• 

Next February will be my 50 year anniversary with T1D. Certainly I am proud of having made it this far. Proud of all the hard work I’ve done. But this is not a rah-rah, ain’t it great post. Because I am a bit fearful when I think of what may befall me as I live more and more years with this condition.

Right now I’ve got a sprained thumb. A connective tissue issue. Makes typing an odious task I can tell you. Since my diagnosis I am prone to getting cramps in my calves, especially at night, I have had numerous sprained ankles and I have already had two frozen shoulders. One was worked out over three months by a chiropractor using heat and manipulation. The other required surgery. And my surgeon, who perfected the technique, told me I may get more on a timeline of 15 years apart. Thankfully, more than 15 years have passed since my last episode, but never say never.

But the truth is a truth we rarely speak about, hear or read about. Living with type 1 diabetes a long time, even with well-managed blood sugar, makes you prone to various conditions involving your body’s tissues, nerves, bones etc. Many people will have eye issues like retinopathy, others neuropathy, others trigger fingers.

This paper, The Musculoskeletal Effects of Diabetes Mellitus is 15 years old, but I just read it today. I can’t say whether any of the information in here no longer applies, or if we have better treatments than we did 15 years ago. But I can say, I think it’s worth a read. Even though I’m feeling a little sorry for myself at the moment, it helps just a bit to know if you run into an issue, you know it’s not your fault, it’s not necessarily that you didn’t work hard enough at this, and you know you’re not alone.