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• Testing blood sugar
• Frequent shots and testing
• Using an insulin pump
• Big changes
• New considerations
• A matter of independence
• Coping with insulin shots

Testing blood sugar

When I go out, my mom will make me test my blood sugar. If I am low then I have to have a snack or juice and then I’ll test like ten or fifteen minutes later to make sure my blood sugar is going up.

-Stephanie, 10 years old

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Frequent shots and testing

I take four injections a day and test regularly. I do my treatments wherever and whenever my body tells me I need to, whether it’s school, work, home, or at a concert, etc.

-Mary, 25 years old

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Using an insulin pump

What you do is you test your blood with a meter and you stick a little tiny needle into your finger and then blood comes out. Then you put it on a little strip and the meter tells what your number is.  Then you take your pump and you type in the number and how many carbs you ate, like 26 for a cup of hot chocolate. The pump gives you a number, like maybe like 1.5 or something, and then you press a button on the pump and then the insulin goes in to your set so your blood sugar won’t be high.

-Allie, 9 years old

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Big changes

The biggest and most obvious change is the fact that I have to test my blood sugar and take injections 3-4 times a day, and I was also put on several oral medications. This has affected some changes in my routine. Other changes involved activities that I had not even begun yet. For instance, I do not know how much alcohol I would have drank in college had I not had diabetes, but I never let myself get very drunk because I need to remain alert enough to take care of my medical routines.

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New considerations

I have not really had to change any of my activities, though I have had to do more to make sure that the people I do these activities with know about my condition and what to do if something happens.

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A matter of independence

I always do my treatments on my own. I am not comfortable with others being too close when I do them. It is not embarrassment; it is simply a matter of independence.

-Sarah, 23 years old

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Coping with insulin shots

It was hard because I used to do two to eight shots a day. If I ate something, it would’ve been more. I got used to them, but I kind of didn’t like them. I had this little stuffed animal dog, and I used to take him and squeeze him when I got shots.

-Brady, 7 years old

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