I follow @DiabetesUK in twitter and found out about National Diabetes Week in the UK 12-18 June 2011. Today is the last day and I promised myself I would do a blog post about my “diabetic life” so here I go.

I’ve been reading some of the blogs on Diabetes UK and while I can relate to some, others I find hard to understand. These are mostly the folks that still do not have good control of their blood sugars after years of having this disease. I can understand the first couple of years would be trialing trying to find the right medication that suits your lifestyle and body but once you have had Diabetes for 10 or 20 years, surely you would know your body and the way it talks to you.

I guess I am very lucky that I have had wonderful doctors support me throughout my diabetic life. They have given me wonderful advice and have always tried to work out the best solution for me at each stage of the disease. Especially throughout my pregnancies I felt very well looked after. Apart from the paranoia, I really was not concerned for myself nor my baby.

The thing with Diabetes is that it progresses along and after a considerable amount of time, it begins to take its toll on your body, especially if you haven’t had good control. There is nothing more daunting than living with the fact that there’s this thing slowly eating at you, slowly causing damage to your body. I remember with Miss5 it only took about 30 units of insulin a day to have good bsls but then by the time I was pregnant with Master2 I needed about 100 units of insulin to keep the same level of control. Needless to say, my tummy was the size of a watermelon. It was all worth it but I wouldn’t want to do it again. My heart says yes but my body says it would prefer not to.

I am very conscious of eating healthy, having regular check ups from eyes to feet, make sure I exercise and most importantly check my blood sugars every day. I live a very normal life with Diabetes. I think any diabetic can live a normal life as long as they are diligent with blood sugars and healthy lifestyle. We don’t have the luxury of taking it for granted not even for a day. A diabetic should always know his/her limits too. I love reading stories of diabetics like Bruce Linton (who completed an Iditarod sled race and an Ironman triathlon). It gives the rest of us diabetics hope that we are not useless but that good control of bsls and perseverance can help us achieve any physical goals we might have.

I don’t want to make it sound like living with diabetes is easy but it is manageable. There are days you just don’t feel like taking a blood test but you have to. There are days when you are not hungry but you have to eat. There are days you get a few bruises where you inject your insulin because you’re in a hurry and jab at the wrong angle and end up with a bruise the size of a golf ball. There are days you have low bsls and you start shaking in the middle of an important meeting. There are days when you have high bsls and everything is blurry and you are lethargic and it doesn’t click in your brain that you are having a high until you start snoring on the couch at 6pm. And then there is the every day thoughts in the back of your mind: “What if I get dizzy?” “What if I faint?” “What if I’m alone with Master2 and I faint?” “What if I’m in the middle of a presentation and I start feeling nauseous and dizzy?” “Did I remember to put my insulin in my bag?” “Did I do a blood test this morning?” “Did I eat too much at lunch?” “Maybe I shouldn’t have had that glass of orange juice.” “Should I sign up for that marathon?” “What if I don’t feel well that morning?” “What if I need sugar during the run?” “Where will I do my injection if there’s no bathroom around?” … the list is endless. I do my best every day and hope for the best every day.