First Entry.... A little about me

Hello Everyone,

My name is Jarred and I attend Butler University studying pharmacy. The whole point of this blog is for me to express my feelings about transitioning to college with Type I Diabetes and the day to day challenges of this disease. Some of the challenges I have faced so far have been stereotypes, dining hall food choices, and the impact of stress of glucose levels.

I was diagnosed this past summer (2012) with sudden onset Type I Diabetes and was immediately put on insulin.

For those of you who do not know, there are two types of Diabetes. I have Type I, which means my body does not produce insulin. My own body has attacked the cells in my pancreas that produce the hormone and destroyed them. I am currently, and will always be insulin-dependent. I wear a pump and check my blood sugar multiple times a day.

This is what my pump looks like. It is manufactured by Animas Corp partnered with One Touch. The meter on the left is also a wireless remote!

Type 2 Diabetes is where the body "ignores" insulin or doesn't produce enough insulin. Type II diabetics can manage their glucose levels through medications, exercise and diet changes. Some may have to go on insulin, but not quite like us type I folks.

I want to clear a few things up before I go any further with this post. Diabetics can still enjoy sugared foods and all the things "normal" people can, just with a few extra steps. If I want a doughnut, I am more than able to eat one, I just have to adjust my insulin levels to cover it. DIABETES DOES NOT PREVENT ME FROM ENJOYING MY FOOD. Yes I count carbs, and yes I am at higher risk for complications, but I already ate healthy before and still do today. Diets are useless. Nothing compares to eating a healthy diet. I consume over 3000 calories a day and have packed on TEN pounds of muscle in the past 8 months, even with this new lifestyle. Another very irritating statement I hear a lot is "you have diabetes, you must have a lazy, unhealthy diet and lifestyle". I'm sorry, but I was the healthiest 18 year old around, eating a full variety of vegetables, fruits, and proteins with the occasional treat. I swam 1000+ yards every day (I am a lifeguard) and lifted 5 times a week. Yes, being overweight and not exercising can put you at an increased risk for Type II diabetes, but that is NOT the only factor that goes into it. I do not know, and will never know what caused my condition, but I have to live with it.

Now onto the main part of this blog: College and Diabetes

If you couldn't tell already, I am 18 years old which makes me a freshman in college. College transitions are hard enough being a normal 18 year old, so starting college while trying to get manage a whole new life is quite the undertaking. 

Food choices: As a freshman I am required to live in a dorm and have a meal plan. Thankfully my school has an unlimited meal plan, which means everything is buffet style. This is incredibly helpful when I got pick my meals. Everything is my own portion sizes and I know exactly how much I am eating. Counting carbs can be a tedious task with food labels, so imagine counting without food labels. This has been the hardest part of adjusting to college life. The first couple weeks, when I was guessing carbs, my numbers were all over the place. There is nothing scarier than having low blood sugar and not knowing until it's severe. For those who do not know, normal blood sugar is around 80 - 120. The first couple days I was anywhere from 41 - 220. Low blood sugars are extremely dangerous when you get that low. Anything from passing out to seizures to eventual coma or death can occur as the blood sugar drops. Clearly the most important thing is to eat something with fast acting sugar (candy, fruit, fruit juice, sugared pop (not diet), sugar tabs etc). As the months have passed, I have become extremely effective at guessing carb counts in foods and rarely see numbers about 125 or below 75. Enough about food, it is making me hungry and its two hours before lunch.

Checking Blood Sugars: The sole reason I am including this topic in here is because I have been stared at time and time again in class or in public while I am checking my blood sugar. Its not even a large amount of blood. Its a simple finger prick. This is a life-saving measure for me, so honestly my classmates who feel the need to whisper and sneer and stare, please keep doing it, so maybe one day when someone close to you has to do this, you'll understand what their doing. I'd rather you keep staring and use me as an education tool and help you understand how lucky you are to eat whatever you want whenever you want. I'm sorry my meter makes a single beep when it has enough blood to test, thats the meter telling me its working and I like that. Those of you that are annoyed by it can move on because I am not about to skip checking my blood sugar for your convenience. Glad I got that off my chest.

I think thats enough for this post, I know it wasn't super informative, but I needed to get some of that stuff off my chest, especially the comments and stereotypes part.

More next time!

-Jarred