An Invisible Disability in an Able-Bodied World | Dr. Ann M. Bennett | TEDxKennesawStateUniversity

Official Title- An Invisible Disability in an Able-Bodied World: The Reality of Living With Type 1 Diabetes

[jprevatt]

Diabetic low or high blood sugar. Ex roommate went thru this. Constant hunger & thirst & no weight gain, every carb laden food in the house gone. Constant mood swings. It was awful for her.

[layneauman]

Thank you so very much for telling my story I hope that this can help prevent any other families from having to go through what we had to

[amyf]

Thank you! This is what we have been screaming from the rooftops and it fall on deaf ears. Love this! Good job

[nicksglobalvoices]

My sister has type 1 diabetes.I want a cure one day.I love my sister and this hurts me that she went through what she had gone through like yourself.This was what she went through.Of course her journey is my journey.We thank you for educating all regarding this.Thank you so much.

[SamEveX]

Everything you said is so perfect, wish everyone would watch this!

[AnnaMae]

15:16 this happened to me twice and my work fired me because I didn't call anyone to cover my shift or open the store for me... I was unconscious... Even worse is that my blood sugar dropping wasn't even because of the type 1 I've had since I was 6, nope it's because of Addison's disease which I've had symptoms of for the past 5 years and have only just gotten diagnosed for this past month. I can't tell you the responses I get when I deadpan tell people about the 5 seizures I remember having along with the ones I don't. Or when I mention all the times I've gone into a coma, or the dead sleeping. Or when my blood sugar is 500 and I'm trying not to puke while being the only employee in the store. Or how, while for 2 years straight I had to have my sugar be 500 before going to sleep so that I'd wake up with it at 30.

[mpamunson]

Bravo Ann!! Thanks for telling it like it is! ❤❤

[soupmedia]

Yes to all of this. It's harrowing, deadly and all encompassing and worst of all, invisible. My son has just turned 4 and was diagnosed a few months ago. As his parents, we don't sleep for periods longer than 3 hours any more and eating has gone from being fun family time to a mathematic equation with infinite variables. Ever had to wake a small child up and stab his finger to get some blood? We have, every 3 hours, every night. His tiny fingers are full of holes and we are all so very tired. Then there's the tech, with incompatibilities and competing standards, infusion set recalls, signal losses and cgm readings that are miles away from the fingerprick levels. Self medication multiple times a day with potentially deadly consequences, where the factors are so variable, is difficult. Yet you would think he's just a regular kid.

If you know someone who is a type 1, cut them some slack. They are carrying a heavy load.

[Gamergirlvr]

What i learned from this video, is that when I'm 29, i can get a metal just for survivingwith diabetes :D

In all seriousness though, this was an extremely relatable ted talk, I'm very lucky to have great health insurance through my dad, and because of that, I've always had affordable access to all the diabetes supplies i need, its something im very grateful for.

But its also true that diabetes is still a challenge for me at times, and even though i manage it well, its still has its challenges, and alot of the time, its easy to feel guilty for not managing better, but its important to realize that this a hard condition to manage, and I'm gonna have it for the rest of my life, and as someone who's only been diabetic for 3 years, that's still kinda crazy to think about.

I hope one day everyone is able to have affordable access to the supplies they need, i hopefully, one day, that we cure this condition, and that becomes cure becomes just as available.

[cindywhitley]

I have been a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic have been since I was 12in 1993& I’m 38now so I’m on the insulin pump now I love it wish I would’ve been on it most of my life but I am glad I found it out..

[cindywhitley]

I was in a diabetic coma in 2010 for 5 days my mama thought cause I wouldn’t wake up that morning my blood sugar was low but she fed me loads of sugar and when they ran tests on me in the hospital it was 1600they told me I was lucky I didn’t die from ketoacidosis coma but I woke up after 5 days and went thru numerous surgeries they took out my galbladder(which nothing was wrong with)the nurse in the same hospital injected potassium straight into my Iv line which almost killed me a day later she did it again and my mama got onto her&told her she should’ve hung the potassium in a bag and dripped it in slowly!Well because of this I was put on the heart floor for 2weeks they almost killed me I weighed 150lbs when I went in and when they got me to St.Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, FL they did surgery on me there and found out I had my small intestine tied in a knot and they cut it out and resectioned it and found the pathology report said I had chrohn’s disease but the dr said I may only have one bout with it or it could come back years later thank God for this hospital and they saved my life.I won’t ever forget it I appreciate it everyday!I had to have a blood transfusion twice while I was there because my main artery from my heart it was pinched off from the hospital that took out my galbladder starved me I weighed 80lbs.They put me on food thru the IV which helped me regain my strength and gain enough weight they could do my surgery for my intestines thank god that hospital has some of the best drs&nurses I’ve ever known god bless them!

[oregon.emergency]

The crash a 82 mp/h is why I am kinda scared to drive I’m 13 and was diagnosed in 2012 and I was in the hospital for 4 days and I only remember 1 day because I was in and out of consciousness because my blood sugar was so high I’m afraid that If one day I change my cgm (continues glucose monitor) it takes 2 hours to warm up and if i go low when I’m driving and I don’t notice i will crash and possibly cause people their lives

[veganseatyummyfoodtoo]

Well said! I sure hope the cure comes soon! Drug companies aren't interested in a they'd lose too many lifelong patients then!

[jerridombrowski]

Doctor says "Why aren't YOU taking care of your diabetes?!" No other illness would blame you for it's manifestation. Yet this autoimmune illness Type 1 blames the patient. No wonder we all suffer depression

[rachelpayne]

A low carb diet would do you wonders, as it has me. Sugar is a diabetic's worse enemy. We are sugar and carb intolerant. No matter how much insulin we take, we will never be able to have normal blood sugars if we are constantly pumping our bodies full of the very foods our bodies can't handle. All diabetics should follow a low carb diet and seek to achieve the normal blood sugars to which we have a right.