"It would be easier being diagnosed at a young age"

When I read different diabetes related blogs, a good portion of them say that everything would be a lot easier if they were diagnosed as a young child. While I understand what they are saying here, I am going to have to disagree with their statement.

I understand where they are coming from because it seems like if you get diagnosed earlier, the more time you have to get used to everything and you really don't know any other way of life so you don't know what you are missing. But for me, I don't think this way. I get where these people are coming from and I respect their opinion, but to me, I think the complete opposite.

I was diagnosed when I was just five years old.

It is true, I rarely remember life before diabetes. But that is not a good thing in my book. I was forced to grow up a lot faster than any child should. When you are five years old, you should not be worrying about anything except what toy to play with next. But I was forced to worry about my health before anything else. At five years old, I was giving myself multiple shots every day, I was pricking my finger multiple times a day and I had to watch everything I ate. This is not supposed to be the life of someone so young.

I lost my innocence when I was diagnosed. I no longer looked at the world the same because I was constantly asking God, 'why me?'

While many people think it is a blessing that I do not remember much before I was diagnosed, I think it is a curse. People who are diagnosed in their teens or twenties had a normal life up until their diagnosis.  They were able to grow up at a normal pace and for the most part, have a normal life like any kid should.

And for those people who think that being diagnosed earlier would have made things easier because I had more time to get used to this disease, do not realize that this is something that you will never get used to. You may learn to tolerate living this way, but it is never something that you get used to. It is always with you and you can't just ignore it (which I have tried to do many times and DO NOT recommend it). But I have learned over the years that you can't let it define who you are as a person. It can help shape who you are, but you can not let it define you.

I have always felt a little out of place with my friends because I am usually one of the more mature ones and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I was forced to grow up too fast at a very young age. While being more mature has definitely come in handy in some aspects of my life, I still wish I would have been diagnosed at a later age so that I could have somewhat of a normal childhood.

And I know that other people who were diagnosed later in life do not agree with me and I respect their opinion, but I am just sharing mine.

But despite what I said, I can't help but wonder if I would be any different if I would have been diagnosed later in life. My diabetes has shaped me into my own person and I am very proud of what I have accomplished so far in my lifetime. So in one aspect, I am grateful I was diagnosed so early because it made me who I am today, but on the other hand, it would be interesting to see how different I would be if I was diagnosed later in life.

But despite when I was diagnosed and when I wish I would have been diagnosed, it happened and everything happens for a reason and you have to learn to live with it. And most importantly, you have to learn how to not let it define who you are as a person.

Diabetes is a part of me, but it is not all I am.

February 16, 1999

February 16, 1999 was the day my whole life changed. 

I was five years old and I was on vacation in Florida with my whole family. Since I was so young, I do not remember much, but there are some random things that I do remember. 

So the day before I started getting sick, I was on a walk with my sister and my mom and we had passed a BRAND NEW playground that I really wanted to go to, but we did not have time to go that day, so my sister promised me that she would take me tomorrow, so naturally, I got excited. 

However, the next day I started getting really sick. The week prior, I had been going to the bathroom a lot and drinking a lot of water and I had been losing some weight but we did not think much of it. But then when the next day came around, I was getting so sick and thinking that it was just the flu and that I needed more electrolytes, I kept drinking gatorade. This clearly was not the greatest idea since all it was doing was raising my blood sugar even higher than it already was. 

We had to cut our vacation short, and on the plane back home, I was still getting sick (worst plane ride of my life). Then when we landed in Cincinnati, we went straight to the hospital and I stayed there for three days. 

After realizing that I wasn't going to die, it was just a matter of fact of learning everything that goes with being a diabetic. It was all a bit overwhelming for me, seeing as I was only five years old but I guess I've sorted of learned to deal with it (kind of).

All in all, I just wanted to share my story of the day that changed my life forever. I know it's not too exciting but I just wanted to share it:) 

Share your story in the comments section!!! :)

Glucose Tablets

On the rare occasion that I have a low blood sugar, I am usually in range of a kitchen where I can grab a juice and go on with whatever I am doing at the moment.

However, there comes a time where I am in my car and I feel a sudden drop in my blood sugar. Usually, I will store a Capri Sun in the middle console and drink that to get my blood sugar up. But what about the next time I have a low blood sugar and I forget to add a Capri Sun to the middle console?

Well, whenever I take a trip to Target, I make sure to browse the specific health aisle that is specifically for diabetics. While they have the "diabetic socks" that keep your feet nice and moisturized (they really do work! ...they work so well that my mom has "borrowed" every pair I have ever bought myself) and extra test kits and so forth, they also carry glucose tablets. While almost every diabetic is already familiar with these, there are usually familiar with the small vials that have six to eight tablets in a pack. However, I found an entire bottle of tablets that fit perfectly in my cup holder right in my driver side door where I can reach for easy access whenever I feel a low blood sugar coming on! Also, this hides them from my non-diabetic friends who just enjoy eating ALL of my sugar tablets....

