Tag: living with diabetes

3 Reasons Why I Tell Most People I Meet About My Diabetes

mollyt1d1 Comment

There’s a running joke in my family that I don’t shut up about diabetes.

This is partially true. I do talk about it an awful lot, whether it’s via this blog or at family gatherings when my devices are alarming (or when the other 2 T1Ds in my family have their tech going off, as well – it’s a downright symphony of sound that’s tough to ignore). While it’s definitely not my go-to discussion topic in most situations, it is something I tend to mention when I’m meeting new people. As I thought about why, exactly, I do this, I realized it came down to three reasons:

  1. It promotes safety. I feel so much safer knowing that the people around me are aware of my diabetes. They know that the sounds emitting from the devices that I’m wearing on my body are for a medical reason, and it’s not me being rude/inconsiderate with disruptive noises. They know that there may be times in which I need to take a few minutes to address my blood sugar, whether it’s high or low, and that it’s not something they should take personally. And it gives me a chance to let them know what, if anything, they should do in certain scenarios. So it’s not just a matter of looking out for my own safety, it’s also about the people that I’m with and empowering them with the information they need to know about my condition.
  2. There’s less mystery. Humans are curious by nature. So curious, in fact, that I’ve had dozens of perfect strangers approach me over the years and ask me what “that thing” on my arm is. While this behavior is far from charming, it at least resolves any curiosity someone might have about what it’s like to live with type 1 diabetes and gets a conversation going about it.
  3. I have an opportunity to defeat diabetes stigma. The best case scenario when I meet someone new and they’re wanting to talk about my diabetes is that it isn’t just a “one-and-done” type of conversation. It evolves into an ongoing one as they ask me increasingly thoughtful questions and discover that what they thought they knew about type 1 diabetes is actually just stigmatized or downright incorrect. It’s a good learning opportunity for new people in my life, as well as a reminder for myself that I likely will always need to be prepared to explain type 1 diabetes to anyone I meet who doesn’t realize what it means to have it.

While some might find it burdensome to bring up diabetes over and over again as jobs change, social circles expand, and living situations evolve, I truly believe that the pros outweigh the cons here. I’ve wracked my brain the entire time while writing this blog post in search of a memory of a time that it didn’t go well, but truthfully I can’t recall a single time in which me bringing up diabetes was met negatively. So from my point of view, why not continue to share it with new people that I meet? As long as I’m not kicking off every introduction with “Hi, I’m Molly and I have type 1 diabetes” (which I absolutely DO NOT do and wouldn’t recommend anyone doing, as it brings to mind a certain character from South Park), then I think it’s good to be upfront about it and let conversations around it flow naturally for the reasons above, at the very least.

Diabetes in the Renaissance

mollyt1dLeave a comment

Can you imagine having diabetes in the 14th – 17th centuries??? The answer to that is no, you probably cannot…because without modern medicine, it wouldn’t have been possible for a T1D to survive in the Renaissance. And ‘cuz, well y’know, the Black Plague was a thing back then and lots of people didn’t survive.

But fortunately, we’re living in the 21st century, which means we have access to all sorts of things that help us manage diabetes. Still waiting on that cure, though.

Where am I going with all this?

I wanted to recount my recent trip to a Renaissance festival, in which I spent a day taking care of my diabetes while jousting tournaments, Shakespearean performances, and drunken debaucheries took place all around. And you know what? It was easier than I thought it’d be.

Sure, I didn’t check my blood sugar with my meter as much as I should have. My inner germaphobe was reluctant to rely on my meter for accurate results, seeing as there weren’t really any hand-washing stations on the fairgrounds. (Remember, this is the Renaissance…things were a little grimier in those days.) I used hand sanitizer whenever it was available to me to keep my hands clean, but it was a bit of a challenge, especially when my mitts got caked in mud post-ax throwing.

587E26CB-B564-463E-815B-B5CF73256412
Enjoying a turkey leg alongside a serving of Chardonnay at the Renaissance Faire – y’know, to keep things classy.

Thankfully, I had my Dexcom G6 to help keep me on track as I ate my way through the fictional 16th century village. I was jazzed that several low-carb options were available to me; throughout the day, I snacked on a giant turkey leg, a Scotch egg, and spiced nuts. Maybe a “diabetes-friendly” diet would’ve been easy to follow in the Renaissance? Though I will admit that I gave in to temptation and ate (devoured) a slice of cheesecake. On a stick. And dipped in chocolate. Not low carb, but super YUM.

So even though my diet was far from nutritious at the ye olde faire, I think that all the walking around and sharp-objects-throwing kept my blood sugar in check, much to my relief. My experience at the fest is just another example of how diabetes won’t prevent me from living life to the fullest, whether it’s in the reality of 2018 or the fantasy of the 16th century.

Three Things I Learned about Myself after Running a 5K

mollyt1d1 Comment

I recently ran in my first-ever 5K race. In the weeks leading up to the race, I experienced a variety of emotions – particularly self-doubt – that made me question whether I could really do it. Would my diabetes cooperate the morning of the race? Should I eat a big breakfast before running, or go into the race fasting? How would I handle correcting a low blood sugar while running? What about a high blood sugar? Was I even competent enough to run?

All of my diabetes anxieties aside, I’ve always hated running. HATED it. I played field hockey every fall when I was in high school, and we were required to run a timed mile before the start of each season. I dreaded this mile because I usually wound up finishing the mile last, or close to last – my asthmatic lungs and negative attitude helped ensure that I would give up running halfway through and resort to walking a sluggish, defeated pace.

So like I explained in a recent blog post, making the decision to go through with this 5K wasn’t easy. But I wanted to take on the challenge and prove something to myself.

I did it!
My puppy greeted me after I crossed the finish line.

AND I DID IT!!! I’m pleased to say that I completed the race on a gorgeously sunny Saturday morning along with hundreds of other runners. I was totally proud of myself for accomplishing this goal, especially since I had less than a month to train for it. Plus, I learned a few things about myself after participating in the race:

  1. I should have more faith in my ability to manage my diabetes. I spent so much time dwelling on the “what ifs” (a bad habit of mine) regarding what my diabetes might do during the race that my stomach was doing somersaults as I approached the start line. But as soon as I turned my music up and started running with everyone else, my doubts vanished. And better yet, I was absolutely fine throughout the race. I didn’t eat anything beforehand and went into it with a blood sugar of 142, and I stayed pretty steady for most of the 3.1 miles (I did start to spike soon after crossing the finish line, but I’m certain that was because of the adrenaline). I simply did what I’d been doing during my past month of training, and my experimentation with fasting vs. non-fasting paid off.

My blood sugar stayed steady throughout the race.
I started to spike after crossing the finish line. I blame it on the adrenaline rush.

  1. I’m a lot more determined than I realized. I’ll admit that there were a few points throughout the race when I wanted to give up. I was breathing hard and my legs were starting to ache, but not once did I stop running and slow down to a walk. I pushed myself to keep going, even though I didn’t want to, and my determination helped me achieve my personal best running time.
  2. I’m ready to train for future races. This experience awakened something in me that wants more challenges. I’m still not in love with running, but I think I am a fan of trying things out of my comfort zone. I want to continue to get faster and stronger so I can try tougher races and physical tests. It’s almost like it’s an outlet for me to tell my T1D that it can’t stop me – that I’m stronger than it no matter how hard it tries to knock me down.