We recently had the opportunity to sit down with esteemed DiabetesSisters' faculty member, Ginger Vieira, to chat about her recent pregnancy while living with diabetes.

My name is Laura and I'm 25 years old. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 4 and I don't really remember living any other way. I grew up going to diabetes camps and attending support groups for kids like me, but to make one thing abundantly clear - growing up with the disease never defined me. I was absolutely a child first and a person with diabetes second.

Diabetes is a funny thing, it’s not a solo entity. In order for it to be manageable, it needs to work well with other elements of our lives. So many things affect my diabetes including, exercise, diet, but the biggest thing for me is stress. When travelling with diabetes there is even more that can cause havoc to my diabetes: altitude, weather and climate!

So it's been about a year- officially.  Truthfully this all started over 11 years ago with the arrival of my first period including hospital inducing pain. 

But 10 years later (about a year ago). 

I stared sleeping through alarms. I started needed 12 or more hours of sleep, but I struggled with insomnia. I was getting weaker and exhausted. I was hungry all of the time. My acne and hair growth got worse again. A blood sugar roller coaster- the likes of which I hadn't experienced since hormones first appeared- was impossible to get a handle on. My anxiety couldn't be tamed or helped with self-care or my meds. 

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This is a story of someone with diabetes and kidney disease.  You will find out how one person learned to live well with these diseases and what treatments are needed.  It is also about how they learned that having a support system was key to their success.

So as some of you know- I was diagnosed with PCOS and endometriosis this past summer (summer 2016)- and it’s been an experience to say the least… And maybe I should have gone into more detail about what it is and what it means to me?

So- I’ll do that since endometriosis awareness month was in March!

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I struggle with things outside of my control. I want to be able to control everything. I always wish that if I put my all into everything and follow directions, I will see my desired result.

That’s possible in a lot of avenues. Chronic illness? Not so much. You can do all of the “right” things with diabetes- one day you might get all the desired results you and your endocrinologist hope for. But… maybe the next day that isn’t so- even if you do EXACTLY the same thing. It’s frustrating. It can be really disheartening. It can put a damper on your motivation. And- it can just hurt (physically, emotionally, and mentally).

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend my very first Unconference in Las Vegas.  While I was still unsure of what to expect, I knew I would see some familiar faces:  Anna Norton, Christel Marchand Aprigliano,  Karen Graffeo, Christel Oereum and a few others from DiabetesSisters conferences I've previously attended.  I also invited my husband to come along with me, as I knew there was a track for people who love us (PLU).