Last Friday, February 22, I celebrated my anniversary of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Ok, so maybe celebrated is an odd term, but it’s what we do. It doesn’t hurt that my diaversary (that’s what we call a diabetic anniversary) is also on National Margarita Day.
This year marks 37 years that I’ve lived with diabetes. I was 14 months old when diagnosed, so I know no other life. This disease takes a toll physically and mentally on a person. People with type 1 diabetes are more likely to develop depression because of their disease, eating disorders (there is a specific disorder linked to diabetes, called diabulemia), anxiety, and more.
At 37 years I feel like I have a good handle on things. Some days I do really well. Others, not so much. But I have learned to not beat myself up when I have a rough day. I’m only human, our bodies constantly change which affects how my blood sugars are. I can only do my best and keep trying.
So what is type 1 diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that affects the pancreas. This is the organ that produces the insulin making cells (called Beta cells) that you need to survive. When type 1 develops, the immune system attacks these beta cells, killing them. This results in no insulin (or very little) being produced by the body. Our bodies need insulin to get the glucose broken down by the food we eat, into the cells for energy. Without it, the glucose builds up in the blood stream.
When the body can’t get the glucose, it starts breaking down muscle and fat in an effort to keep the body going. This results in ketones. A small amount of ketones aren’t usually worrisome. But what can happen is they also build up in the body and actually make the body become acidic. And your brain can’t use ketones – it needs glucose to function. When your brain doesn’t have glucose, and your body starts becoming acidic, you go into diabetic ketoacidosis (also known as DKA) which is life threatening. This can lead to a coma and/or death.
I went into DKA when I was diagnosed. And then I went into a coma. My mom knew something wasn’t right with me and had gotten me to the children’s hospital. But it took them several days to figure out what was wrong, and while they were trying to diagnose me, I slipped into the coma. For 4 days, I was in a coma at 14 months old. The doctors didn’t know if I would survive or not.
But survive I did.
My story has a happy ending. I came out of the coma, survived and thrived. I am married now, have 2 children, and no complications from diabetes. But others aren’t so lucky.
People not aware of the warning signs, and that they can happen at any age, are missed being diagnosed.
Cost of life saving medicine
Insulin, the hormone we need to survive, has become extraordinarily expensive in recent years. The formula is the same as it’s been for a long time, but cost has gone up. One bottle of fast acting insulin like Humalog or Novolog, costs about $318 without insurance. I only use fast acting insulin because I use an insulin pump to give me better control. It does not exactly replicate how the insulin made in your own body works, but it’s the best we have right now. It also is causing people to ration how much they use because they can’t afford their life saving medication. People are dying from rationing their insulin.
I am passionate about our healthcare in the United States – I have to be. At a young age, I had to learn to be my own advocate. I still hope for a cure. Maybe someday we’ll get there. Until then, I’ll keep plugging along, trying to stay healthy for my family.