So here’s my story in a small nutshell. I was diagnosed a week after my 5th bd, almost 42 yrs ago to the day. My childhood was fairly normal as was my teen years and for the most part my adult life. That, I attribute to my parent’s and my support team. My parents did a wonderful job of instilling good eating habits and made me aware of making good decisions on my own. It’s certainly a condition that takes a lot of hard work and effort to deal with and it entails that you are always on your toes. It doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself or if you do waver with your blood sugars, as long as you deal with it in a timely manner, then hopefully you can nip any problems and/or concerns in the bud before they harbor into something bigger or takes its toll both on you physically, mentally, psychologically, etc. You can treat yourself and you can live a ‘normal’ life, but you have to look at dealing with T1D as a ‘full-time gig’. It doesn’t ever go away so you can’t allow yourself to lose track of that. Don’t get me wrong, I have had my shares of ups and downs as far as sugar, but for the most part they were dealt with ASAP and treated immediately. I am now on the pump as I have been for probably the past 10+ years. My pump has a CGM built into it so I am aware of my sugars pretty much all the time. This is part of the technology part of this disease which has increased dramatically over the past 42 years. 42 yrs ago the only type of insulin I was on was Lente which was only a long acting insulin. I started to mix Regular insulin into my syringes about 4 years into dealing with T1D. Now the insulin is the Humalog which works so much quicker than the old Regular/Lente/Lantus, etc. How much easier it is to adjust your eating or scheduling issues with insulin that works in a few minutes is so much easier than it used to be. My A1C is a 6.0 and fortunately I do not have any long term affects of this disease. It still takes time, knowledge, and 24/7 effort, but nothing is ever out of the realm of possibility’s or should inhibit yourself or anyone else in any way, shape or form. Now there are many struggles as well, and I have dealt with them also, but I just wanted to give a little bit of a positive ‘vibe’ on dealing with this condition for over 40 yrs. Feel free to check in, ask any questions/concerns or just check in. Like i mentioned there are many different sides to this story (i.e., financial being a huge one…especially with the state of healthcare in the USA) but I will address them as they come up, etc.
Your story is so encouraging. Thanks for sharing it. I was diagnosed 8 years ago at 57. It was a shock and a major life adjustment but your story reminds me of how grateful I am to have been diagnosed so late in life. My last A1C was 5.9. I am obsessed about my BG management but it truly is like having a second job. I admire you for handling it for so long so effectively. Frankly, I am feeling burned out after only 8 years.