Why is success so criticized in the diabetes community? I cannot tell you how hard this last week has been for me in regards to my diabetes instagram and blog. I’ve been posting my great results and comments on how I do it, but quite frankly, I’ve received more backlash than positivity. I’m not a quitter, but I wanted to quit my social media channels this week. But I know there are people out there who are positive and help celebrate others’ success and genuinely care to hear how others maintain great control. So this is for you guys, thank you!
It just baffles me that people know that I know exactly what diabetes is like, and how horrible it is to live with, but to criticize so severely is frustrating.
Do I need to show 200 mg/dl BGs to be a true T1 in the social media scene? What if I don’t have any BGs that high to even share???
Apparently I need to be negative and show how REAL diabetics live.
However, I am a REAL diabetic. But I do not have BGs rollercoasters that often.
I want to tell you why:
I choose to put my health first. I choose to eat LESS carbs so that I can inject LESS insulin, so that I have LESS fluctuations and LESS guessing. It’s simple really.
But let me be honest:
It was not always this way. I used to struggle with my BGs and have A1Cs in the 7%+ range. I thought fitting in and eating everything that normal people eat was important. Then I learned about Dr. Bernstein, and although I did not follow his plan 100% in the beginning, it was a step in the right direction. I began to truly get frustrated about my BG results and wonder why I was over 200 after eating pizza. It’s a no-brainer. Insulin does not mimic a normal humans’ response. I cannot perform my pancreas’ task on a high carb diet. I accept this. I’ve found low carb recipes for all foods imaginable. Try Fat Head Pizza sometime, it honestly tastes better than normal pizza. I indulge and eat delicious foods; I seek out low carb alternatives, all while maintaining great BGs.
Anyway, I just want to point out that we all manage our diabetes differently. If you’re okay with BGs all over the place for the sake of eating certain foods, that’s OK. You are in charge of YOU.
But we cannot be negative to people who choose not to live like this. It is not right to be negative to others’ success. What’s the point?
I am not telling anyone how to live. I am telling you how I live so that you can all understand what I do to be successful and live a healthy life. Whatever you choose to take away from my stories is your own choice. And I’m truly sorry if I have ever expressed myself in a judgy manner. As I created the Happy Diabetic Challenge, this goes against everything I stand for.
Celebrate each other!
P.S. This blog post was “inspired” by how my recent success posts under-performed on my instagram. The views and likes are significantly different from when I have posted in the past about high BGs or frustrations. I do not want this to be normal in the diabetes community. We cannot focus on the negativity. Diabetes is hard enough, and focusing on the negative aspects will not bring us to better control or a better outlook.
theinsulintype.com 
I, too, was close to throwing in the proverbial towel with diabetes blogging and, especially, social media. All of the negativity had begun to consume me. Like you, my diabetes is in excellent control. I take my diabetes and my health very seriously. I’ve been trying to spread a message of hope, but you and I are looked at as anomalies. The masses believe that they can’t do it – we’re just some exception to the rule (as if we were gifted with the “good” type 1).
Today I started searching online for other positive diabetics – those succeeding despite the discouraging consensus online. I found you and am glad I did. We need to form our own DOC that has no place for the apathy and animosity pervading the DOC. Success is possible for most. We have to keep getting the message out there!
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Thank you!
You really inspire me to try harder to get better BGs. Your post reminded me of my own situation. For many months now I hardly eat any cake or candies. When I´m at home it´s no big problem. Most of the time I really don´t miss anything because I love eating healthy things. But when I meet with friends and family I always have to justify myself and explain why I won´t try a cookie or eat same cake like everybody else does – even though I already explained a hundred times. I think it´s unbelievable that I kind of appear to be rude just because I don´t try their homemade cake.
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The T1D world is bizarre. It is almost a rite of passage to have chronic high blood sugars, with all the concomitant risks.
You and I with beautiful blood glucose numbers, are considered by some to be a threat, not an inspiration. My latest HbA1c was 5.2%.
“You must be making your own insulin”, they say.
“Nah, I work hard at it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”.
As you do too.
Keep up the good work, Leah. Don’t let the naysayers get you down!
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