How is everyone dealing/feeling about the current pandemic we are dealing with? I just worry about my health and if my medicine will still be available if things to worsen.
Hi @emyy01 Emily and welcome to TypeOneNation. Honestly, Iāve been only going out when necessary, and since work has suspended travel I donāt need to go anywhere anyway. I try not to panic because that never ever helped me or solved any problems. Anxiety is a problem for me so I exercise. Have faith that critical supply will be maintained and do your best not to expose yourself to unnecessary risk, which right now appears to be if you limit your exposure to coughing and sneezing people.
The JDRF response page is here: https://www.jdrf.org/coronavirus/
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Having been a type 1 for 60 years, I have been through many flu/cold seasons and survived. I do everything I can to avoid hospitalization because I have worked in a few hospitals and know how little some providers know about T1 DM. I fear their mistakes almost as much as I do the virus. Although I am following all the recommended precautions, my husband is a plumber and has continued to take care of residential emergencies, so I fear what he may bring home. He says he is following the rules, too. In general this virus has forced everyone to make a major lifestyle change. So be it. Take care everyone!
@emyy01 Hi Emily and welcome to the JDRF TypeOneNation Forum! I hope that you will find answers, and some comfort, from others like you who are trying to live well with diabetes. Very good information for people with diabetes is posted, and up-dated, on our parent-webpage, jdrf.org https://www.jdrf.org/
For me, my āactionsā to avoid being infected by this virus, is the recommended āsocial distancingā. Being a social-being, this can be trying. Other than on on-line volunteering, I have finally decided to put-aside my other volunteer activities until a sufficient time after the āall-clearā is sounded.
Yes, it is very wise for you to be concerned, and follow recommendations.
As for Insulin and other medical supplies, I am NOT concerned. All major insulin manufacturers have published notices that supplies are plentiful and that there is not any reason to suspect interruption in manufacture. Iāve received direct email from my pump and sensor suppliers and manufacturers that there will not be interruption in delivery.
When it first started I noticed my blood sugars were high for days. Then we realized that it was probably me stressing from this pandemic. My family has definitely helped me calm down and I have gotten my bg back in control. I do have a lot of anxiety but I really hope this virus will be over soon. My parents ordered many diabetic supplies just in case so that I have months worth of supplies. I do worry about everyone not getting insulin but I hope it wonāt come to that. Stay safe everyone!
I was handling everything pretty well at first. Concerned, but taking a practical, one-day-at-a-time approach. I figured out how long I could last with the supplies I already had, stocked up on sick-day needs (like soup, popsicles, tylenol, etc), and went on with my life as best as any of us can right now. But Iām getting more and more worried the longer this lasts, particularly because Iāve been trying to get in touch with my doctor and havenāt heard a peep from her.
I started using the Omnipod in February and right as MA was shutting down I noticed a pattern of high blood sugars on Day 3 of each pod. I spent most of a day on the phone with a nurse at the Joslin Center (about 2 weeks ago, now) and we decided that I should switch out the pods every 2 days, but my script is for 10 pods/month, not 15. She mentioned that my doctor wasnāt there because almost everyone was working from home but that sheād send a note to ask her to write a new script. A week later I wrote to my doctor myself because I never got a confirmation and Iām worried about running out of pods, but I still havenāt gotten a response. Iām going to try calling Joslin on Monday, but it worries me that I havenāt gotten any e-mails from them about what to do for prescriptions or my upcoming appointment (April 6th). Iāve gotten e-mails from everyone and his uncle about how theyāre coping and protecting their staff and stuff. But nothing from the hospital thatās been treating me for 25 years?!?!?
I can feel myself getting more anxious as I write this. The rational part of me knows that I have a decent supply of syringes and Lantus and a few unfilled prescriptions for each, I think, so itās not the end of the world if I have to switch back. But itās been such a roller coaster learning how to use the pod; I donāt want to have to start all over.
