I find it very odd to compare the people I know with diabetes with the people I see on diabetes websites and blogs.
The people I know with diabetes, my friends, family, coworkers - they don’t want to talk about it. I don’t see them test their blood sugar. They eat white bread and pasta. Their diabetes seems sidelined, hidden, tucked away. One friend newly diagnosed with prediabetes believes she gave it to herself because she’s overweight, and isn’t interested in hearing about how insulin resistance can be a contributing factor to obesity.
The people I -read- with diabetes are of course talking about it. They research, they learn, they keep an eye out on the newest studies, they react! They post numbers, food, carbs, emotions, worries. There’s a real sense of community, of diabetes as a force, an entity that is affecting so many people in a thousand differing and similar ways. They are involved in their heath, even when struggling.
Considering this, I’m -very- glad we have the internet, and that people do talk online. I can’t imagine how isolated and alone and overwhelmed I would feel if there was no one else out there sharing the things I’m going through.
I never felt this overwhelmed until I learned more, if that makes sense. MDI and/or pumping and knowing your bgs whenever you want has lead for me a more stressed diabetic life, filled with more anxiety. I feel better yes when my bgs are steady, but trying to achieve that is the stressful part. With tighter control has come a greater feeling, at least for me a true 24/7 disease. Type 1 for 41 years, and starting this journey when we only knew our bgs every 6 months when seeing the doctor, which meant nothing.