 

These tablets are perfect to keep in your car's cup holder because unlike juice and Capri Sun, which is pretty disgusting after sitting in a hot car all day, these glucose tablets taste the same no matter what temperature! 

**Long story short, keeping glucose tablets in your cup holder of your car is a good idea**

If anyone has any requests on what they want me to write about, leave a comment below and I will be sure to get to it! Feedback is also appreciated :)

HbA1c update!!

This morning, I had an appointment with my endocrinologist and my A1c went down to 10.3! I know it's still super high, but at least I am going in the right direction! 

Whenever I know I am getting my A1c tested, I tend to do better with my diabetes and get in a routine of testing and bolusing more often, which I hope to turn into a continuous habit. 

However, I am going back to college in a couple weeks and don't want to fall back into my habit of not testing and skipping boluses. So, this morning when I went to my doctor in Cincinnati, we talked about options of how to turn my healthy routine into habit. He suggested getting my A1c checked twice in Dallas before I come home again for Christmas, and so that is what I am going to do. Hopefully this forces me to stick to what I am doing now and finally get (and keep) my A1c to where it should be! I will keep everyone updated as time goes by!

If anyone has any other suggestions for people on how to keep up with your diabetes, leave a comment! 

While my suggestion may work for some people, it may not work for others so leave a comment and maybe you can help someone else have more control in their diabetic life:)

Diabetic Medical Bracelets

     Ever since I was little, my mom has insisted on buying me every type of medical bracelet possible.

     She has tried getting me the classic medic alert bracelet that every child has,

As I got older, she attempted to get me one that was a little more "in" than the first:

And then she tried to make it a little more subtle: 

then we both quickly learned that I could not be trusted with a little tiny piece of paper that was just way too tempting to keep hidden in a little envelope. 

Then she tried to get me to wear these:

After this, she gave up any hope at being subtle and got me this:

(which might I add took up half my arm)

And then she got me a pretty silver and gold medic alert bracelet that went with the rest of my jewelry and matched with everything! But that broke after about a week... 

After everything she had went through to try to get me to wear a medic alert bracelet, nothing had worked. So instead, I did a little digging on my own.

My parents have always been against tattoos and they still are to this day (but I do think I am finally wearing them down) but I have found a temporary solution to all of our problems. My problem being that I REALLY want a tattoo and my parents being that they want me to wear something that tells people I am diabetic. 

I found another blog that taught me how to do my own temporary tattoos that were extremely realistic, and when put on the right place, would not come off for days on end. 

This way, I am able to draw my own tattoo every time it needs re-applying in whatever font or design I want it to be in. I found this to be the perfect compromise. It is not permanent, so my parents do not freak out, and I get to draw it however I like and at the same time, I can say I have a tattoo ;)

If you are having trouble holding on to medic alert bracelets and do not want to permanently ink your body, here is the blog with complete directions! All you need is:

Pencil (3B, 4B, 5B, or 6B), 

scissors, 

tracing paper;

Wet cloth, 

talcum powder, -- baby powder is the same thing 

eyeliner, 

makeup brush, 

ethyl alcohol, 

cotton pads 

and liquid bandage spray (waterproof). 

http://charlotteisnotmyname.tumblr.com/post/11523186764/temporary-tattoos-tutorial

Here is what I have on my wrist right now. I just redid it quickly so I had an example to show- ignore the bad handwriting <3

And just for fun, here is what I had on my forearm last week. :)

Nick Jonas

Okay, so this might seem completely ridiculous to just about everyone but I am going to tell the story anyways.

For the past seven or eight years, I have been completely obsessed with the band, the Jonas Brothers. More specifically, I have been obsessed with Nick Jonas, the youngest of the group. A year or two after I discovered them, I found out that Nick had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This only furthered my curiousness and as a result, I continued to follow Nick Jonas' story throughout the years. After seeing how well he took care of himself and his diabetes and how much of an advocate is for young people with diabetes, he instantly became my role model. Not only because of the control he has over his own disease, but also because he does not let his success go to his head, he has stuck with his faith, and overall, he is just an extremely kind and generous person (not to mention his looks ;) ). Nick was a huge inspiration to me and made me want to better my own life. Now, I did not always stick to that goal but having someone like him to look up to definitely opened my eyes and made me realize that I didn't have to let my diabetes control my life. He was a diabetic, yet at the same time he was living his dream and selling out concerts all over the world. This would have never been possible if he had given up and let his diabetes define who he was. Instead, he took control and carefully monitors his diabetes so that he can do what he loves.

