64 Comments
Happy World Diabetes Day - Share a T1D-related accomplishment you have experienced!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
© 2023 T1D Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
Am I the first?
With 17 years injections and “old fashioned” meter (mid-to-hi 6 a1C), 4 years pumping with an endocrinologist’s urging (a1C low 7). Last year a1C in low 6 with the same pump, several months on injections and CGM this year low 5 (like 5.3 & 5.2), my last test with pump and algorithm 5.7 with a more liberal diet:
Just might get out of here alive? (or at least unscathed)
CGM is the best thing to come along.
After 38+ years as T1D, and entering a family where T1D was already a permanent fixture with diabetic retinopathy among other complications leading to permanent disability, at 47, I am beyond proud that I have no complications. In fact, my Retina Specialist whom I’ve been seeing for over 20 years has told me the same thing at every annual appointment: “When I was in medical school, if they had told me I’d have a patient with such long duration of brittle type 1 as you and have no evidence of the disease in your eye, I wouldn’t have believed them.” I am so grateful that my hard work has paid off 😻
I am on my 73rd year of experiencing T1D. I have experienced it all — the good, the bad, and the ugly. The greatest accomplishment is rising above the later two. Now, if I could just work on a little humility . . .
Wow, awesome job well done.
We’ve come a long way since boiling glass syringes and stainless steel needles that needed to be sharpened when they got dull and of course test tubes of urine and water with whatever those tablets were we had to boil.
But your 2 generations before that. What did you have to do your first few years?
Ahh Life, indeed! I’ve been following your comments here for years, and was so glad to find you here today. Come June, I’ll join you in the 7 decade club. What’s not to celebrate? I’m convinced that a sense of humor is just as important as all the other tools of the trade (too many to count). I wouldn’t change a thing about my lovely life, and with a tiny bit of wisdom, might add that I’ve been given a boatload of perspective about what’s important, and what’s not. For someone who’s hardly ever living a life of moderation, I’m delighted to recognize so many names on today’s list of responses. Remembering anything these days is something of a challenge, but the NYT crossword puzzle every day helps. As does walking every day to get groceries and breathe the salt air (old Mainer). Miss my labradoodle Charlie who succumbed to diabetes at 14 a year ago more than you can imagine. He also knew that joie de vivre is great medicine!
Congrats to everyone here! We rock! ….even if sometimes in chairs :*)
Neal Van Berg — What did I have to do? Be a kid and enjoy life. I boiled test tubes to see the marvelous colors of the rainbow change every day. Maybe because of that I always wanted to be a chemist. That didn’t pan out, but life did (I went into rocket science, more fun).
And Pru Barry — I love crossword puzzles, but the NYT are much too hard for me. The fact you had a dog who insisted you go out for a walk daily is terrific. Joie de vivre indeed! 🤗
This year marks 25 years of Type 1 Diabetes, thank God! I’m grateful to have made it this far without further complications, and hoping and praying it stays that way!
I have lived a healthy life with Diabetes for 50 years!
This is my 3rd year of running 100 miles in the month of November for National Diabetes awareness month as a Type I diabetic!
Forty three years with Type 1 and no complications!
My main achievement was owning my treatment and understanding it. This way I have more confidence to put the right methodology into practice and even carry out some experiments.
I have bad highs and been doing my best
Thank God for all the advancements since beef and pork insulin and testape.
58 years and no eye or kidney disease.
80-90% consistently in range with the addition of Afrezza and a new Endo.
As my Dear Father would say, I woke up this morning above ground and breathing.
This month is my 59th anniversary with the gift that keeps on giving.
Keeping my A1c consistently in the mid 5 range. Even after Endo advised not to switch to MDI. I am doing just as well for two years and do not miss a pump.
In 1988, before at-home blood tests for glucose levels, before insulin pumps, I treked in the Himalayas for 10 days and never had an emergency or low blood sugar. I was 31, and at that time, my body did a better job of letting me know if something was wrong than it does now, but it’s an accomplishment I talk about to new diabetics … you can do this, you can have a full and happy life with type 1 diabetes. It takes effort sometimes, and paying attention, but you can do it!
Eight years ago I ran a half marathon. I ran the entire thing, and my sugar didn’t drop that much.
I love my CGM!
I learned about and joined a meditation community for T1Ds and am also participating in a beta test of a breathing app for PWDs.
I have lived with T1D, with many of it’s rollercoaster ups and downs for almost 62 years now and I am still thriving. My life time isn’t over yet and the best is yet to come!
I’ve had type 1 for 55 years. I come from dark ages where I had to learn how to boil needles and syringes before using. Thrilled when throw away syringes came. I peed in a cup and put a pill in to see what color it turned and prayed for blue not brown. Then we got test urine strips to use. I plugged my parents toilet all the time. The at age 25 I joined an international music group and toured the world
full time for
12 years. Went
To 64 countries doing the old Nph insulin. (Pig insulin)period. I had to talk my Doctor to let
Me go to multiple shots a day with lantus and humalog at 30. Then came out blood checkers! Wow, now I could tell my real blood sugar. Finally fired my Dr so I could go to an endo and get on the
pump. Later CGM. I’m 63 now
With zero
Complications. I have great health and I learned long ago to be my best advocate and push for better treatments and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t
Do
Something because you are a type 1 diabetic!!
My greatest T1D accomplishment is learning how to best care for my body, mind and soul. It’s a tough learning process. Yet, I developed an approach to health that enables me to support all activities and life goals I set to achieve, like playing team tennis, running a business, and being an active member of my community.
