diabetes

I got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on september 20th, 2012. I've been very happy because i know how to take care of myself now. I've been able to cope with diabetes a lot better now that i've accepted it. It took me a while but finally accepted it's not going away in the blink of an eye. I can live with it. I'm always happy to be part of a community that takes care of one another.

People don't often know that i am diabetc in the sence that they still offer me sugary sweets and stuff that would normally be bad for a diabetic. Like once during handball i was restricted sugary sweets and soda then a friend offered me something from her senior basket. I said, "no thanks." Then i got permission to go to the bathroom. I ran into that "safe haven." I wasn't so lucky for the day after Halloween. I was able to handle it a little better.

During the senior handball game i forgot to test before the game and most likely had several attacks one after another after another. my coach and co-coach suggested I test, which I didn't do. The team could tell there was something wrong with me. They probably were concerned. During the senior handball game we had to keep pulling me out because i looked off a lot. I was sick. I didn't feel good. my blood sugar must've been messed up. Probably because it's the last game. my hormones were off. although Mrs. H (the coach) "outed me". the other team mates were like, "oh that explains it" since I was acting nuts. the day after the game I checked in with her and reported my blood sugar was normal. she asked what it was last night. I said, "off the charts" which was probably true.

Not much is diffrent about my life. I just have to be careful with my sugar and stuff. I've been in situations that've been VERY stressful for me and my body. Like more recetly i was at prom and i was off. I kept leaving the dance hall to recover. I spent most of prom dancing but i could have some stressful situations. The day before prom i had a minor attack. I was ok. I needed to take it easy. I once washed off my face to take it easy. I got my face all ok. I could tell i looked funny. My teacher told me i looked pale and off. My friends responded really nicely. They acted concerned when they had to. My best guy friend knew exactly what to do since his dad has the necessary equipment if he (the dad) had an attack.

I wore my medic alert braclet the day before prom because i wasn't feeling (or looking) ok. I felt like a zombie. I talked to my friend who also has diabetes and said he feels zombie like when his blood sugar is off. I'm glad i have such an accepting school and classmates. I had a couple of attacks but none in school before so i was a little embarassed. I had friends, classmates and teachers who knew what they were doing. I'm glad i have such a great school. my group mates in a project I was in offered me to sit out. I know diabetes is bad but not enough to kill my grade. I warned every teacher, group mate and everyone who was important enough to tell.

I didn't hide my diabetes per say. I wasn't comfortable talking about it in front of others so i was scared. A couple of teachers at Northwest high school outed me as a diabetic. I'm ok with it mostly. I was scared but i was able to figure out the sugar count in most items if they have the serving size. Like once i had someting in film as lit class. It was 1 serving was 2 cookies and in 1 serving was 9 grams of sugar. I did the math and figured 1 cookie wouldn't kill me. My teacher was concerned i would eat more sugar and get sick. I can eat sugar as long as it doesn't mess with my blood sugar that much. besides I ate the chocolate in the award presented to me.

Nowadays as long as i have a set structure i'm allowed to do pretty much everything. I can eat anything as well. Long as i get into a routine i can actually do anything. People have helped me when i need it. its rare I ever have an attack. I have emergencies but they are due to hormones. For example, I had an anxiety attack after a senior exam. The senior handball game was another example of that. it was nuts.

as September 20th approaches again I'm reminded of when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was scared. I'd had no warning. worst of all it was the day of my 1st handball game so I was already scared. I asked a few friends and they all reacted the exact same way. "oh come on. I'm already nervous about my game. why now? why today?" I wasn't playing at 100%. namely because I was partially distracted from my diagnosis. everyone was so sweet about my diabetes. especially my coaches and teachers. Mrs. H opened up her room in order for me to test my blood sugar in, which was above and beyond what I could've asked for. my forensic science teacher was amazing too. The substitute and the real one cared about my diabetes. they were warned about my diabetes so they could handle it in case of emergency.

I've only tested in front of 2 people outside of my family (stepdad included in family). Emily (who is my SBFF) and Evan (my team mate). when I tested in front of Emily she tried helping by pulling my finger to get the blood to my finger, which scared me a little. Evan was a sweetie about the whole thing. I showed him every single step. people did want to see me test but I wasn't super comfortable with it yet. I'm still not. I don't know if I ever will. my friend who knows what to do says "there's nothing wrong with it." my mom said he isn't wrong about testing on front of others. ok sure I'm not super comfortable with it. Long as no one interferes with me testing I have no problem testing my blood sugar in front of them. I've done it public several times. Once during bocce ball practice I got a weird feeling as though someone was staring at me while I was testing. I turned around and its my team mates wondering what I was doing. once they say me with a lancet they realized, "oh she's testing her blood sugar." once during a bocce ball meeting I said, I should check my blood sugar so I could decide if I could have candy or not. (it was high so I decided against it).