Tammy Galligher is an Expert on living with diabetes long-term. To check out Tammy’s full bio, click here.
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 12 years old. Hormones raging, rebelliousness kicking in and the inevitable teenager super drama claiming my persona. I was a drama queen I will admit, but I know that I was truly no different than a lot of teens — except I had a disease that I felt was a sure-fire death sentence.
Teenagers and young adults have a tendency to take a walk on the wild side and I was no exception. However I do believe that I took it to an extreme that most do not. Why did I do this? Was I stupid? Did I hate my parents?
No, I honestly believed that I would die before I turned 28 years old, before I really had a chance to live. With such little time left, I was going to make sure every moment counted. I wanted to have fun.
I felt I didn’t need to worry about diabetes. What was the point of controlling it? Why bother, if I was going to die anyway. The most ironic thing about this is that diabetes is not a death sentence, but the way I was living and ignoring it increased my chances of major complications and death.
It was not as if I thought about it. I didn’t go around saying, ‘hey guys, I am going to die when I am 28 so let’s live it up.’ I just lived that way.
Now that I am approaching 37, my self-proclaimed death sentence at the age of 28 came and went a long time ago without incident. The reason is because I woke up before then and took control of my disease.
I recently met an 18-year-old young man who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a few years earlier. I saw so much of myself in him. I never thought that other teenage diabetics felt the same way that I had. I had never looked back at who I was and realized I wasn’t alone then in my rationalizations.
This young man’s diabetes was out of control. He was nothing but skin and bones and looked exhausted. His parents were with him and they said he sleeps all day and eats whatever he wants. I looked at him and asked ‘So what age have you given yourself to?’ He knew exactly what I meant and didn’t even blink when he said 24.
Do most young diabetics feel the same way? And if they do, is it being addressed by their doctors and parents? Or do they keep that way of thinking to themselves and just live that way? That is what made me think, does it take a diabetic to know a diabetic?
I believe the answer to that question, in many respects, is ‘yes.’ Those of us who have advanced from being a teenager with diabetes to being a young adult, middle aged adult and even senior adult with diabetes understand things that caregivers and professionals do not and possibly cannot. We deal with a disease everyday that we sometimes feel controls us.
Taking control of our disease is a must, but figuring out how to do that emotionally and medically takes knowledge and wisdom.
In today’s world filled with technology, we can reach out to so many others with diabetes from all walks of life. In most areas there are support groups for Type 1 diabetics and their families. There are online communities.
And of course, the parents of children with diabetes cannot be forgotten. They deal everyday with the disease just like their children, if not more. If you feel you don’t need to take care of your diabetes because an early demise is guaranteed, think again. I encourage you to reach out to others for support and information. We are not alone and having diabetes does not mean that we have been given a death sentence. We just get to live our lives with a challenge. Owning that challenge is the key.
(Each of the Expert columns are based on the experiences and knowledge of the individual columnists. The columns are meant to provide you with helpful information, but are not meant to be considered direct advice. Before making any decisions that could affect your health, make sure to contact a physician or the appropriate medical professional.)
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