Type 1 Diabetes: How A 20 Year Old Copes

When did my Health Anxiety start? I can't pin point exactly when this all started happening but I do know that everything stemmed from me having dull chest pains for a couple months. Which meant that I started to get more and more worried about what would happen to me when I start training and playing rugby again. That was Christmas time last year. So, obviously because I was stressing about it and having feelings of anxiety I was actually making my body worse and the pains got worse too.   I think I actually have had health anxiety a lot longer without realising because I have always worried about my health since I have been in and out of hospitals since birth. When I was born, I had something called Hypospadias, which in laymen terms means I didn't have a fully formed urethra. I've never been super comfortable speaking about this until recently so even I am shocked I am typing this up right now. Everything down there is all good and healthy now. I was also born with a hol

  Music (Distraction 1) Dealing with my Diabetes takes it's toll on me and can be very draining. Which is why it is important that I distract myself sometimes to get my mind off things, to essentially DE-stress me. I think we all need distractions from life that will help us to be honest but for me one of my main ways to relax myself is listening to music. I 100% get that from my Mum, who was and still is obsessed with George Michael and Wham! Everyday on the way to school when I was young I would listen to his songs with my mum in the car and just from hearing his music I would pick up on the words and eventually would sing along with my mum. So, I always have had an ear for music since being 5 or 6 years old. Unfortunately, My Dad and Brother do not enjoy music like me and my Mum do, they think we are a little weird at times for enjoying so much music! As I have grown up I have developed more of my own taste in music. I still enjoy George Michael though! Anyways, I started to get

  How does drinking alcohol affect Diabetics? People with Diabetes are very much able to have a drink with their friends at the pub and depending on which drink, they may not need to worry about how their blood sugar levels will be. But, when consuming large amounts of it, things get a little more complicated. Alcohol, has lots of effects on the human body and one of those less common effects, is the fact that alcohol can substantially lower blood sugar levels in the body. This, is very common in Diabetics and it can vary on each person how badly their blood levels drop and when they will drop. Alcohol can definitely cause a Diabetic to have a Hypo while they are on their night out and it is important to make sure that it gets sorted urgently when this happens. What should a Non-Diabetic do when their friend is having a hypo when drunk? Here are some things to know and think about first of all. Firstly, I think its important that you can recognize the signs of a Hypo. So, do they sudde

My thoughts on my Diabetes. How I feel about my Diabetes, is definitely different to a lot of people, just like how my thoughts and feelings will be exactly the same for a lot of people. Being 19, at such a pivotal time in my life, deciding how I want my future to be and what I'd like to do in my life, but also wanting to enjoy my spare time away from work and Uni, there is a lot to deal with there. Now adding Diabetes to that is like a kick to the balls. For people who are 18, 19, 20, 21, with Diabetes, life gets super, super complicated.  In my own experience of having dealt with Diabetes for the last 6 years of my life, I've grown from a boy to a young man and how I feel about the disease has changed too.  At age 19 right now this is how I feel about it. I HATE IT MORE THAN EVER.  Let's begin with my health anxiety, the most recent issue I've had in my life. From Christmas time up until late February of this year, I was having trouble with my health anxiety. Every he

  2nd of August, 2016 That, is the day my life changed forever. I had just turned 13 and was enjoying my summer holidays before moving into year 9 of high school.  I'm going to walk you through the day I had, with as much information that i can remember, due to it being 6 years ago!  That day to me felt like any other day during that beginning period of the summer holidays. It was a relativity warm day outside, but this particular day I was sat inside playing in the Xbox, I remember the game i was playing too. Rainbow 6 Siege. That day, I think a new character was coming out to play as, so I was excited. To me, this seems important to talk about as it just goes to show how your life can change in an instant, for better or worse and that is what life really is in the end. Pot luck. I remember going downstairs to take an empty plate back into the kitchen, when my dad told me he wanted to check my blood. I do recall crying but if it was before or after he pricked my finger. This seems