Many people living with diabetes are frustrated by the amount of time they spend dealing with diabetes-related problems. And, of course, they…
We are balancing the need to maintain good blood glucose control with the fear of hypoglycemia. This fear is well founded. Hypoglycemia is not just unpleasant and embarrassing- it can be fatal.
I breathed in and I breathed out and the thoughts about my inconvenient low changed. I went from thinking about my busy week and how I deserved this yoga class and how unfair this was to a simple mantra. I am low because I have insulin. I have insulin. I have insulin whenever I need it. My life is no more deserving than anyone else’s, but I have this unearned privilege. I have insulin.
When I speak to health care professionals about psychological care for people with diabetes, I often point out that guilt is different than shame. Guilt means we think we have done something wrong. We can deal with that, we can remedy our behavior. But shame means we think something is wrong with us, that we are broken or unworthy. That belief is much harder to address.
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I am not completely honest with my health care professionals. I am not proud of this. I try not to lie outright to anyone but I definitely withhold some truths. I feel it is important to talk about this, because I know I am not alone.
We are balancing the need to maintain good blood glucose control with the fear of hypoglycemia. This fear is well founded. Hypoglycemia is not just unpleasant and embarrassing- it can be fatal.
To anyone who isn’t close to type 1 diabetes, it’s difficult to explain how you can be fine at one moment and in the next one, feel your consciousness slipping away. It would have made a huge difference to me when I was newly diagnosed have known other type 1’s to talk to after my scary experience. During that time I did talk to my family and endocrinologist about life with diabetes, but having friends living with similar highs and lows would have offered a different type of support.
I don’t remember the first time I had to inject myself with a needle. I don’t remember being taught how to test my blood sugar. But I have many memories of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In retrospect, the day of my diagnosis was the beginning of a long process of grieving my diabetes.
I am trying to spread the word to health care professionals to try out a new approach with their diabetes patients, one that involves connecting to them as human beings who need support, not just patients who need medication. It’s Diabetes Awareness Month and I can’t think of a better message to send than: No one is better qualified to change the field of diabetes care than those of us living each day with diabetes.
I had been so focused on my diabetes care regimen, I never stopped to feel sad about the difficult changes I'd had to work through...