Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

“Are you a brittle diabetic?”

Wow. Two things I don’t like to hear in one sentence. But… if you live with diabetes long enough, you’re going to hear questions like that.

I actually had a great conversation with the person who asked that a couple of weeks ago. Once I explained about how “brittle” is not actually a medical term, we got down to the science of diabetes and what it’s really like to live with this condition every day for the rest of my life.

They shared that their spouse is living with diabetes, and the three of us spoke for a while. We talked about what hypoglycemia feels like, and how our spouses reacted. They were concerned that low blood sugar meant failure. I explained that the better you manage your diabetes, the closer you are to hypoglycemia all the time. I think it was an A-Ha moment.

“Is that a pager?”

“No, it’s my insulin pump. You know, you’re only the second person to ask me that!”

I don’t know why, but whenever I use that second sentence in response to that question, it seems to put people at ease. Once I rolled that out, I was able to downshift into why I wear a pump (it’s my choice for my diabetes), and my CGM (I didn’t like it at first, but I’m getting used to it).

I was able to talk about interacting with others online, and how that eventually led to things like a blog and a podcast, and diabetes conferences and FDA workshops and clinical trials, and the importance of all of those.

“Why did your blood sugar go so low?”

This is a question I get when there’s a low that happens more than once, at the same time of day, in front of the same person. It’s a well-meaning question… someone sees something that concerns them, and they want to help me avoid repeating the scenario.

The problem is, there could be a hundred answers to that question. Either I’ve gone low because diabetes just doesn’t react the same way every day, or because I’m trying something new with diet or exercise and I haven’t figured out the perfect routine yet. Or, this just isn’t my diabetes week… it happens. Or, maybe I just made a mistake and I feel bad enough already and I don’t want to admit it.

There are a number of conversations that happen due to my diabetes. Sometimes short, sometimes detailed, sometimes tinged with self-assurance or regret. I don’t know about you… but what I know about myself is that I need to keep engaging in these conversations. It’s not always about feeling great. It is always about enlightenment and being more comfortable being myself, and being myself with my diabetes.