Doctor’s assistant NMPD Gunda Drule: Everyday life with diabetes is not easy, but it is not an obstacle to a full life

Author: Gunda Drulle, emergency medicine physician’s assistant at NMPD and BKUS

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I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child – at the age of 8 – when severe symptoms of the disease appeared. In the beginning, I had no knowledge about diabetes because no one in my circle of close friends or acquaintances had come across it. Also, the family doctor initially believed that I had been suffering from a viral infection for two weeks, which manifested itself as severe weakness, nausea, vomiting and increased thirst.

Society’s knowledge about diabetes is still poor
Unfortunately, society’s knowledge about the types of diabetes and the symptoms of the disease in general is still very small, as a result of which we have to face various stereotypes and prejudices. For example, most people think that I shouldn’t eat sweets or play sports and that I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes because I ate too much sugar as a child. I would like the public to be more educated about the dangers of low blood sugar for people with type 1 diabetes and to understand that the first aid is sweets, not insulin. But at the same time, I wouldn’t want people around me to emphasize my diagnosis on a daily basis, for example by keeping an eye on what I can or can’t eat or do.

Technology helps you not to think about the diagnosis
For more than half a year, I have been using a continuous glucose monitoring system, a small device that measures glucose levels without a finger prick and sends the data to my smartphone. This system also warns of too high or low glucose levels. Previously, to measure blood glucose levels, you had to prick your finger several times a day, every day. This means that you would have to prick your finger 12 times an hour to get the readings that this sensor offers, because the sensor transmits the necessary data every five minutes. In my opinion, such technologies significantly facilitate everyday life and make diabetes control much easier.
I believe that in addition to the already provided state support, it would be necessary to compensate glucose monitoring systems and insulin pumps not only for children, but also for adults with type 1 diabetes. The country would only benefit by providing the necessary technologies for care, as they help to deal with hypoglycemia before it starts, reduce or even prevent the number of hospitalizations, as well as promote productivity at work and, accordingly, make a greater contribution to the national economy.

I don’t remember life without diabetes
I have been living with type 1 diabetes for 17 years and I don’t remember what my life was like without it. For a long time I was ashamed of my diagnosis, including injecting insulin and testing my glucose in public. When diabetes became a part of my life, I started keeping track of my meals more carefully in order to correctly calculate my insulin doses. Living with diabetes is far from easy, but it has never been an obstacle to give up something in life. I may have more difficulties, but I can achieve and do all the same things as people without diabetes.

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