The long term effects of living with type 1 diabetes.

[longtermdiabetic]

I am an insulin dependent diabetic for the last forty years. My diet is healthy, I am active ( I exercise at least twice a week for more than an hour at a time), my eyesight is good (no laser treatment yet), test my blood sugar levels at least 7 times a day and take 4 shots every day.  Basically I do what I am meant to do(most of the time). I am wondering if anybody, anywhere, has studied the psychological effect of the patient and their family, on living with a long term illness for this length of time. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

I understand there have been some studies looking at this.  The results showed that some people do very well long term (even with relatively higher blood sugars), and some do not do so well (even with relatively lower blood sugars).

I guess it is a combo of genetics and luck of the draw to how well our bodies handle having diabetes.

Dr. Richard Berstein is a type 1 diabetic.  I think he was diagnosed about 12 years of age.  He is now in his early 80s and going strong (and still working).  

From my perspective, I think we have to manage our blood sugars as well as possible (and the closer to non-diabetic range the better), and then get on with living our lives, even despite this.  We can be long term and healthy survivors.

I see diabetes as a condition to be managed rather than as an illness.