This section is packed with advice on the practical side of controlling your diabetes, and dealing with everyday questions and problems.
So whether it's checking your blood glucose levels, taking your insulin, deciding what to eat, telling your mates or handling a job interview, you should find all the info you need here.
Your comments
hey, i have recently had a blood test to see if i have got diabeties. the night before i didnt think anything of it and i just thought i do not have diabetes. But then i checked on this website to see the symptoms and unfortunatly i have most of them. is it still diabeties if i don't have all the symptoms? and also do you have to be skinny to have it and does it make you put on weight? because im not fat but im not skinny so i was just wondering?
thankyou ;)
- Lizzie
Hi i am joe and i am 13 years old and would like to get in touch with people like me! i have just found out i am allergic to insulin and wanted to know is there anyone else who is allergic to insulin as well!
Oh and i just wanted to say to people who are nervious about secondry school yes you will be nervious but trust me you will be fine i was nervous but most people accept you for who you are in secondary school as people start growing up but i can promice you 1 thing u will be fine if you have any problems in school go speak to a teacher of firstaider or message on here for help and support !
if anyone needs a friend i am always on here so you can allways get in touch with me! My name is Joe!
Have fun and dont fret or frown you will be okay! :D- Joe
I am 12 years old coming onto 13, and i have recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes!
I suppose it was a good thing to find out before anything happened! We planned to go away a couple of weeks after i was told about diabetes and me and my family were worried as we was not a phone call away!
I had fun on my holiday but I always I had to get out the pool and do a test when i felt funny or test when it was dinner or tea time...
I was worried about my injections and that was the only thing that bothered me!
There's a boy in my class and he gets to leave early because he has a problem and my friends dont think its fair that he doesnt have to stay behind like the rest of the class, and i leave 5 minutes early to go and do my injection and this was another thing i was bothered about... leaving class all my class would call this boy and i worried if they would call me! But no one did :)
I am a cheerleader and having type 1 diabetes doesnt stop me doing what i love... Which is a good thing! But im worried now because in november i have competitions and i have to dance and run about and i could get low in the middle and i dont want this to happen! Is there any way i could stop this happening?
All i have to say is, that if you have type 1 diabetes or just been diagnosed with type 1, dont let it worry you, live your life like normal with a few changed to normal life! Think of it as a rollercoaster it wouldnt be much fun if life was straight, you need bums and curves, up and downs! you just need to know how to deal with them
Thanks :) x- Charlotte
im just about to go into year 8 and am struggling but all of the advice i have received from you has really helped me thanx- Conner
Hi my name is Ryan. I'm 13 and I have had diabetes for about 1 year and a half. I don't like having it at times but other times I don't mind so muc. I think it is much easier in high school because you have your freinds to help you because in primary school u are only much younger and dont really get how to control it. You do more sport which helps your levels and people won't bully you. I have never been bullied for being Diabetic. Stay fit active and healthy from all the sport and healthy food and don't be nervous about going into high school it will be fine!- Ryan
I was 12 half way through year 7 when i got at first i didn't take it in at first and then i thought about it and then i thought all the stuff. But i dnt like living with it but i guess i have to :(- Den
Hi Alethea. I have the exact same problem: I am starting secondary school this year and I am really, really, really nervous about what people will think or say about me. My Mum and Dad are concidering to let me on the pump, but I don't really want to. If I was you I would keep trying to persuade your parents, eventually it will pay off! Even if you have to have injections 4 times a day! So do I!!!- Harriet
Heyy , I Am Laura And I Have Had Diabetes For 6 years and im struggling with my blood sugars , My Levels Are Going 1 exteme to another, Low One Minute , Then Off The Scale, I Am Hoping To Control Them When Needed,But My Levels Are Getting Out Of Hand, I Hate Living With Diabetes and i wish i neva had it, I Hate Having Injections,And I Always Miss Out On Things My Friends Are Doing Because Of It,I Just Hope One Day They Find A CUre For Diabetes (:
- Laura
hi xx. im alethea and i am goin into secondary schol in september but im realy nearus. im nervus of what people might say or do to me. im 11 years old and i realy want to go on the insulent pump but my mum said that she wouldnt let me and i realy dont like geting my injection 4 times a day! is there anyone that has the same problem?
