Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Adult Onset Type 1

I was recently at the kickoff party for the Young Friend's of the Naomi Berri Center; 4 of the "friends" were diabetics, each of us had been diagnosed after our 17th birthday. It seems that a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes later in life has become more common over the past decade. This morning CNN.com ran an article about a 49 year old woman who was diagnosed with Type 1. Like the rest of us, she knows she must simply deal with the disease.

It's weird knowing that 3 or 4 months ago I was able to eat what I wanted without considering the repercussions. I didn't have to calculate the # of carbs in what I ordered at a restaurant or worry about how a beer was going to affect my blood sugar (up or down, up or down). Over the past few weeks Courtney has asked me to go for Dim Sum, Indian food or grab a burger at Shack Shake and I've had to turn each one down. Yesterday, she made a surprise visit to my office and before we grabbed an afternoon coffee she ordered an Ice Cream from Mr. Softee with sprinkles. In the past I may I have given her a look because she is training for an Ironman but yesterday for whatever reason I felt like that was insensitive. Perhaps I've been more on edge because of all the lows I've had over the past week and 1/2 but I'm definitely sensing a whole host of new struggles now facing me.

1 comment:

Melissa said...

I know what you mean. I was diagnosed in January of this year. It is something that totally changes your life and is always with you. It looks like you are doing an awesome job managing it!