The beginning –
I woke in my parent’s house screaming in pain. I was having the same excruciating leg cramps I’d been having for almost three months. Home, on a winter break from college, my parents and I bundled into the car for what we thought would be a routine doctor visit. A few simple blood tests later I was told I had a blood sugar level of 750 and juvenile diabetes, now known as type 1 diabetes.
I was 18 then and I’m 55 now. 37 years later there is no cure, but the way I live with diabetes now is completely different than how I lived with it then. My journey to here began with a rocky start – denial and very little information and education - but today I work helping others with diabetes. I give talks around the country to fellow patients and professionals, I have developed a means of living with diabetes using positive emotions, I blog on my web site, www.diabetesstories.com, and write articles for Diabetes Health, I have written two books, I coach patients and I have interviewed more than 130 people who have diabetes and learned from them.
Through the years I educated myself on the basics – food, diet, exercise, stress, medicine - and for the last several years I have turned my attention to the emotional side of living with diabetes and our vast ability to influence our health if we focus on what we want and find our inner strengths. Personally, diabetes is my teacher; it shows me how fortunate I am that what I have is manageable, it reminds me how much I have to appreciate in my life and it has led me to work I love.
The middle years –
I didn’t talk much about my diabetes to anyone. I didn’t know anyone else who had it and I didn’t want to be the center of attention. Basically, I didn’t think anyone would understand. I didn’t have the means to pay it much mind with no home meters at the time but I’m sure my mind didn’t want to pay it much mind. I got some complications from high blood sugars the first dozen years. But as more and more news came out about diabetes I got myself more and more educated and turned that into responsible action.
The present –
Through the years I learned the value of eating healthy, less sugar and fat and not finishing everything on my plate. I began working to and from work and even though I now work in my home, I take a long walk every morning. I test my blood sugar on average six times a day and I am grateful for the control it gives me. I talk to anyone who will listen to me about how to do better with their diabetes and I have had hundreds of such encounters wherein the people I’ve spoken with - the look in their eyes as the light bulb turns on and the handshake so tight because they are so thankful - give me back as much, or more, than I feel I have given.
I spent the first 25 years of my career as a marketing writer. In a way I’m still doing the same thing only now I’m marketing diabetes care and its rewards: Oh, so much more gratifying! Going to a diabetes educator for the first time after having diabetes for 32 years was what got me interested in educating others.
It’s been some journey and I never could have told you long ago that this is where I would end up. Many wise people have said, it’s only when you look backward that you can see where all the dots and detours have led you. And while that’s true, it doesn’t hurt to look forward toward something you really want. Preventing diabetes or getting healthy and staying healthy are perfect goals anytime and especially this month.
My ADVICE: Don’t ignore it if your doctor says you have “just a touch of sugar.” There is no such thing. You likely have pre-diabetes and left untreated chances are high it will become diabetes within five to ten years.
GET TESTED: If diabetes is in your family get an annual blood test and get fit now with a healthy eating plan and planned activity instead of getting fitfull later.
LET PEOPLE IN: Living successfully with diabetes takes support and encouragement. Help others to help you by telling them what you need and when you need it. My husband alerts me to diabetes news and listens when I need to vent, but the day he put a roll of SweeTarts in his pocket, just in case I might need them, I fell in love all over again.
FIND SOMETHING POSITIVE: If you look you will find something positive in your diabetes. Maybe it’s helped you lose some weight or see the doctor more frequently to take care of other health ills. Maybe it’s helped you realize that life is precious and we are lucky to be here.
Riva Greenberg is the author of "50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And The 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It" and “The ABCs of Loving Yourself with Diabetes” available in English and Spanish. Riva also speaks to patients and medical professionals. To learn more about Riva’s work and read her blog, visit her web site at www.diabetesstories.com.
I woke in my parent’s house screaming in pain. I was having the same excruciating leg cramps I’d been having for almost three months. Home, on a winter break from college, my parents and I bundled into the car for what we thought would be a routine doctor visit. A few simple blood tests later I was told I had a blood sugar level of 750 and juvenile diabetes, now known as type 1 diabetes.
I was 18 then and I’m 55 now. 37 years later there is no cure, but the way I live with diabetes now is completely different than how I lived with it then. My journey to here began with a rocky start – denial and very little information and education - but today I work helping others with diabetes. I give talks around the country to fellow patients and professionals, I have developed a means of living with diabetes using positive emotions, I blog on my web site, www.diabetesstories.com, and write articles for Diabetes Health, I have written two books, I coach patients and I have interviewed more than 130 people who have diabetes and learned from them.
Through the years I educated myself on the basics – food, diet, exercise, stress, medicine - and for the last several years I have turned my attention to the emotional side of living with diabetes and our vast ability to influence our health if we focus on what we want and find our inner strengths. Personally, diabetes is my teacher; it shows me how fortunate I am that what I have is manageable, it reminds me how much I have to appreciate in my life and it has led me to work I love.
The middle years –
I didn’t talk much about my diabetes to anyone. I didn’t know anyone else who had it and I didn’t want to be the center of attention. Basically, I didn’t think anyone would understand. I didn’t have the means to pay it much mind with no home meters at the time but I’m sure my mind didn’t want to pay it much mind. I got some complications from high blood sugars the first dozen years. But as more and more news came out about diabetes I got myself more and more educated and turned that into responsible action.
The present –
Through the years I learned the value of eating healthy, less sugar and fat and not finishing everything on my plate. I began working to and from work and even though I now work in my home, I take a long walk every morning. I test my blood sugar on average six times a day and I am grateful for the control it gives me. I talk to anyone who will listen to me about how to do better with their diabetes and I have had hundreds of such encounters wherein the people I’ve spoken with - the look in their eyes as the light bulb turns on and the handshake so tight because they are so thankful - give me back as much, or more, than I feel I have given.
I spent the first 25 years of my career as a marketing writer. In a way I’m still doing the same thing only now I’m marketing diabetes care and its rewards: Oh, so much more gratifying! Going to a diabetes educator for the first time after having diabetes for 32 years was what got me interested in educating others.
It’s been some journey and I never could have told you long ago that this is where I would end up. Many wise people have said, it’s only when you look backward that you can see where all the dots and detours have led you. And while that’s true, it doesn’t hurt to look forward toward something you really want. Preventing diabetes or getting healthy and staying healthy are perfect goals anytime and especially this month.
My ADVICE: Don’t ignore it if your doctor says you have “just a touch of sugar.” There is no such thing. You likely have pre-diabetes and left untreated chances are high it will become diabetes within five to ten years.
GET TESTED: If diabetes is in your family get an annual blood test and get fit now with a healthy eating plan and planned activity instead of getting fitfull later.
LET PEOPLE IN: Living successfully with diabetes takes support and encouragement. Help others to help you by telling them what you need and when you need it. My husband alerts me to diabetes news and listens when I need to vent, but the day he put a roll of SweeTarts in his pocket, just in case I might need them, I fell in love all over again.
FIND SOMETHING POSITIVE: If you look you will find something positive in your diabetes. Maybe it’s helped you lose some weight or see the doctor more frequently to take care of other health ills. Maybe it’s helped you realize that life is precious and we are lucky to be here.
Riva Greenberg is the author of "50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And The 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It" and “The ABCs of Loving Yourself with Diabetes” available in English and Spanish. Riva also speaks to patients and medical professionals. To learn more about Riva’s work and read her blog, visit her web site at www.diabetesstories.com.
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