Type 2 Diabetes is seen as failure.
Taking insulin when you have type 2 diabetes is seen as a failure.
So, imagine what it’s like living with type 2 diabetes and talking insulin.
Who needs another reason to feel like a failure? I don’t!
I am back on insulin.
When I was first diagnosed, I started on insulin.
After a few months, I no longer needed insulin.
I got pregnant and started back on insulin.
I delivered my daughter and stopped taking insulin.
I am currently battling a cold and an allergy infection simultaneously, so I am back on insulin.
I am sharing this because too many people (those living with diabetes and those who aren’t) believe that insulin is another indicator of failure. This is so much a part of our “common MISinformation” about type 2 diabetes that it makes it hard for some people to get insulin if they need it AND it makes some people not want to take insulin, when it could be the best form of treatment for them.
Insulin is just one option for treatment of type 2 diabetes. It shouldn’t come packaged in stigma, guilt, shame, and failure.
In the beginning of the year and throughout the spring, my blood sugar levels are higher than other times of the year. This time, they were far beyond my “normal.” Exercise and lowering my carbs wasn’t working.
As my fasting blood sugar numbers rose, so did my sense of failure. Eventually, I got readings above 300 after meals. This is serious and I knew that there was one thing that I could help me. Insulin.
So, I began on what I thought would be an easy journey to get insulin. Make a visit to the Endo. Show A1C results and logbook (which all indicate that my current regimen isn’t working right now). Get insulin and move on with my life.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple. My Endocrinologist shut down my request for insulin as soon as I mentioned it. “No, you don’t need insulin. You’re doing okay. I will just up the dosage of your pill.”
“Bummer,” I thought.
So, I leave with higher than normal numbers and a bag of stronger pills and told to wait two weeks until they kick in. Two whole weeks, “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” I thought.
As you can see, the pills didn’t really “kick in” at least not to the degree that I want. I was completely out of range. This is diabetes failure for me –being in this state for prolonged periods of time. Because high blood sugar isn’t good and I have experienced the side effects of that once.
I returned to the diabetes clinic after 3 weeks of waiting on the pill. This time I was more determined to explain that insulin is not an indicator of failure for me. There is something far more fearful for me than an injection…a diabetic coma.
Diabetes failure is not about what medications I am or am not taking.
Diabetes failure is not taking care of myself.
If taking care of myself happens with only diet and exercise, like it did for almost three years, then awesome. If taking care of myself requires oral meds, then wonderful. If taking care of myself requires insulin, then great.
As long as I am taking care of myself, I am NOT a failure. I am a success, by any means necessary!
And after just one week of being on insulin, I feel so much better and it’s showing from the inside out. 
If you want to know more about this issue from others living with Type 2, please check out these links.
https://kates-sweet-success.blogspot.ae/2018/02/insulin-love-story.html
https://www.healthcentral.com/article/coming-to-terms-with-insulin-injections-corinna-cornejos-story
Thank you for sharing this. Your persistence (and patience) paid off. But isn’t it frustrating to have jump through extra hoops to get to an effective treatment?
Yes, it is. very frustrating
Insulin is the one sure thing that will control blood sugar. I hope using it is insulin does not denote failure. If so, I like all people with diabetes are failures, because it works for all of us. There are other products that help some and some that in absence of insulin will not hep any of us. Regardless, T1 or T2 insulin works.
Thank you so much for your comment, Rick. I certainly hope this will be the way everyone looks at it. Unfortunately, within 3 days of sharing my happy news that my blood sugar levels are now within range, I’ve been met with responses of pity instead of congrats after sharing I am on insulin.
T2 here. Before I was on Insulin, I always heard that if you are a T2 and go on Insulin you are a failure. Bull****! I’ve been on Insulin now for years and have the best blood sugar control that I could have asked for.
Thanks for much for your comment, Joe! I couldn’t agree more.
You’re very welcome.
Thanks for sharing with us this informative knowledge with us.
I can actually feel each word of it :/ i have been fighting it for quite a while and sometimes i feel like giving up but then i think about the people who love and cares about me . I really hope that i can beat it one day.
As long as you keep fighting, then you are beating it. I’m glad that you aren’t giving up. We’re in this together.