{"id":44649,"date":"2016-07-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/diabetes-complications-do-you-see-them-coming\/"},"modified":"2016-09-24T20:39:51","modified_gmt":"2016-09-25T00:39:51","slug":"diabetes-complications-do-you-see-them-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649","title":{"rendered":"Diabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Riva<\/a>
Riva Greenberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a strange phenomena that comes with living with diabetes. Perhaps the same as living with any illness or condition that slowly, gradually, over time, progresses. So slowly we don\u2019t see it progressing; I certainly don\u2019t feel it progressing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some complications progress whether we take care of diabetes or not. In the background, slowly during the ordinary days when I get up, work at my computer, meet friends for lunch, walk through the city, laugh through dinner out with my husband.<\/span><\/p>\n

If I look back I know exactly when my ophthalmologist told me she saw the first sign of an eye problem \u2013 a slow growing cataract when I was 52. The first sign, after 34 years of being so relieved I had no eye problems, now I did. Now I have another – I have two slow growing cataracts.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember exactly when I got my first, of my two, frozen shoulders. It was the day I got off the plane after living and working in Tokyo for six years. Day after day my shoulder became more limited in its movement and more painful.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a year I went from my endocrinologist to my family doctor to an occupational therapist, even a chiropractor recommended to me while I was visiting friends in San Francisco. But it wasn\u2019t until my mother told me to go to her chiropractor that my shoulder was properly diagnosed and treated.<\/span><\/p>\n

My second frozen shoulder fifteen years later needed an in-hospital operation. The procedure successful.\u00a0<\/span>I asked if this could recur. My ace surgeon said, \u201cMaybe, in about fifteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n

I consider myself lucky that after 44 years of living with type 1 diabetes I have relatively little to show for it. Yet, when I sat in the ear doctor\u2019s office eight years ago and heard him say I had a significant hearing loss I could only cry and think diabetes. I cried all week.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I notice my calves cramping more than usual, as I have the past few weeks, I can only think neuropathy. And noticing for the first time an odd pulsing in my forearm,\u00a0like a string being pulled on my nerves, and then it subsides but never really goes away, I think, diabetes?<\/span><\/p>\n

Now you see me, now you don\u2019t, diabetes. You are there and not there. I can forget you, but never as long as for a day.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while I know I\u2019m better off working to keep my diabetes well managed to have my best chance to keep complications at bay\u00a0– and I am very positive most of the time, even seeing gifts I\u2019ve gained from having diabetes\u00a0–\u00a0I also know I cannot control anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Least of all whether complications will creep in in the mist of day, while I\u2019m trying so hard, or during the dark of night while I\u2019m trying only to wake up in the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Originally published in\u00a0The Huffington Post<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":44650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDiabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Riva Greenberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649\",\"name\":\"Diabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Riva-Greenberg.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-20T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-25T00:39:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6d40cd415a87ce047f388a30aa8d50e4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Riva-Greenberg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Riva-Greenberg.png\",\"width\":456,\"height\":478,\"caption\":\"Riva Greenberg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Diabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6d40cd415a87ce047f388a30aa8d50e4\",\"name\":\"Riva Greenberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ff306bd3be1d6947826b8bf3f71898?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ff306bd3be1d6947826b8bf3f71898?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Riva Greenberg\"},\"description\":\"Riva Greenberg is finally doing what she set out to do in high school \u2013 writing her observations of life and human behavior \u2013 little did she know then that diabetes would be her muse. Riva has had type 1 diabetes for more than 40 years and is the author of \u201cDiabetes Do\u2019s & How-To\u2019s,\u201d \u201c50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: and the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It\u201d and \u201cThe ABCs Of Loving Yourself With Diabetes.\u201d She provides workshops and lectures on flourishing with diabetes, is a health coach and blogs on the Huffington Post and her web site diabetesstories.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=25\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Riva Greenberg","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649","name":"Diabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Riva-Greenberg.png","datePublished":"2016-07-20T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-25T00:39:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6d40cd415a87ce047f388a30aa8d50e4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Riva-Greenberg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Riva-Greenberg.png","width":456,"height":478,"caption":"Riva Greenberg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=44649#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diabetes Complications: Do You See Them Coming?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/6d40cd415a87ce047f388a30aa8d50e4","name":"Riva Greenberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ff306bd3be1d6947826b8bf3f71898?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ff306bd3be1d6947826b8bf3f71898?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Riva Greenberg"},"description":"Riva Greenberg is finally doing what she set out to do in high school \u2013 writing her observations of life and human behavior \u2013 little did she know then that diabetes would be her muse. Riva has had type 1 diabetes for more than 40 years and is the author of \u201cDiabetes Do\u2019s & How-To\u2019s,\u201d \u201c50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: and the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It\u201d and \u201cThe ABCs Of Loving Yourself With Diabetes.\u201d She provides workshops and lectures on flourishing with diabetes, is a health coach and blogs on the Huffington Post and her web site diabetesstories.com.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=25"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}