I am diabetic
Answers to commonly asked questions-
 
main page
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Do you have to stick yourself
with needles?
YES! I have to inject 
myself with needles.
__This is the length of the needle 
- see - not so bad. 

How often?
I inject four times 
a day, before main meals and bed.

Is it hard finding a vein?
NO! It's not in my arm, 
I do not need to find a vein!
I inject in my stomach and 
on the side of my thighs.

But doesn't it hurt?
YES! It hurts sometimes!
But especially when I've been
too slack to change needles!

Do you have to do this for the
rest of your life?
YES! This condition is forever!! 
I'm not at all phased by that, 
because with advances in diabetic 
technology have brought more 
comfort in the last 10 years 
than in the whole history of diabetes.

 Would you like a lolly - oops sorry
I forgot you were diabetic...
NO! Don't treat us diabetics 
like we will shatter into a million
pieces if we have something sugary. 
a) when we have hypoglaecemic
episodes (or hypos) a little sugar
is essential. 
and 
b) researchers have found that 
sugar is not the diabetic's enemy. 
It is the fat content in food that 
is a real killer. So a diabetic's 
diet should really be the same 
as a fully functioning person's 
diet : low in fat, and high in 
the good stuff - but most of all 
- everything in moderation. 
(Especially chocolate!)

Can I have a shot of
insulin?
NO! Insulin is NOT an 
"upper" or a "downer". 
If I give you a shot of it, 
you will NOT get high. 
You'll probably be flat 
on your back unconscious. 
A normally functioning 
pancreas makes it's own 
insulin and the extra insulin 
will drain your 
sugar reserves, 
therefore leading to a hypo.

 I thought only old and
fat people got 
diabetes. 
My gran/ my father/
my fat uncle is diabetic 
 etc etc etc...
NO! I did not become 
diabetic because I am either 
obese or aged, I have type 1 
diabetes, or juvenile onset 
diabetes or insulin 
dependant diabetes. 
The media often portrays 
diabetics to be aged and/or 
obese, and most often 
CONFUSES the two types. 
However, there are conflicting 
reports as to how type 1 
diabetes is developed. I was
told that I developed
a virus which made
my virus fighting 
cells think that my insulin 
producing cells were foreign 
and therefore killed the bulk 
of them off thus rendering
my pancreas USELESS!

The background on this page is an etching I did which depicts me injecting myself in a toilet cubicle "just before lunch". This is a familiar scene for diabetics, who are banished to the public loos to shoot up before meals when dining out!

Some people choose to inject themselves in public, through their clothing, however I am aware that other people may be uncomfortable when put in this situation so I choose to be discrete! Nevertheless, some of my friends are absolutely fascinated by the whole business and ask to watch me when I jab myself.

Being diabetic isn't all there is to me, it's just another facet of me.
But if you've already looked at the rest of my site you would have realised that...