Iām so tired of being scared, of feeling like Iām in a different category than others. Itās starting to take a toll mentally. Iāve remained covid free so far b/c Iāve been so careful, but when can I go back to the world outside my home? How careful do I need to be? Am I being overly paranoid? I feel guilty about asking to remain remote at work and hate asking for special accommodations, but I also need to accept the reality of being a 50 year old woman with type one diabetesā¦can anyone relate? Should I just suck it up and return to the office full time or should I continue to ask for accommodations? All my life people have told me I could do anything my friends could-T1D would not hold me back, but here it is holding me back, right? Please share your thoughts with me.
FWIW Iām a little more than 10 years older than you. I haf a mild case of COVID last spring and thankfully recovered at home. I had virtually no appetite and CIQ did its thing so I had and blood sugars the entire time. I got both Pfizer doses as soon as I was able and am sure did my booster in a couple of weeks - I just scheduled it over the weekend. Iām home a lot and go out mainly for groceries and to go to the gym. I wear a mask when Iām in public spaces indoors and continue to do the 20 mine hand wash when I get home. There are no guarantees in life - I could get hit by a car crossing the street so I do as much as I can do to be careful.
There was a snowstorm in the northeast yesterday and people were stuck on I95 for 20-some hours the last I heard, with no access to food, water, or restrooms. I always pack a stash of food and beverages when I travel but I would have been more concerned about that than COVID.
PS - Iāve had Type1 for nearly 60 years.
@amymercer Iām in the same boat as you, emotionallyā¦Itās been an exhausting 2 years. I donāt have any particular advice, other than the obvious (get vaccinated and the booster) and be diligent but I wish I had more for you, or myselfā¦ 
Mostly I just wanted to reach out and say that you werenāt alone in your feelings. All the best.
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Thank you so much! Thatās exactly what I needed to hear. Itās helps knowing we are not aloneā¦.
Hi Amy @amymercer. I understand your fear. I spent part of 2020 as a hermit because I am not able to wear a mask due to anxiety. It was very demoralizing.
I am 47 years old and Covid ran through my home last spring. I had a weird headache and a fever of 100.4 in the evenings. A week into it, I lost my sense of smell. I did have to increase my basal insulin by 5 units. I think my daily outside walks in the fresh air and vitamin D supplement helped a lot. This new variant is more transmissible, but not as dangerous. Stats from South Africa claim up to 80% fewer hospitalizations than other variants. It will be ok. 
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Hi Amy, I read your post and Iām not sure I have any advice but wanted to say I know I can certainly relate to your fear, and being sick of the fear! I am also 50 years old, and the mother of two teenagers. My 13 year old son has T1D (diagnosed April 2021) and thankfully my 14 year old daughter does not! Sometimes the fear is overwhelming, especially when I dwell on the potential risk of exposure at school. I rely strongly on my faith during the times it gets overwhelming, and remind myself both my kids are vaccinated. I took both for the booster shot yesterday, but my daughter flat out refused to get one because she said she was afraid of future side effects. I am so over the masking and everything else associated with this pandemic! I can barely stand to hear the words social distancing and quarantine, and pray we will see an end to it soon. My mother is 73 and has COPD. She is also fully vaccinated, but she is afraid to leave her house, because if she did get Covid, with COPD, she might not recover. She needs new eyeglasses, if not cataract surgery. She needs new dentures, and has stopped going to her PCP, all because she is afraid she would be exposed to this virus. I have tried everything I can think of to persuade her, including trying a telehealth visit, but she isā¦and I say this with loveā¦quiet the stubborn woman.
My point to all this is be very careful to not allow the fear to consume you. Reach out for someone to talk to, this forum is an excellent way to do that. Living in constant fear and all this social distancing could lead to worse problems like depression and isolation. I will keep you and all T1d families in my prayers!
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Hi @WarriorMom13 . My mom passed away a few years ago at 94 years of age. She was able to get around, but with difficulty, and at one point - I believe it was during a hospitalization - arrangements are made for her to receive house calls. I didnāt know those even existed anymore! It was a blessing for me as I took her to medical appointments, and having a primary care doctor and certain specialists come here was much easier on everyone.
