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I learned that I can’t just choose when I want to take care of myself. With my blood sugar being so high, Dr.Sphabmixay prescribed me insulin, which I have to inject. The needles are scary and do hurt a little. I’m still not used to poking my stomach each night and can’t even do it myself. I have to have my grandma do it for me, or a friend when I’m out. It’s hard going out like a regular teen when you have to remember your medicine or be mindful of if you’re going to spend the night at a friend’s house, so you don’t forget to bring your insulin. Having diabetes doesn’t come with vacations, but the treatments can pay off for your body if you take things seriously.
I am not the only young person to struggle with diabetes. Kristine Balliet is another young woman who is fighting the disease. She found out she had diabetes when she was really sick and went to the ER when she was younger. They told her she had type-1-diabetes and that she was in DKA, which stands for Diabetic Ketoacidosis — a serious condition that can lead to a diabetic coma or even death. When cells don’t get the sugar or glucose they need, the body burns fat for energy. This produces ketones, which are acids that can cause damage by building up in the blood. Ketones appear in the urine when the body doesn’t have enough insulin.
[pullquote_left]Life as teenager is hard enough without the things we have to live with as diabetics (like insulin), which can get really costly. We also have to make sure we always have medical insurance. That’s pretty intense, not to mention dealing with our blood sugar levels, which can get high or low, and sometimes we don’t even know why.[/pullquote_left]
Like myself, Kristine struggled taking insulin and checking her sugar all the time. “Giving myself shots was really hard for a while,” she shared. Unlike me as a type 2, however, she can technically eat whatever she wants, but has to count carbs for everything she eats so she knows how much insulin to take.
Life as teenager is hard enough without the things we have to live with as diabetics (like insulin), which can get really costly. We also have to make sure we always have medical insurance. That’s pretty intense, not to mention dealing with our blood sugar levels, which can get high or low, and sometimes we don’t even know why.
Kristine has this advice for young diabetics:
“Finding others who are going through it helps. I found Facebook groups and things that helped me a lot. Also, make sure you take care of yourself and do research on what you need to be doing to take care of yourself. For me, being a type 1 diabetic, I got a lot of wrong information from doctors and people because a lot of people only know how to deal with type 2. One of my doctors even told me that most doctors never see a type 1 diabetic.”
Navigating my life as a young diabetic once felt like a tre flip off a nine-stair. And even though it will never again be like an ollie off a two-stair, as long as I’m in control and on my feet, doing what I need to do to land on my board, I’ll be okay.
