My name is Bria and I have had diabetes since I was 11, I am going to be 18 in July. Diabetes has been a day to day struggle for me and sometimes I want to give up and not even care anymore. But as I said before, I'll be 18 soon and I cannot afford to give up or not care. None of my family members or friends have diabetes and when I try to talk to them about it, they don't really understand how I feel about it. I despise it. It's a shame, but I'm just now realizing that I cannot allow diabetes to control me anymore, I need to control it. I recently met a girl who has had diabetes since she was 6 years old and is now 20 years old. She has had 18 admissions to the hospital for her diabetes in the past four years and I really don't want to be 20 years old still struggling with disease and I would also like to help her anyway I can. I would like to reach out to other diabetics with a success story, but as of now I think a little encouragement would help so that I can get to that point.
Im not asking to know anyone's business, but if you could just share words of encouragement with me and your success story with this disease.
Hey doll, I can relate to you it is a struggle, but you can find your way around it. I am 20 years old and had this disease for 9 years, but I do not let diabetes take away my quality of life. Are you on an insulin pump? if not you should really look into one, because they are perfect when you are around this age of attending college and having such a busy lifestyle. I have traveled many places and done many things all while having diabetes, and by sticking to an exercise regime and following a low carb diet i have sort of found my peace/comfort with this disease. And you can too, I promise there is a way around this.
You sound just like me. I was 11 when I was diagnosed, and now I’m 38 and doing century bike rides each year as part of the solution. I’ve gone to college, made some mistakes and got back on track. College was crazy, but I lived through it and made it through the other side with no complications (knock on keyboard) so far. It is hard, but knowing that his disease that you have been handed is in your control is a huge beginning. Learn everything you can and by reaching out for help and networking will help you in so many ways.
I connected with a fantastic CDE who really helped me understand how to make changes myself and learn how to plan for the unexpected. I now mentor through JDRF Outreach program. Feel free to connect. Where are you?
I have been type 1 since I was 12 so about 16 yrs now and of course this disease has it’s up’s and down’s in more then one way ha ha! but my father is a ER doc and instead of just giving me and my twin sister who was DX’ed a little after me the clinical information he gave us one saying that is my motto now I guess you could say. " it is not about the circumstances we have but instead how we choose to deal with them" personally I choose to use it as a learning exp. I am a paramedic now and I have a true understanding of my patients I am not one to judge because I too have been judged by my diabetes. I can help these people with more then just a life saving measure I get to help them realize how important they are and how to handle the day to day stuff living with a chronic disease. Don’t allow this disease to define who you are but instead show the world what you can do even with the daily battles of diabetes. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope that you find your mark to make in this world.
Only been a Type 1 for 7 1/2 months but it can be discouraging. However, I’ve decided to live my life and tho sometimes I have bad numbers, the majority of the time I stay in range. The fact that you have been Type 1 for 7 days and are doing o.k. tells me you are taking really good care of yourself. So hugs!!
I have been T1 diabetic since i was 12 and that was 18 years ago. Being a T1 diabetic as a teenager is extremely difficult. I feel T1 diabetics are much better managers than any one else because the learn the importance of discipline in life as they control their diabetes and this discipline leads them to achieve greater heights in life. Just like you none of my parents or close relations has to deal with this. In fact my parents often forget that i am a T1.
Life as a teenager is challenging even for a normal person and for a T1 its a struggle through out life and it’s a tight rope walk. The worst part of diabetes is its a condition for the rich. No matter what part of the globe you are insulin is expensive.
Tell your friend that diabetes is the best friend you can have because it will admonish you when you go out of control and she can celebrate a little by having a piece of cake (compensate it baying an extra shot) whenever her A1C reading are good. you will have more life experiences than any one else and the best part is you will get to know the true meaning of Life. Diabetes will teach you the importance of discipline more than any one else.
In another 20 years you will be a lot smarter than any of your peers and a lot of wisdom to share with other young diabetics. Most importantly you will understand the importance of staying on the middle path and avoid the lows and highs not just in diabetes but in any thing you do in your life. You will also understand that anything that goes high has to come down and anything that is low has to go up!!!
How my Journey Began??
