Thursday, April 7, 2016

#IwishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes Means That Every Day With Diabetes Is Different

Today is World Health Day -and the 2016 focus is all about diabetes and "beating diabetes,"  and I'm glad that the focus of the world is focused on diabetes. 
I’m seeing lots of tweets/articles/posts about diet and exercise and beating up diabetes- and that’s great - but there are other things that come to mind, (at least for me,) re: living with diabetes on a daily basis for 38.6 years and counting - and no matter the D type. 
Sidebar: This year's #IwishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes Day is on Wednesday April 20th and it's been on my mind a lot
I feel a little funning writing about it today, but I am, because the hashtag is in my head and stuck on repeat.
Lastly, Today's post was also inspired by last night's #DSMA chat, which was awesome, every single person living with diabetes, as well as the #IwishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes hashtag and Day and World Health Day, #who
I hope you can relate~ 
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#IwishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes means that every day of living with diabetes is different . 
Some days are brutal no matter what I do - or don’t do -and those are the days when I have to plow through the muck because I must. 
Some days are surprisingly easy and diabetes is playing so nice that I wonder if somehow my pancreas secretly started secreting insulin and didn’t bother to let me in on the joke - until I realize that the joke’s on me and my blood sugar numbers/body is suddenly in desperate need of insulin. 
Insulin that is the elixir of my life and yours, and the price of which - along with my diabetes supplies keeps me up at night. #insulin4life

Most days I’m the one who’s in charge of diabetes - but on the days when diabetes takes the lead and throws a bitchfit, D becomes even more difficult, frustrating, maddening than normal D bitch mode. 
Those are the days when I drink copious amounts of water and coffee throughout the day because of a low hi/gh blood sugar hangover because I have work to do if I want to get paid. 
And it’s on those days that I end up crying the ugly cry and I’m glad I’m not famous because nobody needs to see that shit in high def. 

Other days diabetes makes me laugh because sometimes diabetes is funny and if I didn’t laugh I would go apeshit crazy. 
Plus, laughing is good for the soul and the blood sugar and saying “I’m high,” in public never gets old. 
There are moments (OK, days, weeks, etc.,) when I wish I could take a vacation from diabetes - but I know I can’t. So I bring diabetes with me on my vacation - along with copious amounts of diabetes supplies, sunscreen, comfy shoes and shoes that are anything but comfortable, but make my legs look amazing.
There are days when diabetes becomes a teaching moment - even when I don’t necessarily feel like teaching. But when all is said and done, I’m glad that another person learns a diabetes fact/reality - and that makes me feel really good. 

Some days it's not my diabetes that worries me - it's other peoples. 
I worry for my friends health and I worry about people around the globe living with diabetes without access to insulin, test strips, and the likes there of - and I'm angry and sad all rolled into one.

And on all of the above days and every day in-between, I know that I have my D tribe both online and off and I want every single person in the world to find the DOC Tribe - because it makes life... and life with diabetes so much easier. 

So If I haven’t said it lately, thank-you D tribal members, thanks for always “getting it,” getting me and putting up with me. 


Finally, #IwishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes means that we are in this together - and that my friends is a wonderful thing~ 

3 comments:

Araby62 (a.k.a. Kathy) said...

Yesterday I wanted to scream because the CDE at my company clinic gave a presentation that includes such "facts" as: Gestational diabetes may increase the child's risk of t1 later in life; insulin is a growth hormone; and most t1s wish they had t2 because they could "stop it" before it starts (prediabetes was the topic). But then a senior colleague who knows I'm t1 and in the DOC came to me afterwards with her questions - not the CDE. I was so happy for the chance to correct at least one person's perception.

Clarks is my new favorite go-to brand of pretty shoes that are also D-friendly. But darn, those flip flops are so much fun to wear ;)

BTw 33 years and counting, and I still sweat the eye exam every year. Monday can't be over with soon enough :P

Rick Phillips said...

I commented on Facebook today that World Health Day reminds us to that together we can beat this. Not for me, that train left the station, but for my grandchildren or their children.

I am reminded today how much had to come together for me to have this cool pump on my belt. Yeah the cure will never get here for me (that is OK really) but for me getting it here for my grandchildren means doing my part today. So lets toast 2016 WorldHealthDay, and hope a world without diabetes comes sooner than later.

I referred your blog to the TUDiabetes blog page for the week of April 4, 2016.

Frank said...

I Wish People Knew That Diabetes was one of the first things I saw in the DOC last year. It really showed me the power and sense of community we have in the DOC. Thanks for creating this outlet and I look forward to taking part this year!