As Someone With A Chronic Condition, My Quarantine Silver Lining Has Been Being Able To Put My Health First
I never thought I'd hear the words "your diseases are under control," but I have, all thanks to quarantine.
The last few years of my life have been a rollercoaster. At this time three years ago, I received my first of many diagnoses: Crohn's disease. Then, not too long after that, I was told I had hypertension due to a condition I have called kidney dysplasia. Around February of the next year, I found out that I had developed Lupus as a result of the medicine I was on to treat my Crohn's disease.
As if all of that wasn't enough, a little less than a year ago I received my postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) diagnosis, which might have been caused by the sedentary lifestyle I had because of all my previous diagnoses.
Luckily, I have now been almost a year without any new conditions (knock on wood) and I am currently feeling better than ever. Both of those things I attribute mostly to the 10 months I have spent in self-quarantine due to the pandemic.
The two years between my first and last diagnosis were chaotic.
I was a junior and senior in high school, arguably the most stressful years of high school. I was a cheerleader, cheering three to four days a week. I was doing college tours and applying to college. I was working my first job. And so many more things. My life was non-stop.
Despite my constant new diagnoses, I wasn't able to stop and fully let myself heal; I had too much going on. While I should have been laying in bed and letting my body recover from the inflammation in my intestines or adjusting to the new adrenaline-blocking medication, I was staying up late studying for exams and running laps at cheer.
I can take some of the responsibility on myself. Maybe I should have quit cheer after my Crohn's diagnosis or dropped some honors courses when I was told I had lupus, but I didn't. I really couldn't have because there was the chance that I wouldn't have gotten accepted into my dream college had I not kept my 4.3 GPA or had the extensive list of extracurriculars.
Life wasn't slowing down for anyone else, so I couldn't expect it to slow down for me.
Fortunately, all of the strain I put on my already hurting body paid off, and I got accepted to all of the colleges I applied for and am now attending my dream college. Unfortunately, my body's health took a hit from the overexertion, and I now have not just one, but four medical conditions. Yay!
Before quarantine, I was convinced that for the rest of my life I would continue to acquire new diseases and conditions all because the world kept moving at the same pace it always had when I needed it to slow down.
Thankfully though, quarantine gave me the perfect excuse to put my health first.
Even just a few months into my now 10-month self-quarantine, I could tell the time I was spending sleeping in and laying in bed all day was letting my body heal much more than the weeks I had spent in high school sleeping maybe six hours a day and cheerleading for three hours after school each night.
Up until recently, I had thought it might all just be in my head, maybe a placebo effect, but during my usual six-month appointment with my doctor the other day, I heard something I thought I would never hear: my diseases were under control.
My blood pressure seems to be normal, my gut health is in tip-top shape, my lupus symptoms have completely disappeared, and the complications I get with POTS are few and far between. I am now healthy.
Going into quarantine I was mostly frustrated with my poor health since it was the reasoning for my need to shelter away from friends and family who might make me sick. Now, I am so thankful for the situation I am in because isolating myself for almost a year now gave me so much more than just not catching a potentially deadly virus — it gave me good health.
I would have never guessed that quarantine would have given me the good fortunate it has, but it did. I will forever be grateful that I was finally able to slow down and put my health first because it has done wonders.
Stop Saying, 'I Don’t Want To Get Diabetes,’ It's Rude And Ignorant To Those Who Are Type 1 Diabetic
Nobody wants to "get" diabetes, but some of us have no choice.
This statement implies that is is a choice to be diagnosed with diabetes as if it is some very controllable condition where I have the ability to decide whether it affects me or not. This is not true.
When I was three years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes also known as juvenile diabetes because it typically, but is not limited to, beginning in adolescence. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition where my pancreas no longer produces insulin. This is caused by my immune system attacking the pancreas, ultimately destroying the cells that create insulin. As of right now, there is no explanation known for what ultimately makes the immune system do this, and there is no cure for the autoimmune condition.
Thus, as a type 1 diabetic, I have no choice but to be entirely insulin dependent. Whenever I consume carbohydrates, I must administer insulin to my bloodstream just like how non-diabetic people having a fully functioning pancreas that releases the same hormone whenever they introduce carbohydrates to their digestive systems. The amount of insulin that I administer is based on the number of carbs that I consume; the carbs per insulin unit ratio varies based on the individual and also has the potential to change just as how the pancreas secrets insulin within an individual's body at rates that are unknown. Therefore, finding ways to treat diabetes can be difficult for there lacks a "one size fits all" template for what works best for each diabetic. (This is important to keep in mind for all health conditions: what works well for one person does not necessarily mean that it will work well for a different person.)
