Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Diabetes Secrets

I am feeling particularly inspired this week by one of my favorite blogs/web projects, PostSecret. If you've never read PostSecret before, it's basically a communal art project where people decorate one side of a postcard and send it, anonymously, to a PO Box in Maryland.

Seriously, go click the link and see the kinds of secrets people are sending in. I am impressed each week by the things that we all keep private. Some of the things are hilarious, some heartbreaking, some completely mundane. I find the phenomenon of anonymous secrets to be fascinating, and most likely therapeutic. I generally see a little of myself in each weekly post somewhere or other.

So today I got an idea.

Many of us blog several times a week, and it seems like everything about our lives with diabetes is out there for all to see. But there are a ton of anonymous lurkers out there, or readers who never give their real names. I think we all have secrets about our lives with diabetes that we never share.

I think it's a good week to put them out in the open. So here is my challenge to you, readers.

Share your diabetes secrets with everyone. Put an anonymous comment on this post. I will not publish the comments, but rather I will screen them, and then display them all in a bigger post on Friday. No names will be attached. Just a list of diabetes secrets. And please, for brevity's sake, try to limit it to two sentences at the most.

I hope this is a good experiment. Remember, be anonymous. On Friday, the secrets will go out to the world.

Got something you can't tell anyone else about your diabetes or diabetes in general? I hope we'll hear it here.

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:59 AM

    I sometimes think I make a bigger deal about my diabetes then I should.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:30 AM

    While I pity them, I'm really annoyed when parents of kids with diabetes worry that their kids will never find a partner in life. Then your kids will end up blaming their terrible love lives on diabetes, even if that's not the cause! Great job, Mom & Dad!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:07 AM

    Although I'm a very healthy person with diabetes, I feel certain that my disease will somehow cause me to die before my husband. This secret feeling fills me with guilt because of the heartbreak I will eventually cause the love of my life.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:32 AM

    Hi Dorkabetic,
    First, let me say I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog. In fact, you have inspired me to start my own from a link you listed (I think it was you!) to cgmscentral.com Please take a look and, if you like it, link me! The blog is called "The battle begins", my user name iamdiabetes. As far as my secret, it is that I feel as if my life is more difficult than anyone elses. Living with diabetes affects every second of every minute of every day..no breaks. I have a secret list of things in m y head that would be worse than diabetes, which include paraplegic,quadraplegic,/brain cancer/cystic fibrosis/muscular dystrophy/ALS/ (Of course, some of these are age dependant. If I got them in my late 60s, I may trade them for a life without diabetes!) Wow, the list is longer than I thought! Maybe I am not so bad off!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:34 AM

    I have used diabetes as an excuse to get out of classes and tests that were too hard for me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:48 PM

    I sometimes use ice-skating rules when giving my blood sugar range: I kick out the highest and the lowest numbers to make thing seem a little more in control.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7:33 PM

    i was diagnosed as a young adult, and have had a hard time telling people about my diabetes from the beginning - most people who know me (even good friends) do not know that i have diabetes...i wish i felt more proud, and less 'ashamed' to talk about my diabetes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:02 AM

    I am really afraid that my ex may take better care of my daughter's D then I do...and it breaks my heart for some weird reason!

    (even though she is in great health and has the perfect A1C for her age! - I just think I am weird!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous4:37 PM

    I can not stand when other Type 1's complain about taking "huge" amounts of insulin, when compared to others insulin usage it isn't even significant. It makes a person who requires a lot of insulin to manage their Diabetes feel like they are doing something terribly wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous5:05 PM

    I'm afraid that, even after working so hard to control this disease, that it will take me while I sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous6:14 PM

    i know what i need to do, so where the heck is my motivation to do it?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:52 AM

    Sometimes, I think taking care of my diabetes might not be "worth it." The fact that even people in excellent control get complications infuriates me - and gives me a perfect excuse when I want to do something I KNOW will cause a spike or a dip in bloodsugar. I'm ashamed of that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous12:57 PM

    sometimes i skip shots or take less insulin to lose weight... i know i am killing myself, but i can't help it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous12:15 PM

    I resent it when family and close friends say to me, "I wish I knew more about diabetes, but I hardly know anything!" These are the people who are supposed to be my support system. LEARN SOMETHING. But I just tell them,"It's OK, you're not the one with diabetes."

    ReplyDelete

Remember to use your commenting powers for good, not evil. Excelsior!