Hello, I’m Becca and I’m 19, I’ve had diabetes since I was 8.
No one in my life truly understands the struggle I’m going through. My mom use to be the one to talk to about everything especially my diabetes but she passed away a little over a year ago, so no one else really understands. I recently started Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to try to help me actually take car of myself again.
ANYWAYS, I would love to finally talk to people around my age that understand the lifestyle I’m stuck with, maybe compare stories and become friends…
@BeccaG3 hi Becca, sorry about your mom. When my Dad died it left me feeling lost. Glad you are here and almost all of here have T1 so this should help with the understanding diabetes part.
Becca @BeccaG3 , I’m truly sorry to hear of the loss of your mother, I know the feeling. I’m not your age - unless I subtract the 60+ years I’ve lived with diabetes - and I don’t live near you but keep looking and posting here and you find several understanding “friends” your age. But I’m available by here.
There are three JDRF Chapters in the Milwaukee area - click the “Near You” search box at the top of the http://www.jdrf.org/ web-page. The June meeting of our JDRF meeting was hosted by members your age and I learned much from their presentation. I was impressed!
Becca, there are type 1 camps and conferences where you can make friends. Many type 1 people have done. The Friends For Life type 1 conference was held in Orlando, FL earlier this month. It is a conference for type 1 people of all ages. There is an excellent opportunity there to make connections with other type 1 people in your age group. It is expensive though, so attending a camp might be better, and more convenient. There are also JDRF chapters throughout the country. There should be a chapter not so far from where you live. (I am assuming that you live in the US.)
Hey Becca! I’m Jenn and I’m 18 - I was diagnosed at 17 but I’ve been through CBT before. I’m very sorry to hear about your mom. I’m here for you if you want to talk!
Hey Becca! I am 20 years old and I have had diabetes for 4 years now! Sorry to hear about your mom that is super rough and something none of us want to go through. I am here if you want to talk I can give you my Instagram or email or whatever works if you want to talk!
Becca,
I am so sorry for your loss. It can make taking care of yourself that much more of a struggle. I have been diabetic since I was 8 as well. I am 31 now. I am not the best diabetic but if anyone knows what living with this disease does to people it is me. If you ever need anyone to talk to let me know.
Hey, I’m Justice I’m 15 and I get the whole nobody truly understanding thing. I feel the same, and I may not have been through the same stuff as you but I still understand. It’s hard.
Hey Becca I’m denise I’m 24 years old and I’ve had diabetes for 10 years now. First off I want to say sorry for your loss. I’ve never been through that so I have no idea what you’ve been through really in that aspect. As for diabetes I’ve had to live with it for a long time. It’s certainly not easy and there are some days where I just want to quit and do whatever I want. I’ve always had my sister I can talk to about my diabetes but she lives 6 hours away so she’s not always around. This is actually my first time joining a support group and reaching out to ppl like me who struggle everyday with this. I always get so excited when I meet someone who has t1d because they’re truly the ones that understand what you’re going through and it’s always fun to exchange stories about “that one time my sugar was low/high”. Anyways I hope we can definitely keep in touch and I’d love to hear how you are doing now with your diabetes :)
Lately I’ve been struggling with this aspect of the disease as well. I totally agree with @Lovera.denise. I was diagnosed when I was about 6 and am about to turn 22 now. Going on 16 years almost. For the past few years I’ve sort of given up on trying to figure out how to feel about it, and have been pretty indifferent towards the disease. Lately though, I’ve ben feeling pretty lonely about it, especially when I talk to my friends about it but they still don’t get it. I also depend on my mom a lot to talk to about it. That sucks that you can’t go to her. I am so sorry for your loss. I’m happy to hear you started therapy though! I just started about a year ago and it has helped me SOO much. It’s really made all the difference, but I am of course still figuring things out. Haha, it never ends right?
I just wish people would put two and two together and be like damn, living with an incurable disease most of your life sucks. It’d be nice if people showed less pity or joked about it less. I’m usually a good sport when it comes to diabetes jokes, but it’s been getting old among my friends. I wish they could really see and respect what it takes to live a normal healthy life with this disease. It’s a lot of work that you never really get credit for. I’d love to connect. DM me and maybe we can exchange snapchats?
Yes Emily @emfeller, the jokes about diabetes can be a real turn-off especially from people who know-nothing. Something that shuts up some jokers is showing them a picture of “One- month’s Insulin Injections”:
I actually did a presentation on diabetes and the impacts of new technology on self care, and I led with one of these pictures. It definitely impacted some people. It was a cool opportunity. I can usually roll with the punches, but lately it’s been annoying. It gets old after a while. I keep thinking that my friends (which I consider to be my close friends, and they are good people) will eventually learn more and maybe like lay off on the jokes or say something different. But it’s just always the same. On the bright side, one of my friends straight up said “Wow, I don’t know anything about Diabetes” which is more than most people acknowledge. Also, totally love sharing low/high stories too! Lol I can’t help but become a diabetes nerd round other diabetics!
It always surprises me Emily @emfeller at the people who come to me to talk about diabetes and how knowing me has affected them. Yes, I’ve reached the place where I really just ignore the people who have known me for years and say “forget about it is is JUST diabetes”. Then there are others, like a woman I’ve been seeing at the gym for a couple of years who tells me she admires my inspiration; she learned about me and my diabetes after she found my Dexcom receiver which I had left behind at the gym. Turns out her son has had TypeOne for almost twenty years.
The picture I posted is one of the slides for a presentation I will be making next week at a JDRF Chapter meeting - entitled “Diabetes Through the Years”.
That’s awesome! That’s so funny that you met that lady. I feel like now, after I’ve grown up and escaped elementary and high school, I am always meeting diabetics. Or seeing them with their pumps and cgms! It makes us much easier to spot that’s for sure, lol!
