This may sound crazy, but ever since i was diagnosed at a young age of 7, 54 years ago, I have always replied the same answer to a question often asked by people that have just learned I am a Sugar Diabetic:
Their question or comment: Oh poor you! I could never give myself shots! I hate needles! It is so sad that you can’t eat sugar ( remember this started way back in 1962 when doctors believed it was co trolled by avoiding sugar)
My reply
It’s not as bad as it sounds! I have learned to Not eat all the sweets people eat. I thank God I have diabetes instead of MS or MD or Epilepsy. At least I can live a long, healthy life, they can’t and do t have a choice.
And here I am 54 almost 55 years later still a Diabetic but still healthy. And I still am thankful I have a disease that allows me to live a normal life.
Cheers to that. I have had type 1 since 1994, and even back then it was just R and NPH and 100 unit HUGE syringes. I had a great child hood and am doing well as an adult, now on a pump. I think to myself: Thank God I’m not in a wheelchair or have mental retardation, or missing a limb, horribly disfigured, etc. There’s so much out there that I can’t imagine having or being. With diabetes, I am in total control of my disease.
I know people with MS who are following their dreams. I know people who use wheelchairs and don’t let that stop them from doing anything. I myself am blind and have accomplished just as much in life as the next person. Sure, there are obstacles, and some days are not easy, but the same could be said of living with diabetes. Having a disability is not as terrible as it seems to outsiders, and people with disabilities dislike pity just as much as everyone else. Just as people without diabetes may see our condition as horrible and unbearable, people with disabilities that may seem horrible and unbearable to others often feel exactly as you do regarding their own circumstances.
No offense taken. I just can’t help point out these things when they come up. I generally try not to base my positive attitude on “at least I’m not as bad off as that poor person” type statements.
My attitude toward diabetes is much the same as yours, Gail, but from a different perspective. You see, I didn’t become a type 1 diabetic until age 70, and not diagnosed as type 1 rather than type 2 until 71.
As you might guess by this age many of my peers have been diagnosed with heart disease, cancer or have had strokes. A college roommate has alzheimer’s and became so aggressive about five years ago that her husband had to have her institutionalized. Some of my former peers have not made it. So having “just” diabetes is, in comparison, a cinch. Other than having prescriptions written, I’m able to manage my condition almost entirely on my own. People with many other diseases are often almost totally dependent upon their doctors. And I hate being dependent upon anyone!
I get it… My hubby was born with one hand. He doesn’t function any differently than I do (other than laugh at me when I try to hand him too many grocery bags). What he does have to deal with is his disability isn’t hidden. Like he’s told me before, no one is going to label me with a ‘gross physical deformity’ like they have in his medical chart. No one questions if I can do something like they do with him (he was an automotive technician for 30 years and people would STARE). I can button all of my pants without help. I am thankful that I can be as open or as closed as I want to be with my disability, as well a other things, others can’t.
I’m also thankful my hubby gets it, even if it’s in a totally different way.
i agree with everything said here. there are times i feel like throwing myself a pity party on a bad day but i know i have had such luck in only having type 1 diabetes. i am so grateful that i get to decide whether or not it goes well or badly, that insulin is so great, that i live in a country where i have access to quality medical care and that my glucometer is in my pocket.
i also try not to base my positive attitude on other people´s circumstances, but lots of times, when i am having that bad day and i see someone worse off than me, it is a reminder of just how lucky i am and that i just need to suck it up.
I’m not trying to minimize, trivialize, or patronize anyone else’s medical problems. I’m just glad that the disease I do have is one that I can control directly, assuming I choose to.
I was recently diagnosed as Type 2 in December. Im currently under the care of a new endo and am requesting to get a work up for LADA. My A1C went from 6.9 to 6 in April. Over the last few months I’ve noticed my sugars have been getting higher. I exercise 5 days a week and eat minimal carbs( why I’m getting the LADA work up). I was initially determined to not have to take insulin but with how I’ve felt the past few months ( tired, losing weight, and not able to get enough every during workouts) I’m to the point where I’ll gladly get on insulin to feel better and prevent any complications. My question is, how many of you have been on insulin long term and have managed their diabetes well without complications? I’m so nervous to start it if needed and would love to hear y’alls experience with it. Thanks!
