25 Jul 22 Things Every Person with T1D (or Parent) Understands
Posted at 07:30h
in 22 in '22
We’re back with the latest installment of “22 in ’22” (a series of quick takes, easy lists, and fast reads)!
22 Things Every Person with T1D (or Parent) Understands…
- You stand up and your pancreas (insulin pump) falls out.
- “Yes, I have diabetes. Yes, I know it’s candy. Yes, I can eat that.”
- Your loved ones casually ask if you’re high.
- You know the taste of toothpaste and orange juice. (They don’t complement each other.) Lows always seem to happen after you brush your teeth.
- You successfully estimate carbs at a birthday party and feel like you scaled Mt. Everest.
- Your endocrinologist is on speed dial. (Same is true for the pediatrician and school nurse if your child has T1D.)
- You spot a person wearing the same model pump or CGM, and it feels like being reunited with long-lost family. It’s a thrill to see another person with T1D in the wild.
- Your phone has multiple nutrition/carb calculating apps.
- You have a stash of fast acting carbs in your car, purse, pocket, etc.
- You know the significance of the numbers 70 and 240.
- You know how to draw up insulin, use a lancing device to test blood glucose, and insert a pump site even if you never spent a day in nursing school.
- When you talk about the “honeymoon phase” you aren’t talking about marriage.
- You are a walking dictionary and understand the meaning of terms like “basal,” “bolus,” “DKA,” “HbA1c,” and more. (You know that “ketones” aren’t a musical group from the 50s.)
- You successfully navigate the app for an artificial pancreas like it’s your J-O-B (even if you aren’t a software developer).
- Celebrations and holidays involving sweets can cause extra stress, but you also love picking up fast acting carbs in convenient, small packaging around Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
- Math is not your favorite subject, but your skills are sharp from carb counts, ratios, corrections, etc.
- You excitedly seek and consume news about T1D research and potential break throughs.
- You’re a pseudo healthcare policy wonk and staunch advocate on issues like insulin access or pump choice.
- Friends casually mention that their child has been drinking a lot of water lately, and you whip out your phone to pull up a list of T1D signs and symptoms while fighting the urge to test the kid’s blood glucose on the spot.
- Your can spot a test strip on the ground from 20 paces.
- You get excited when T1D is mentioned on TV or depicted in a movie or book. (How many of you caught the student wearing a CGM in PIXAR’s Turning Red?) Representation matters.
- You are—and always will be—a warrior, substitute pancreas, and advocate until there is a cure for T1D.