering my exercise live healthier now than before diagnosis, but I’d rather did no exercise at all and have no DM.
Jesus, what you say really illustrates what can happen when you embrace having diabetes and decide to get healthier. And, I do understand Apple Mol, how it feels when diabetes is just a burden and makes you think you’ll never be healthy again. With so many of us living with chronic illness I’m learning “how” we live with our illness is what’s important. Some are struggling just to “cope” and that may be where you are now. Some like Jesus have found ways to “flourish.” I think exercising more is a good thing. If you look, you may find a few more “good things” you are doing for yourself. That’s always a good start at feeling a little better.
You are so right! There’s one part about diabetes that is very negative: uncurable illness and coping with that fact.
I’ve always said that accepting it depends on the moment, circumstances and mood you’re in.
The positive parts are that it opened my eyes to start living a even more healthy lifestyle (which i already did before diagnosis) and a whole lot of other things I haven’t mentioned in my first reaction.
I see what you mean, and you are right Appie Mol, there is a part of us that is not working properly, but I guess that I’ve always had the mind set that being human means having to deal with all the little or not so little things that can go wrong with us. But I guess that Riva put it best, it’s how we live with our illness is what’s important. I’ve suffered from allergies for years, and I was just struggling to cope, but since I’ve been diagnosed with diabetes and changed the way I live, I live better and have been able to keep my allergies to a minimum thanks to the way that I live my life now.
Alex, you hit the nail on the head! Nobody promised any of us a “perfect” life, and even those who look perfect on the outside are often sufferings from things you don’t know about on the inside.
Attitude is EVERYTHING!! Although I know this offends some people, I’m glad I don’t have quadriplegia, or MS or cancer, or Crohn’s disease, or COPD or a host of other diseases that are hell to deal with every day. That are severely disabling and prevent people from doing what they would really like to do. In comparison, diabetes is NOTHING – diabetics do everything, as long as they take proper precautions! So, yeah, it’s incurable, and I wear a pump, and have to check my BGs, make sure there’s enough insulin in the pump, and monitor whether I’m feeling low, but that’s such a SMALL part of my life – most of the time, I’m just another person going along my happy way. I just can’t get into the “Poor me!” mindset when I’m luckier than most of humanity. I have a home, a car, running, clean water, sufficient income, INSULIN, doctors who take good care of me, friends who take good care of me too, a family – what in the WORLD do I have to complain about?
A friend (diagnosed with breast cancer 7 years ago and now cancer-free) and I sometimes compare notes about our respective illnesses (mine being two autoimmune diseases, Type 1 diabetes and autoimmune hypothyroidism). We both feel our respective diseases changed us profoundly for the better. We wouldn’t wish our respective diseases on anyone, mind you. But we have both slowed down our hard-driven lives, and we live life more fully and gratefully. I really think diabetes sucks, but some good can come out of it.
it has made me a better listener. to my own body, but also to other people’s difficulties and illnesses. as a performing and touring musician my life is irregular and it takes a lot of work to include my needs as a t1 diabetic, but I am grateful that I can include my passion with my diabetes. Having diabetes does not mean that you cannot follow your dreams, but you do need to accept and embrace it-- this realization has changed me profoundly as a person.
I also often say to myself diabetes is not MS or Chrone’s or dementia. Of course I’m sure many with MS and Chrone’s and other conditions also see something their illness has given them. Then there was that ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ episode last week about a man who had a rare condition where he grew warts all over his body and would need surgery every few months, and his hands and feet grew like branches from a tree. He had not been out of his house for 6 years or touched his wife. Thing is, we can always look up and compare ourselves to people who have it better, and look down and compare ourselves to people who have it worse. Whichever way we look will make us feel how we feel. I wrote this in the ADA Stop Diabetes campaign because for me this is how I stop diabetes: http://stopdiabetes.diabetes.org/site/News2?abbr=SD_&page=NewsArticle&id=15206&news_iv_ctrl=10221
Despite my elderly 50+ age, I am stronger and fitter than I have ever been in my life (including those teen years).
I care what I eat, something I ignored before.
Before D, I though of myself as immortal, but in fact my death is a given, I now savor every moment of life.
