When I used to hear the term "self-care" I would think brushing my teeth, showering, not eating too much junk food, and maybe doing yoga every now and then. Since being diagnosed with Type 1 self-care has taken on a whole new meaning, a much greater meaning. Living with diabetes presents daily challenges, so it is extremely important to provide ourselves with the care that we really need.
Interdependence is defined as the quality of being mutually reliant on each other. I find this idea to actually be very difficult and thought-provoking. As a type 1 diabetic, who or what am I relying on? And who or what is also relying on me? I think that I have struggled with interdependence in college a bit because I have found myself relying on my body too much and not relying enough on others. Though I have been type 1 for five years already, I still subconsciously (or sometimes consciously) wish that my pancreas was up and running like those without diabetes.
It’s been several years since I’ve been able to consider myself a full-time student, however, when I saw the opportunity to attend a conference designed for young adults ages 18-30, I couldn’t pass up the chance to participate. I’d like to extend my overwhelming gratitude to both the DiabetesSisters and Dexcom One Step Ahead Foundation for the generosity that allowed me to travel to Florida for the 2017 Students with Diabetes Conference over Memorial Day Weekend. Being one of the recipients of the Brandy Barnes Leadership scholarship was an absolute honor and I took great pride in representing the DiabetesSisters and sharing with others the mission of this wonderful Sisterhood.
Everyone seems to have a different definition of “healthy eating” these days, so I’m going to let you know what kind of eating makes me feel healthy, and maybe it will work for you too! First off, I believe in really enjoying my food. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and if that means eating ice cream or my favorite guilty pleasure once in a while, then I relax and enjoy every bite! Depriving myself of the foods and drinks that make me happy all the time may not necessarily help my overall health.
Sometimes I think the fact that I am living with type 1 diabetes is harder on my parents than it is for me. It is hard to imagine how it would feel watching your child prick their finger, give themselves a shot, and feel the symptoms of a high or low blood sugar, without knowing how it feels. However, this is what a parent of a type 1 diabetic endures everyday. I think it is easier when you have type 1 diabetes yourself, because you are used to being on high-alert, and taking care of yourself, but you do not have the worry that a parent carries around.
When I was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12, I knew of one boy at my school that was diagnosed a few years before me. All I really knew was that he got to eat snacks in class and had to go to the nurse a lot. Unfortunately, he had transferred schools and the only other person I knew who had type 1 diabetes was my mom’s friend’s daughter, who was away at college. To sum it up, I felt pretty alone.
People living with type 1 diabetes vary greatly in how we each approach discussing the diabetes aspects of our lives. For example, I know some people who do not even want anyone to know that they have diabetes. They don’t want to think about it, deal with it, or seem “different” from their peers. I also know people on the other side of the spectrum, who always wear their sites in a visible place, incorporate diabetes into every conversation, and share every diabetes-related article on Facebook.
My name is Madison J Teater. I am a third year student at California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), and I am a T1D. I am a history major hoping to become an archivist one day. I’ve had T1D since I was 13 and am now “celebrating” my 7th year of T1D. And while having T1D kinda… sucks (for lack of a better term), it isn’t all bad all the time.
When I was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I was given a bag full of pamphlets and books on information regarding diabetes. The two that stick out in my mind as key components during my initial diagnosis are the CalorieKing booklet and A First Book for Understanding Diabetes by H. Peter Chase, MD.
To be completely honest, it is a bit difficult for me to write about menopause because I am very far away from being at that point in my life. In terms of menstruation, I usually do not have any change in my blood sugars when it is my time of the month.