A quick reminder before we start: this practice is patient education, not medical advice. The full disclaimer is always available. Now — let's begin.
Most people come into something like this thinking they're catching up. They're not. There's no schedule for understanding Type 1 diabetes. There's no syllabus you missed. Whatever you know on the day you start is the right amount to start with. Whatever you don't know is what the next three weeks are for.
Today's idea
Time-with-Type-1 isn't the same as fluency-with-Type-1. There are people who've lived with Type 1 for fifty years and still don't understand basal insulin. There are people newly diagnosed who already see patterns their care teams missed. The two often have nothing to do with each other.
What separates the fluent from the time-served is whether they ever moved from passively receiving information to actively noticing what's happening. The Pro Tip series puts it this way:
When you understand what's happening, diabetes stops being something that happens to you and becomes something you're doing. The shift begins the moment you start to look.
From Pro Tip 1025
Today, you started looking.
I'm not behind. I'm starting.
Notice how you feel when you check your CGM today. Not the number — the feeling. Curiosity? Dread? Tiredness? Nothing? Just notice.
Small Sip #1420 — Diabetes Is Hard
What did I notice about my relationship to my CGM today?