What Keeps Me Going When I Have a Tough Diabetes Day

Experience a bad diabetes day? Been there, done that – a countless number of times, really, in the last 25 years.

Most days with diabetes are “good”; by good, I mean predictable and smooth, with my numbers staying in range and absent of pod failures or inaccurate Dexcom readings. The bad days, as you might expect, are the polar opposite. Bad diabetes days are defined by rollercoaster blood sugar numbers, the ensuing side effects ranging everywhere from irritability to frustration to enraged and to downright exhaustion (just to name a few likely outcomes). Bad diabetes days happen much less often than the good days, but there’s no denying the emotional toll that they take. So what possibly keeps me going on the days that I feel most defeated by my diabetes?

Honestly, it’s the knowledge that it’s temporary. The phrase “this too shall pass” comes to mind when I think of a bad diabetes day. It’s a great reminder that as insurmountable as some bad diabetes days may feel, it won’t last forever, and the opportunity to try again will greet me the next day. To adapt from another well-known adage, the sun will rise in the morning, and I can try again and have faith in my knowledge that not every day with diabetes is bad.

It might sound trite or even a little eyeroll-worthy, but it’s the truth, and it goes a long way in comforting me throughout the days when diabetes acts up at every twist and turn.

What works for you?

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Diabetes Made Me

A thought occurred to me the other day: While diabetes doesn’t define who I am, it has unquestionably majorly impacted my life. I started thinking about and writing down how it has done so.

My diabetes has made me…

  • Worry endlessly about my daily choices
  • Angry, sad, confused (sometimes, all at once)
  • Become a control freak
  • Sleep fewer hours at night
  • Afraid about what could go wrong, and when
  • Wonder whether or not I’ll have trouble affording my medications in the future (not just my necessary diabetes prescriptions)
  • Believe that there are just some things in life I can’t do because of it

What sticks out to me about that list is thatΒ all of it is negative. So I tried thinking about all of the positive ways that diabetes has affected me, and I’m happy to say that I came up with a longer, happier list:

My diabetes has also made me…

  • Knowledgeable about nutrition
  • Unafraid of needles
  • Understand my own body better
  • Meet and connect with people I might not have otherwise
  • Comfortable with speaking in front of large groups about it
  • Become more philanthropic by volunteering my time and energy for certain groups
  • Self-sufficient (well, slightly self-sufficient)
  • Pack smartly when traveling
  • Prepared at practically all times for any diabetes-related scenario
  • Motivated to exercise on a daily basis to achieve better blood sugars
  • Mentally and physically stronger

Diabetes Made Me
Guess what else diabetes made me do? …It made me take this photo!!!

Diabetes makes me think about and do so many things that I would never dream of if I didn’t have it. A lot of those things are a pain in the neck and I truly wish I could have a break from them, but more of those things have shaped me into a well-rounded individual.

The good outweighs the bad, and diabetes has made me glad to have that perspective.