Some things I have learned about diabetes

1. Balance is key. I must have exactly the right amount of insulin, carbs, and exercise. Too much/little of any of them and my sugar is out of whack.

2. I cannot afford to be lazy. Diabetes is a 24/7 job that I didn't ask for, don't want, and can't possibly quit.

3. The only one who can manage my condition is me. Doctors and nurses can help, but they tend to treat everyone the same and I am a unique person. I have learned to take their advice with a grain of salt.

4. I can't take more than 6 units of insulin or my sugar drops dramatically. The nurses had me taking too much insulin which resulted in low sugars where I felt like crap on toast. See #3.

5. Constant abnormal blood sugar levels can be damaging to internal organs. This is not something the docs tell you. See number #3.

6. I am a person first and a diabetic second. While my condition has permanently altered my life, I refuse to let it be the sole thing which defines me.

7. While there have been great advances in treatment during the last 20 years, the cause of diabetes is still unknown.

I have to stop right here and tell you a story that illustrates point #7. Brad came up to me at work and said he had to tell me something. His dog is diabetic. THE DOG! I would have thought he was fucking with my head, but Brad doesn't joke and play. He took the dog to the vet b/c she was drinking a lot of water and peeing all the time. Now he has to give her insulin shots twice a day. He's been asking me a lot of questions and apparently diabetes in animals is not all that different from diabetes in humans. The fact that a dog developed the disease makes me think that diabetes is caused by something in the environment. A lot of people think it's hereditary but I don't think it is b/c neither of my parents are diabetics. My grandmother was, but she type 2 and I am type 1 so it seems that we would be the same if it was genetic. Other people think diabetes is more cultural, meaning you cook and live like your family. But I grew up not knowing my family so that doesn't exactly make sense. And I doubt I got the disease from anything I did- prior to the coma I was trying to loose weight. I was eating healthy and exercising. Pretty much the same thing I am doing now, only now my diet is more strict and my workouts are harder. Before it was a 'be nice to loose 10 pounds' type of thing and now it's a 'do or die' thing.

I'd like to end this post on a positive note- to tell you that I have a grand plan for beating diabetes. But I don't. There is currently no cure. Research indicates there could be a cure in as little as 15 years. But unless they find the cause I don't see how the disease could be PREVENTED. So theoretically you could be cured and then be diabetic again in less than a year. All I can do is keep learning.