Your Friendly Neighborhood Type 1
Spider-man reference anyone?
Okay, that was pretty low-hanging fruit I'll admit. However, as well as being dumb it also is laced with meaning; that what I'm going to talk about isn't exactly rare or taboo, and that I'm guessing 70% of you reading this either have it, or know someone who does. But, just because something is common, doesn't mean that my own capacity to talk about it is any less relevant.
As a heads up, in this post I'll be talking about what this all is, and my own personal journey.
Took some pictures just to give you glimpse into the medical equipment that I use on a daily basis.
So as I'm sure some of you have guessed, I'm talking about Type 1 Diabetes today, and what a life with it is like. People hear the word 'diabetes' and immediately are thrown off thinking about Type 2, but there are some clear differences. I wanted to write this to educate some of you, because trust me, meeting someone who knows even the bare minimum or the differences, is so liberating. Going through school, with people not knowing the differences was hard; so you never know, you could just make someone's day with what you learn here.
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that causes insulin producing cells in the pancreas to be destroyed, preventing the body from producing insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. And so, insulin must be injected into the body regularly to make up for this. Insulin is this miracle hormone that allows your body to use the carbohydrates and sustain energy from your food, as well as keeping your blood sugar from getting too high or too low; either end can be fatal.
I won't drone on about the intricacies of it's workings, but essentially the pancreas is an amazing organ which keeps most of you alive without you even knowing it. Mine decided one day it was done playing ball, and now I have to think like an organ and fill in its place. Now the differences from Type 2 which really distinguish it are that:
1- Type 1 is usually first diagnosed during childhood.
2 - It is chronic and there is currently no cure.
In Type 2 however, it is essentially the opposite of those two points; it can be reversed, and is most prevalent in the elderly and obese.
I had it lucky in some ways, I was diagnosed when I was thirteen, and so I got to live a whole thirteen years as a normal kid. However, some kids are diagnosed at 4 or 5, even birth, and so never know a live without such restrictions and hospital visits.
My diagnosis was on Christmas, and I spent over a week of my Christmas holidays in hospital, which you can imagine I was absolutely thrilled with. (Hospital stays are a whole hell in and of itself.)
The road to my diagnosis was being extremely ill over the course of 7 months, to where I had lost around 5 stone (70lbs)- and on a small thirteen year old that was a lot. I looked skeletal- and that was when we really accepted that there was something seriously wrong and I had to visit the GP, and I was hospitalised the same day.
At that point of diagnosis, as a young teen, I had no real grasp on what kind of affect it would have on my life, but also my family who never stopped worrying about me. It was only when I left the hospital that I realised what a steep learning curve it would all be; basal rates, carbohydrate ratios, all this equipment.
So what entails an average day for me? Five blood glucose tests (before and after my meals) and 5 self-administered insulin injections (before meals and when I wake up and go to sleep). On a yearly basis, this also includes an annual retinal screening, semi-annual blood tests and 3 or 4 clinic check ups. To think I will have to do this for the rest of my life just because my immune system attacked itself really is a pain in the ass, but it is also a small price to pay to be able to live normally.
As a child, I'm proud with the way I dealt with everything; I don't have a lot to be proud of I but I can say with certainty that I surprised myself- I just got on with it, learnt the therapy methods, and let it not affect my lifestyle.
It's not been an easy ride these past 5 years (6 year anniversary in December!), but I'm fully at my point in a life now where I am comfortable with it.
An experience like this is something that really changes your perspective on life. I've been a mentor, I've been a teacher, and through all this its provided me with insights that I may have never experienced otherwise.
As a teen I was typical in a lot of ways; cocky and naive. This experience really forced me to grow up and mature, and although it took a serious toll on my confidence, I can say undoubtedly I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for that diagnosis all those years ago.
In some ways I resent it; this thing that came in and unjustly changed my life, just as some random dealing of fate. However, I equally feel nothing towards it. Things are as they are, and I am still here; more Me than I've ever been. Almost everyone has something which has changed them in a positive way, and this is mine.
I never could have predicted something like is, and that was good in the weirdest of ways. It was like some big jolt to my brain telling me to wake up. I'm not proud of the way I acted as I teen, but I feel like I'm closer to achieving that now than I've ever been.
People say 'don't let the illness become you' or let it effect who you are, but it's one of the most important aspects of me and who I am, and I'm okay with that. I'm private with it, and most people don't ever notice me giving myself an injection or checking my blood, but I think to understand this is to better understand me, but also the mind sets of other people in a similar position.
One of my main goals from my social media channels, other than just to have fun, was to educate people about this. Not like an ulterior motive, but it's close to my heart, and I've met so many people over the years with Type 1, and just with the general public being better informed of it, could really make a difference. Especially these young kids, with school being shitty enough as it is without a chronic health condition. I really hope that the prospects are better for the next generation, to live a school life which is easier and more understanding than the one some have experienced.
I hope that in thirty years time, I can look back on this and laugh it off as just a blip in my life- that by that time there will be a cure- maybe with transplants, or stem cells- who knows.
But, if there isn't, I'm okay with that too. It's part of me now, and if that's how it will be until the day I die, then I'll roll with it.
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read this. If you are a sufferer and want to chat, or just want to know more, feel more than welcome to hit me up in the Contact section in the side bar, or on any of my other accounts. Below I've included some URLs to sites I like if you want to take a gander.
Much love to you all,
Meg.
