About being a juvenile onset diabetic

I think what you need to focus on when you get low or depressed on being a juvenile onset or type 1 is  there are people like me who have lived with being a juvenile onset for 50 years or more and... we're still alive.  Some of them do have complications and some are like me and don't have any.

We didn't have meters when we began our lives as type 1's.  We tested our urine sugar of all things.  The doctors didn't test our A1C but did fasting blood sugars, however often was depended upon the doctor, mine was once a year.  No CGM's, no pens and no pumps.  Just the vial and syringe.  And everyone told you not to eat sugar because it was BAD for you.  The term sugar diabetes was why they kept saying no candy.  Try telling a 7 year old not to eat that candy bar when she's low.  BAD idea.

I've never had diabetic burn out.  Never really been angry at the world because God gave diabetes.  Never until about a month ago.  I was going to have my bedtime injection, I'm still on the syringe of Lantus, when I looked at the filled syringe and said, "I don't want to do this any more!"  I had just realized that it was almost my 50 year anniversary of being diagnosed with diabetes.  So I'd been injecting myself for nearly 50 years in the morning, probably 25 years in the evening and 15 at lunchtime, and one year at bedtime.  That's a lot of injections.  Add to that I've been pricking my fingers for 32 years. 

So I was depressed about it.  I don't have any diabetic friends to discuss this with, nobody who understands what it means to be a juvenile onset.  Talking about diabetes with a type 2 isn't the same, I know a few of them and I'm related to 2 of them.  It's different.  The disease is different.

I'm lucky in that I don't have any complications other than a very little bit of retinopathy. It's in the corner of my eyes, so it's nothing to worry about, but I had been bothering my eye doctor about whether or not I had it so he told me.  That is the only thing I have that I can "blame" to my being a diabetic.

I have a CGM, which is nice.  Thankfully I found something that works with my allergies to the adhesive.  I use  IV3000 first, then put Skin-Tact wipe on the adhesive portion of the CGM to make it stick better to the IV3000.  Then to remove all the adhesive from my body, I use the adhesive remover called Uni-Solve.  I've been doing this for about 2 months and I haven't had any itching, redness or blisters from the adhesive. 

So this made me think about getting an Insuliln Pump.  The one I'm looking at has the CGM integrated into it, which I think is great.  And they have an infusion set with a hypoallergenic built-in adhesive, so I wouldn't have to use the IV3000.  But I noticed that I could use that if my doctor doesn't agree with me on this type of infusion set.

I think a lot of diabetics tend to focus on what could happen.  That's ridiculous.  Why do that?  You don't know if you're going to lose a foot just because your uncle or great-grandpa did. And if you check your foot as soon as you stub your toe, walk on something, or tell your doctor as soon as feeling goes out of your feet, you should be fine.

Most diabetics lose their eyesight or their kidneys.  But you don't see them talking about that.  I find that really strange.  It's always about losing a arm or a leg.  Perhaps because it's easier to see that you're missing a foot, leg, hand or arm?  As long as you have a good doctor and you take care of yourself, don't worry.  Worry isn't good for your diabetes either.