There is no real guide book for being diagnosed with and dealing with Type 1 Diabetes. I’m not taking about the pamphlet they hand out with safe injection site locations and carb counting basics. I’m talking about the thousands of other issues that pop up in a diabetic’s daily life. I found myself hunting the internet when I was first diagnosed for some holy grail text that would deliver all the answers to the questions that kept me up at night. I quickly learned that was not a thing.

Then I thought maybe I could find someone, like a blogger or vlogger, to follow to learn from. I was thinking something along the lines of a fit-spo personality...but, like, dia-spo? I was hopeful I would find someone like me, a health-conscious and type-A personality, who has been through all the highs and lows diabetes has to offer and shares it with use diabetic newbs. In my pursuit, I came across some seriously inspirational people. If diabetes has given me anything, its the instant membership to a community of the strongest, kindest, most amazing group of people. Maybe its because there are relatively few of us, maybe its because diabetes isn’t sexy the way a flat stomach is, or maybe because it’s just straight up difficult to deal with anyway, but I have not been successful in my hunt.

So, I decided to create that person...in my head... because, well, why not? I asked myself...what does the ideal diabetic look like? What can I change to become more like that person? Here’s what I came up with...

Trait #1

The first trait my perfect role model has is that they care, passionately. They care about themselves, they care about their numbers, they care about the community of type 1 diabetics and people suffering from other chronic illnesses.

Trait #2

The second trait my ideal role model has is that they are confident. They are confident in their diabetic-ness, the sensors and pumps they wear and in the way they communicate their specific needs. 

Trait #3

The perfect dia-spo knows that no matter how much energy, money, time, and pinches they trade, sometimes their numbers won’t play along. This results in the physical symptoms that come with highs and lows but often times worse, the feeling of guilt and frustration.The third trait is that they are gentle with themselves - they know there will be bad days, and they are okay with sometimes not being okay. 

Trait #4

I switched from insulin syringes to pens! I use the blue pen for my Humilin N and my pink pen for my Humolog. I haven't noticed a huge change in the comfort level from syringes to pens, though I pens are a lot shorter (well, only 2mm, but it seems like a lot [I used 6mm syringes and am now using 4mm pen needles])