A friend of mine is a nurse practitioner who just started her own practice, and she comes to the patientās home. You might check with your momās doctor to see if those type of services are available, assuming she would be amenable to them.
Blessings to you and your family.
If I might ask, how did your sonās booster go? I get mine in about a week.
Hi thank you for the infoā¦a not sure if my mom would be accepting to a nurse visiting herā¦sheās convinced herself she doesnāt need her medications now, but I will work on a strategic plan to mention the idea.
So far, so good on the boosterā¦he just got it late yesterday, so it may be too early to tell. School is out for today due to expected weather so heās sleeping now. Iāve had my third and my arm was a little more sore than with the first two, and took longer for it to stop being sore, but other than that no issues.
I wish you luck with yours. I definitely believe they workā¦my director was the only one in her household to receive the vaccines, and everyone in her house got covid except her. Sheās a former and still licensed registered nurse, and was caring for her family within close contact, but still didnāt get sick.
Oh and one more noteā¦about two hours after the booster his BG was at 68, however I tend to think this was because we were late eating dinner, rather than from the vaccineā¦since it was a slow and steady decrease.
Iāll try to give an update later as to how heās doing with it.
I think stubbornness in an aging parent is a good thing - itās a sign of spirit. A very frustrating one for the ākidsā who are caring for them though. But I guess itās turnaround from our childhood - mine at least, as I canāt speak for you. God bless you and your family, and all the best for 2022.
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Continuing the discussion from COVID-19 fears:
Wow, Amy. Thanks so much for putting this into words. Iām 51 and have had T1D for 21 years. Iāve always strived to not let it limit me, and thanks to a pump and now GCM technology thatās been pretty much possible. Lots of my colleagues and acquaintances donāt even know that I have diabetes. I donāt particularly hide it, but there was never any reason for them to know. But now with COVID I definitely feel like Iām in a different category, suddenly the āotherā of society that falls nebulously within the āpeople with underlying conditionsā risk group (despite our exclusion from the early vaccination eligibilityā¦). Despite having family, friends and colleagues who support my strategies for hunkering down - and feeling very fortunate in that - it does wear you down a bit. Thanks for saying it out loud. You are not alone!
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Yes, thank you Kristin! You totally get it. Itās not so much that Iām afraid getting sick, itās being placed in the āVulnerableā category which is necessary, but also hard. Itās years of living with an invisible illness until COVID made it visible. It really helps to know Iām not alone.
Thank you! Itās so helpful to be reminded that Iām not alone from people who get it! I appreciate your kind words, I tend to overthink things and have struggled with depression in the past. Venting helps 
I was scared, almost as much as the rest of my immediate family was scared to visit us. Nobody wants to get husband/daddy/grandpa sick. Iām almost 10 years older than you and almost 40 yrs T1 with a relatively good ac1 and time-in-rangeā¦
I have a job where I have to go to customer businesses so I couldnāt stay home.
We avoided covid till October '21. My wife brought it home and I purposely didnāt take any precautions when she did. The whole thing has been exhausting and I was done. Thankfully we both had mild cases as did almost everyone know. We did throw the kitchen sink of things available to us at it. Either way, I would have been ok with the outcome. Maybe not my wife thoughā¦
From that point forward we agreed and have been transitioning back to a normal life. We donāt take any precautions that we werenāt using pre-covid. I STILL have an occasional anxious moment but regret nothing about any decisions weāve made. Weāve traveled and gathered as we were used to doing. It is very liberating and I canāt live in relative isolation. We were never meant to live in isolation. Since I have no idea of my expiration date, Iāve elected to fully live again as much as possible. T1 has always limited me a little and will continue to do so.
For what its worth, my level is risk tolerance may be different than yours. My idea of fun includes scraping the pegs of a motorcycle in a beautiful curved arcā¦
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