Two Years to Type 1 Diabetes

It's amazing what a difference one little year makes. This time last year, I was "celebrating" my one year diaversary and reflecting on some realizations I had in my first year as a type 1 diabetic (that article can be found here if you're interested). After re-reading that post, all of those things I reflected on still hold true today. BUT - there have been some MAJOR advances in my thinking as well. As fate would have it, my two year anniversary happens to fall on the same date as the JDRF Imagine Gala, which I am so fortunate to be able to attend tonight (thank you, JR!). As always, the goal is still finding (and funding) a cure. If you happen to be moved by any of this, or just want to support the cause, you can donate directly to JDRF's Fund A Cure here - and if you do so, please let me know so I can properly THANK YOU!

So here we go...

1. Get a Pump! Or at Least Look Into Getting One...
I literally NEVER thought I would be the person to get a pump. I hated the idea of having something constantly attached to my body. I wasn't taking much insulin daily anyways, and my numbers were decent enough (a1c has consistently been under 7%) that I thought I didn't need one. I tried it out anyways and seriously... game changer. My numbers are so much better since being on the pump and I definitely don't miss the multiple daily injections. The ease and accuracy at which you can dose insulin has made a world of difference in my life and pens are now a thing of the past. Pumping changed my life.

2. The Value of Nutrition
This area is fairly new to me in relation to diabetes because I thought I had it all figured out (eat less carbs, and your

variability decreases, therefore decreasing the chances that your numbers will be all over the place). But, there's so much new research out there regarding how your body burns fat just as well as it burns glucose (also known as being in ketosis, not to be confused with ketoacidosis). There's still a lot I have to learn here so I won't spend a lot of time on it, but the bottom line is this: NUTRITION is the single most important factor in managing diabetes successfully. Every doctor will tell you that you can eat what you want (and you can) but eating what you want will not make you feel and perform at your best. I'm trying to be my best each and every day and the only way to do that is through nutrition. There's just no cutting corners on this one.

3. Don't Hide the Fact That You're Type 1!
Listen... let me put a disclaimer on this one. This is 100% a personal choice, but let me tell you why I choose not to keep it as a secret. I am currently taking the last of my prerequisite classes for nursing school (eek!) and we were looking at blood smears under the microscope trying to identify white blood cells. The class was curious about how those slides are made, and our professor wanted to show us but couldn't find a needle in the classroom to prick his finger. I sort of became the weird kid in class who just happened to have a finger stick in my purse, because DUH. So my professor then says "Let's talk later, I wrote a whole book on diabetes." Um, what?! He's a neurosurgeon and he wrote a book on diabetes. Turns out, he has an interesting perspective on diabetes and I never would have been able to learn from him had I not disclosed my condition in a classroom of strangers.
*Side note on this - one of my classmates thought I was going to pass whatever was "in my blood" to my professor by doing that. And like... I know I never change the lancet for myself, but come on! Oh and also, diabetes isn't contagious. Face palm. But, it was a moment I had to educate him a little bit about diabetes so I'll take that as a win.

4. When Your Passions Come Full Circle as a Wake-up Call From the Big Man Upstairs
In September I was fortunate enough to find an amazing diabetes doctor in Anne Peters, who believes in me sometimes more than I believe in myself. At my very first appointment with her, she kept asking me why I wasn't in medicine because I have this natural ability for understanding it all. That conversation sparked up a decade old dream that once upon a time began with a pre-med major at UCLA. I failed chemistry my first year and thought that maybe science just wasn't for me. Never mind the fact that I couldn't put down my neuroscience book and called my mom after every class to tell her EVERY SINGLE THING I learned that day. I ended up quitting pre-med because of that one class. This might sound crazy but there are times when I believe God gave me diabetes as a wake-up call, one that was meant to reinvigorate my love of science and stimulate this deep, burning desire that I have to go and make a real difference in the lives of other people. Whether or not you believe in God isn't really the point here. The point is that sometimes it takes years to figure out your place in this world. And sometimes that means you are on the verge of entering your 30s as you return to school. Again. For the third time. (Insert nervous breakdown here). Ha - just kidding! :)

5. The Hardest Part about Having Type 1 for Me
I was only diagnosed two years ago, and I lived 27 years without it. But I cannot for the life of me remember what life was like before all the finger pricks and the insulin injections and the carb counting. I look at other people eating whatever they want and I envy them for a moment, not because I want to eat what they're eating, but because I can't even remember what that was like to not have to make a million decisions a day. So for me, the hardest part about having diabetes has been having to make choices that I never had to make before.

Silver Linings
In some ways, it's gotten harder to be diabetic because "the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know" (hello Albert Einstein). The thing that I want people to understand about diabetes is that it is different for every person. Doctors, educators and your peers can only give you so much information and advice but at the end of the day, we're all guinea pigs (or lab rats) in one giant science experiment - and we're each our own researcher. We're also our own advocates, our own doctors, our own voice, and our own teachers. You're going to have to experiment on yourself to find out what works best for YOU and it's going to take years to figure it out. But hey, don't give up though okay because diabetes doesn't own you. The strength that comes from having to take control of your own life is unbelievable and I've grown in ways I never thought possible. I am so incredibly thankful to be alive.

Manage it in a way that it fits your life.

Got questions or comments?! I'd love to hear from you! Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram...@explora_torrey

xo
Torrey 

PS - As always, thank you Alicia for saving my life :) 
And thank you from the bottom of my heart to my friends and family who have stuck by my side through this journey and have put up with me through all the blood sugar rollercoaster rides. Love you all!