Thanks, Nicole. Interesting place to choose for a child-free weekend!
Zoe–just imagine: no whining, tired, hungry kids (at least not my own, and I can ignore others) You can go on all the rollercoasters, “scary” rides, eat whenever/whatever you want, stay up late, sleep in late, and be a kid again yourself without all the hindrances of actually being a kid 
Plus, we’re spending a few days at the beach afterwards. And don’t feel bad for my kids…we’ve already taken them to both LegoLand and Disneyland in the past two years My parents actually did this a few years ago and loved it!
I guess it's something only a parent can understand! (I wasn't feeling sorry for your kids).
As a non-parent I'm the opposite. I love spending time with my two little great nieces but have zero tolerance for other children, especially in large noisy groups. I was assuming parents idea of quality time on their own would be somewhere quiet..lol. What do I know?
At any rate have a great time!
Thanks! I think a lot of people think we’re mean for going there without our kids I’m okay with that, haha! I can’t wait!!
Oooooooo..... Not being able to walk into a donut shop and being able to pick out several nice, warm, soft, finger licking, lip smacking, drop the sugar coating all over your car seat glazed donuts. (sniffles)
Nah, I think quality time spent (wherever you enjoy) with just the couple is very healthy and nurturing and in the end can only benefit the children by having the adults in their lives relaxed and refreshed!
Yes! I remember about a year and a half ago. I'd just been diagnosed, and was standing in a bank waiting-line with my Dad. There was a tray of candy. He took one, unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth, then offered me one. That was when it hit me: diabetes was not only a helluva lot of work each day, with a lot of fear attached, it was also cruel. All I wanted was ONE LOUSY LITTLE PIECE OF CONSOLING CANDY at that moment, and T1D had taken away even that. I had an existential meltdown, right there in the Wells Fargo lobby. I spoke with my sister later that day. She said, "Save your tears for chocolate ganache." Which helped. ;-)
Just the simple fact that it has become the new norm and everything that goes along with that. I don't mind so much having to worry about packing supplies and such as much as the simple chore of being in a restaurant and having to figure out what the total carbs are for what I ordered. Everyone else is engaging in conversation and I am on my android looking up carb counts if it is something that I didn't already know. Inevitably that drives at least some comment like an apology or something from someone at the table for what I am going through. Didn't realize I am going through anything that required an apology.
I miss the spontaneity, as Dave recently said. On the other side of the coin, I'm more aware of how my body is feeling than my non diabetic friends.
for me, I have had diabetes since I was 9 months old. It should be something I am used to and over, but it's just as hard now as it has been for the last 28 years. I hate most things about it, and the fact that people can't understand what its like to live a day in my life. I don't have medical insurance and that makes it 10000 times harder then your average bear. I live with worrying every day I will have a heart attack because I control my diabetes with 1 short acting insulin. I back you 100% on your complaints and I hope things get better for the both of us ;)
The hardest thing I have accepting about T1 diabetes is the constant looming cloud of health insurance, primarily. The financial strain that comes with that is immense (as I'm sure we all know) and I have a really hard time being ok with our health system requiring people with chronic illnesses to essentially "fend for themselves". I literally cannot wrap my mind around this. This was not a chosen life; why should we have to pay/suffer immensely for something that is not even remotely wanted?!
And of course the usual things I think as well. I hate how different my life seems in relatively small ways from everyone else's. A lot of small things. That add up, very quickly; into a gigantic pile of obviousness. I hate how nobody "really" seems to understand the emotional/physical toll of an invisible illness, and how exhausting a high/low can be (and how the effects can linger for so long). I miss being able to just enjoy a cupcake at a friends birthday. I miss being able to just run out of my house, without a 20lb bag of "just incase" diabetic supplies. I hate my (seemingly) constant whining as well. How does a diabetic NOT think about diabetes all day when they are forced to? It has become a major part of our life, if not BE our life. At least from my perspective.
I'm just really thankful I have a super supportive group of friends who try to understand as best they can, and a wonderful husband who takes fantastic care of me and doesn't hold horrible high/low mood swings against me :P
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I agree about disillusionment with the medical profession, at 66 I could really use their help once in a while, it's hard having to learn everything yourself.
Me too, and that's coming up again soon.
Smart sister.