- Alethea
Ive had diabetes for 5 years this year in august its not that nice to cope with and i hate having to have my injection but i see myself as brave becasue all my mates are scare of needles and i hate it when im out with my mates and there all eating sweets but for the last few weeks my blood sugar had been very low and im very proud of myself and so are all of my family :) x- Loghan
i have only been diagnoised recently and at first i couldnt do it but now i feel happy i can now control it a when people take the mik out of my i just say im happy with my life.- Kam
i am happy with my diabetes and blood tests are beiing good now but when i found out that i was this, i was hi loads of times. bye- Kelly
it may seem tuff at the start but it helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle long term- Dov
i haven been diabetic for 5 years now. i was diagnosed at the age of 6 and since then my blood levels have been all over the place. at the moment though they are really good, i only have the occasional high now but i guess i will have to cope with this for the rest of my life :P- Lucy
I have lived with diabetes for 8 yrs and was diagnosed at the age of 21! It was the worst timing as i was just having fun and didn't care about having diabetes. It's no wonder i haven't developed any complications. It has been the hardest thing to deal with and only now am i starting to take care of myself. It's a long road ahead but i've realised i have to take responsibility for my life and the way i treat my diabetes. I truly believe there will be a cure and have to ensure i am still healthy when that happens.- Natalie
hi ive been diabetic for 6 years now and its still hard to live. i have great blood sugar control but still have my down days. but i just want to say it does get alot easier with time and the way i think people should look at it is its just one of them things!!! Keep smiling :)- Tiffany
Hi, i have had type 1 diabetes for 3 years now and struggle to keep them down time to time, but hey you've got to accept that you will have this for the rest of your life. keep strong and keep well. :)- Jason
Hey I have had diabetes for 7 years and I'm 14 now. I am also a coeliac. Don't worry things will get better as long as you have supportive friends and family. Mine are the best and my friends totally understand. - Keisha
Hi, I got diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I had just turned 15. this was such a shock for me as it is not in my family at all. I have now had it for 3 years and it has bin really hard as in 2008 i had DKA which 4 those of u that dont no what it is it is ketones alot of them, This put me in a coma for 2 days and made me extremly ill, luckily i am gettin better.
But still findin it soo hard as i am 18 and love goin out and drinking and havin a good time, but the results of this are giving me high blood sugar levels and that is scary cause i do not want to get DKA again. I also have counselling sessions because it has really made a difference to me and my life. But i want to just say to newly diagnosed people that you need to look after yourself and keep strong it is hard and sumtimes its easy and sometimes its hard but you will get through it x - Vicky
im a teen and i have had it for 6 yrs and im fine wth it but it is just the high blood's i keep gettin. =] - Joe
I am 14 and I've had type 1 diabetes for nearly 10 years now. Because I was so little when I got it, having diabetes never really bothered me that much. I haven't known anything different, so it's not hard to lead the life I lead now. Sure, there were ups and downs, but the more experience we have, the stronger the person we become. Read more- Jessica
Hello I'm 14 and have ben diabetic for 7 years. I was diagnosed in Nepal a country near India. I was in hospital for 9 days then spent 3 day in hospital in the uk. I'm also coeliac and have a hypothyroid. I get fed up with it sometimes but last May we went on a sailing holiday in Greece.- Amy
Hi, this is just a message for all of you that have posted comments asking 'does it ever get easier?'
After being ill from the age of 13 I finally found out when I was 17 that I had type 1 diabetes, I had been so ill for so long that it was actually a relief to find out what was wrong even if it was diabetes! To begin with I just got on with it, I was injecting 4 or 5 times a day but I didn't really mind because I had my energy back and I had put on weight so I was a normal size again!
It took a few months for it really to hit me, I was diabetic and I was always going to be diabetic! As you all know its not a nice feeling!
I'm now 22 and although I have good days and bad days I no longer see diabetes as a huge' problem' in my life, its just part of me. I've got so much to look forward to and I'm certainly not going to let having Diabetes stand in my way. I have a full time job and also a part time job as a dance teacher which is something I have always wanted to do. I am also marrying the love of my life next summer! So it just goes to show that diabetes certainly doesn't have to stop you doing anything that you want to do!
So yes it does get easier! There will always be times when you will think 'I wish I wasn't diabetic' but thats completely normal. Just don't ever think that it has to stop you getting on with a normal life and doing all the things thats you've wanted to do!- Charlotte
Hi, I got diagnosed with diabetes Type 1 three days ago, and I'm fourteen years old. And first it came to me as a big shock because it's so random? And then it settled in and then that's when I got upset. I think the thing that is the most upsetting is that it won't ever go away and I'll have four injections for the rest of my life, no matter how much I dont want them. But I'm getting there. I don't really care about sweets thaaaat much. Don't get me wrong, I do love sugar but it's evil so mer.
I'm glad that it helps you gain weight because I'm very skinny and hate it, so I'll look better 8.
I hope all you guys are coping well xx- Ellen
Hey, my names Zoe. I'm 16 and i've had Type 1 diabetes for two and a half years. I used to be really controlled, but recently I've struggled and I find it hard injecting. I forget on a regular basis to inject and it frustrates me that I've only started doing it now. I just find the whole situation hard and I hate it. Does it get easier and, if people can relate to me, what did you do to make it better?
I hope everyone's well :)- Zoe
I think growin' up wih diabetes it's quite hard being different from your friends and family makes you feel kind of like an alien because you're really different from everyone else...
Whenever doctors and family tell you that you're not, I kinda get annoyed 'cause they don't understand what I go through every day.- Simone
I'm Mallz, I'm 12 and I've had Type 1 diabetes for nearly seven years. I feel it can be so difficult to deal with. My friends and family are great and I feel that really helps.- Mallz
Hi, this summer it has been a year since I found out I had diabetes. I find it so difficult and some days I think, will it ever get easier? Does it?- Jillian
Hi, my name is Grace. I am 10 years old. I have had diabetes for four years. If you have been diagnosed, don't be worried, there is someone out there just like you.- Grace
Heyy I have only been diagnosed with diabetes (Type 1) for four weeks. Now I'm 14 and never thought that diabetes was something I would get. No one else in my family has it and I don't really know anyone else with diabetes so if anyone has some tips or anything please do share :L- Karla