Skip to main content

30 Things About Type 1 Diabetes You May Not Know

In an attempt to bring Invisible Illness week full circle, I have decided to include this list made up by the people at http://invisibleillnessweek.com. I promise to return to space-blogging next week :-)

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

1. The illness I live with is: Type 1 Diabetes


2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 1998 (barely, December 30th)


3. But I had symptoms since: about November 1998


4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: taking shots and poking my finger several times a day.


5. Most people assume: you get used to the shots after a while...


6. The hardest part about mornings are: waking up low and already exhausted...


7. My favorite medical TV show is: scrubs :-) Especially Turk, since he has Diabetes!


8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: well I could probably live without my pump and my glucose meter, but I don't really want to try it...


9. The hardest part about nights are: when I have to change my site...for some reason at night it is really hard to feel "ok" about having to stab yourself with a needle


10. Each day I take 0 pills & vitamins. But I do take a constant stream of insulin...


11. Regarding alternative treatments I: am not sure if I will ever see a cure in my lifetime...and I'm not sure if they can really come up with any alternative treatments besides insulin...haha...


12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: NO ILLNESS!


13. Regarding working and career: at the moment Diabetes has really put a kink in my Astronaut dream...we'll see how that plays out in the future...


14. People would be surprised to know: that I HATE needles!


15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: that I may not be able to be an astronaut :-(


16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: I don't really have an answer to this one yet, although I think I may try SCUBA diving soon...


17. The commercials about my illness: there isn't very many for TYPE 1...just old people with Type 2.


18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: not having to count every carbohydrate that goes into my mouth...


19. It was really hard to have to give up: sleep overs at friends' houses right after I was diagnosed...mom said I couldn't sleep over until I could give myself a shot...


20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: well, I was diagnosed when I was 11, therefore I have lots of new hobbies...but I would say: blogging about having Type 1.


21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: go on a spontaneous trip far away and not worry about how many sites, reservoirs, test strips, meters, lancets, insulin pens, pen needles, syringes, glucose tablets, or insulin bottles I have with me!!! Hurray!!!!
22. My illness has taught me: empathy


23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "I could never give myself shots" cause honestly, if you were going to die, you probably could...


24. But I love it when people: understand or try to understand that Diabetes is not my fault...


25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: "What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise" --Oscar Wilde


26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: that there are people (like me!) who actually know what it feels like!


27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: how you can feel guilty for having something that isn't even your fault...


28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: stay up late with me until I felt better...


29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I want more people to be informed...


30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: ECSTATIC! That someone is actually reading my blog...and maybe even learning a little about this little diabetic!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Who has two thumbs and loves comments? Nerdy April!!! Type one out and hit publish!

Popular posts from this blog

MCM - Certified Mom

This morning I woke up early, the baby monitor was chirping just a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off. Chris graciously rolled out of bed and set out to re-insert Otto's paci. Meanwhile, I pressed my clothes, curled my hair and brewed some coffee - my standard pre-console routine. After a quick breakfast Zara peeped her head over the railing and I heard a gentle "mama" echo down the stairs. It was still dark, but this little one was ready for her daily breakfast of oatmeal and milk in preparation for a fun day at swim lessons and school. As she sat, eating her "oatsss" (as she calls them), I whirled around the kitchen prepping bottles, gathering outfits for school, and ensuring all the swim lesson supplies were set out. It's hard leaving Chris to take care of both kids in the morning (#momguilt) so I try my best to complete as many get-ahead tasks as possible, in hopes his morning goes smoothly. 
This morning schedule description may seem mundan…
Post a Comment
More Nerdy This Way! »

MCM - On Call

It's definitely Monday. Otto spit up on my work clothes this morning, I forgot to brush my teeth and I sat down in my car forgetting to clean the layer of sand from the beach yesterday. Whoops. But, it's also MONDAY!!!!! Which means you get a special look behind the proverbial curtain of Mission Control in a series I'm dubbing "Mission Control Monday". We all need a little "boost" (pun intended) at the beginning of the week, so why not get it from the heart of Manned Spaceflight itself - NASA's Mission Control! 
This week I am highlighting the little known fact that sometimes, as an ADCO Specialist, I am scheduled to be "On Call". It just so happens I am "on-call" this week! Even though we don't have a sweet 1990's pager, the ADCO on-call is a Specialist with the cumbersome responsibility of having their cell phone strapped to them at all times. Yes, even during the night. Yes, even when you have a 3 month old. Yes, just…
Post a Comment
More Nerdy This Way! »

Critical Space Item: Handle With Extreme Care

Someday I want to open a box. The box will be neatly wrapped up with an excessive amount of packaging. Its contents will have been years in the making, and even though it won't weigh much, this small box will represent a huge step forward.


As most flight hardware begins, the space-rated closed-loop insulin delivery and monitoring device inside the box will be sterile and stark. But as the batteries whir to life and insulin is placed within, it will become an extra appendage, an external pancreas, for this Type 1 astro-hopeful. Bluetooth connections will be made and doctors, hungry for telemetry from my bionic body, will be at the ready. We will rely on each other - he on I for his very existence, and I on him for my continued existence. Together we will make up one whole, completely functioning, Type 1 Diabetic astronaut.

Admittedly, this dream feels further and further from reality. I have lived with this disease just under 20 years now, and the cure has always been "just 5 …
3 comments
More Nerdy This Way! »
01 09 10