Real Life Type 1 Diabetes Experience:You Are Not Bad Because You Get a Bad Blood Sugar
By Meagan Esler
I worked in the shop I manage the other day when I overheard someone say “blood sugar.” When I hear that term, my ears perk up like my Pomeranians hearing a car door slam. After twenty-plus years with Type 1 diabetes, I’m pretty sure I could listen to a diabetes phrase across a crowded football stadium. A volunteer was talking about her blood sugar to another volunteer. She mentioned the fact that she hadn’t eaten lunch that day. I quickly walked to the register, where I told her that I also have diabetes. I said I’d overheard her talking about blood sugar and that she was welcome to have one of the containers of soup that I keep in our kitchen. She said, “No, I can’t eat. My blood sugar was horrible this morning; you’d be mad at me if I told you the number”. She lowered her eyes and said, “It was bad. It was over 400”.
And there it is. It’s an unfair shame that follows us throughout the daily ups and downs of life with diabetes. Our life is measured by these numbers, which sometimes can beat us down. It’s as though we feel it is a considerable flaw in us that warrants judgment by others. I explained gently that I would never pass judgment or be mad at her because of blood sugar. I told her that if anyone understood how hard it could be to manage blood sugars, it’s someone who also lives with diabetes. We chatted about how difficult it can be to manage an illness where you can do the same things on a different day and receive very different outcomes.
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