Links
Read more about the condition from this great website: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/type1-diabetes.html
An amazing kids charity I highly reccommend looking at: https://jdrf.org.uk/
Okay, that was pretty low-hanging fruit I'll admit. However, as well as being dumb it also is laced with meaning; that what I'm going to talk about isn't exactly rare or taboo, and that I'm guessing 70% of you reading this either have it, or know someone who does. But, just because something is common, doesn't mean that my own capacity to talk about it is any less relevant.
As a heads up, in this post I'll be talking about what this all is, and my own personal journey.
Took some pictures just to give you glimpse into the medical equipment that I use on a daily basis.
So as I'm sure some of you have guessed, I'm talking about Type 1 Diabetes today, and what a life with it is like. People hear the word 'diabetes' and immediately are thrown off thinking about Type 2, but there are some clear differences. I wanted to write this to educate some of you, because trust me, meeting someone who knows even the bare minimum or the differences, is so liberating. Going through school, with people not knowing the differences was hard; so you never know, you could just make someone's day with what you learn here.
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that causes insulin producing cells in the pancreas to be destroyed, preventing the body from producing insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. And so, insulin must be injected into the body regularly to make up for this. Insulin is this miracle hormone that allows your body to use the carbohydrates and sustain energy from your food, as well as keeping your blood sugar from getting too high or too low; either end can be fatal.
I won't drone on about the intricacies of it's workings, but essentially the pancreas is an amazing organ which keeps most of you alive without you even knowing it. Mine decided one day it was done playing ball, and now I have to think like an organ and fill in its place. Now the differences from Type 2 which really distinguish it are that:
1- Type 1 is usually first diagnosed during childhood.
2 - It is chronic and there is currently no cure.
In Type 2 however, it is essentially the opposite of those two points; it can be reversed, and is most prevalent in the elderly and obese.
I had it lucky in some ways, I was diagnosed when I was thirteen, and so I got to live a whole thirteen years as a normal kid. However, some kids are diagnosed at 4 or 5, even birth, and so never know a live without such restrictions and hospital visits.
My diagnosis was on Christmas, and I spent over a week of my Christmas holidays in hospital, which you can imagine I was absolutely thrilled with. (Hospital stays are a whole hell in and of itself.)
The road to my diagnosis was being extremely ill over the course of 7 months, to where I had lost around 5 stone (70lbs)- and on a small thirteen year old that was a lot. I looked skeletal- and that was when we really accepted that there was something seriously wrong and I had to visit the GP, and I was hospitalised the same day.
At that point of diagnosis, as a young teen, I had no real grasp on what kind of affect it would have on my life, but also my family who never stopped worrying about me. It was only when I left the hospital that I realised what a steep learning curve it would all be; basal rates, carbohydrate ratios, all this equipment.
So what entails an average day for me? Five blood glucose tests (before and after my meals) and 5 self-administered insulin injections (before meals and when I wake up and go to sleep). On a yearly basis, this also includes an annual retinal screening, semi-annual blood tests and 3 or 4 clinic check ups. To think I will have to do this for the rest of my life just because my immune system attacked itself really is a pain in the ass, but it is also a small price to pay to be able to live normally.
As a child, I'm proud with the way I dealt with everything; I don't have a lot to be proud of I but I can say with certainty that I surprised myself- I just got on with it, learnt the therapy methods, and let it not affect my lifestyle.
It's not been an easy ride these past 5 years (6 year anniversary in December!), but I'm fully at my point in a life now where I am comfortable with it.
An experience like this is something that really changes your perspective on life. I've been a mentor, I've been a teacher, and through all this its provided me with insights that I may have never experienced otherwise.
As a teen I was typical in a lot of ways; cocky and naive. This experience really forced me to grow up and mature, and although it took a serious toll on my confidence, I can say undoubtedly I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for that diagnosis all those years ago.
In some ways I resent it; this thing that came in and unjustly changed my life, just as some random dealing of fate. However, I equally feel nothing towards it. Things are as they are, and I am still here; more Me than I've ever been. Almost everyone has something which has changed them in a positive way, and this is mine.
I never could have predicted something like is, and that was good in the weirdest of ways. It was like some big jolt to my brain telling me to wake up. I'm not proud of the way I acted as I teen, but I feel like I'm closer to achieving that now than I've ever been.
People say 'don't let the illness become you' or let it effect who you are, but it's one of the most important aspects of me and who I am, and I'm okay with that. I'm private with it, and most people don't ever notice me giving myself an injection or checking my blood, but I think to understand this is to better understand me, but also the mind sets of other people in a similar position.
One of my main goals from my social media channels, other than just to have fun, was to educate people about this. Not like an ulterior motive, but it's close to my heart, and I've met so many people over the years with Type 1, and just with the general public being better informed of it, could really make a difference. Especially these young kids, with school being shitty enough as it is without a chronic health condition. I really hope that the prospects are better for the next generation, to live a school life which is easier and more understanding than the one some have experienced.
I hope that in thirty years time, I can look back on this and laugh it off as just a blip in my life- that by that time there will be a cure- maybe with transplants, or stem cells- who knows.
But, if there isn't, I'm okay with that too. It's part of me now, and if that's how it will be until the day I die, then I'll roll with it.
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read this. If you are a sufferer and want to chat, or just want to know more, feel more than welcome to hit me up in the Contact section in the side bar, or on any of my other accounts. Below I've included some URLs to sites I like if you want to take a gander.
Much love to you all,
Meg.
Links
Read more about the condition from this great website: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/type1-diabetes.html
An amazing kids charity I highly reccommend looking at: https://jdrf.org.uk/
I honestly never realised you had this and never knew the difference between 1 and 2. It's good to hear that you are well in control
ReplyDeletedafro77