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On a scale of 1-5, how much are your personal relationships (social and intimate) affected by T1D? (5 = the most affected, 1 = the least affected)
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How in the HELL would it be affected at all? This sounds like a Facebook question.
1 least affected. What’s Day after the 1?
People know cause they see the Omnipod and CGM. Sometimes they ask. At the dance studio some of my closer friends watch my balance. Everyone goes in my bag to help themselves to snacks.
I could see if I had a lot of fear surrounding my treatment I might turn down things that they want to do. But I am actually the planner in my group so no effect. Just takes a little planning ahead.
I put #3 because I am a widow living alone. Being spontaneous is difficult for me if I don’t make plans ahead of time and take insulin in a cool container or driving alone keeps me closer to home since I am a senior with type 1 LADA.
My reaction is completely the opposite of Larry’s. I think everything in my life has been affected by diabetes in ways large and small. 59 of my 70 years.
I entered 1. What does the “day” after 1 mean. It usually does not have an affect for a whole day.
At age 70 & 65 yr T1 almost everything is affected. I have some complications. I have to be choosy about restaurant menus when dining out. I didn’t socialize during quarantine. With diabetic arthropathy I can no longer hike so we can’t go out hiking with friends. I do not hold my wife back however so sometimes she goes out hiking with family. That is an affect on both of us bc we used to do that together. I think readers can extrapolate from the above so I won’t go on. In younger days my answer would have been a “2” but control of bg during physical activity & exertion would have been something non-diabetics didn’t have to worry about.
Two ways to look at it, it can affect it positively or negatively, but there is definitely an affect since a T1 makes so many decisions daily to keep themselves healthy. I chose 4, because it is so intertwined in my life that I even have a higher medical understanding and comprehension than those without a medical vindication that they grew up with. Some of the affects benefit my family greatly (call me when their doc has them doing tests so I can explain and calm them) and it can be negative as I sometimes need to sit something out. A lot of my effects from T1 I view positively, would I have been as fit and athletic as I am no without having T1 ? Many of my friends the same age don’t go bike, hike, swim, horseback riding – they simply can’t due to other physical issues. They may not understand the importance of vaccines, taking care of health, etc. I know this question set some people off, but they didn’t state it was a negative affect – and I see it in mostly positive affects, a few negative.
Difficult question to answer since my life in it’s entirety is affected by T1. There’s positives and negative’s and ups and downs. When I really think about it, all decisions are made through T1 glasses.
We are all different and as a result we all react differently to this question. I see that as a positive. I surely don’t want to live in a world where everyone agrees with each other. My personal decisions almost always include a thought about T1D. It isn’t a deciding factor but I HAVE to plan properly. It MUST be thought about, unless you want to die an early, blind, amputated life (I known ALL of these through other people). And my T1D absolutely affects my husband, mainly because other people can’t shut up about how it affects someone they know. I have never had a negative reaction even though I’ve been as high as 420 when diagnosed and as low as 19. But someone told him they often went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up unless someone intervened. So now, I get pushed in the middle of the night if he cannot hear me breathing. And I agree: the diagnosis has had positive and negative affects. I feel blessed to have a community of free-thinkers that I belong to. Stay strong T1Ds!
For the past 66 years every aspect of my life has been affected by T1D. All of my family, friends and business acquaintances have shared different parts of the journey.
Everyday and not at all. It is a part of my life and the life of those I am in relationship with because it is what it is and cannot be otherwise.
Oh by the way, I answered Other.
I answered 5. After 58 years with T1D, I find that tingling feet and legs waking me up in the morning to be just the beginning of my daily relationship with the disease. Then it’s checking my CGM, taking insulin if I’m high or starting a temp basal if I’m a little low before my morning coffee. Gym or walk or sedentary morning – further adjustments. How much insulin for lunch depends on the morning’s activities and number of carbs, plus the part the afternoon’s activities plays. Same goes for dinner and TV time. Then add in a husband, the dog, sometimes the grandkids, popcorn at
a movie, a swim at the pool…… it’s a 24/7 kind of disease. As an extra added bonus I have neuropathy, charcoarthropathy, RLS, hypertension, depression, fatty liver, glaucoma and sleep apnea, most of which stem from T1D. I would probably weight twice as much as I do now if not for the food restrictions, so that’s one, and very possibly the only good thing about it. I hate it, and therefore have more trouble with it with every passing day. I’m now 72 years old and would so dearly love a cure. Instead, there’s never even a vacation from it, not even for one day.
Intimate and social are totally different categories for me. My husband is 100% affected by my diabetes. My social interactions with others varies but minimally affected unless I have a low while socializing with them. Friends try to accommodate my low carb eating but some are unaware of my eating habits due to T1D. I would give most friends a 1-3. Sorry that I can’t answer more focused on a single number.
This is a very good question but I also find it hard to answer. Diabetes affects us in so many different ways personally which leaves me to believe that it has had a positive or negative affect on our relationships.
To measure it by a number would be impossible.
Not affected one bit.
I answered with a 1, as it seems much less affecting than my epilepsy, but this is a question to be asked of those around me.
I don’t know how bothersome it is to have my low glucose alarms at night for my husband, to have to be constantly concerned of the carbs in my meals, or if I need sugar due to hypoglycemia for other people. To me these things can be easily understood and managed compared to the unknown possibility of seizures.
At first I answered just one day. But on second thought, yes, it’s affected every day of my life in both positive and negative ways. Would I have started training with weights at age 15? Would I later have taken up aerobic jogging and swimming and taken yoga classes as well? Every day at every meal I weigh my food portions. I take my finger pricks and injections in public spaces like light rail or buses. When attending social events I make it clear why I’m making such careful food choices. Intimate relationships? From the start I make it clear what to do if my face turns white or my behavior is unusual: “ask me to check my bg. If I’m passing out (unlikely nowadays) put these sugar cubes in my mouth.” I ask if friends or acquaintances want more info when they reveal they’ve been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I try to reassure them they can take steps to avoid diabetes. I always mention Dr. Richard Bernstein’s books. We all know the negatives. I try to make lemonade out of a lemon.
I answered 4. A couple of years ago, I would have said 2 but I’m caregiving an elderly relative so stress has made pump alarms more frequent and so makes me cranky which affects those around me.