My Diabetes - Why am I writing this blog?

I've lived with type 1, insulin dependent diabetes since 1981.  I have been on insulin from day one and have been through the whole pork, beef and human chain over the years.  On a daily basis I am not one of the best controlled diabetics with respect to sticking to maintaining low blood sugars, however my despite this my HBO over the years has been between 6 - 8 and I have no major complications associated with the condition.

In the 32 years I have had diabetes I have never been hospitalised by Hyper or Hypo Glycaemia and my eyesight is showing only minor background retinopathy and I still have hairy hobbit toes.  Over the years friends and others have said things like "your really lucky, I know X diabetics and they're always having problems" and I too have said as each year went by how lucky I am.

But I've come to realise in the past ten years of working with diabetics with major complications, that luck has played only a very small part in the control of my diabetes, and its been my mental and practical attitude towards the condition and the way I deal with it that has really enabled me to maintain a good health despite the diabetes.

During this time I have come into regular contact with diabetics who have not been so fortunate and few to many major complications.  Their condition, and their diagnosis of diabetes fills them with great fear and dread. It is not only the diabetic 'sufferer' (such an emotive term) that worries, more and more people are seeing parents, children, loved ones and others being told they have diabetes and they worry how they will cope.

I therefore plan to do a whole series of blog articles about how I live and have lived with my diabetes and how diabetes strangely has helped me maintain a good standard of health.  I do this so that others can read my words and consider them for themselves and hopefully my experience and positive attitude towards the condition will help others better make the decision to take a pro-active role in controlling of their own condition.

But first I need to state for the record:

1) I am not a Doctor or Physician and do not pretend to be one
2) I will not provide you with a diagnosis
3) I will not provide you with a treatment and control plan
4) I will not provide you with a dietary plan or suggest you control your diet
5) You must decided in consultation with your physician and others whether anything you read will be of benefit to you
6) Always discuss plans, changes with a doctor, physician, dietician etc
7) Always discuss changes with your partner, friends, relatives and colleagues

What I will do is:

Encourage you to take control of your diabetes
Encourage you to talk freely about your diabetes
Encourage you not to try and hide your diabetes
Encourage you to have pride in how well you live with it
Encourage you to have a fulfilling life

What I hope to do in this blog is explain:

A) How I have come to terms with the condition
B) How I stopped being embarrassed by it
C) How I've learned to live to with my diabetes
D) How I manage on a day-to-day basis
E) How my diabetes effects me under certain conditions
F) What learning experiences I have gained from living with the condition
G) What learning outcomes I feel may benefit others

I will also try and make this as interesting and light hearted as I can and I will cover diverse topics from the hazards of watching TV, Work, Sports and Sex etc.

I hope you find this blog interesting and useful, and that you will leave comments and give posts the thumbs up if they are helpful.

If you want to criticise something I say or express how you do something differently then can I ask that we all do it in a constructive, positive and adult way.

Thank you for visiting, I will start posting later this evening.

Regards Malcolm