Living With Type 1 Diabetes

I never want to come off as someone who has constant rainbows shooting out of my butt...because that's not real life, and I want this blog to represent me...all of me.

Being Type 1 diabetic is a BIG part of my life, and I have felt recently that I wanted to share a little more about that side of me. I have also received quite a few e-mails from other type 1 diabetics asking if I could talk about it more.

I have been diabetic for 19 years. I was diagnosed when I was 7. My symptoms were:

• I lost a significant amount of weight
• Had no energy
• Was extremely thirsty
• Wanted to sleep all the time
• I was irritable
• I was starving (because my blood sugars were up in the 800s..which is near death range) and had to pee every 10 minutes due to the high amount of sugar that was in my bloodstream.

My Mom and Dad thought I had a bladder infection (because I was going to the restroom every 10 minutes) so they took me to my pediatrician. He knew right away something was wrong. He tested by blood and told my parents to sit down. He said, "She has Juvenile Diabetes (different from type 2) we need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible." My Mom fainted! Yep..

The Dr. told me I would have to spend a little time in the hospital in order to get better. I was scared. Hospitals are where people go to die (in my 7 year old brain that's what I thought). I found out a few years later that I would have most likely gone into a permanent coma if I was diagnosed any later.

I took one last shower before we left for the hospital and I remember standing there crying. Why was God letting this happen to me? My Mom and Dad packed me a suitcase and off we went.

I stayed at Children's Hospital in San Diego for one week. I still remember to this day the sweet nurses that helped me understand what I was going through and what I would have to do.

I had to start doing shots (4 a day) and testing my blood sugar every hour or so. I got to practice on my Dad. He would let me inject his arm with saline every time I had to do an insulin shot so I did not feel alone. Looking back, that makes me smile.

I remember asking, "When will I get better?" The kind nurses gently told me that I was going to have to do this for the rest of my life. I grew up a lot that week at Children's Hospital, I knew things were going to be different.

I have definitely had some scary moments with diabetes. I have had three seizures due to low blood sugar. My parents were always worried about me and sleepovers did not happen when I was little unless one of the parents was either a Dr. or a Nurse.

Fast forward to today.

I am a healthy, married 26 year old woman with a perfectly healthy 16 month old son with another baby on the way. Diabetes is a huge part of my life and it is something that I deal with everyday. Everything I eat and do I have to think about.

Yes I still have moments where I feel scared and weak and wish diabetes would just go away, BUT I know God gave this to me to somehow help others that may be feeling like they are all alone in the world of diabetes.


If you have any questions please comment below and if you would like more information visit the American Diabetes Association.