What’s so sexy about diabetes?

I had a boyfriend who said I wouldn’t have been as attractive to him if I didn’t have diabetes. How true is that? I have no idea. I’m going to bet on blind, young love for that mentality.

However, I have found that people are thoroughly impressed by diabetes management. They also like to blame me when things go wrong, but I’d like to think it’s because they feel that I’m such in good control (good is relative, by the way) that nothing can go wrong and when it does, I MUST have miscalculated and screwed it up because I wanted to. There is no other rationale behind it.

Au contraire, I have had conversations with my cousin (another person living with Type 1) about being with people (you know, in THAT way) and being on the pump. “You have holes everywhere. Don’t your boyfriends think that’s gross?” I mean, quite clearly he thinks it’s gross. “No, dude. They understand that I have the pump for diabetes management and control.” I would like to think that no guy is shallow enough to think it’s gross that I’m a cyborg because I need to survive. The holes aren’t gaping! And sure, I have a few scars, but damn it, I’m alive! I think that’s a pretty good exchange.

I’m not like everyone else BECAUSE I have diabetes. I think that might be another attractive quality. I have something no one else (within our circle of friends) has. This also makes me unique because of my expertise in the field (how professional sounding). Since there’s about one degree of separation from you and knowing someone with diabetes, I can almost always start-up a conversation. And people are interested in things that they don’t know too much about, like diabetes. This means I’m interesting to talk to. HOT STUFF.

Additionally, everything in life looks a little easier when you have diabetes. Think about it for a second: On a daily basis you have to think like your broken organ. Pumps make it much easier to manage, especially if you’re bad at math. But for the most part deciding whether or not you really want that cookie or doughnut or piece of candy (I work in a hellish place for diabetic consideration) because your pancreas is out of commission and that means blood sugar spikes galore, is a burden sometimes. You might think, “What if I walked around the office to lower the blood sugar,” “I can walk it off at lunch to prevent the spike,” or even “I wonder if anyone will notice I’m doing jumping jacks in my cubicle” just because you don’t want to think about how you’re going to feel if you eat that crappy, yet oh-so-delicious sweet thing! The other option is taking a little extra insulin before you ingest the carbohydrates, but sometimes you don’t want to do that.  Why? Well, maybe it’s just me, but I like to think, the less insulin the better even though I don’t limit myself.

The thought process is second nature for people with diabetes– if you’ve had to live with it long enough, at least. It’s like being bilingual: Speak to me in Spanish and I’ll speak in Spanish back to you without thinking about it. Our thought process comes in at a point-blank range and makes it easier for us to say no to sweets, rice or other heavily carbohydrated foods. You just know that it’s not going to be good for you two hours after you eat it.

Management of your body is hot. It’s called WILL POWER, baby and you know it turns you on. It also helps you decide what you’re going to fight about when you’re in a relationship. How? You literally learn how to pick your battles and give priority to the things that really matter. I mean, you have a broken organ for crying out loud! Your perspective changes on stupid stuff.

This leads to the importance of prioritizing your life. You know what’s important when you have diabetes. You understand how your health and body effect everything that you do. From your attention span and bathroom breaks to feeling sleepy or feeling amazing, it’s all connected.

To know that you have your diabetes under control is something to be proud of. It takes time management, will power, dedication, consideration, ambition and love– elements that will make anyone pretty sexy.