Just a Little Different
Student life when faced with a chronic illness.
by Allison Blass

TWEENS & TEENS News March 2006

Growing up, you have probably at one time or another felt different than your friends. Either your friends had clothes you thought were nicer, hair you saw as prettier, athletic skills you considered better or a family you viewed as more normal. Growing up, I knew what it was like to be different in a specific way— I have type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that affects an organ called the pancreas, which is right behind your stomach. The pancreas makes something called insulin, which helps your body turn the carbohydrates and sugar from your food into energy that it can use. You absolutely need this bodily function to live.

Some people have type 1 diabetes, meaning they don’t make any insulin at all and they take it as an injection or through an insulin pump that they wear. Some people have type 2 diabetes, meaning they either don’t make enough insulin or the insulin they do make doesn’t work very well. People with type 2 diabetes must resolve the insulin deficiency with diet, exercise and pills. Most people who have type 1 diabetes are young, either kids or people in their 20s and 30s. Most people who have type 2 diabetes are older, like in their 40s, 50s or 60s. Type 2 diabetes is very common— you might have some older relatives, like a grandma or an aunt, who have this type of diabetes. Because type 1 diabetes often begins during childhood, you might have some kids at your school with diabetes.

For me, diabetes influences many things that I do, but it has never stopped me from doing anything. When I was in middle school and high school, for example, I did everything that normal kids did, but I did a few extra things to make sure I stayed healthy. When I woke up in the morning, I took a shower, brushed my teeth and ate breakfast just like everyone else. But I also tested my blood sugar, counted how many carbohydrates were in my cereal and then gave myself an injection of insulin. After I finished eating breakfast, I made my lunch. I looked at the nutrition labels of the bread, the granola bar box and the Oreo package so I could add up the carbohydrates and ensure that I wasn’t eating too many or too few carbs. I also made sure to pack a juice box from the refrigerator in case my blood sugar dropped at school.

At school, I would test my blood sugar during my morning snack and at lunchtime so I could make any adjustments to my insulin or eat more if I needed. Gym class was always hard, because I would have to test and eat before exercising. Sometimes my blood sugar would go low and I would have to stop exercising and drink a juice box while everyone played. I tried to eat enough before I started playing so my blood sugar wouldn’t drop too low.

My friends were always supportive of me and my diabetes. They would make sure that they had diet drinks at their houses when I came over, or they would buy me a soda and sit with me if my blood sugar dropped too low. One time we went swing dancing. Even though I had some glucose tablets with me, it wasn’t enough to bring my blood sugar up for the activity. Two of my friends walked two blocks to buy a soda for me! It was nice to know they cared. They knew that it was important that my blood sugars stayed normal, not too high and not too low.

When I was in high school, I changed how I took my insulin. In elementary and middle school, I took shots, but in high school, I started an insulin pump. An insulin pump is a small box about the size of a cell phone or MP3 player, which is what a lot of people think it is! It’s basically like a mini IV, and it pumps insulin into me all day long. It allows me to take insulin depending on what I’m eating or what I’m doing.

When you take insulin shots, you have to take the same amount every day, and you have to eat the same amount every day, despite your level of hunger. The insulin pump is great because it actually makes me feel a lot less different than everyone around me. Before the insulin pump, I had to eat the same amount of carbohydrates every day because the amount of insulin I took was always the same. The same amount of insulin balances the same amount of carbohydrates. With an insulin pump, however, I could eat more food, and then take more insulin by pushing a few buttons on the pump. My friends loved to go to a local diner after football games, and I would always just order a Diet Coke or iced tea. With the insulin pump though, I could also eat the French fries that my friends ordered. I still ordered the Diet Coke out of habit!

Growing up, I probably felt more different than I really was. I thought no one was like me because I had to count carbohydrates and test my blood sugar before I ate, and I always had to have juice or glucose tablets with me in case my blood sugar dropped. When I look back on my life in high school, my life wasn’t much different from my friends. I still had to go to school and turn in my homework assignments. I still fought with my parents over what I wore and argued with my brother about whose turn it was to watch television. I gossiped with my girlfriends about who was dating whom and who liked whom. I loved going to the movies, loved eating out at restaurants and loved traveling. I was pretty much your average American teenager, except for that whole needle thing.

Allison Blass is 21 years old and studies public relations at the University of Oregon. She has lived with diabetes for 12 years and currently produces content for dLife’s teen Web site Diabetes Teen Talk. Teens can visit the site at www.diabetesteentalk.com or e-mail Allison at amblass@gmail.com.

November is National Diabetes Month.