Saturday, February 5, 2011

Positively Diabetic

The diabetes blogs I follow are all abuzz about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  It seems that the JDRF is moving away from trying to find a cure for diabetes and moving towards better technology to manage it.  People are apparently up in arms about it.

It's understandable. I can imagine that if you are the parent of a child with diabetes, you don't want a better insulin pump - you want a cure for your child.

Maybe I have a different perspective because I was diagnosed as an adult.  When I was first diagnosed, I just wanted to learn everything I could so that I could understand how diabetes works and manage it.  I think I just decided that, if I put too much stake on a cure, I wouldn't take diabetes management as seriously.  So I put all thoughts of a cure out of my mind and just set about learning how to live with it.

Of course I'd like a cure.  Hell, I'd love it.

But today is probably the first time I've thought seriously about it since I was in intensive care back in 2002.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pessimist. I'd bet money that there will be a cure one day.

But in my lifetime?  No way to know but I'm not sitting around waiting for it.

In fact, diabetes has been really good for me in a lot of ways.  Ironically, it keeps me healthy.  I eat really well and I get a ton of exercise.  I keep a firm grip on my weight, I get my annual physical, my eye exams, and regular blood work.  I meet with a dietician twice a year, I keep my blood pressure down and watch my cholesterol.  In fact, I'm probably healthier than most people.

Except for that damn diabetes.

Diabetes keeps me honest - there are just way too many people looking at my bloodwork results, blood glucose logs and food intake summaries.  Without all that scrutiny, I may be tempted to stay on the couch, eat those tempting salt and vinegar chips, or let my weight creep up.

So yes, a cure would be nice.  In the meantime, I'm too busy staying healthy to worry much about it.

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