Is it just me or do any other long time diabetics feel like their body is far older than their age in years?
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I donât know about anyone else, but I donât feel that way.
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I LOOK younger than my age, I just have long term effects from my type 1 diabetes. When I was diagnosed, beef and pork insulin were the only options we had available. Pork insulin was the only type of insulin that did anything at all for my diabetes. My body rejected the beef insulin. As new insulin types became available and better understanding of the disease as a whole has improved, many things have changed for the better. I spent the first 4 years of my âdiagnosedâ diabetes in a blur. At 9 years old, I weighed 35 pounds. My parents changed doctors from a âworld renownedâ doctor to a different one and that new doctor saved my life. Due to issues in those initial years and lack of fast acting insulin through my teen years, I ended up with some horrible side effects of the diabetes. I am by no means complaining as I have an amazing life, with non diabetic children and now grandchildren. I guess my biggest fight is with gastroparesis (one of the long term effects) and insulin regulation with gastroparesis. (When I eat a meal, it takes a couple of hours before my bloodsugar shows that I ate anything, even with carbs. For this reason, I am thrilled with my CGM as it allows me to see when I should take insulin for the carbs/fat that were in my meal.) This may actually be why I feel older than my age in years I guess.
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Thank you for the encouragement. (Seriously.)
Everyone always asks me, "arenât you angry about your diabetes? " and Iâve always replied âno!â ButâŚmaybe I am. So thank you! Itâs made me rethink some things! And some thoughts I need to change!
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My T1D journey is very similar to yours. Started with the beef and pork insulin. Iâm allergic to both, so not helpful. Yes, my body feels much older than my age. Even if I look younger.
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I think the accumulated stress of diabetes makes me feel older than I actually am sometimes, but every doctor tells me my body is fine.
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This is such a difficult question. Iâm not sure how my older body should feel. I guess there are objective measures, like how many 60 year olds can do x or y, and how do you compare?
For me, the time I really felt older than my age was when my diabetes was undiagnosed. I was 50 and tired all the time, I knew something was wrong, but didnât know what. It felt like I was 80 y.o. and there was obviously something wrong. These days, at least, diabetes is easy to diagnose.
Still, itâs not clear to me how I should feel as a 60 year old. Does anyone have any benchmarks?
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I can empathize and understand how you feel. Recently I have had thoughts that physically I am approaching my chronological age, until I go to clinics at the hospital and see patients my age who act like they are much older. In a couple months I will be 70, and was diagnosed age 12. I never had any trouble accepting my diagnosis and having to take shots (boiling syringe), but is was blissful ignorance - their was not much knowledge at the time. I was active in Scouts, and camped up in the Poconos. Except for PDR, and losing my eyesight in one eye, I always felt younger than what I was. I never had any reservations going hiking and camping. When I went on the pump, it just made it that much easier to hike and camp, even in remote campsites in the 4 corners area.
In the past 5 years I have had some issues, but I am not sure all are T!D related. I had my second stent and pacemaker 5 years ago, and 4 years ago I was diagnosed with cervical and lumbar spinal stenosis requiring surgery. I had a DVT and went into the ICI for 10 days (scared my docs), and all I was concerned about was my trip to England in the fall. And this year, I have had prostate surgery for BPH.
Now, I need another stent. It is the last one that has finally slowed me down, and has stopped me from exercising, and slowed me down. And it is this that has made me feel older. I think being aggressive (and my docs seem to appreciate it) with my diabetes care has kept me feeling younger.
I am sure that once I get my stent I will be back to thinking I am younger!
Mike
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Similar story here - Iâm 63, most people tell me I look 45 (Iâm fat but not âdroopyâ, so I have a young appearance), but my knees tell me Iâm 85. That being said, the knee issues stem from a life of skiing, running on concrete, hard court tennis (all left behind long ago) and 100+ rounds of golf per year, all of which put stress on the knee joints - so my physical pain is not D-related.
Oh, I also have to pee a lot, which makes me feel old. That might be at least partially D-related. 
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