Howdy! We’ve passed hump-day and now we’re on to Day 4 of Diabetes Blog Week 2011! Today’s topic is Ten things I hate about you, Diabetes. Here’s the description from Karen:

Ten things I hate about you, Diabetes – Thursday 5/12: Having a positive attitude is important… but let’s face it, diabetes isn’t all sunshine and roses (or glitter and unicorns, for that matter). So today let’s vent by listing ten things about diabetes that we hate. Make them funny, make them sarcastic, make them serious, make them anything you want them to be!!

Here’s my list, in no particular order:

• My gut. Years and years of insulin injections and now years of pump infusion sites have left my abdomen in a war-like state. Red, puffy, spotty, sometimes purply, always plump, filled with scar tissue build-up. I’ve been self-conscious about this area for as long as I can remember. You might get to see it in Saturday’s post. We’ll see how brave I’m feeling…
• D-police. You know who you are.
• The feeling you get when you just know your bloodsugar is dropping, but you’re in the middle of something really important and can’t properly address it at the time. Usually followed by cold sweat, shaking, and inability to pay attention. (Stephanie and I chatted about this briefly during the DSMA chat last night.)
• I’m cheating a little. I don’t really hate this one, but I did when I was in 3rd grade! In 3rd grade, our teacher had us make fingerprints and put them up on the wall all over the classroom. When my mom came by class, I challenged her to guess which ones were mine! She scanned the walls and went straight to the ones that were mine! I was SO confused until I realized it was because you could see all the little holes in my finger pads from checking my bloodsugar. But, the funny thing was, I hadn’t even noticed them before!
• Being attached. To my pump, CGM, glucometer… whatever. I dislike always having to carry something with me.
• The constant ups and downs (a.k.a. glucoaster).
• The fear of the unknown.
• The fact that others worry about me and feel the need to check in on me. I don’t mind the checking in part, but I wish they didn’t have to do it.
• Getting low right after I’ve finished eating! Don’t you know that I don’t want to shove more food into my face?!?
• The lack of cure. I was diagnosed when I was 4, so I don’t remember not having diabetes. I think it has made it easier for me to deal with it, but wouldn’t it be nice to know what’d it’d be like to NOT have to check my bloodsugar multiple times a day and be constantly attached to a piece of hardware that keeps me alive? I sure as hell think so. We were told that a cure was “right around the corner” when I was diagnosed. That was 1988!!

That’s my list! To see what other Diabetes Blog Week participants have come up with, check out the link list here!

xoxo,

Lauren

p.s. Don’t forget it’s my birthday month! If you feel so inclined, please donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation instead of sending gifts. :)

p.p.s. My friend Maria also reminded me that author Brenda Novak is currently hosting her annual online auction for diabetes research. All proceeds will go to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami to help find a cure! Please check it out and bid here! The auction opened on May 1 and ends on May 31.