I have lived with T1D for 31 years with no complications. My health and fitness are probably better than if I was never diagnosed. I think that’s quite an accomplishment!💙
Still alive after 49 yrs with t1d.
Trusting my teen son to make insulin decisions on his own.
I was diagnosed in July 2022. 14 months after my diagnosis, I completed my first half Ironman (triathlon)! 70.3 miles of swimming, biking, and running! After hiring an endurance coach with T1D and training diligently for 9 months, I ran across that finish line and cried tears of joy. It is one of my proudest moments. T1D only controls you if you let it.
I am proud to say that since starting omnipod and dexcom my blood sugars are finally undercontroll. My last two a1c have been 6.9%.
Support my family’s diabetes fundraiser
3 healthy, beautiful children after maintaining an A1c less then 5.3% in all three pregnancies
Dr Banting and I share a birthday so each one of these is also a HBD to me. As of today that makes 40 of them with T1D, so thanks for Dr Banting.
I was able to bring my A1C from 7.9 to 6.4 within three months of starting Afrezza back in 2018. Since then, my A1C has been between 6.5 and 6.9.
I’m still here…and kicking, 67 years after T1D dx at 8. I’m a Joslin 50 yrs. Medalist and was a participant in Joslin clinical studies from 1987 to 2019.
Make that 68 years of living with T1D.
Lived with T1D for 66 years. Survived and thrived after open heart ❤️ surgery. Traveled to more than 22 countries. Raised three sons who are all succeeding in life.
Life is good.
Type 1 for 67 years & breast cancer survivor for 14 years & …..,still alive!! A1C 5.6 to 6.
Successful career as lawyer for 15 years & Judge for 25 years. Happily married almost 50 years. Recently switched from DEXCOM to Medtronic SmartGuard- the latter much more techie difficult for us non techie oldies.
My biggest accomplishment this year was to just live my life without diabetes being a reason not to do something!
I like having my endocrinologists (Plural, because they retire etc.) Say I am doin g a good job.
T1D for 58+ years. Last A1c 5.9. Background retinopathy hasn’t proliferated for over 4 decades.
I’ve lived with T1D for over 56 yesrs
I received the Joslin 50 year medal this year. Living 50 years (since childhood, virtually my entire life) with insulin-dependent diabetes certainly feels like a huge accomplishment and it was wonderful to receive this medal as recognition.
All my accomplishments were Type I related! Don’t know how I did it, looking back. Five children, a choir of 30 and a music ensemble of 7 for 25 years. But my memories are good ones.
That I never fell victim to the “wooo is me, I’m diabetic and can’t do anything” mindset. MY brother and niece haven’t either. Yes, we’ve all had our challenges but it doesn’t stop us. Figure out how to fix it and move on. There’s too much life live!
I have traveled throughout the world, backpacked in the Wilderness, helped start a camp for kids with Diabetes, became an RD and CDE, and got married and adopted 2 great kids. I’m now retired with my spouse of 45 years., and have 2 wonderful granddaughters. After 52 years of living with T1 I have an A1c of 5.9 and minimal complications. My Tandem pump and Dexcom G6 help keep me in range over 80% of the time. I never thought I would live this long!
Because one of my grandsons became a T1 before me, I knew a lot about T1. Even had a glucose monitor so I could understand what he went through every day. Then 2 years later, my blood sugar went up to 350/400 and didn’t go down. I knew I had T1 so went immediately to an endocrinologist. Most T1s end up in a hospital to discover they have T1. Because I had a better understanding, I avoided hospitalization. My doctor said my experience is very rare.
I have completed 78 years of T1D at age 84, and I do not have any serious complications.
Bravo! You keep on showing us what’s possible! I love hearing, today, how all our accomplishments are adding up. Life’s good, and obviously not all about some misspelled gene code. The “BigD” has done little to wreck most of my “little-d” days. Year 70 coming up :*)
I can’t match Richard but this is year 50 for me.
Two+ years in, and I figured out how to NOT be woken up in the middle of the night with highs and/or lows! What a relief!
I don’t know how, but I’ve managed to survive 51 years of T1D without having serious complications.
I’ve reached the 70 year mark with T1D without any serious complications. I’ve retired 6 endocrinologist!
Isn’t it the pits when they die or retire on you??! ; >)
I was a volunteeR among 1500 other who showed definatively that control of BS reduces long term damage of diabetes. It seems obvious now because we proved it so.
I’ve survived 67 years with my best friend, T1D 😉
I am still alive & healthy after >57 years! Thank God & really good doctors!
Doing Ride.JDRF.org
and getting my A1c below 6 (5.9)
Yay me! My celebration was to get an A1C last week of 10.9 with a CGM and insulin pump!!! WTW???? Ugh!!!
Russia introduced a name “the Day of the fight against diabetes” for this day. Even in Ukrainian, the automatic GOOGLE translation is exactly like this. Advise the GOOGLE company to fix it
More days in 100% BG range, because of my CGM.
I’d say that 59 years with T1D without complications is an accomplishment! I found out that my life expectancy was reduced from the time of onset. Doing my own calculations, I figured that meant if I lived to 50 years old I had beat the odds. So, I decided that if I lived to be 50, I would celebrate 50 and every year after as long as I was healthy. I’m still going strong!!
T1D for 30 years and got my A1c to 5.8 for the first time this year (many years in the 6’s but first time in the 5’s.
47 years!