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Original poster

Do you think Type 1 Diabetes is an easy disease to have?

207 replies

fedupofthisshite · 24/04/2023 21:15

I am just curious about what people think, what their impressions are. "Diabetes" is frequently used as the punchline for a joke about some unhealthy food, and while this is mostly aimed at Type 2 (I feel nothing but sympathy for Type 2 people as well, btw and just wish the jokes would stop) it's still quite shit because it seems like everyone thinks diabetes in general is something pathetic that you snigger at.

I have Type 1 almost 30 years and still get days where I fucking hate it so much. Today is one of those days...

It has taken an awful lot from me and I wonder what my life would be like otherwise.

OP posts:
Jourdain11 · 29/04/2023 20:52

fedupofthisshite · 29/04/2023 20:44

Can I just say to all the mums posting -

My mum was so supportive of me when I was diagnosed and really looked after me. This was back in the day before any tech. It is only now as an adult that I realise, more and more the older I get, the huge weight of it on her.

The most amazing thing is all the work she did to keep me as healthy as possible is what is standing in my favour and I honestly believe that's why I am as healthy as I am now.

I do have some complications but they are manageable and in the grand scheme of things...well everything could be a hell of a lot worse. And I am so thankful every time I think of what my mum did for me because I truly believe things would have been a lot worse without her brilliant support.

Back in the nineties you were considered as having great control if your hba1c was under 7.5 as a child, I think it was 7 for adults. So I'm not talking about the perfect levels of hba1c lots of parents strive for now with their kids.

My mum took on so much of the burden of diabetes I really didn't feel how heavy it was at the time - I was free to be a child. And I am so thankful for that.

But she didn't shield me or lie to me, we talked about everything to do with diabetes and I did my own injections and was very confident at talking about my diabetes - she equipped me with that confidence about it.

It was still hard, but for me as a child and young teen it was so much lighter, because of my mum.

The worst period for me was as a young adult when she was very sick and dying and the years after her death. I was quite vulnerable and had far less support.

Your children will remember all you do for them with so much love and gratitude.

That's such a lovely post. I'm sorry for the loss of your mum when you were still so young, it must have been a very difficult and sad time.

I still feel guilty every single day that I can't take my DD's T1 away. It's bad enough that she has to deal with this without diabetic neuropathy added into the mix. She does so well, but every day is a challenge.

NewishT1Mum · 29/04/2023 21:53

@ladygindiva i don’t know if the ELSA study would be open to her.

Apparently 85% of T1s have no family history of T1

MyOtherUsernameIsDave · 29/04/2023 22:51

My 8 year old was diagnosed with T1D last year. I wish I could take it away, it rules our lives and I worry immensely.

octoberfarm · 29/04/2023 23:57

fedupofthisshite · 29/04/2023 20:44

Can I just say to all the mums posting -

My mum was so supportive of me when I was diagnosed and really looked after me. This was back in the day before any tech. It is only now as an adult that I realise, more and more the older I get, the huge weight of it on her.

The most amazing thing is all the work she did to keep me as healthy as possible is what is standing in my favour and I honestly believe that's why I am as healthy as I am now.

I do have some complications but they are manageable and in the grand scheme of things...well everything could be a hell of a lot worse. And I am so thankful every time I think of what my mum did for me because I truly believe things would have been a lot worse without her brilliant support.

Back in the nineties you were considered as having great control if your hba1c was under 7.5 as a child, I think it was 7 for adults. So I'm not talking about the perfect levels of hba1c lots of parents strive for now with their kids.

My mum took on so much of the burden of diabetes I really didn't feel how heavy it was at the time - I was free to be a child. And I am so thankful for that.

But she didn't shield me or lie to me, we talked about everything to do with diabetes and I did my own injections and was very confident at talking about my diabetes - she equipped me with that confidence about it.

It was still hard, but for me as a child and young teen it was so much lighter, because of my mum.

The worst period for me was as a young adult when she was very sick and dying and the years after her death. I was quite vulnerable and had far less support.

Your children will remember all you do for them with so much love and gratitude.

This is such a lovely thing to read. Thank you, OP. I'm so incredibly sorry for the loss of your Mum Flowers

HeyDemonsItsYaGirl · 30/04/2023 02:20

I've been Type 1 for over 20 years and thankfully have never encountered any suggestion that it's an easy disease to have. The jokes I see ("diabetes in a cup" etc) are all aimed at Type 2s and then the punchline is never about diabetes being easy to manage - they're about diabetes being easy to avoid by not eating sugar. Of course that's utter shite but not the same thing.

I find most people are completely ignorant of T1, which isn't surprising considered how rare it is compared to T2. Whenever someone finds out I'm diabetic the first thing they say is nearly always "my [relative] has diabetes" and it's always a relative with T2. When I say my condition is very different they're inevitably curious and interested.

OldFan · 30/04/2023 02:43

My 8 year old was diagnosed with T1D last year. I wish I could take it away, it rules our lives and I worry immensely.

I imagine the first couple of years are the worst in some ways @MyOtherUsernameIsDave and hopefully after that it can get more manageable as they find doses of meds etc that work for your LO. x

BloodyHellKen · 02/05/2023 11:51

PointyMcguire · 27/04/2023 14:05

Thanks @BloodyHellKen DH was diagnosed yesterday and I was reading through this thread hoping to get insight into how I could best support him, but instead just felt the fear and anxiety rising.

Show quote history

Thank you :)

Good luck to both your and your husband. T1D is a PITA but it is manageable with some knowledge, common sense and a fair wind x

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