Me v Type 1 Diabeties
What’s your daily challenge? Diabetes is exactly that for me.🤦🏼♀️ An hour to hour challenge some days. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 14 years ago when I was 26 years old. My Dad has it too and was diagnosed when he was 20.
It’s estimated that around 400,000 people in the UK have Type 1 Diabeties. That’s the insulin dependant type that is thought to be genetic or viral. Basically my pancreas doesn’t produce insulin so I have to inject it subcutaneously myself several times every day. At the risk of sounding dramatic, if I don’t I’ll die! But before that happens I run the risk of severe nerve damage, kidney failure, limb amputation and going blind amongst other nasties. And if I inject too much the consequences can be just as bad.🙈 Put the violins always though folks as this isn’t a pity party.🤣 It’s just some facts for those that don’t really understand the condition. (And a reminder to myself that looking after myself is rather important!)😏
The next challenge is injecting the right amount of insulin, at the right time, in the hope that I manage to keep my blood glucose levels within a safe target zone. Which by the way is like finding a needle in a haystack.😳 I could do the very same thing 2 days in a row and the outcome could be completely different. In a nut shell it’s completely unpredictable and a real challenge to manage. Most of the time I try my best. Other times I get neglectful, or perhaps defiant, and take my foot of the gas. I’m human.🤷🏼♀️
I don’t talk about it very much as I don’t want sympathy, special treatment or to be defined by it in my daily life. I don’t try and achieve things in spite of it. I believe that I wouldn’t live my life any differently if I wasn’t diabetic. That said, I do sleep a LOT more than anyone I know as my recovery from normal stuff isn’t quite as good.😴😴 And my active lifestyle gives me a lot to recover from. Late nights are a no go as my friends will confirm!!😂 I’d say my knowledge on Type 1 Diabeties is pretty damn good. I make it my mission to take the responsibility of my health into my own hands. This means lots of research and thinking outside the guidelines of what I’m advised to do by our NHS. That’s a blog of its own though which I’ll get to soon.
So to get to my point, there’s around another 399,999 people out there in the same situation as me. Then add to that the family and friends of those people and you can see the extent that are actually affected by it. That’s actually not even my point!🤣 My point is that I want to start reaching out to others. I want to share my highs and lows (and not the blood glucose sort). I want to share my rollercoaster ride. Share what I find works and what doesn’t. Share what I’ve learned thus far and hopefully learn from others too. I want to contribute something meaningful to whoever is interested by blogging my journey. If you know of anyone who'd be interested in joining me please share away.❤️❤️