Three weeks ago, I was finally able to meet Nick at his concert in Cincinnati after my eight year long obsession. When I was getting my picture taken with him, I asked him to sign my pump because I thought it would be cool since he was diabetic and has the same pump that I have! After meeting him, that is when I really decided to go all out with this whole "taking-care-of-myself" thing. I don't know why, but just meeting him had moved me more than I could ever imagine! Ever since then, I have been testing more often, changing my pump sites more often, cutting down unnecessary snacks, almost never missing a bolus and so on. I am just amazed at how one person that I had met for less than five minutes has changed my life so drastically in just three weeks! He was so welcoming and even bothered to ask me how I liked my pump and how long I have had it and so on! Now, I am not even sure what I said back to him because I was in such shock, but that's not what matters. If I had one wish, I would wish for one day where I could just hang out with Nick Jonas and talk to him about diabetes and how he juggles his crazy life and diabetes at the same time!

What I am really trying to get people to see from this is that having a role model in your life can be a very powerful thing. Nick Jonas made me turn my life around and I will always be indebted to him for that. He changed my life whether he knows it or not; and I know it all sounds pretty ridiculous and slightly pathetic that he is the reason I have changed my life, but he is truly the most inspiring person that I have ever met and he will never know what he has done for me.

Take a step back and look at your own life.
Then look at the life of your own role model.
Are there things that you wish to change about your life?
      And if so, look to your role model for that push you need to turn your life around and
                 make it your goal to be the best version of yourself that you can be. 

(I am on the right :) )

My Story

On February 16, 1999, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was five years old.

Since I was so young when I was first diagnosed, I didn’t understand what was happening to me. The first thing I asked was if I was going to die. When my parents and doctors assured me that I would be fine, I went on living my life. I didn’t think much of it until my kindergarten teachers made me stand up on a chair in front of my whole grade to explain what it was and that it was not contagious. Ever since that moment, I felt different then anybody else my age. I tried to live my life as any normal five year old would, except I was forced to grow up faster then any of my peers. Not many five year olds had to count the carbohydrates for everything they ate, let alone give themselves shots multiple times a day. After living with diabetes for almost fifteen years, you think I would start to get used to it, but its one of those things that you never get used to.

I tried to deny the fact that I had diabetes because I didn’t like feeling different then everyone else. Denying this extremely important aspect of my life ended up being very harmful to my health. I would refuse to test my blood sugar whenever I was with my friends because it singled me out. When I didn’t test my blood sugar, I wouldn't know how much insulin to give myself. When I would eat, I would either forget or just wouldn’t give myself insulin because I considered it a hassle. Because I avoided it, I didn’t realize how much damage I was really doing to my body. I had always ignored what could happen to my health in the future and another event in my life made me ashamed of my diabetes even more.

In 2010, my grandpa passed away. He was diagnosed with diabetes two or three years after I was diagnosed. Like me, he decided to ignore the fact that he had a very serious illness, except he damaged his body to the point where there was no way to reverse what was already done. He had heart failure, kidney cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dementia, not to mention his toe that had to be amputated due to an infection that didn’t heal and his broken neck.

Many of his diseases could have been avoided if it wasn’t for diabetes. Diabetes is what ultimately killed my role model. His passing made me angry at diabetes and as a result, I started acting out even more against my diabetes. I did even less testing and gave myself almost no insulin whatsoever. I went to the doctor after almost a year of this behavior and figured out that the average amount of sugar in my blood was over 11%. Normal is anywhere under 6%. Mine was almost twice the average - which was definitely a wake up call. After this, I had to face the reality of this disease. If I kept treating my body this way, I would keep adding problems that would make my life harder then ever before. 

While that woke me up, it did not do so for very long. Two doctors appointments ago, the first doctor appointment I had been to since being away in college, my A1c was up to 13. This was like a slap in the face. I was embarrassed to be sitting there while my doctor just looked at me, disappointed. Going back a month later, I had lowered it to 10.9. While this was an improvement, I still have a long way to go before I can actually say that I am proud of myself and the way I take care of my health. 

So, all in all, this blog is my way of getting my story out there and hopefully helping other people with diabetes realize the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. While I am so far away from doing that myself, I hope others will take the journey with me. But this first thing you have to do is want it for yourself. If someone else is telling you to be healthy, that's great, but you have to really want it for yourself in order to stick with it. 

Not only am I hoping that this helps other get their lives together, but I am also hoping that I can refocus my life on those things that are truly important. I need to better my lifestyle and I need to start somewhere, so why not the internet where I have millions of people to motivate me?