can you see im diabetic?

ok, so its invisible illness awareness week. a week to become more aware of the different illnesses that people deal with every single day with very few physical symptoms. there are a whole range of illnesses and disabilities which come under this heading, but of course, as I'm diabetic that's what I'm gunna go on about....



So, I'm walking down the road and you see me. could you tell that I'm diabetic? in that moment would you be able to tell that one of my internal organs isn't working properly? I'm guessing that the answer is no.... you wouldn't. you might see the flushed cheeks of a high or the unsteadiness of a low but you wouldn't see diabetes.

in some respects i feel very lucky to have an illness which cant be seen. it means i can hide it so I'm not discriminated against. it means that i can blend in and act normally as if I'm just like everyone else.

but sometimes it really sucks that people cant see diabetes. it really sucks that people think that diabetes really isn't serious because they cant see the effects physically on my body.

thing is, diabetes does have a huge effect on my body. physically and mentally. when my sugar levels go high or low i get physical symptoms, ones that maybe don't look hugely disabling, but they are physical symptoms and they suck. i also get symptoms which affect me mentally. like when I'm high i become irritable and emotional and when I'm low i get panicky. 

diabetes also affects me long term though. diabetes could mean that i lose my limbs, eyesight and kidneys. it could make me infertile. it could give me heart problems. and it could kill me. diabetes also increases the risk of having things like depression, the stress of dealing with a chronic illness every day does really take it out of you. it can get you really down, down to a point where you need professional help. 

so yeah, you may not be able to see I'm diabetic, not at first glance anyway.... you probably would if you saw me testing or injecting, you might if you saw my medical id on my wrist, ankle or my keys. but most likely you wouldn't know that I'm diabetic unless i told you. 

so just think, even if you cant see what I'm dealing with, even if you cant tell that i have a chronic illness, just be aware. be aware that its still serious, just as serious as illnesses and disabilities that you can see.