In The Name of the Syringe, the Diabetic, & the Holy Insulin

First of all this blog will primarily be concerned with the daily struggles of a person with Type 1 Diabetes, myself. A little background on myself, although I will remain anonymous. I was diagnosed with this chronic disease Type 1 diabetes at age 9. I grew up in SoCal. After being diagnosed, I continued to remain active in sports and academics and I didn't let this disease prevent me from doing anything blah blah blah. At age 13, I volunteered, better yet my dad researched and volunteered me to be one of the first insulin pump users. In 1996, at age 12 or 13, walking around with a brick like device delivering my medication (humalog insulin) through a tube with an IV like catheter attached to my abdomen was far from my idea of living the dream... I hated it from the beginning, and for some reason I was very ashamed of having this device. Why? Maybe because it differentiated me from all the rest of the kids in school, not in a good way. I hated every single thing about having the pump, except for the freedom it gave me. The Minimed 507 pump was a constant reminder of the disease that I was trying so hard to pretend wasn't there. After about 6 years on the pump, I decided to go back to taking insulin shots. The ironic thing is that when going back to shots, which might seem like a bummer after being able to eat what I wanted when I wanted. Ironically, I had never felt so free in my life as I did the moment I unhooked the pump taking out the IV for the last time. Phew..what relief. That was about 6 years ago, I am now 24 years old, have graduated from college, and work full-time for a corporation, yay. Anyways, I want to be crystal clear about the purpose of this blog. I'd like to use it to express my feelings concerning this disease, to inform people about life with diabetes behind the scenes, I'd like to use it to get some things off my chest, and I hope to dispel some of the nasty myths there are about all people with this disease, and eventually I'd like to thank some of the people who have helped me through my struggle, without some of whom I may not be here today.

Diabetictron