I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 9 years old. I did not know what diabetes was at that time and I certainly did not realize that I would have to live with this disease for the rest of my life. I did not know anything about the situation I was in, and I was more or less concerned that I was being prevented from eating chocolate cake for my father's birthday.
I remember very clearly the weeks that preceded my diagnosis. I knew I was sick, but I did not know that my life would start to be completely different because of that. I first suffered from classic symptoms: sudden weight loss, excessive thirst, drowsiness and loss of appetite. As if growing up was not difficult enough, life has chosen to impose some more obstacles. There are difficulties in life that are easier to circumvent, or at least ignore for a while. And there are, on the other hand, difficulties that resemble a very strong marine current that tries to overwhelm us.
Diabetes has always been my hindrance, and I sometimes feel like I have no way around it. My diagnosis was a shock for me, but also for my family. It was as if I had been thrown into a pool without being able to swim. This is a critical situation: drowning or learning to swim, and the little girl I was left had no choice but to keep her head out of the water.
This is a critical situation: drowning or learning to swim, and the little girl I was left had no choice but to keep her head out of the water.
Diabetes-related worries are greater than all the worries a nine-year-old girl should think. It is impossible to really understand the difficulties of a person with diabetes without having first experienced them. People often tend to judge our diabetes quickly, although they have no idea what this disease really is. They do not realize that every little decision can have an impact on our health. I was diagnosed at a time in my life when all that mattered to me was to be normal. I wanted to be like all the other girls in the fourth year, but this wish was unrealistic. This reality was much worse than I wanted to admit. At that time, everything seemed to conflict with the requirements of my diabetes: my extracurricular activities, my friends and even the sports I loved, like soccer and ringette. Part of me hated my diabetes because it made me different, while another part slowly began to accept it.
Although my diabetes completely changed our lives, my family and I managed to cope with it. Initially, my parents played a crucial role in managing my new life. As I grew up, they realized that my diabetes should become my own responsibility. It was at the beginning of high school that I gained autonomy and stopped checking my insulin doses and my calculation of carbohydrates. Beyond the help my parents offered me, I wanted my diabetes to become my personal concern.
Diabetes management is not something that can be tackled alone. As a teenager, I realize that the support of people around me is vital. Sometimes I find my diabetes overwhelming and I feel alone in this daily battle with my dysfunctional pancreas. In a sense yes, I am alone, since my blood sugar levels and my good control are my responsibilities. No one else is going to give my injections, is it? However, it is important that I remember all those who support me. Benefiting from the support of my family and friends has definitely helped me cope with my diabetes. I am surrounded by great people who inspire me and encourage me to reach my goals. I know that my diabetes would be an even bigger challenge without them.
It was at the beginning of high school that I gained autonomy and stopped checking my insulin doses and my calculation of carbohydrates. Beyond the help my parents offered me, I wanted my diabetes to become my personal concern.
As a teenager, it's not easy to find a place for diabetes in my life. School, work, studies, volunteering, friends, boyfriend, social life ... Diabetes is not often high on the list of priorities! It is sometimes difficult for me to maintain a balance and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Every person with type 1 diabetes experiences ups and downs, whether or not they are teenagers. A major challenge of diabetes in adolescence is to discover what works well. It's about finding what food affects our blood sugar levels, or how to prevent hypos and hypers.
In addition to all that, when sports and physical activity have to be added to the equation, things get complicated. The best for me was to always keep an active lifestyle. I am convinced that sport and exercise have helped me better manage my diabetes. Everything is a question of trial and error. I know now that no one can know better than me how to manage my diabetes. Diabetes can be lived in a very emotional way, and sometimes negative emotions take over. Personally, I found that playing in team sports and staying active was the best form of therapy for me.
After a while, I realized that I really enjoyed helping others and thought that my experience could help those living with the same illness as me. I then made a rather impulsive decision: I started a blog, Seeing Sugar, which combines my passion for writing and makes my experience with diabetes more useful. I talk about the ups and downs of the disease and share my opinions on different topics. My blog has become my way of making my diabetes more positive.
Whether we accept it or not, diabetes becomes part of who we are. Over time, I realized that it's not worth wasting time and energy to deny something you can not change. It causes more harm than good to hate his diabetes. To complain about it will not make it disappear. You do not have to be friends with your diabetes, but you have to sort of find some common ground. I accept it, which makes my life easier with him. It's a part of my life, but it does not take up all the space. He does not define me; it's me who defines it. Since the very beginning, I have not let him control my choices and decisions. My diabetes management is not perfect, but life in general is not perfect either. Living with diabetes is first and foremost about finding what works,
My diabetes management is not perfect, but life in general is not perfect either. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 9 years old, and although it's not always easy, I learned to ride the wave...
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