When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I didn’t have a clue how much it would change my life.

I knew it would change my diet and lifestyle, but everything is different.

– I have little tiny puncture marks from my shots that now make me self-conscious of my legs and stomach (not to mention bruises from poor injection aim).

– My fingertips get sore, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot. When they’re really sore, putting the car window down hurts.

– I can’t put things off. Sometimes I’ll push that six month dental check up off to seven or eight months (or more…). Eye exams need to happen more often as well.

– If I sweat or get a little dizzy there’s no shrugging it off because it could be low blood sugar.

– If things are a little off , I get to pee on a ketone test strip (the ketoacidosis scared the crap out of us).

– Mexican food has way more carbs in it than you might expect and I love Mexican food.

– I get to weigh whether it’s appropriate to test and inject in my current environment or if I should excuse myself.

– I get to do mental math before I inject and eat (I’m new to carb counting).

The past couple of days I’ve been mad at my pancreas. I’m not even sure what else is going to change as time goes on.

So far all of these changes are manageable. Frustrating at times. But manageable.