Don't Sugarcoat It, I'm A Diabetic

It's World Diabetes Day - and I'm writing this as I am a diabetic myself. Yes, on top of everything else I already have to put up with, my body has dealt me the diabetes hand.



I wanted to write this to give people more of an insight into life as a diabetic.



So diabetes - it basically means that my pancreas is as lazy as f**k. It's not producing enough insulin to help keep my blood glucose levels down or help with nutrition. I've been a diabetic for nearly 15 years now, 15 years of finger pricking until my fingers have gone numb, using my belly as target practice for my insulin pen and for hearing the immortal words numerous times - "Can you eat that?"



When I was given the diabetes diagnosis at the age of 11, I never really contemplated the severity of the illness (is it an illness?) . I always thought that I would just have to poke and prod myself with needle everyday and that would be that. Obviously, growing up into a (just about) mature adult, I've taken it a lot more seriously. At the end of the day, I need to and want to.




Now, this is where I'm going to confuse your brains my little saucepots! My diabetes - I'm neither Type 1 or Type 2. I have CF related diabetes. To put it simply, my diabetes is stemmed from Cystic Fibrosis. It has both features of Type 1 and 2. My lazy pancreas does produce some insulin, but not enough to fully do it's job. I told you, it's lazy as f**k. Also in other words, Cystic Fibrosis wants to be a pain in the arse (like it already is) and add another diagnosis to my ever growing list of problems. It's quite common for people with CF to develop diabetes over time. Some develop it later than others.




I check my blood glucose levels about 2-3 times a day, every day. The odd finger prick here and there isn't a bug bear anymore, my fingers have grown quite used to it! I also inject insulin once, sometimes twice a day. The insulin I inject myself with in the morning, which is called Lantus, is a long acting insulin. What I mean by that is this insulin keeps my blood sugars under control throughout the day and into the night until I repeat the process the next morning. Inject, eat, sleep, repeat. I also take a fast acting insulin called Novorapid, which I take if I'm eating larger, high calorie meals eg takeaways. Fast acting meaning it just works for a short period of time.




I like to think of my belly as a dartboard and my insulin pen is the dart, like I'm aiming for the bullseye. Ok, before you look at me like that, yes YOU - I don't literally throw my insulin pen at my (sorta) abs and hope for the best. It's a kind of fun way to think of it!




Also with being a diabetic comes a lot of responsibility. I have to have my feet checked every so often by the diabetic nurse, doctor or podiatrist. This is due to the fact that diabetes affects the circulation in my feet. I have to have my eyes checked once a year for diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes can affect eyesight so every year, I have to go and have a special test where they put eyedrops in my eyes (obvs) which sting like a bitch then have pictures taken of the backs of my eyes. After the appointment, I am blurry eyed for a few hours and can be barely see. Ah well, it has to be done.




How has being a diabetic effected my life? Well, as you can tell by this post, it has a little. But just because it effects my life a little, it doesn't mean I'm going to let to rule my life. Yes I'll be careful with what I eat, make sure I do my insulin every day and check my blood glucose sugars, but I'm not going to let it be my every waking thought.






Lucy
13 comments
  1. What an arse that you have this on top of CF, you do seem to have your wits about you with it though.

    Very informative post, my auntie has it but I didn’t know much about it, thank you for sharing x

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    1. That first sentence made me giggle! Yes it is a pain but I’ve got it under control thankfully! x

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  2. Happy World Diabetes day :) I'm a Type 1 myself, so its lovely to hear from another Diabetic, explaining their condition and how it affects their life, even on top of all the other things you have like CF.

    Diabetes is not easy to life with, I'm sat here typing this comment, waiting for my Hyper to go done to normalish levels, so good on you for sharing your experiences.

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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    1. Thank you Nic, I'm glad you enjoyed the post! I hope your Hyper went down pretty quickly after typing your comment!

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  3. Being diabetic can be such a lot to deal with! I lived with a girl in my first year uni flat who struggled with diabetes badly and would often pass out or have periods where her eye sight was affected! Thankyou for sharing your experience x

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    1. Aww really?! Aww bless her! It can be hard to deal with but as long as you keep on top of everything then you'll cope with it better x

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  4. My grandpa had (late onset) diabetes and to overhaul his whole life. He managed it fairly well after a while of getting used to it (and he was in his 50s when he was diagnosed) so you sound like you're doing brilliantly with it since you found out about it at such a young age. Kudos to you for handling everything that has come your way with such strength.

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    1. I'm glad to hear that your grandpa managed his diabetes well, it takes a lot of strength and courage to do that! Thank you so much Molly!

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  5. I've had diabetes for just over 20 years now, so can't really remember my life without it (I was diagnosed just before my 5th birthday). I used to have really large pupils and never needed the drops. Then one day I was told I needed them and hated getting those eye drops, and I got told once they can cause blindness so don't get mine done as often as recommended. I'm laughing a little bit looking at your photo because my autopen looks exactly the same with all of the numbers worn off - do you count the clicks on the dial when working out your dose too? I take 3 or 4 doses a day depending on what I'm eating and I really don't think about it, I definitely don't see it as anything that limits my life x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. Wow Sophie, I never knew you were a diabetic! I never knew that about those drops! I only get them tested like that once a year and even then I blink most of the substance out because they sting so much! Yeah all the numbers have rubbed off on my pen! I use a pencil to mark where I need to stop as I've been on the same amount of insulin since I was diagnosed! x

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  6. I never knew you could get CF related diabetes! Definitely a pain in the butt you've got it to deal with on top of the CF! You are strong AF girl! 💪😘 I used to work in an Opticians and I know how horrible those drops are so I sympathise massively! Xx

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    1. Ah thank you Amy! It is a pain in the backside but I may as well just get on with it! Oh I know, they are horrible drops! xx

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  7. This was a really insightful post to read. I didn't realise CF and diabetes were linked in that way. My partner and my best friend both have diabetes and like you, there's always that question Can you eat this? When we go out.

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