A day in the life of an insulin dependent diabetic

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A Day in My Life With Insulin-Dependent Diabetes

Meagan Esler

Jan 1, 2012

Meagan Esler

What's it really like to have type 1

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/community/type-1-issues/> diabetes

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/> ? Every morning I start the day with a

finger prick and two insulin

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/medications/insulin/> injections. It

doesn't matter if I don't feel like it. It doesn't matter if I'm tired.

There is simply no room for pre-coffee dosage errors, excuses, or whining.

Some mornings are good and some are bad, based upon my blood glucose

reading. Its level varies greatly depending on whether my liver has released

large stores of glucose during the dawn hours.

I wish the difficulty ended there, but we are just getting started. After

taking my shots, eating a healthy breakfast, and (hopefully) fitting in some

exercise <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/fitness/exercise/> , I head

to work. A short while later, depending on my next finger prick, I decide

whether a snack or a shot is in order.

Lunch <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/food/lunch/> cannot take place

until another finger prick and careful carbohydrate

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/food/low-carb/> calculations

determine the amount of insulin I must inject to keep my blood sugar

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/monitoring/blood-sugar/> stable. It

doesn't matter that math was far from my best subject in school. I must

perform accurate calculations to figure out the proper amount of insulin to

take based on the carbohydrates in my food.

When I'm dealing with low

<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/complications-and-care/low-blood-sugar

/> blood sugar, I get confused, sweaty, and shaky. I need fast-acting

sugary snacks or juice immediately, even if I'm not hungry, to bring my

blood sugar levels back up to a safe level. I carry glucose with me and in

my car at all times, and juice boxes fill a spot in the refrigerator at

work.

When I'm dealing with high blood sugar, I need yet another shot based on a

sliding scale. It's not just food that affects my blood sugars. So many

things influence blood glucose levels, including hormones, physical

activity, stress, and illness.

At dinner <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/food/dinner/> time, I check

my blood glucose again, take another injection, eat, and wait. I need to

allow two hours between dinner and bedtime for my last blood glucose check

and my final shot of the day. It doesn't matter that I might be tempted to

fall asleep on the couch and have my contact lenses be my only worry. For

the rest of my life, the worry will be about my blood sugar. My blood sugar

at bedtime must be high enough to ensure that I will not end up unconscious

and have a seizure in my sleep. At the same time, it must be low enough to

keep me healthy and avoid complications.

Diabetes feels a little like rocket science at times. When I hear people

judging how a person with diabetes takes care of herself, I want to

challenge them to walk in our shoes for a while. It isn't easy. People with

diabetes never get a day off. We take care of ourselves, even when we are

moody, tired, busy, sick, or stressed. Our lives depend on it.

We all have obstacles in life to deal with. Our obstacle may be diabetes,

but we do what we have to each day. Diabetes will not stop us.

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