I was in 8th grade when i was diagnosed with Diabetes. But honestly even a month before i was diagnosed i new that i had it. I mean as a kid i wanted to be a doctor and would read any book that spoke about human anatomy and so i knew the symptoms of Diabetes. Since none of immediately members had idea about this, they would simply cut off my complaints saying that i was just trying to get attention. But i can always tell you that 1 month before my diagnosis was the most painful period of my life. I mean i lost about 23 pounds and was extremely weak and couldn’t walk by the time i started receiving treatment. We weren’t rich either and couldn’t afford for expensive medicines.
What am i today??
I graduated with a PhD in Computer Science in Dec 2009 and today i am working for a major consumer electronics company. Honestly, i don’t disclose the fact the i am diabetic to any one except for the insurance or for any other legal purpose.
My advice.
There are many a times when i was depressed and did not bother about controlling my sugars. But trust me its very important to keep yourself composed during those periods. What happened yesterday cannot be changed but you can always control and influence what is going to happen tomorrow by working for it today. I am not saying that yesterday’s events do not have any effect on tomorrow, but you can always improve your chances of having a better tomorrow by working for it today. The only way to win over Diabetes is DISCIPLINE…DISCIPLINE…DISCIPLINE!!! If you maintain discipline you can even bring down the cost of T1 diabetes.How?? By maintaining a constant daily pattern of life like maintain Regular sleeping hours, food at periodic intervals and a gentle exercise of an hour a day. By doing so you don’t have to test your BS more than twice a day. and you will also avoid fluctuations.
Definitely keep checking in here at TuD and being active here… I also found that the people in my day to day life (including or esp. family members) never really understand where I was coming from and in the end just made me more frustrated… It’s also hard because it seems like you’re the only one who has to deal with it all (all the testing and carb counting and injecting)…so coming here and reading about other people’s struggles and discussing and/or ranting about different topics has made it seem more manageable and doable…I’m not the only one whose day starts not just with coffee but a fasting BG
Having grown up with D (diagnosed at 5) I found the transition to self care in my teens really difficult ~a lot to handle along with everything else you deal with during the teen years…and then becoming an adult whether you go off to college, start a full time job or make any kind of change of direction ~ it’s another big step in life…
I’ve found that the less active/less you managed/controlled diabetes the more it seems to take over your life…larger swings in bg…and that each little step (whether it’s testing, bolusing, exercise) it all adds up in a good way
If you made a connection with the 20 year old, keep in touch and become each other’s support because face to face interaction with another diabetic can be a really good experience.
As for success story…still a work in progress…but for me the first step was deciding to retake control of D and moving one step at a time.
D can be a lot of work esp. when you’re first working on getting things under control but it does become more manageable and the benefits (better health both physical and mental, and also less stress) are worth it and some of it’s an immediate return feeling better but also boosting confidence Because you can do it! Just focus on the positive of what you do for yourself and don’t get too upset if results aren’t as good…just use that as an opportunity to learn and improve
Here are some analogies to type 1 self-care:
1.The doctor/health care team can give us the canoe, but we have to take the oars and paddle it, and navigate the trip down the river
2.You are your own science experiment
3. Small steps lead to large distances traveled, one step at a time.
reading “Think Like a Pancreas” anf " Using Insulin" will help alot. they should be available at your local library and are very cheap in used versions on Amazon.
Stay encouraged and stay on this site, my dear… Many will be her to help. Youare a lovely young lady who can and will have a fulfilled, healthy life…Keep positive, my dear. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.
God Bless,
Brunetta
Type 1 42 years
Hey Bria i know you wrote this a while back but i wanted to comment on your post…I’m 25 years old and have beed a type 1 diabetic since I was 6 years old (19 years)… when i got a little older after been told i had diabetes i also hated it and was ashamed by it, but as i got older i realized all i had to do was eat right take my shots (now on insulin pump) and everything will be A okay… and as of today i have no complications and expecting my first child, don’t let diabetes hold you down, YOU have to hold diabetes down!!
you should really look into getting a insulin pump if you’re not already on one, for me being on shots for 18 years and going to a pump last year has given me SOOOOOOOOOOO much freedom!!!
there is a way around this.