There are a lot of other factors that are imperative for my mindful attention in order to stay healthy with this chronic condition. Monitoring blood sugar levels, counting carbohydrates, gaining a true sense of body awareness, and attending doctors appointments are some examples of these other factors that are necessary to keep on top of while living with type 1 diabetes. As you can tell, this chronic condition can easily become overwhelming.
Did I want to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? No.
Did I have a choice as to whether I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? No.
Do you have the ability to control what statements you make when speaking in public? Yes, you most certainly do.
I urge people to resist from saying the phrase, "I don't want to get diabetes" when offered dessert or saying something similar when asked why they are cutting back on how much sugar they include in their diet. Perhaps these comments are in reference to "getting" type 2 diabetes also known as adult-onset diabetes. This condition is different from type 1 diabetes in the sense that the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body has developed a resistance to the insulin that is produced; the body does not use insulin efficiently. Another difference is that type 2 diabetes can be influenced by the risk factors of obesity and family history. Finally, type 2 diabetes can also be reversed; this means that through lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise, the effects of type 2 diabetes can be alleviated because the pancreas still does make insulin for type 2 diabetics. This is not the case for type 1 diabetes, thus, these are two different conditions.
So let's say that the ignorant comment of "I don't want to get diabetes" is made in reference to type 2 diabetes. This is still an awful thing to say. Of course, nobody "wants to get" diabetes; why would they? However, even in cases of type 2 diabetes, there are factors that are still beyond the individual's personal control, and even after the diagnosis occurs, as I stated earlier, there are differences in how each individual responds to treatment options. What works for one may not work for another.
Unfortunately, I have been in the presence of people who have made comments within this subject matter. Being a type 1 diabetic myself, the situation is incredibly awkward. Whether the person who made the statement knows that there is a diabetic present in the room or not, they should not be speaking like this. Making this comment implies that there is a concrete choice as to whether an individual is diagnosed with diabetes, of any type, or not. Making this comment implies that you, the commentator, is above those of us who are already diabetic; you are looking down on us in a way because your comment insinuates that you would never want to endure the lifestyle of a diabetic. Making this comment implies that you, the commenter, have no idea what the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes are, or that there even are different types of diabetes and how to distinguish between the complications of each. Making this comment implies that you, the commenter, are extremely, unmistakenly, ignorant.
In the instances that I have heard this quick comment be made, some people present in the room knew that I was type 1 diabetic and some people did not. Nobody pointed me out or made sideways glances at me to notice my facial expression. I was not offended by the comment, nor was I embarrassed that I am type 1 diabetic while there is this person saying that they "don't want" what I have. I was, however, extremely disappointed in the comment. I was partly disappointed in the commenter for making such an ignorant statement (that I am sure was probably not meant to be harmful at all), but I was also majorly disappointed in society as a whole. Instances like this have made me realize that, collectively, society is also ignorant of the differences between types of diabetes. Generalizing this condition can result in the cultivation of uncomfortable situations and an inability to understand the complications of each type of this condition.
Finally, and most importantly, whenever I endure experiences such as the one described, I am refreshed of just how utterly important it is for all of us to choose our words wisely and precisely. Even if we do not intend to cause harm by our words, the possibility of that happening is always present. When people say "I don't want to get diabetes," I am not sure they realize just how terrible this statement sounds leaving their lips. In my mind, my first reaction is that I would never say anything like this, but then again, I have this reaction because I am type 1 diabetic. Similarly, would you ever make the statement "I don't want to get cancer" when offered a free session in a tanning bed or "I don't want to get liver damage" when offered a beer? No, because there are so many genetic and epigenetic factors that can contribute to cancer diagnoses and the same goes for liver failure.
It sounds absurd to even read those two examples. How can somebody solely correlate tanning beds with "getting" cancer and beer with "getting" liver damage when there is an abundance of other contributing factors as well as different types of levels of severity regarding these health issues? Well, I ask myself the same question regarding the statement of "I don't want to get diabetes" when somebody is offered something sweet. How can somebody solely correlate sugar with "getting" diabetes when there are so many other factors that are potentially involved? While it is possible that these pairs are related in terms of causation to some extent (tanning beds/cancer, beer/liver damage, sugar/diabetes) there are so many things that we do not know exactly and making generalized statements like my examples above prove to be inappropriate.
It sounds absurd because it is absurd.
Thus, let's all strive to create an environment where we do not make people feel ashamed or uncomfortable based on ignorant statements regarding health conditions that we may or may not know anything about. You never know what people are going through or how a genetic condition, health issue, or disease affects them. Furthermore, you never know what health experiences you will one day be exposed to, whether that condition will affect you personally or if it will affect a close family member or friend. Either way, it will change your perspective immensely.
I vow to always choose my words carefully and thoughtfully to ensure that I can clearly articulate a point with consideration for whoever is present in my audience; you should too.