Yes, life with T1D is hard! But you know what, life is hard.
Maybe itās that Iāve always been on MDI, never a pump, but giving yourself an injection a few times a day isnāt the end of the world. My mother always used to tell me, when I was feeling put upon, that there were people doing much worse than me. She was right.
Iām not saying that T1D is easy or fun, in just saying that we could be strapped with much worse. In just not going to cry about it.
Interesting stats. Thanks for posting. @CatLady!
Iāll cry about T1D if it helps. Crying can help sometimes.
As always, I think itās really, really important to remember that those of us on this site are not the typical person living with type 1 diabetes. By and large, we have outstanding control compared to most. (I mean, I feel like I struggle compared to many here, and yet my endo has said Iām one of his star patients. That really says something about the calibre of most peopleās control here!) So many people who answered this survey may be dealing with extreme fluctuations in blood sugar on a daily basis.
I think itās important to acknowledge that type 1 diabetes is hard. And maybe try to find ways to make it less-hard. And recognize that we are awesome for dealing with it and not letting it stop us, despite how hard it is.
For me, I find type 1 diabetes especially hard in conjunction with several other serious chronic illnesses. Trying to live my life as an āaverageā thirtysomething, working and travelling and socializing and striving towards life goals, while dealing with numerous chronic illnesses and a disability really does make me feel like my life revolves around my health some days.
Sometimes itās not easy. At all. And yeah, occasionally I do cry about it or feel a bit sorry for myself.
But most days I try to kick butt and not let anything stop me.
And many days, I really like not being average.
[Bruce Wayne]: Why didnāt you justā¦ kill me?
[Bane]:You donāt fear deathā¦ You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe.
[Bruce Wayne]: Torture?
[Bane]: Yes. But not of your bodyā¦ Of your soul.
[Bruce Wayne]: Where am I?
[Bane]: Home, where I learned the truth about despair, as will you. Thereās a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earthā¦ Hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easyā¦ So simpleā¦ And like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying. I learned here that there can be no true despair without hope. So, as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamoring over each other to āstay in the sun.ā You can watch me torture an entire city and when you have truly understood the depth of your failure, we will fulfill Raās al Ghulās destinyā¦ We will destroy Gotham and then, when it is done and Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die
I donāt avoid driving, and I donāt avoid exercise. With the exception of those two, Iām a hit for all of the other categories. Life is just easier without restaurants and parties, and, as was evident from my last one, vacations.
Iāve learned how to have good control. Those things make good control very difficult. Iām not sad without them though. Quite the opposite. I cross my fingers and hope not to be invited anywhere. 
Yes, life with diabetes is hard, and, yes, life is hard for non-diabetics, too. Itās the hermits life is easy for. Thatās my thinking.
Iām actually pro both dealing with it AND crying about it sometimes. I think everyone above had a valid, interesting take on T1 whoās posted so far. We all have our own take, and every day is different.
I will, however, add that the study and infographic and article linked above reeked of fear mongering to me. Painted with a brush of cheeriness and positivity. But underneathā¦it felt like it was trying to scare - to remind me that leaving the house will make control worse.
Everyone chooses their own path. Eat out, donāt. Travel, donāt. Drink, donāt. Exercise, donāt. We are all so different, thereās no one size fits all solution. And Iāve got room in my life for all of the combos. 
But for us, even though it means worse control, EH does most of the above and figures it out. Often by the seat of our pants.
Today, for instance, followed a yesterday of long lasting drifting and hard to correct lows. But today, given the random opportunity that arose, Eric hopped into a race car and did a couple of trips around a race track - ignoring the wildly inaccurate Dex readings, having a Coke or two, doing lots of fingersticks, trusting The Force, and landing at 120 before he donned the helmet and drove off. 
Not letting diabetes hold us back is the goal. Today felt like winning.
With the UTMOST respect, and I hope you know this, I disagree. I didnāt feel like it made me afraid, I felt like it represented the kind of diabetic I am. Actually, I should say it represented the kind of diabetic I am CURRENTLY. I was a very different diabetic for 14 years, which Iād call āfearlessā if it werenāt closer to reckless abandonment, and I finally had to learn to say āno.ā Whereas I used to say yes to whatever, I had to learn to say no. Not easy, but simple. I wonāt eat at the restaurant, I wonāt get the cookies, I wonāt head out the door without grabbing my entire emergency kitā¦ It was the only way I could learn to make good choices.
My control has finally TRULY changed (for the far better), and there is a touchāsometimes JUST a touchā of ease in my daily management. My hope then is that this is just a stage, and it really might be. I went through a number of stages in the first 14 years, but they lacked know-how, time, energy, organization, motivationā¦ The list is at least 86 items long. In the last year, however, things have come together for me, and now Iām learning how to live a kind of āminimalistā diabetic life. Except for the brownies. Cookies, chips, popcorn, chocolate chipsā¦ So minimalist except for the clutter. 
My point is Iāve had to learn how to get better control by exhibiting better self-control.
Maybe down the road, with stronger skills, I wonāt still be this kind of diabetic, but I have to learn the full route for the shortcuts to be any help. This is just a stage. A temporary reality.
I LOVE this for you guys. I know what the gist of this forum is, and I know my incessant insisting that I need more control and less freedom goes against the grain, but I donāt think itās wrong. I donāt want to step on toes, but I donāt think itās wrong. Sometimes true freedom is more confining when someone struggles with how theyāve used the opportunityā¦ Likeā¦ telling a toddler to go into the candy store and grab a couple of thingsā¦ and then hoping they make good choices.
Okay. Iāve really strayed from anything of any kind of quality at this point. I started off with a point in mind, and it mainly was that at this stage in my diabetes, this is very much in line with how I am living my life. But itās not a bad thing. Itās a layover.
My cat looks like she is about to go into labor, and I should probably be focusing on that. Though Iād prefer not to. Because yuck.
Yes. Absolutely. And yes. I have those feelings, too.