We have many T2 members here who are achieving excellent control with insulin. My own experience is reasonably typical.
I am a long time T2 who managed for years in the traditional way—oral meds, diet, exercise. As my control continued to get worse and worse, I eventually decided this was just not acceptable any longer and I was bloody well going to do something about it. So I started reading everything I could get my hands on. (There are some really excellent books out there if you know which ones they are), and I tuned into the DOC.
It didn’t take me long to conclude that insulin is the most powerful weapon in the arsenal. Long story short, I essentially marched in to the office and said “I want insulin and I want it now.”
Four years later, it’s clearly the best health-related decision I ever made. I have a degree of control and confidence I never came close to achieving in all those previous years; the hassle and inconvenience notwithstanding, I wish I had done it years earlier.
I have been on insulin for 32 years and the few complications I have are relatively mild and I can live with them reasonably. Like @David_dns says, insulin is the most powerful tool we can use. Don’t be afraid of it; just treat it with the respect it deserves. Learn all you can about dosing insulin. It is a tremendous asset in the hands of an interested, motivated, and competent person with diabetes.
“My question is, how many of you have been on insulin long term and have managed their diabetes well without complications?”
As a Type 1, I have been using various types of insulin for the past 50 years with few complications. I agree with Terry4 that you need to learn about insulin and, once you start, to learn how you personally react to insulin. I take very little insulin because I am super-sensitive to it. My mother-in-law needed huge amounts of insulin with each meal. She said that her diabetes was “worse” than mine. Not true. Diabetes is diabetes. Yes, there are different types, but none is better or worse than another. Each person responds differently. If you choose to use insulin, get educated on your options. Will you use injections? Can you use a pump? If so, which one will work the best for you? Will a continuous glucose monitor help you live healthier life? These are all wonderful options open to you today that were not available to me 50 years ago. Good luck with your progress as you take control of your condition.
There are some really excellent resources available to help you learn how to use insulin most effectively, including books. Here are three of the best:
John Walsh et al., Using Insulin (San Diego: Torrey Pines Press, 2003)
Gary Scheiner, Think Like A Pancreas (Boston: Da Capo Press, 2011)
Richard K. Bernstein, Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution, 4th. ed. (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011)
The last two, in addition to detailed information about using insulin correctly, also contain a wealth of information about diet, diabetes generally, and the whole spectrum of treatment and methods.
i also am t1 and ms, makes doing blood tests 7 times per day and injecting 5 or 6 times per day interesting & its amazing how many people think you are drunk without having to pay 4 it! sometimes i just take an old 100 unit 12.7 mm needle (old glass remoovable needle) srynge and a grinding stone and start sharpening it. Realy freek’s them out ! Only been a type 1 since 17 when endo at hospital said they had a special on type 1 and 2 that week and asked which one i want for free without telling me the difference and being a typical brainless teenager i said type 1 thanks! dumbo
I have read all the comments and while I will never ever say I’m thankful…I will say I’m thankful I was diagnosed when I was with type one. I hear so many stories of those who lived too long being misdiagnosed…I felt like utter crap for months until I went to a doc…diagnosed with type 2 which changed very quickly to type one. It’s been three months and I promised myself when I’m truly frustrated by this stupid disease that I remember how truly awful I felt before. I also think how lucky I am to be in an age where I can manage it. I said it in another post but I feel lucky too my poor body fought all those months with me being in denial and not going to the doctor sooner. Everyone has a battle and this one I can do. Some days suck…some days I feel I got it in the bag. Haha. Regardless…waking up another day is great and feel blessed I can fully function…with a little help from insulin.
