Should I?

Sometimes it's easy to weigh the pros and cons of medical choices we have to make.

Should I take insulin?

It's a synthetic hormone that, if taken at the wrong dose, can be lethal.

Well when you weigh that information against the knowledge that not taking insulin has a 100% chance of killing me, I'm all for it.

Bring on the insulin!

And thank you Doctors Banting and Best for giving me the choice.

Other health decisions are a little less cut and dry.

Should I take calcium?

Pros - it will help reduce the risk of bone density loss, something I am at high risk for and have already shown early signs of.

Cons - the are health risks associated with calcium supplements, include cardiovascular disease risks which, as someone with T1, I am also at risk for.

Should I take a low dose statin?

Pros - it will help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, things I am at risk for as a person with T1.

Cons - there are all sorts of side effects that come with taking statins including, I recently discovered, memory loss. For some reason that one I find particularly disturbing...but I can't remember why.

Should I take iron? Should I take digestive enzymes? Should I take vitamin D? Vitamin K? A multi-vitamin? Low-dose aspirin? A pill whose name I can no longer remember that is supposed to help protect my kidneys? Birth control?

All of the above have been prescribed or strongly recommended by a doctor at some point in my diabetes care. Some I have said yes to, many I have said no. All I have agonized over and still second guess as I pop open the daily pill bottles.

Despite all of the no's, I take three pills when I wake up, one with breakfast, one mid-day and one before bed.

I can only hope that they are doing more good than harm.