
Introducing Diabetes Strong - a health and fitness website for people with diabetes
Introducing Diabetes Strong - a health and fitness website for people with diabetes
Im living the dream! I work side by side with my husband writing Diabetes Strong, a website and community for people living with diabetes who want to be active and healthy.
This is not my first career, but its most definitely the most rewarding, not only because I live with diabetes myself but because of everyone who has reached out to me to let me know that Diabetes Strong has made a difference in their lives.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1997 (Oh my gosh, thats 20 years ago!!) right out of high school. It wasnt a super dramatic diagnosis, so no coma or extreme weight loss. I did show several of the usual symptoms though, like extreme thirst, frequent urination, and feeling deathly tired all the time. I think the sleepiness was the worst; I fell asleep at work more than once.
Looking back, its incredible that I didnt notice the symptoms earlier, but I guess you get used to even extreme behavior like that very quickly.
My family ultimately started to take notice and urged me to see a doctor. I went to my PCP and it only took a simple finger prick to diagnose my diabetes. He sent me home and I was completely freaked out. Id never met anybody with diabetes, didnt know what it was and basically thought Id been handed a death sentence.
Luckily, my mom is a nurse and could calm me down and explain the basics. She also went with me to Steno Diabetes Center, the closest diabetes center to where I lived in Denmark, where I got my initial diabetes training.
At Steno, I was paired
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