After being Diabetic for 24 years, I feel like it has taught me a lot, both about myself and about others.
Though I planned on having a few more Diabetes related blogs this month, I imagine some more will be sprinkled in over the next few months as well.
So as my wrap up for National Diabetes Month, aka November, there is my list of 5 things Diabetes has taught me over the years.
Not Everyone Will Understand, but Those Who Care Will Learn One thing that become evident really quickly is that those people who care about you and want you to be your best will learn the signs of low or high blood sugars and will ask how to help you when you need it. I have had my sugars drop when with various people, and I'll admit to being stubborn and wanting to do it myself, but the friends who know will try to help, with find you juice or soda, will sit with you when you are trying to recover. They will ask questions, offer you snacks, or even just be there when you need to rant about how Diabetes annoys you that day. Support matters, and it comes in a lot of different forms.
You Will Be Told Ridiculous Thing but it is OK. Over the last many years I have been told plenty of 'cures' for my Diabetes. Cucumbers in water, not eating sugar, drinking more water, praying. All things that people think are helpful without knowing that there really is nothing that will get my pancreas making insulin again. It has definitely fully settled into it's life of vacation for doing one of its main jobs. People not understanding can be frustrating, but they are trying to help in the way they think is right, and honestly I don't think there is much of a fault in that. Do I wish more people knew the 'right' way to help? Sure, but offering something is better than nothing, even if it's pretty far off.
Some Days Will Suck, but You'll Get Through It There is a grocery list of things that make your blood sugars go haywire. Stress, the seasons, being sick, getting angry, anxiety...the list goes on. Sometimes, there are the hardest parts of others to understand, especially when it ends up in the cycle of 'I'm mad my sugars are high, my sugars are high because I'm mad'. The lows and highs effect how your body feels, but also how your brain feels, making it hard to concentrate or control your emotions. You feel like you want to bite people's heads off or maybe want to cry. Your anxiety seems out of control, just like the blood sugar level. It is all connected, and that sucks, but with a few deep breaths, or a nap, or even a good listen to some loud music you will get through it. You just need to be patient with yourself and the disease.
Your Pump Keeps You Alive, Don't Be Ashamed It took me many years to not actively hide my insulin pump when around people who I was unsure of. Now I'm lucky if it doesn't throw itself out of my pocket or beep loudly because I didn't feel it vibrate. There is a lot more technology now that makes it easier to see my blood sugars without looking right at the pump, which helps with this. At this point, I'm not worried about it. I'm more worried about the cord getting stuck on something than I am about someone seeing it and thinking differently about me. Now that I've added having a CGM and overall just care less about people judging me, it feels a lot better. Now its just people seeing me take care of myself, and there are no problems with that.
Being Organized Doesn't Mean Everything Will Go Perfect One thing being Diabetic has taught me is that I need to be slightly more organized and prepared than others. (This probably led to a few of my anxieties too). I need to make sure my insulin pump has enough insulin to make it through whatever event is that day, if its concert or work or just a day out with friends. I need my test kit (maybe, I don't always bring it with the CGM oops). I need to be aware of when we are eating and have snacks either way. I need to also know if the event will involve exercise or just a lot of walking, because that means planning if I get regular or diet soda. There is also flying, planning vacations, where I need to know I have enough supplies to make it through without needing 'emergency' supplies, because those are expensive. You can plan all you want and you still might forget something. It's OK though, you are a human, and humans aren't perfect. You won't be either.
One of the key things I've learned after all these years is that nothing will go perfect, your pancreas peacing out means that no matter what you do it will not go perfect. People might pretend to be the perfect Diabetics online, but that's not everyone and don't feel intimidated if it is not you. Do what makes you happy, eat what makes you happy in moderation. Have fun, that is what life is for. You just might have a few more steps than everyone else.
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