Day four of International Diabetes Awareness Month
Today, we share our high blood sugar moments.
I don't have a moment per se. I am very lucky to have never gone into DKA in my entire life. I have hear stories other type 1's have shared and I am so happy that I have not been in this situation.
That being said, throughout my teens I was very bad at checking my blood sugars. I was also very bad at taking my insulin at times because I didn't want to be different. This is something I struggled with throughout elementary school and high school and part of college as well. I hid the fact that I was diabetes all the time.
My A1C's were in the 8's or upper 7's throughout my teenage years. Something I never thought of was my future. Having a high A1C for years can cause so much damage to your longterm health, something that never even crossed my mind, even if doctors and my parents would tell me this.
All this changed one day when I was speaking with my new endo at the "adult hospital". She was very understanding, which was so different. I was used to being "scolded" about my blood sugars. She took the time to ask me questions, like:
"What makes it difficult to check your blood sugars"
"Would you feel more comfortable with a CGM?"
"Would you like to meet other type 1's your age?"
She also said things like "College is stressful, it's normal to have a higher A1C during these times, but as long as you're trying your best, that's all you can do."
After saying these reassuring things, she also told me the facts that my paediatric endo and parents tried telling me for years: Having a high A1C will effect your life in the future. For some reason, I took this differently this time. I actually thought about it. Maybe it's because I didn't feeling like she was nagging me, maybe it's because I felt responsible for the numbers she was seeing, maybe it's because I was about to graduate college and start my career, move out of my parents house, start a life. I was actually thinking about the future now.
I didn't start using a CGM until almost 10 years later, but I checked my sugars A LOT more often, I took out my insulin pen in public and I was not afraid of telling people I was type 1 diabetic. That conversation changed my diabetic life for the better.