I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on the 3rd April 2020, in the middle of lockdown, at the age of 29, 6 months away from getting married.
I felt overwhelmed and exhausted with all this new information! (I’d always thought it only affected children) I’ve had to readjust my thinking, but I have had such great support from my family, friends and my fiancé.
My Challenges
- I have always been terrified of needles, I would hysterically cry if anyone came near me, now I finger prick and inject insulin multiple times a day.
- I love to travel and am quite an active person, now I constantly worry about hypos, during or after any exercise. And any trips now involve more planning.
- I considered myself a happy person always smiling, but my cheerfulness has definitely been tested since being diagnosed
Needle Phobia
The first week I was home, I got my fiancé to do all the finger pricks (yes I know, I was acting like a child) he’d do the test and then just hold me till I stopped crying, after the second week, he told me, what I already knew, that he wouldn’t always be around, so I had to start doing them myself.
Now it’s 100% not my favourite part of the day, (I close my eyes every time!) but it has become part of my routine.
Adventures
One of our first day trips out, my fiancé had planned for us to walk 10 miles around this reservoir, so I planned and packed what I knew I needed for the day, everything was fine we were walking along, and then the next second I felt funny, I was dizzy, shaky, and sweating, I obviously tested straight away and was 2.9 (the lowest I’d been since being diagnosed).
Before this I wouldn’t have been worried about the fact neither of us had signal on our phones, or that we were 2 hours away from the car, but on this day it added to my anxiety. The jelly babies worked, and after stopping for lunch, I was fine for the rest of the walk.
Since then, any trips we’ve taken, I’ve been super conscious of how I feel, so I can tell when I’m going low. I do get frustrated sometimes, when all I want to do is go for a walk or a run, I’m having to stop and sip on apple juice. But hey that’s life now!
Positive thoughts
Recently, the emotional toll of it all just hit me. I felt angry, sad, mentally drained and completely exhausted. My fiancé deserves the credit, for getting me through that haze of negativity. He helped me collect some positive quotes, to encourage and cheer me up, these are some of my favourites…
“Everyday may not be good, but there’s something good in every day!”
“Worrying won’t stop bad stuff happening, it just keeps you from enjoying the good”
“Make today so AWESOME yesterday gets jealous”
I try to be patient with myself, I know some days I’m going to struggle, but it’s not the end of the world. One of the reasons for my Instagram account, was because I wanted to use it to interact with others in the diabetes community, those dealing with similar things to me, to get advice and hopefully give suggestions, on what has helped me.
Our Next Adventures
We have our first abroad trip to France, planned for next month, which I am super excited about and anxious all at the same time. And in October, our biggest adventure together… married life!
My diabetes has been a massive learning curve, I’m still learning. What works one day doesn’t necessarily work the next day, it has it’s ups and downs! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) However, I’m determined not to let it stop me doing anything I want… like eating that donut if I want to!
Carrie-Ann Hollands
Type 1 Diabetic since 03/04/20. I love to travel and go on awesome adventures, whether in real life or through the pages of a book and if it involves anything Disney related even better!
