My diabetes kicked my ASS this week. For those unfamiliar, let me explain what it’s like to live with a chronic autoimmune disease. (1/x)

So what exactly IS Type 1 Diabetes?

To oversimplify, my immune system attacked my body a while ago and I can’t make insulin anymore.

Without insulin, my body can’t process sugar. It just sits in my bloodstream, turns to acid, and tries to kill me.

So I inject insulin. (2/x)

Friday night I decided to enjoy some dessert. But I didn’t take quite enough insulin to offset it.

I ended up having to stay up until 4am watching my blood sugar level go up and up while I tried desperately to bring it down.

A healthy number is 100. Mine was 520. (3/x)

So, that sucks. I had a late night. But once I caught up on sleep, I was probably fine, right?

Not exactly. (4/x)

See, those high blood sugar levels put me at risk of a diabetic coma. I was a couple hours away from trip to the emergency room.

For the next 72 hours I was dehydrated, fatigued, and generally felt like crap. (5/x)

I spent the next 3 days trying to get my numbers back into the safe zone. It took constant attention.

Pricking my finger all day, taking insulin, checking for ketones (Google it), and repeating.

All while trying to live my regular pandemic life and keeping up with work. (6/x)

Luckily I work from home these days, and by Monday morning I was feeling well enough to log on.

But if I had to commute? I’d be taking a sick day to recover. No question. It was bad. (7/x)

If you know someone with a condition like mine, try to be understanding.

Their body is literally attacking itself.

It’s exhausting to treat the disease AND force a smile in public.

Every so often, they’re gonna need some time to recover. (8/x)

So when diabetics complain about the price of insulin, realize what our alternative is.

We pay hand over fist for a hormone that 90% of people make in their pancreas for free without ever thinking about it.

And without it, we’ll die. (9/10)

Auto-immune diseases like diabetes may not outwardly present like other disabilities, but they ARE disabilities.

I hope this illustrates what it’s like and makes it feel more real.

Thanks for reading.

(10/10)

Epilogue: the Incident™ was Friday.

Today is Wednesday and it’s the first day I feel normal. Still a little sluggish, but normal.

And my blood sugar has been pretty stable for the last 36 hours or so.

Bonus content: I already talked about what happens if my numbers go too high.

Well, if my blood sugar goes too LOW, I collapse and die on the spot!

See that down arrow? That means it’s time to eat candy to bring my numbers back UP so I stay alive.

Fun, right?!