Written by Gary Stem

I am long-term Type 2 diabetic, diagnosed in the mid-1990’s. I’m like a lot of T2’s in that I do not remember the date or even the year. I progressed through all the available treatments of the day until one day my doctor said it, “Gary I believe it is time for you to start insulin treatment.” I knew it was coming, I had been threatened with it and had resisted it for years. I walked out of the office that day with a Levemir prescription; it was that day that I found the diabetic online community in the form of TuDiabetes.

Today I am an insulin pumping Type 2 diabetic. How I got to this point has been shaped by my participation at TuDiabetes. The knowledge I gained helped to guide my way; I soon learned that basal insulin alone would not be enough, soon MDI was prescribed and finally a pump, I have been pumping now for six years.

How my diabetes looks can best be summed up by something, a Type 1 friend said to me. She said, “Gary, Your diabetes looks almost exactly like mine.” I hadn’t realized it until then, but she was right. I do all the things a Type 1 does. I count carbs and calculate boluses, I monitor my blood sugar, and I do corrections when needed. I experience highs and lows. I do basal testing, and I have defined carb ratios and correction factors. I do pretty much everything any other insulin-dependent person does.

The diabetic online community, TuDiabetes, has been my information source and my lifeline, I was not taught all I needed to know by the medical community, I learned it from the members of TuDiabetes, I sometimes feel that they saved me. I learned more from them than about basals and boluses, more than low carb dieting and exercising, I learned that others out there cared about me. They encouraged me, and they consoled me. I learned it is more than the diabetic online community; it is a diabetic online family.

I realized in the earliest part of my involvement in this diabetic online family that I wanted to give back to it. I did everything I could think of to provide support. Eventually, I was asked to be part of the TuDiabetes Administrative Team, I have served on this team for six years now, it is my way of giving back to the community.

For all TuDiabetes has done for me the significant thing about it is not how it has helped me. I am reminded of the importance of TuDiabetes each time I hear a new member or even a not so new member says this or something similar, “I am so glad I have found this community of people like me, I no longer feel alone.” I smile each time I hear this said; it confirms our purpose.

TuDiabetes exist so that no person touch by diabetes should feel alone. I think that is true for the entire DOC. I am proud to be a part of it.

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