Reasons we can be glad that we have Diabetes

Plato once said that “attention to health is life's greatest hindrance”.  A lot of the time it's easy to think about and focus on the negative side of life with IDDM.  Really easy.  But I also try really hard to think of the positive aspects.  Come on, you know, there are just great things about the big D that make you get up on the morning and say "thank GOD I have THIS!"

Here are just a few I came up with:

• In a group hostage situation you can be sure you'll be among the first to be released, faster than you can jingle your MedicAlert bracelet and say "hey, does anyone have a dink? I'm feeling thirsty ..."
• You can speak with some authority on the subject of diabetes - unlike say, the subject of the current up-to-date situation in the Middle East - and wow friends and family with statistics and lots of complex, polysyllabic words like "hypoglycaemia"
• You can demand regular sex from your partner and justify it on the grounds that it's part of your medically prescribed exerciser routine
• Rort the system and use it to get out of tricky university exams
• When friends are arguing about where to go out to eat, you can say "I have to eat NOW" loudly - which usually means that they will exchange worried looks and hurry to the restaurant of your choice, little knowing that really you were just hungry and didn't feel like Thai
• Who wants a fully functional pancreas anyway? It's so common.
• Even though you may have no letters from that secret admirer, you'll always have diabetes-related junk mail so you can know at least that you'll have something to pull out of the mailbox in case neighbours are watching
• You get to finely hone your swearing abilities with all those times when your BSL isn't what you expected
• Women with diabetes taste sweeter (I'll leave that to your imagination!)
• Enjoy the giddy feeling of living dangerously ALL THE TIME: "Bungy-jumping? A walking tour in Zaire? PAH! I have DIABETES!"
• Always good emotional blackmail in a family fight (I've heard other people do this ...)
• When annoying men ask you "why do you always drink Diet Coke? You’re so image- conscious.  Girls are always worried about their weight.." you can reply with "I have diabetes" and watch in delight as they turn bright red and mumble an apology.
• Thanks to (occasional of course) hypos and very high blood sugars, you can experience unique body sensations and hallucinatory adventures without the use of illegal, expensive drugs: a cheaper night out!
• Should you ever meet that special someone and s/he happens to have diabetes, you'll always have something to talk about during those Awkward Silences.  You can also employ unique flirting techniques: "I'll show you my injection bruises if you show me yours ..."
• Should you ever NOT meet that special someone on a blind date or otherwise, just pull out your handy drug kit and excuse yourself for a well needed "fix" in the toilet.
• Getting a tattoo is a breeze - it just feels like a few more injections than normal (and yes I do have one!)
• Amuse yourself by trying to predict exactly what your BSL will be after that piece of sugar-coated mud cake, with honey and ice cream on the side.

Courtesy of a 1997 issue of HypoCaust – newsletter of the NSW Young People’s Group