Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date. The use of she/her/hers pronouns in some articles is not intended to be exclusionary. Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights.
By Quinn Nystrom, MS
I’ve lived with type 1 diabetes for over 25 years. When I was diagnosed back in the late 90s, the way that we were told how to manage our diabetes was far different than it is today. For example, back then, I was told I would need to test my blood sugar (poke my finger to get blood) on a glucose machine 6-10 times daily. Based on my blood sugar reading, I would use short-acting and long-acting insulin. I gave myself, on average, five insulin injections a day. Since the insulin was of an older variety and didn’t work as quickly as the ones do today, our eating was very disciplined. For example, I was told I needed to always eat 3-4 choices (1 choice equaled 15g of carbs) at breakfast (within an hour window) and then 1-2 for a morning snack, 3-4 for lunch, 1-2 afternoon snack, 4-6 dinner, and 1-2 for a bedtime snack. It didn’t matter if I was hungry; I needed to eat these at specific times and amounts. I remember a diabetes dietician giving my mother a list of “free foods” that we were allowed to have that didn’t require insulin (think things that don’t have carbs). We were also given lists of “good foods” and “bad foods.” I look back on that time and think how I already struggled with an eating disorder before getting diabetes, and now, with this extreme focus on food and numbers, it was just a breeding ground for it to become more severe.
Fast forward to 2024: I no longer test my blood sugar by poking a finger (unless I feel something is off). I now wear a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor that I insert into my skin (lasts for ten days), and it reads my blood sugar every 5 minutes, with results being sent to my insulin pump and iPhone. It alarms me day and night if my blood sugar is too high or too low. This has saved thousands of people from going into a coma since we sometimes can’t feel a low blood sugar after living with the disease for so many years. Insulins have also improved, with much faster-acting insulins coming out in the early 2000s. This meant that we could have a different meal plan. I also now wear an insulin pump; I wear the tubeless Omnipod 5. An insulin pump has given me incredible freedom with what I eat and when. It’s hard to live a life where you must eat x carbs daily at x time. The way that I’m able to manage the disease now allowed me to get pregnant last year and have a healthy baby boy on New Year’s Eve. Something that, back in the 90s, I was told could be too dangerous for myself and the baby (because it was much more challenging to be in optimal health with our dinosaur tools and insulins).
Even though I pray every night for a cure for diabetes, and we may be years away from that, I’m eternally grateful that we’ve made significant investments in research and development with diabetes companies so that we have tools that make the management of type 1 diabetes simpler. One last thing to mention is that even though we have these fantastic advancements with faster-acting insulins, Continuous Glucose Monitors, and Insulin Pumps, far too many Americans can’t afford their insulin. Adding a CGM or pump costs too much money, and unfortunately, depending on your insurance type, it may not have affordable coverage. I recognize the privilege of writing this blog, being married to someone with excellent health insurance, and having a stable job where I can afford all the medicine and supplies I need to take the best care of myself. Until everyone has equal access, I’ll continue to advocate.