I am actually in better health than before D, rarely suffer a cold, have not had an ear infection for years (I had so many I now have poor hearing).
And I now have an excuse to pick and choose items off menu’s in a restaurant, “I’m diabetic, I can’t eat mashed potatoes, please give me that asparagus.”
Riva, I agree that diabetes humbles us, but how would you say it does? I know it does… but i cant wrap my head around how it does… haha. That sounds awful! xD
Diabetes has given me compassion and extreme graditude.
Diabetes has forced me to become more focused and concerned about my health. I eat better (completely cut out beef and pork), started weight training with a personal trainer, and started playing tennis for cardio! My goal is to lose 25 pounds and get great muscle tone!
I look at people at my job, and on my floor alone I know of 8 people with diabetes. This is out of a relative small number of 30. In my personal life, I have two ex’s, and SEVERAL cousins with diabetes. It is truly an epidemic and growing worse.
Brandi, I don’t know that I’d say diabetes humbles me. I can say having diabetes makes me more aware of so many things people suffer with, and that I have a little more compassion for others. When my friend got a brain injury I realized that no one would know that her being a little slow doing things or speaking or understanding was due to an injury, not being stupid. I saw how quickly people judged her without knowing the truth. I think being more giving and less judgmental is a great lesson for us all to learn and keep practicing. We never know anyone else’s story until they tell us. I also know I can’t be perfect at managing my blood sugar. My body has a mind of its own at times 
I am impressed by the many positives so many have found in this crazy and complex disease. Being only 3 months into a t1/LADA Dx I am still somewhat overwhelmed by all the adjustments and information it takes to work with this. But, i have always said, you either laugh or cry. I’d much rather laugh and this has helped me through some very bumpy patches in 55 years on earth. At this point I can confidently say that the greatest positive I have realized through this is a profound love and admiration for my wife. She has been there for me when I could not see well enough to take my readings or prepare my insulin. She has spent countless hours researching diabetes and it’s complications (of which I have several), recipes resources you name it. She is amazing. In fact I break my laugh or cry rule (like I am right now) every time I think or speak of what she does for me. I hope that eventually I will have enough energy and control of D to lead a normal and more active life than I can at the moment. But I am much better than when I started this journey a few months back.
Before diabetes i had no drive, I went to work came home then watched t.v. went to bed and repeated the process. Then I was diagnosed with T1 a year ago, since then I have volunteered my free time to coaching youth sports and when not coaching im biking or running. I have completely cut off my ties with television except for the occasional movie and I feel better than ever! While I layed in my hospital bed during the 4 days they did bloodwork I thought to myself that this is a wake up call that I’ve just been wasting my time away and that I need to be more productive with my life. I did feel sad at first but after I was equipped with the knowledge I needed to take care of myself I can honestly say I was excited to start the next phase of my life. And I have been nothin but smiles ever since =)
You touched me deeply Randy talking about your love and admiration for your wife. I too have a partner who is beyond what I could have imagined. And Chase, just imagine what the world would be if more of us got out from behind the TV and threw ourselves back into an active life and helping others.
Riva, I can think of many things that diabetes has given me that are positive. I take much better care of myself now than 10 years ago, I pay attention to my body signals more now than ever before, I’ve lost 50+ lbs in the last 2.5 years, I appreciate people who are struggling with a health ailment much more now than I probably noticed before, I am grateful for the help that I get from my family a lot more than before, and I am more willing to help another diabetic with support and encouragement; and those are just starters.
I eat better now as a diabetic. It has definitely put a curb on my sweet tooth. I still have one, but I don’t give into it as often and I actually gave up chocolate. I know people say this can’t be a good thing, but it is for me.
I HAVE GIVEN MY life a 180° turnaround for the better!!! And my family is so so supportive towards the change …so much so they don´t mind the sugerless and healthier foods at all…I BELIEVE it was a blessing indisguise …cos before i knew it was diabetes…i thought i was incurable…all the bad things happening and the ALL the symtoms i had were making my world miserable…WHEN I WAS TOLD…i remember saying…DIABETES…i can HANDLE THAT!!..I HAVE…made me RESPONSIBLE FOR MYSELF, MY HEALTH, MY WELL BEING…MY INTAKE ON EVERYTHING…
saludos!!