I agree Ashley, the insurance thing. I may have to go back to MDI, because our new insurance covers infusion sets as "durable medical equipment" and that is covered at 50% of the "allowed charge" whatever that means. I find it odd that they consider an infusion set to be similar to a wheelchair or a bed pan.
If I had to pick one thing I truly dislike about T1D, it would be most non-diabetic around me completely underestimating the disease and its constant toll on the body.
I work at my family business with my pops. I've had T1D for 10 years now, most of it when I was in school, and easy to manage, since everything back then was very routine. Now that I'm 23 and working with the family business, I need to be at full mental fitness even more. I've been having some memory problems recently, and that has been a huge obstacle for me. Not once do I ever tell anyone that I blame T1D for my problems, but it would be nice for them to have that level of understanding of the disease.
I have only ever met one type 1 diabetic and I haven't met her back since. Only a T1D can fully understand what it feels like to be a T1D.
The lack of spontaneity is a biggie, as is always being mindful of what I eat, what I'm gonna do next etc. The pump and CGM make it easier - I can mircodose and avoid a lot of the highs/lows. It did teach me that my teachers in k-12 were right: we would use the math we were learning in real life. I am very anal-retentive, and lived a life of food discipline prior to Dx (I was a recently retired ballet dancer when Dx'd) so that part isn't all that hard. And to prove how shallow I am., at least all the discipline and largely the nature of type 1 (although not absolute) my college girlfriends and colleagues are in the double digit size wise, and I'm still a size 0. It's small but sometimes that works to keep me from straying to far off the straight and narrow. At least with type 1 we do have more freedom than people with type 2.
I also hate the difficulty I can run into trying to figure out the carb and type of carb counts in foods 0 especially eating out. I have gotten fairly good as guessing, but it sure would be nice if there was some sort of clinistick that you could dip into a food and it would give a carb range. If I were a smart chemist I would invent it.
I am constantly worried about whether or not I'm injuring my body and feel like I will blame myself if/when I do start having complications. I worry about whether my floaters are diabetes-related (doc says no, but when I get a new one...) and every time I pee I look to see whether it's dark in color. It's ridiculous how happy it makes me to pee clear. If I could only know that things would turn out ok (whether bc I didn't end up having any complications or bc they were relatively manageable), that would take a lot of the sting out of diabetes for me.
Another thing that really bothers me, though, is that I have a lot of trouble avoiding bad-for-me foods. It just takes a ton of energy for me to dodge the minefield of yummy foods all around me and sometimes I wish I could just sit down and have a donut. lol Did someone mention donuts? Or just eat w/o worrying about the consequences, or having to put too much thought into it.
Oh my---yes. Lack of spontaneity for sure, as others have said....and the constant vigilance, never ever letting your guard down---I do remember from years ago the great resource, Gretchen Becker, saying in her book, that while one loses spontaneity, one does increase ones capacity for flexibility. After almost 8 years, I have found this to be true...Sigh. But I still miss being able to just throw on a sweater, grab my purse and GO!.....
I have a hard time accepting that many medical and nutrition professionals do not fully appreciate the dance we do. They seem to understand the basics of diabetes and know about checking for complications but they don't seem to understand what we do to keep our day-to-day and moment-to-moment blood glucose in check.
I have a hard time with some clinicians (not all!) designating us with a "non-compliant" or "uncontrolled" label. Does that let them philosophically "wash their hands" of any future untoward events in our case?
I understand that medical practitioners see hundreds of us and it must be hard for them to keep their professional spirits up when, in many cases, their watchful guidance doesn't seem to do any good. It must be tough for them.
But when a motivated and educated diabetic shows up, it would be nice if they recognized that this patient may not be just like the last 99.
I also have a hard time understanding that many in the doctor and dietitian ranks do not see diabetes as a disease of carb intolerance. The idea that all you need to do is count your carbs, dose insulin appropriately, and life will be wonderful is one that does a great disservice to many diabetics.
On a positive note, after reading Richard's post about the history of diabetes treatment from 1900-1950, I am very grateful for modern CGMs, 5-second BG meters, insulin pumps, rapid acting insulin, and a emerging recognition of what a carb limited diet can do to control BGs. I'm lucky to have been diagnosed in the late 20th century rather than 100 years earlier!